Principal's Report
2026 Class Structure and Staffing Update
Our class structure is always dependent on student enrolment numbers and the varying numbers in our year cohorts. Our class structure for 2026 will now be:
Prep x 1
Year 1/2 x 3
Year 3 x 1
Year 4 x 1
Year 4/5 x 1
Year 5/6 x 1
Our whole school transition session will be on Tuesday 9th of December where students will meet their 2026 class and teacher.
Staff farewells, thank you's, welcome and some changes!
Farewells
I would like to acknowledge and thank the following staff for their hard work and commitment to LPS.
Tamsin Colquhoun will be moving onto new experiences next year and no longer teaching STEM. We will see Tamsin throughout the year as she will still be a part of our team working here, often replacing teachers. Thank you Tamsin for running an engaging and fun STEM program for our students and especially your knack for finding lots of great free experiences and materials! We wish you all the very best Tamsin for an exciting 2026.
Vanessa Schembri will be returning to her base school at St Albans. Vanessa has really made our Visual Arts program this semester her own working with students and guiding them to produce some beautiful creative work. We especially have appreciated Vanessa's talents working with students to produce such amazing displays for the Kyneton Show and the annual Romsey Christmas tree. Of course, our Art Show is so much work and organisation, and Vanessa took all of this in her stride. We wish you all the very best Vanessa and thank you for your short but very impactful time at LPS.
Lily Douglas (Education Support Staff) joined us during 2025 and has worked hard to make great relationships with students and staff and will also be moving on in 2026. We wish Lily all the very best for a bright future (I do believe that teaching may be in your future Lily)?
Welcome
I would like to welcome Alex Furphy who will be taking on the Visual Arts role in 2026. Alex is a very experienced teacher and known to our students and teachers. She is very excited to be joining us next year and is looking forward to getting creative with our classes.
Changes
Next year Andrew Hall is going to change up his teaching and will be taking on two new roles, STEM and the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program. We wish Andrew all the very best for his new adventures in the WMC and I am certain he will be looking for lots of help with gardening and cooking sessions.
Kaye Walker will no longer be coordinating SAKG after many years of successfully running this important LPS program. This will be a big change for her. Kaye has been a strong advocate for the SAKG program, even presenting on behalf of our school for new schools coming into the program. She has worked extremely hard to fine tune both gardening and cooking aspects and I cannot thank her enough for her hard work and dedication to this important role. Kaye will be focusing her work on supporting classes in her role as Education Support and I am sure Andrew will be chasing her down for advice as well!
BIG NEWS ....we will be celebrating Lancefield Primary Schools' 150th anniversary in 2026. Most of the celebrations will be taking place during term 4, however there will be some events scattered through the year so watch our reminders and newsletter for more information!
Thank you to all of our families for another great year at LPS. Everyone always helps us out in one way or another with kind actions or words, and we truly appreciate your support. To all of our devoted SAKG cooking and gardening helpers (parent, grandparents, friends and other family members) thank you so much for your time and support of this super important LPS program. We look forward to welcoming you back next year. A big thank you to LPS School Council members. I have enjoyed working with you during the year and look forward to the same in 2026.
Congratulations to our year 6s who are looking forward to some big events including their big day out and of course their final hurrah, their year 6 graduation. We look forward to celebrating with them and families on Friday 12th December at the Lancefield Mechanics Hall. I remind year 6 families to refer to compass messages for graduation times and information.
Most importantly I would like to recognise our students and staff. Our students, your children, are our 'why'! We have the most amazing school of students who never fail to impress us with their skills, growing knowledge and above all care, kindness, curiosity and creativity. Well done and a massive thank you to all of our LPS staff (class teachers, specialist teachers, education support staff and office staff) for a huge year of teaching, learning and with just a few extra events thrown in along the way! I truly appreciate you all.