Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung People of the Kulin nation; past, present and those who will walk with us into the future. We acknowledge the rich and unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters and seas, educational practices and the hopes of all First Nations Peoples. We do this in the spirit of reconciliation as we move to a place of justice and partnership - together we work, learn, play and care for one another and this land.

Graduating Class of 2025

I had the great pleasure of attending Graduation last night. It was a perfect event that was able to celebrate our wonderful graduating class of 2025.

Thank you to our Graduation Commmittee and 5/6 team for doing so much work to make an amazing graduation. Thank you to the P&F for managing the raising of funds to support graduation. And most of all, congratulations to our graduating students. You all spoke so well, represented our school and your families magnificently and we are so proud of you.

This was my farewell message I gave to our graduating students last night:

Good evening parents, grandparents, uncles, aunties and siblings to our 2025 Graduation. Thank you to our 5/6 teachers and the Graduation Committee for planning everything for tonight. So much hard work has gone in to making this a very special event. Thank you all so much.

It is such a pleasure and privilege to be here on Graduation night and farewell our amazing graduating class of 2025.

I have been at Kalinda for nearly 7 years now. In fact I started at Kalinda while you were all in preps. I have seen you all grow from very little kids, to big kids (many a lot bigger than me). You are now ready to face the next chapter in your lives, secondary school.

Thanks to your wonderful parents and families, the great teachers and ES staff who have educated you, I know you are all well equipped to face the various ups and downs you will encounter on your journey.

You are all well equipped with great tools to succeed academically and in looking after your own wellbeing and the wellbeing of those around you.

We will all be watching on to see the impact you make on our community and the world at large.

At your age, your life ahead can look infinite. However, your parents, and the grandparents who are here tonight, can all tell you that life goes so very quickly.

I urge you not to sit around and wait for life to happen, but to work hard, strive to achieve your dreams, cherish your friends and families. Don’t ever hesitate to tell those who are important to you how you feel about them. Tonight is a great night to put into words to your family, your mates and your teachers how much you appreciate them and thank them for the support they have shown you.

Pursue your dreams with all you have. Even if not sure yet what your dreams may be, work hard, apply yourself to your learning and set yourself up to chase those dreams as they emerge.

American comedian and TV host Stephen Colbert said ‘If we’d all stuck with our first dream, the world would be overrun with cowboys and princesses. So whatever your dream is right now, if you don’t achieve it, you haven’t failed and you’re not some loser.’

To me this means, chasing your dreams and working hard towards them is more important than achieving them. The skills you learn as you try and fail and try and fail again will make you a stronger better person and help to achieve your dreams in the future.

Congratulations to our graduating class of 2025. We are very proud of you. Good luck with the journey ahead.

Student Free Days in 2026

We have set 4 of our 5 Student Free Days for 2026 and these have been approved by School Council. We will make a decision on the other student free day early in the new year.

The dates set for the student free days are:

27 January (Appreciative Inquiry Day)
28 January (Teacher planning and preparation day)
18 September (parent-teacher interviews)
11 December (planning for 2027)
One more date to be decided

School will begin on Thursday 29th January for all students (prep students will have shorter days on Thursday 29th and Friday 30th January).

2026 Student leaders at Kalinda

Over the last few weeks, we went through a selection process for 2026 School Captains and House Captains. I am so proud of every student who went for these roles and it was clear we have a huge number of young leaders across our senior school next year. I know that not all leaders wear a badge, and many of those who went for a role but missed out will continue to be great leaders and role models at the school next year.

Congratulations to the students below who have been selected for these leadership positions. I look forward to seeing how you go about your roles in 2026 and set a great example for the rest of our student body.

School Captains

Emmett G	Anjali G	Lachlan H	Nina P
Chisholm House Captains

Sophie D		Kai M
McCubbin House Captains

Zoe P		Charlie J
Melba House Captains

Abby M		William W
Parks House Captains

Tate M		Amaya T

Christmas Carols

Thank you to the P&F and Mrs Butler for another amazing Christmas Carols. These nights are always so joyous and a celebration of community and connection. We were so lucky to have such beautiful weather for the evening. I love the traditions we have at Kalinda and the community spirit on these nights is so special.

A big thank you to Teamkids for providing the sausages for our barbecue, and to their coordinator Matt for helping out with cooking them.

Deakin Shield and School Sports Victoria winners

Congratulations to Leila Pan, who was awarded the Deakin Shield last week for her contributions to the Kalinda community, and to Ben Kregting, who received the School Sports Victoria Award.

Both are very deserving winners of these awards and have truly displayed the Kalinda values throughout the year.

There are of course countless other studetns who would have been deserving winners as well and I congratulate all of our students on always striving to the kind, reslient and respectful.

A New Year of Learning

Please see this link below for information for parents from the Victorian Government regarding the new year of learning for your children in 2026.

https://www.vic.gov.au/new-year-learning

Expression of Interest - Branch Out Japan Study Tour 2026

The letter below was sent out to 2026 Year 5 and 6 families regarding our trip to Japan in 2026. If interested in your child joining the trip, please read the letter and follow the link inside it to an Expression of Interest Form.

Enrolling in 2026

If you have not yet enrolled your child for 2026, you still can. Please contact the office on 03 9876 3289 or see our website for more information: https://www.kalinda.vic.edu.au/page/131/Foundation-2026-enrolments

We are kind. We are resilient. We are respectful.

School Counsellor