Acting Principal's 

News Flash 

Hello everyone!

Being Week 10, our students are eager and ready for their 2-week break. They have engaged well with their classroom teams and I expect that they are keen for a nice rest with the family.

The latest at JSA:

Easter Raffle

On Monday, the fundraising sub committee drew our winners for the Easter Raffle. 

The lucky winners were:

• 1st Prize - Vincent (Room 23)

• 2nd Prize - Darcy (Room 3)

• 3rd Prize - Hunter (Room 26)

• 4th Prize - Matthew (Room 26)

• 5th Prize - Roksanna (Room 21)

The Fundraising sub committee were grateful for your support in buying these tickets to raise further funds for our new lighting equipment for our Yaluk Gym. A great community effort!

Cultural Calendar Events

Thanks to Karla and our Student Engagement Team, our Term 1 Cultural Calendar events are underway. Our Harmony Day and Ramadan Parade were a big success.Enjoy the photos attached.

This week,our inaugural community event, Jacanarama Walk for Autism was held in Playground 6. It was great to see that so many staff, students and their families purchased their t-shirts for the day. It was also wonderful to see our families there walking along with their children and enjoying a sausage thereafter.  Do enjoy the photos we have to share.

In addition this week, our in-house Easter Hat Parade will be held on Thursday. 

School Council Update

School Council met for both our AGM and their scheduled monthly meeting last Thursday. After our meetings, we are pleased to announce our new School Council Office Bearers for 2026:

• School Council President - Chris Ernst

• School Council Vice President - Andrew McDonough

• School Council Treasurer - Mark Mansfield

We are confident that Chris, Andrew and Mark will work with me, as Acting Principal, to lead the vision and ongoing operations of the school moving ahead. We are in very good hands indeed.

Please note that we still have 2 vacancies on our school council (as listed below):

• Casual Parent Representative

• 2 x Community Representatives (non parent/carer/non DE representatives)

If you are interested in joining us, please make this known with our admin team at school and we will be able to provide a nomination for you to complete. These are great opportunities for you to understand and be a part of supporting the school's vision now and into the future.

Recent Policy updates endorsed by our School Council include:

• Personal Property Policy

• Asset Management Policy

• Cash Handling Policy

• EFTPOS/QKR Policy

• Financial Administration Policy

• Fundraising Policy

• Gifts, Benefits & Hospitality Policy

• Community Hire & Licensing Policy

• Internet Banking Policy

• Petty Cash Policy (N/A at JSA given that we do not hold petty cash)

• Purchasing Card Policy

• Sponsorship Policy

• CCTV Policy

• School Social Media Policy

• NDIS Funded Therapy in Schools Policy

All revised policies are accessible via our JSA School Website.

This year's school theme is:

'Sustaining inclusive practices to enhance learning and wellbeing'

We believe that we can achieve this for your child by 'strengthening our evidence based practices, where your children will be engaged and thriving in their learning.'

2026 marks the final year of our 4-year strategic plan. We endeavour to prioritise the key systems of practice that impact your children's learning: a positive learning environment, access to explicit teaching and planned adjustments for all of our children with an ASD diagnosis. After all, these specialised practices are what we, as a school for autism, are renowned for and insist upon.

2026 School Council 

We are pleased to announce the following parent representatives nominated for 2026-2028:

• Chris Ernst

• Mark Mansfield 

• Savana Bahjat

   

You have been successful in now being appointed as Councillors for the next 2 years.

As you can see, we have one further Casual Parent Vacancy from March 2026 to March 2027. If you are interested in nominating yourself for this role, please come and request a form to register your nomination at our admin office.

We also have two further Community Member Vacancies for any non-parent/carers. For example, if your child has any other family members, i.e. uncles, aunts or grandparents who might like to join our School Council, please also come and request a form to register your nomination at our admin office.

Communication with Staff Policy (Revised 12 December for 2026)

Jacana School for Autism understands the importance of providing helpful and timely responses to common enquiries from parents and carers. To ensure that members of our school community are directed to the most appropriate person to assist them, the information below outlines key contacts for common queries: 

• to report a student absence, please text the Student Absence Line on 0439 114 197

• to report any urgent issues relating to a student on a particular day, please contact the general office on 9309 6258 

• to discuss a student’s academic progress, health or wellbeing, please contact your child’s classroom teacher/ sub school leader. 

• Primary Sub School Leader:  Zoe Pirotta | zoe.pirotta2@education.vic.gov.au

• Middle Years Sub School Leader: Stefania Mantinioti | stefania.mantinioti@education.vic.gov.au
• Secondary Sub School Leader: Amelia Frantz | amelia.frantz@education.vic.gov.au
• Senior Secondary Sub School Leader: Sean Procko | sean.procko@education.vic.gov.au

• For enquiries regarding camps and excursions, please contact your child’s classroom teacher. 

• to make a complaint, please contact the Acting Principal/Assistant Principals on 

  9309 6258. 

  • Acting Principal: 

    Daniel Moloney | daniel.moloney@education.vic.gov.au

  • Assistant Principal [Inclusion and Wellbeing] : 

    Stephanie Torchia | stephanie.torchia@education.vic.gov.au

  • Assistant Principal [Teaching and Learning]:
  • Ellen Paterson | ellen.paterson@education.vic.gov.au

Please also refer to our Complaints Policy, available on the school website:

https://www.jacanaschoolforautism.vic.edu.au/policies/management/

• to report a potential hazard or incident on the school site, please contact:

  OHS Manager Nominee 

  Mary Boutros on 9309 6258 or mary.boutros@education.vic.gov.au

• for parent payments, please contact the general office on 9309 6258

• for all other enquiries, please contact our Office on 9309 6258 

School staff will do their best to respond to general queries as soon as possible and ask that you allow us 2-3 working days to provide you with a detailed response. We will endeavour to respond to urgent matters within 24 hours where possible. 

Unwell students

If your child is presenting with cold and flu like symptoms we kindly ask families to keep your child at home if they are experiencing symptoms. 

Each morning when students are getting ready for school, I ask that you be mindful of how your child is presenting.  If they/he/she is feeling/looking/acting unusual or is complaining of being unwell please take them to the doctor. Minimising the cross-infection will assist in reducing the risk of spreading bugs and viruses.

All student absences can be made through the dedicated student absence notification number. Text the student's name, room number and reason for absence.

Make sure you have the student absence notification number saved in your contacts: 

Student Absence Line: 0439 114 197

Reminder: Our newsletter is published each fortnight and will provide you with important information about the school and events that may be of interest to you. I encourage you to read the newsletter that will be sent home via your home email, on the school's Facebook and Instagram Page, Seesaw or on the school's website. 

JSA also has a Facebook and Instagram Page. Please like and follow our pages.

https://www.facebook.com/JacanaSchoolforAutism

https://www.instagram.com/jacana.school/

School Website 

https://www.jacanaschoolforautism.vic.edu.au/