Principal's Report

Dear Collingwood College Community,

We are into Week 4 of Term 3 and students are busily building on the great learning from Semester 1. Below is more information about what's been happening, some fantastic opportunities and more to look forward to in the term ahead.

Jumbo - Therapy Dog

Collingwood College is pleased to introduce Jumbo, our wellbeing and engagement dog. Jumbo’s role is to support the social and emotional wellbeing of students, particularly in the Primary School.

Jumbo is a four-year-old Golden Retriever with a gentle and calm temperament. He is owned by staff member Tom Kristof. Jumbo has received appropriate training through Seeing Eye Dogs Australia and Therapy Animals Australia. Tom has also been trained as one of Jumbo’s handlers by Therapy Animals Australia.

Currently, Jumbo has attended a few days to trial his engagement and interactions, with positive signs so far.

Interacting with a wellbeing and engagement dog can support students by:

· reducing stress and anxiety, including anxiety related to learning

· improving physical and emotional wellbeing

· building self-esteem, empathy and interpersonal skills

· supporting positive relationships and the recognition of social cues

· encouraging attendance among students who are disengaged or at risk of disengaging.

Jumbo will work with his trained handlers across the school. He may visit classrooms and other areas to support lessons, special events, and students’ wellbeing and engagement needs.

Korean Short Stay Program and Chinese student visitors

Our International Student Program team have been busy welcoming 12 students from South Korea right across the school. They are in the final week of their 3 week short term stay. Thanks to all our student buddies who have been guiding our South Korean friends in their experience of our school. On the 31st July, we hosted 15 Chinese students in Year 7-9 students for a full day immersion program at Collingwood. Again, our student leaders and buddies provided excellent support to students that are learning about schooling in Australia. Many thanks to Felicia, the ISP team and Administration team for their coordination of all our visitors.

Chinese Cultural Festival and Food Market

Our languages team led by Xiaoming Li, organised a festival to promote the school's Chinese program and Chinese culture, inspire more students to learn Chinese and appreciate Chinese culture, and raise funds for the 2027 China Leadership Program. From food markets, to games, activities of Calligraphy and drawing, traditional mooncakes, students were truly immersed. It was great to see this celebration of one of our important language opportunities in the school.

Year 9 - Flying Bookworm Theatre Company Incursion

On the 29th July, our Year 9 students joined the Year 9 students from Fitzroy High School at Wurun Senior Campus for an incursion with the The Flying Bookworm Theatre Company. The group presented to both sets of students on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. This provided students the opportunity to learn about Shakespearian language and key scenes from the play which will support their study of the play this term.   Thanks to Dan, Lori, Sarah, Sarah and Elena for making this possible.

Year 7 - Excursion to Dymocks Bookshop

On the 27th July, our Year 7 students in the IB MYP program travelled to Dymocks Bookstore in the city to purchase a book from the Children's Book Council of Australia shortlist.  They also visited the State Library afterwards.  This excursion support our focus on reading this term with the study of a class novel, and reading a book of choice for pleasure at home. 

https://cbca.org.au/2026-shortlist/

Year 7 students were also fortunate to listen to renowned author Francesca Haig (parent of Max) as part of this experience. Thank you Francesca for your time and generous sharing of your craft with our students. We are looking forward to discussing these books in class over the following weeks.

MS Readathon - the month when kids fall in love with reading

At Collingwood College, we are encouraging as many students from Prep to Year 10 to join the MS Readathon.

We are keen to see students set a reading goal for August across the school - whether it’s daily reads, longer books or learning new words, we want our students to increase their confidence and develop imagination. Reading is a key skill in developing high functioning literacy skills - improvement in reading leads to higher levels of academic achievement and growth.

On top of this, it’s helping to support families in Australia impacted by MS and neurological conditions.

It’s free to sign up, every reader receives a free welcome pack and gets access to fun tools and resources to keep them reading all month long.

Visit the link below to sign up and join our school page now (you can join the school page even if you have already registered separately). Thank you! 

https://www.msreadathon.org.au/fundraisers/collingwoodcollege 

Let’s get reading Collingwood!

Kind Regards,

Angela Watters and Chris Millard

Principals