School Leaders Report - Emily Lancashire

It has been a joy to experience the calm, productive energy across the college, with classes now well underway in their first and second units of learning. I would like to sincerely thank our students and families for the supportive way you have embraced the new morning routine changes - it has made a real difference to the start of each day.

This week we marked the beginning of Lent through our Ash Wednesday Liturgy. Looking ahead, next week F-4 students will have the opportunity to participate in our Splash Afternoon while our Year 5 and 6 students will be attending the Swimming Carnival. If your child is in F-4 please ensure they wear their house colours on Monday and bring along a towel or change of clothes for the trip home.

Class Reports

Foundation

PE – Throwing and Catching!

Children discussed the skill and how sometimes it can be tricky and sometimes it can be easy, just like when we learn in other areas like reading and counting. To throw, children focused on a 2 handed, underarm throw that landed in the tummy area of their partner. This gave them a target to aim for. To catch the ball, we talked about clapping our hands. There was a lot of success, after some challenges with ‘too short’ ‘too high’ ‘too low’. But then lots of laughs and squeals as a new skill was built. We will continue to work on this skill, focussing on using balls of all different sizes, and expanding the distance we can throw and hit a target. A good one to practice at home!

- Kara McCann

Shrove Tuesday

The Foundation children enjoyed eating Pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. Shrove Tuesday is a special day that happens the day before Ash Wednesday, which is the start of Lent in the Christian calendar. Many people call it Pancake Day because long ago, families used up foods like eggs, sugar, and butter before Lent. Lent was a time when people would try to eat more simply or give up special treats. They cooked pancakes to use up those ingredients. “Shrove” comes from the old word “shrive,” which means to ask forgiveness or to prepare your heart. It was a day for people to think about how they could be kinder, better, and more thoughtful.

Literacy

Foundation students have started to take home books to read. They will change them weekly and we encourage parents and carers to read these to the children and talk about the pictures, words, letters and sounds in the text. There is also a reading diary that we ask parents and carers to please fill in.

Numeracy

Students have begun the topic of TIME. The students have been learning about the different times of the day – Morning, Lunchtime, Afternoon and Night-time- and what activities they do at these times. The students have begun to learn the days of the week.

Year 2

Year 2 has had a wonderful and busy start to the term! In Literacy, we have begun exploring informative texts. We are using a Kookaburra text to identify the key features of information reports. We have continued learning about nouns and different types of nouns to strengthen our grammar knowledge. Our class storybook, Willy the Wimp has sparked meaningful discussion about kindness, resilience and standing up for others.

In Maths, we have completed our first unit on place value and are now beginning our learning about time. We have loved using the clock faces we designed ourselves to create and demonstrate different times. Its been great to see the student enthusiasm and hands on engagement.

In Religion, we have wrapped up our unit on Scripture and are now beginning Lent. We have also completed our first Humanities unit on Technology and are looking forward to beginning our new topic on Important Places next week. In RRRR, we have loved meeting Wibbly and working together to develop stress management strategies. Students are building their understanding of emotions and learning helping tools to support their wellbeing.

Its been a fantastic start to the year and we are so proud of the effort and enthusiasm Year 2 continues to show in their learning!

Year 3

In Year 3, we have been loving our novel study of Matilda! We are learning all about the characters, sharing our ideas, and discovering lots of new and interesting words. We enjoy talking about the story and what we think might happen next.

In Maths, we have been learning about place value and how numbers work. We have also started using addition and subtraction strategies to help us solve problems and become confident mathematicians.

In Connections, we are exploring Humanities and learning about what a community is, the importance of rules in communities and comparing how past and present communities have evolved over time and why.

Year 4

In Year 4 Ryleigh this week, we have been getting to know each other after Ryleigh’s return from parental leave. Some great connections and stories have been shared, and we can’t wait for that to continue. We thank Eliza for taking time out of her wellbeing role to make this possible and give our Year 4’s a great start to 2026! She will still be with us on Wednesdays.

Our look into the Winter Olympics continued this week with students getting into groups to create their own winter Olympic event. Weather they combined two existing events or started from scratch, their critical thinking, problem solving, communication and collaboration skill have been on display with many fantastic ideas. These will be finalised and presented in the coming weeks.

Year 5

The Grade 5 students have made a fantastic start to the term, settling back into routine and demonstrating a strong commitment to their learning. With both Grade 5 classes working closely together, students should be very proud of the way they have collaborated respectfully and productively in shared spaces.

In English, we are continuing our class novel War Horse, using the text to deepen our understanding of narrative structure and how authors build character, setting and tension. In Mathematics, we have recently completed our unit on data representation and have now moved into exploring Factors and Multiples, where students are developing their problem-solving skills and mathematical reasoning.

Our Humanities unit has been a highlight, with a focus on safety through the context of the Winter Olympics. Students are designing their own 3D Winter Olympian and planning appropriate safety gear based on their chosen sport. This has encouraged creativity while reinforcing the importance of risk awareness and protective equipment.

In Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships (RRRR), students are building their ability to recognise, understand and respond to their own emotions and the emotions of others. These discussions have been valuable in helping students appreciate that emotions can be expressed in different ways depending on the individual and their situation.

