From The Principal's Desk

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to Week 10 and the final newsletter for the year. There have been many accomplishments throughout the year and so much to be proud and thankful for. Many of these accomplishments have been listed and detailed in our school Yearbook, so make sure you order a copy through the QKR app for $30.

Before we wrap up the year we have a number of key events to get through.

On Tuesday, we held our Orientation Day for our Preps for 2025 and our ‘meet the teacher session’ for our students in Grade 1-6. This provided the opportunity for our students to be informed of who their teacher and classmates would be for 2026.

Our current enrolment for 2025 looks to be approximately 645 students across 30 classrooms. That puts our average class size at 21.5 students per classroom, however not all classrooms will be at that number, we could only be so lucky if our enrolments were able to be capped at a certain number. I anticipate that as Delacombe continues to grow as a suburb our school will need to accommodate these enrolments until another school is built in our area. Even though we have grown as a school, we continue to provide modern and up to date classrooms, resources and play spaces that other schools do not have the budget to provide.

At the end of this year we say goodbye to a number of staff who will either not be with us in 2026 for a number of different reasons. Those staff are:

Mrs Rebekah Dawson who finished up last week and has taken family leave for 2026.
Ms Brooke Jorgensen who joined us two years ago from Miners Rest PS and will be moving to the Sunshine Coast for at least the next 12 months. Who knows she may miss us too much!
Mr Daniel Welch who also joined us two years ago from Bacchus Marsh Secondary College and will be taking up a Numeracy position at Woodman’s Hill College. We thank Daniel for his work in our Grade 6 team.
Mr Cain Edwards who has supported us across a range of classrooms throughout the year, will commence his teaching career down the road at Newington PS. All the best to Cain in his start to teaching.
Ms Claire Johnstone who has also supported us across a range of classrooms throughout the year and will commence her teaching career in Gladstone. We wish Claire all the best in her teaching career.
Ms Jordyn Bibby who has also supported us this year across many classrooms and will return back to her base school of Napoleons PS. We thank Jordyn for supporting us through the term when we had a number out on maternity leave.
Mr Josh Parsons who has been a causal relief teacher in the school for Term 4. Josh has plugged the gaps around the school and we wish all the best for 2026.
Mr Adam Smith also finishes up as a Education support and may still work in the school as a Casual Relief teacher.
Mrs Carissa Pearson who has also been working in our Grade 1 area and in various other classrooms will be returning to Lal Lal PS but still be around to support the school in some Casual Relief work.
Ms Kari O’Gorman who has continued to provide the students with focus towards Asian studies will also be finishing up at the end of the year. Kari will continue to work at Glen Park PS and we thank her for her work.
Miss Macy Anwyl who is in our Education Support team is taking 12 months leave to travel around Australia.
Mr Alan Lench- We wish all the best to Al who has been cleaning at DPS for over 32 years and extend our thanks for his longstanding service to the school.

We wish all those staff all the best in their new adventures for 2026 and thank them for their service and efforts in 2025.

In other staff news we welcome back Mr Brandon Egan from overseas and also Mrs Bianca Walters who will return for 2026.

The classroom allocation of teachers across the 30 classrooms is now available on the school website. Whilst we believe we have our staffing settled, things can always change in a school our size.

In 2026 we will divide the school into two clear sections. The Wellbeing teams and the Teaching and Learning teams are divided into Prep-Grade 2 and Grade 3 - Grade 6. You will notice on the website the staff who will be leading the teams in these areas. We believe this structure will allow you to have your enquiries responded to in a more efficient and clear way. You can find the list of key staff on this link and the class teachers for each grade:

One of the subject changes we have made in 2026 has been the introduction of Auslan at Grade 3-4 and the introduction of Science as a specialist subject in Grade 5-6. This will replace Asian Studies/Chinese language for 2026.

These changes in our specialist subject went through a process of examining with staff and School Council some of the options to replace Chinese Language for 2026. Chinese Language may return in 2027 but in the interim the school is trialling Auslan at Grade 3-4. The teaching of Science at Grade 5-6 will pick up the units lost from our focus on School concert in Term 3.

HOW DO WE COMMINICATE AT DPS

We have revised the way in which parents/carers can communicate with staff at DPS. In the first instance your classroom teacher is generally the best point of contact. The link below highlights who you can contact beyond the classroom teacher should your concern not be met.

COLOUR RUN - TUESDAY 16TH DECEMBER

Last week we managed to slime 3 teachers after reaching our target of being able to slime three more. I have managed to escape this on two occasions, but I fear my time may be up on Tuesday 16th December. The Colour run will be held on the school oval at approximately 2.20pm and it will be fun for everyone. Fortunately, the long-range forecast looks to be sunny on the day. My suggestion is to have some towels ready in your car if you are picking up your children or alternatively a walk home is a good idea on this occasion.

FUNDRAISING DONATION 2026

This year we have had two staff members directly affected by cancer and in the process of medical treatment the BRI Cancer Centre has supported those staff members. Last Friday at the assembly we donated $1116 to Grampians Health. Below is a picture of our JSC leaders Bella and Alice presenting the cheque to Mel Sheeley. The funds were raised from sales from our school beanies and the Zooper Dooper sales in Week 8.

STUDENT LEADERS 2026

We have selected our House Captains for 2026 and this week we move through the remaining positions we have on offer for students in our school. They will be presented with their badges at the final assembly on Wednesday 17th December commencing in the stadium at 2.20pm.

FAREWELL ASSEMBLY AND GRADE 6 FINAL WALK THROUGH THE SCHOOL

In our farewell assembly we will also recognise those students who have been successful in gaining scholarships as they move across to secondary school. We will also be farewelling our Grade 6 students, families and staff that are leaving the school in 2025.

At the end of assembly, we will have our Grade 6 students commencing their final walk from the Grade 6 centre and through the corridors of the school and exit out of the Prep classrooms and onto the P-2 synthetic pitch (where it all started in 2019). Below are some locations that parents may wish to position themselves to take some photos. BYO tissues.

Photo opportunity for Grade 6 parents number 1:

Photo opportunity for Grade 6 parents number 2:

PICNIC DAY - Wednesday 17th December

Below is a list of activities that will occur at the school on Picnic Day. This will occur at the school and commence at 11.30am and wrap up around 1.15pm. The cafe will be open for parents.

OFFICE OPENING DAYS 2026

The office will be open from Monday 19th January if you are requiring any assistance for the start of the year.

On behalf of the school, we wish you all the best for the new year and look forward to seeing you next year.

Have a wonderful Christmas break – Scott, Marnie, Michael and Stephanie