Dear Families,

It's with a bit of disbelief that I write my final message for the newsletter for 2025.

This year has once again been full of so many events and changes around Albanvale Primary School.

One of my proudest moments was our school's amazing NAPLAN results being recognised on a national level. Once again, our students achieved outstanding results in comparison with state, similar and network schools in our area and this year, topped the country in learning gains. This means, students, according to NAPLAN, students at Albanvale PS learnt more than their peers across the country. I know how hard we as a whole community work - and that includes you as parents - to ensure our students are always progressing forward in their learning. You should be just as proud of this achievement as I am, as are all the staff at Albanvale.

When The Age contacted our school to organise some photos for the release of the NAPLAN results, we knew we'd be onto something good. But to wake up on Wednesday morning and see seven of our students on the front page of the newspaper was amazing.

The celebrations continued with our annual Christmas Concert held last week. Thank you to all the families that joined us in the sun for the morning edition of our concert. Efriam, Nikki and Kawthar did a great job hosting the event. After a term of practise and hearing the carols ringing out from classrooms during rehearsal sessions, it's always fun witnessing the end results.

So what does 2026 have to bring?

We have 16 classes next year, with Grade 1 and Grade 2 having three straight classes each (along with two Prep classes) and four 3/4 and 5/6 composite classes. Our Grade 5/6s will head on camp in Term 2, and this year our 3/4s will venture off to Anglesea in September.

Our Little Learners Academy begins in February. This extension of our Head Start program aims to assist the Preps of 2027 in getting ready for school. Our educators, Stephanie Brown (teacher) and Jacqui Lay (who is returning to us after 10 months away), are busy planning an incredible program so our Pre-Preps are school-ready come 2027.

2026 Staffing Update

Amongst all our planning for 2026, our students got their first taste of it all at our Step Up morning on Tuesday. Students and staff were thrilled to find out who they will be collaborating with next year.

Besides welcoming Jacqui back, we also welcome Andrea Rossi Mel (5/6). All the students will know Mr Rossi as he has been working in 1/2C for us this term. We would also like to welcome back Sue James in 5/6.

We will be continuing to offer an amazing enrichment program of PE (Daniel Suarez), Visual Art (Andrea Kwong), Italian (Stef Lipoma), Performing Arts (Tim Rouse) and Science (Andrea Ricci).

Grade 6 Big Day Out

To celebrate the successful completion of primary school, our Grade 6s will be attending a Graduation Big Day Out at Adventure Park Geelong on Wednesday 17th December. Students will spend an action-packed day at the water park. In addition, they will enjoy a BBQ lunch, followed by dinner at a restaurant. They will also take a stroll to the Geelong waterfront, where they will have an opportunity to take some memorable photos of their primary school friends.

Grade 6 Graduation Ceremony

On behalf of students and staff, I would like to extend an invitation to all families to our end-of-year Graduation Ceremony on Thursday, the 18th of December; we hope that all families can join us as we celebrate all our achievements of 2025. We will, of course, continue the Albanvale PS tradition of creating a guard of honour for our graduating students as a symbol of their journey to the next stage of their education.

It has truly been an honour serving our community in 2025. I'd like to extend my gratitude to the staff, students and families for their unwavering support throughout the year. Importantly, I'd like to highlight the work of Mrs Liong, Mr Taylor, Mr Ibrahim and Ms Atansovski (School Improvement Team) for their exceptional dedication to equity and excellence for every student, every day. Their impact on our school can be seen every day, and I know they will continue with this into next year.

And now we are down to the very last 'lasts' for 2025. For our Grade 6s Thursday marks their final day at out school. This, of course, means the end of the Albanvale journey for some families, with their Grade 6 students being the last to come through. For others, we may be saying goodbye to the Grade 6 student, but their siblings are still here so we can continue to share in their growing and learning journey.

Enjoy a safe summer break, and thank you for your ongoing support.

Achieve Excellence, Together.

Michael Uzunovski

Principal

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