Overall, it has been a positive and productive start, and we look forward to continuing to build on this strong foundation throughout the term.

Year 6

The Year 6 students continue to show a strong commitment to their learning and leadership within our classroom and across the school. It has been wonderful to see the maturity and responsibility they are beginning to demonstrate, particularly as they embrace new opportunities and roles within the school community.

In Numeracy, students have successfully completed their learning on data and have now begun exploring multiples and factors, developing their understanding of number patterns and relationships.

In Literacy, we are continuing to strengthen our persuasive writing skills, with a focus on spelling accuracy and sentence structure, while also moving deeper into our novel study of A Ghost in My Suitcase through discussion and recounting and prediction.

In Humanities, our focus has shifted from school expectations to safety, leading into investigations of safety equipment and tools used in the Winter Olympics.

Outside the classroom, our Year 6 students have been assigned their Foundation buddies and are beginning to build meaningful connections while developing their sense of responsibility as leaders. Several students have also represented our class in whole-school events, participating in roles during our Liturgy and Ash Wednesday celebration. These leadership opportunities will continue to be shared between more students as we grow together as a Year 6 cohort.

Year 6 Polo Shirts

Today is the deadline for shirts to be dropped off at the College for printing. If you have not provided us with a new shirt, please contact the office immediately to discuss arrangements.

Specialist

Performing Arts

This term, our focus is on how we present ourselves to others and the impact this can have on our communication. We have explored the importance of speaking clearly, using confident body language, making eye contact and being mindful of our tone.

As part of this learning, students have been developing their microphone skills. They have been practising how to hold a microphone correctly, project their voice, adjust their pace, and speak with clarity and expression. It has been wonderful to see their confidence grow as they step up to speak in front of their peers.

-Learning Mentor Ellie Phillips

Reminders:

Annual General Permission

If you haven't already done so, please ensure you have completed the Annual General Permission on SIMON via the Connect Field. It is imperative this is completed in order for your student/s to attend important excursions throughout the school year.

Swimming Carnival 2026 (Year 5&6)

Please refer to the information sheet below if you have a student/s in Year 5 and 6.

Opening the Doors Foundation - Student Grant applications are open!

The Opening The Doors Foundation (OTDF) invites eligible families to apply for a 2026 student grant. Grant applications are currently open and close on 2 April 2026.

The Foundation prioritises students with the highest financial need to ensure fair access to support. Applicants with a Health Care Card or Pension Card will be processed first. Other applications are still welcome however processing may be slightly delayed.

Please attach a copy of your Health Care or Pension Card to your online application.
Missing documents will delay processing.

All applications must be submitted online via the OTDF Grant Portal.

🎒 Items you can apply for from OTDF:

School books & stationery
School uniforms
One pair of shoes (school or sport shoes)
IT equipment (laptops, calculators, etc.)
VCAL/VET levies
School camp costs

⚠️ Funding is up to the OTDF grant limit and up to OTDF Trustee discretion. You may not receive the full amount requested.

🚫 What We Don’t Fund

Independent school fees (families are responsible for paying private school fees and levies)
Applications where OTDF funds are used for school fees may affect future eligibility.

⚖️ Other Funding

If the student is already receiving support from:

Traditional Owner education grants
First Nations scholarships
Other charities
School financial assistance

The application may not be successful. Final decisions are made by OTDF Trustees.

✅ Eligibility

To apply, the student must:

✔️ Be of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent

✔️ Provide a Confirmation of Aboriginality

✔️ Be enrolled in a Catholic or Independent school in Victoria (Prep–Year 12)

❌ OTDF does not support students attending government schools

🎟️ How Grants Are Provided

Grants are mostly provided as vouchers from approved suppliers
Vouchers must be used by 31 May 2026
For camp levies, school uniforms, or school IT items, funds may be sent directly to the school if the school supplies these items

📅 Key Dates

* Applications Open - 10 November 2025

* Applications Close - 2 April 2026 (strict deadline)

* ALL Vouchers expire on - 31 May 2026

Apply here!

Parents/carers are reminded there is a very important process to follow if your student must leave the college at any time throughout school hours. Please ensure you follow these steps:

Parents/carers MUST provide a note to the front office, at the start of the school day, stating the following:

- Student Name

- Date of leave required

- The time the student must present to reception to take their leave

- If they will return to the college the same day, and if so what time they will return

- The reason for the leave being requested

- The parent/carer’s name and signature

Please note, students will only be permitted to be collected by their parent/carer unexpectedly and without a note if it is an emergency.

We remind all that the college opens at 8:30am. This enables educators time to prepare for their day ahead. We appreciate your support in helping our educators be successful. Yard duty staff begin at 8:30am to monitor play spaces before the school day begins at 8:55am.

Upcoming Dates

Please refer to the calendar on PAM for upcoming dates for activities and events.

Around the College

Opening Liturgy & Year 12 Students & College Leaders Badge Presentation

Shepparton Apology Breakfast

Shrove Tuesday

Ash Wednesday