Dear Parents and Carers,

Another term is quickly coming to an end, and we are approaching the final term for the year. Tomorrow, I join the Grade 4 students on camp as we make our way down to Anglesea. Last week saw our Grade 5 students enjoy their time in Halls Gap and test themselves out on the rock-climbing, high ropes and bush walking. A big thank you to the staff that assisted and organised the camps for both Grade 5 and Grade 4.

Last week our staff spent the day at Federation University with a focus on student wellbeing and staff wellbeing. During the day we had a range of guest speakers come and talk to the staff to provide useful tips for supporting students in the classroom and also taking steps to support themselves. In order for our students to thrive we want to have our staff in our school thriving.

Father’s/Special person’s breakfast

One of the highlights last week was the Father’s Day Breakfast that we held in our stadium. It was wonderful to see over 150 fathers and carers enjoying breakfast with their children at school. A big thank you to our staff who helped assist and organise the breakfast.

It was wonderful to see many of our students leaving the Father’s Day stall on Friday with a gift for their dad or father figure for the weekend. A huge thanks goes out to Parents and Friends who once again organised and ran the day. Your efforts are appreciated by all.

Last day of School is - Sporting Colours Day

On the last day of term we will celebrate all sporting

codes with our Sporting Colours Day. On this day students

are welcome to come dressed in their favourite sporting

team colours and bring a gold coin donation for the

Ballarat Foundation.

The structure of the day will work in the following way for the students:

9-11 am	A range of small game activities
11.05 -11.30	Normal recess
11.30 - 12.20pm	Teachers vs Grade 6 students Football match

I will be dusting off the boots to ensure that we maintain the teacher record of being unbeaten.

Hats

As we are a SunSmart School, students are expected to wear a broad brimmed hat from the beginning of Term 4. Please have these ready for use in Term 4 with student names on them. We do have some for sale at the front office for $18.00.

Parent Opinion Survey

Thank you for those who did manage to complete the Parent Opinion survey. We will be reviewing the data and reporting this back to the School Council. There is still time to provide your feedback.

WE WANT OUR PARENTS / CAREGIVERS / GUARDIANS TO TELL US WHAT THEY THINK!

Our school is conducting the annual Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey offered by the Department of Education and is seeking your feedback. The survey is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, and student engagement. The survey is optional, but we encourage and appreciate your participation.

Our school will use the survey results to assist in identifying areas for improvement and professional development needs in the school, to target school planning and improvement strategies.

The Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey will be open online from Monday 18 August to Friday 19 September 2025.

The school’s generic PIN is:

551482

The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones.

The online survey will be available in English and 10 other languages including Arabic, Greek, Hakha Chin, Hindi, Japanese, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Turkish, and Vietnamese. Resources are also available in additional languages to assist parents / caregivers / guardians who speak a language other than English at home. Please reach out to your child’s teacher, or the school directly for survey guides in your language. Once you have finished the survey please send in this snip or photo to the office email delacombe.ps@education.vic.gov.au to show you have completed the survey for a free coffee or hot chocolate voucher.

Camps 2026

We have booked the majority of our camps some of our key excursions for 2026. We have shifted our Grade 5 and Grade 4 camps to Term 2 so that we have a clear run at the concert in Term 3.

Here are some of the key dates:

Grade 6 camp -Melbourne - Wednesday 4th March - Friday 6th March ($360)
Grade 5 Sovereign Hill Costume school excursion- Tuesday 24th March - Wednesday 25th March ($70)
Grade 5 camp- Halls Gap - Wednesday 29th April - 1st May - ($370)
Grade 4A & 4B camp -Anglesea - Monday 27th April - Wednesday 29th April ($300)
Grade 4C & 4D camp -Anglesea - Wednesday 29th April - Friday 1st April ($300)

The costs are still to be confirmed for next year and the costs are approximate costs.

Term 4 reminders

Beyond on term 3 and school holidays we have a number of events to look forward to :

Grade 3 Camp will occur in the second week of the term and will head off to Lady Northcote.
Annual Writers' Festival on Wednesday 22nd October
Our kinder transition program commences and will begin the preparations of our Prep students for 2025.
Our Grade 5 students begin the process of applying for leadership positions early Term 4.
Our Prep - Grade 2 Athletics Carnival on Thursday 27th November at the Doug Dean Reserve.
Our Writers’ Festival is on Tuesday 22nd October and will highlight the wonderful writing of all the students in the school.
On Thursday 23rd October is the Grade 2 sleepover at the school and is the first step into our camping program.
Student free day on Monday 3rd November
Report Writing day (Student free) on Monday 24th November

This is just a snapshot of what lies ahead. So, on behalf of the school enjoy the break if you are having one and we look forward to working with you in our final term of the year.

Art News