Principal's Message

Jackson School is a collaborative learning community for all. We aim to develop independence through safety, respect and responsibility. We aspire to offer authentic, quality educational experiences that develop futures, create opportunities and inspire student potential; enabling our students to be valued and contributing members of the wider community. We share and celebrate our successes and achievements.   

The Issue Highlights

• Buildings & Grounds
• Lunar New Year
• Student Support Group (SSGs) Meetings
• School Council Elections
• Brimbank Council Parking
• Showcase of students' learning from across the school in Primary and Secondary
• Health and Wellbeing information to support you and your child.
• Community news including from Jackson OSHC provider TheirCare.
• School Dates -For the most up-to-date calendar dates, always refer to the Xuno Calendar in your Parent Portal.

Dear Families,

It's been a busy but positive two weeks back at school. Students are settling well into their new classes. Staff are currently focusing on our Ready to Learn program where they establish clear expectations and routines as they get to know their new students. This allows all students to be successful throughout the year. Some of our offsite Senior Secondary programs have already starting with the remainder of them starting soon. 

This week we had the privilege to host our Keilor-St Albans network meeting for the 50 Principals and Assistant Principals across our network of schools.

Buildings & Grounds

Over the school holidays we have significant renovations of our permanent 1976 buildings to celebrate our 50th year. These include:

• Classrooms in Blocks 2 & 3 Renovated (New Ceilings, Lights/Electrical, Cabinets, Felt Smartboards)
• New Junior Playground with swing
• New Senior Playground (Ninja Course) at the back of the oval
• Replacement soft fall rubber around the swing and trampoline
• New AV System in Hall with LED panels
• Hall walls have been felted in preparation for our retractable, tiered seating system which will be installed in the Term 2 holidays
• New drink fountains (Aquabubblers) installed throughout the outdoor areas
• Back car park surfacing and line marking
• Prep Cubby Renovations (ongoing)
• New phone system with mobile extensions
• New Intervention Room in Block 6

Lunar New Year

Happy Lunar New Year (Tết for our Vietnamese community). Vietnamese New Year is the most important festival of the year in Vietnam, celebrating love, the start of spring, and the best of hopes for the new year. It is observed on the first day of the first month of the Vietnamese Lunar Calendar and ranges between late January and mid-February on the Gregorian calendar.  Lunar Year 2026 is the Year of the Horse. This is a year of Fire Horse, starting from 17 Feb 2026 to 5 Feb 2027. The Horse is the seventh in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac signs.

Student Support Group (SSGs) Meetings

Our Semester 1 Student Support Group Meetings (SSG) are scheduled for Tuesday, February 17th between 3:30 pm and 7:30 pm. Each appointment has a 20-minute time slot to ensure all parents and carers have an opportunity to meet with your child’s teacher.

To ensure as many families are connected to school as possible, all SSG bookings will be made through Xuno where you can book a face-to-face meeting. 

You can only see the available SSG meeting times on Xuno. Once you have selected a time, it will be confirmed. You will no longer receive a letter of confirmation regarding your meeting time. If a suitable time is not available, please contact your child’s classroom teacher to make an alternative booking.

We apologise that this date now clashes with Lunar New Year, so if this time doesn't suit please make an alternate time to catch up with your child's class teacher.

If you require an interpreter, please specify the language you require when booking the SSG meeting. As mentioned in the first Newsletter, our interpreter and translation services are now provided by “All Graduates”. Please see our Translation Services page for more information. Please select your language when booking and we will arrange an in-person interpreter for you. 

For on-site appointments between 3:30 pm and 4:30 pm, our staff can supervise your child/ren at school during your SSG meeting. If you wish for your child/ren to remain and be supervised at school, please specify this in the comments section when booking your SSG meeting.

If you would like to discuss your child’s progress in our specialist areas or Vu (Jobs, Skills, Pathways Coordinator), please make an appointment through the office.

Please find attached a ‘how to’ guide to help you book your SSG meeting time through Xuno.

If you are experiencing issues booking an SSG Meeting time through Xuno, please contact the office on 03 9366 4322.

School Council Elections

Jackson School’s School Council is the voice of the parents on how we run our school. 

All government schools in Victoria have a School Council. School Council is the governing body of the school and plays an important role in our community. School Council has four main responsibilities:

1. Governance: establish the broad direction and vision for the school within the community. They oversee school buildings and grounds (facility hire, maintenance and improvements) as well as other contracts including: Out of School Hours Care (OSHC).
2. Strategic Planning: contributes to the finalisation of the School Strategic Plan and development of the Annual Implementation Plan and reports annually (Annual report) to the school community. 
3. Finance: monitors school revenue and expenditure and approves school budgets including for parent voluntary contributions and camps and excursions.
4. Policy & Review: ratifies DE and school-level policy decisions (including child safe standards), participates in the school review pre-review evaluation and review panel.

For more information please see: https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/school-council-overview/overview or download the following fact sheet: 

We are looking for new members to join our school council, in the following categories:

• 2 Parent Members

• 3 Department Employees 

• 1 Co-opted Community Members

• 2 Elected Student Members (our School Captain and Vice-Captain)

Jackson School Council meet each 3rd Tuesday of the month at 5:30 pm (onsite) or 6:30 pm (online). Meetings usually take about one and a half hours. 

All members of the community are welcome to attend our Public Reporting Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday 25th March at 6:30pm onsite at Jackson School. Please RSVP to Jo Garofalo (School Council Secretary). 

If you would like to join our school council as a community member, please complete and lodge a nomination by 9:00am on 6th March 2026 to the school office. The ballot will close at 9:00am on 13th March 2026.

Brimbank Council Parking

Brimbank Council has now installed the signage for the Car Parking Management Plan (CPMP) for the Sunshine Hospital and Ginifer Station area. The parking restrictions within these areas are now finalised and can be seen in the link below. You can select the area of interest and also click on the interactive map which shows the example of the parking restriction in the area. 

https://yoursay.brimbank.vic.gov.au/car-parking-management-plan

Please note that Brimbank Council's officers are issuing tickets to enforce the new parking restrictions. I have asked Brimbank Council for some leniency for first time offences. A warning ticket may be issued in the first instance, unless the parking causes a safety risk.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Anthony