Well, the countdown is well and truly on to the end of what has been a wonderful year. It is great to see all students still very much engaged in their learning. It is going to be a hectic final week with LifeSaving Day, class parties and the Big Day Out.

2026 School Start Dates

Please see below our beginning of 2026 school dates. Further dates regarding Foundation Transition will be released later in the year.

Date	Time	Event
Tuesday 27th of January		Staff Return
Wednesday 28th January	9:00-3:30pm	Students from Year 1-6 return
Thursday 29th January	9.30-3.30	Foundation students start school at 9.30am on this day only

Academic Reports

Semester Two student reports will be published by 4pm on Monday 15th of December. These will be available on the "Reports" tab on Compass under your child's profile.

Year 6 Graduation

It was a pleasure to see our Year 6 students graduate on Thursday evening. Please see more information in the Graduation page of this newsletter. Next Thursday, they will enjoy their Big Day Out at Gumbuya World

We wish all our Year 6 students the best as they take their next step in their education.

Christmas Carols

What another terrific turn out for our annual Christmas Carols event. It was wonderful to see so many families come together to celebrate the festive season with us. The beautiful singing from our students filled the air with holiday cheer, creating a warm and joyous atmosphere.

The event wouldn’t have been complete without the delicious sausage sizzle and the ever-popular Christmas Raffle. A huge thank you goes to our incredible teachers and education support staff for their support in making the evening such a success. We’d also like to express our gratitude to the Clyde Fire Brigade for their assistance in helping Santa make a grand appearance—it’s always a highlight for the children! Thank you once again to everyone who attended and contributed to the success of this wonderful community celebration.

We raised a total of $2581.45 through the raffle and sausage sizzle combined, which will go towards a new bike shed near the Foundation entry.

Principal Awards

Be Fit Be Well

This week we were lucky enough to have Emma Mickle, para cyclist, and Aaliyah Wilson, Australian skateboarder, from the Victorian Institute of Sport come to share their stories as part of the ‘Be Fit. Be Well’ presentations for schools.

Firstly, we heard from Aaliyah and learnt about her journey to competing on the world stage in skateboarding. The students really enjoyed listening to Aaliyah’s story and were particularly impressed as she showed off some of her skateboarding tricks.

Next up, Emma shared her story of overcoming adversity, which captivated the students from beginning to end. She recounted how a tragic accident changed her life, leading to the challenge of recovering from 20 broken bones and being told she may never walk again. Defying the odds, she has become a National Champion and proudly brought home a silver medal at the Para World Cup in the C1-3 Women’s Time Trial. Her powerful message of resilience, determination and gratefulness left a lasting impression on everyone who heard her speak.

Our Year 4 students did a wonderful job of thanking these athletes and presenting them with posters and thank you cards from the research they had completed. The presentation was a timely reminder to work hard towards our goals and never give up!

Life Saving Day

Today many of our year 3/4 students went to Mordialloc Beach, where they learnt or refreshed their knowledge about Life Saving and water safety. This program was led by lifesavers who showed them rescue and safety equipment.

Changes to School Council

From 2026, parents, carers and community members who would like to join the school council need a working with children (WWC) clearance to nominate. If you are considering nominating for school council, and don’t already have a WWCC, I encourage you to apply for a volunteer WWC check as soon as possible. This will allow for processing times, which are estimated to be from 3 to 12 weeks.

Please note that if you do not hold a WWC clearance, you will not be able to nominate for school council, so it is vital that you prepare in advance.

Obtaining a WWC clearance is free for volunteers, and you can apply online at Service Victoria. When applying for your volunteer WWC check, please nominate the Department of Education as the organisation you are working for.

If you already hold an employee WWC clearance, you do not need to obtain a volunteer WWC clearance to nominate for school council.

Victorian Institute of Teaching-registered teachers are not required to obtain a WWC clearance.

Current parents and community members of school council do not need to apply for a WWC check immediately. Current members only need a WWC clearance if their term ends and they wish to nominate or be co-opted again.

2026 Class Structures

It’s that time of year when we have a few changes and say ‘farewell’ to some staff and ‘welcome’ some new members to the Clyde PS team. We have finalised our class structures for 2026 and I can confirm the following:

Foundation Professional Learning Team:

Ms Alyssa Naughton

Ms Amy Hamley

Ms Elise Edwards

Ms Chelsea Stumberger

Year 1 Professional Learning Team:

Mrs Van De Meer

Ms Presswell

Ms Beck

Mrs Mani

Year 2 Professional Learning Team:

Ms Illejay

Ms Jayaratne

Mrs Budhiraja

Year 3 Professional Learning Team:

Mrs Barker

Ms Campbell

Ms Smith

Year 4 Professional Learning Team:

Ms Van Dyk

Mr Rodwell

Mrs Mungean

Year 5 Professional Learning Team:

Mrs Elston & Mrs Maia

Mr Brendan Gee

Ms Longmuir

Year 6 Professional Learning Team:

Mrs Bartsch & Mrs Ray

Mrs Carson

Mr Hale

We say good luck to Mr Porter who leaves us to teach at a school a little closer to home. Also, goodbye to Miss Hosking and Mrs Hadad who are also leaving us at the end of the year.

We also say goodbye to a number of our Clyde PS families next week. To those families moving to new schools, and also our Year 6 families we thank you for your support over the years and we wish you the best of luck for the future!

On behalf of the staff at Clyde Primary School, we wish all of our students and their families a safe and enjoyable Christmas break, and look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.

As we head into the holiday period, we ask families who live close to the school to keep an eye on the grounds when you are out and about. If you notice anything concerning, please contact the Police Assistance Line on 131 444.

Ms Mackenlay