Dear Parents and Carers,

Happy New Year and welcome to 2026! I trust that everyone had a lovely break and is feeling enthusiastic for the year ahead.

Firstly, I would like to recognise that there were members of our Seymour College community and beyond that were either impacted directly or indirectly by the Longwood fire. This has been a difficult time for everyone involved and my thoughts go out to you all. If Seymour College can support you in any way, please let me know.

I'd like to extend a warm welcome to the following new staff members at Seymour College:

Jayde Male, Lynette Watson, Holly Bender, Georgia Sandwell, Taryn Young, Hina Hussain and Jacquie La Fontaine.

Also, congratulations to Jaimee-Lee Tobin and Sarah Douglas, who have been appointed to Assistant Principal positions for 2026. Sarah will continue to work with Year 7-10 students as a Campus Manager and will be responsible for Positive Behaviour across the secondary sector. Jaimee will continue her work in whole school inclusion and coordinate the wellbeing team.

We are excited to have them on board. I would also like to warmly welcome back all of our fantastic returning staff members and wish everyone a successful and rewarding year ahead.

This year, Year 7 and Year 10 students will receive their new laptops, and many of our students will have the opportunity to participate in various excursions, sporting events and camps. We look forward to the upcoming House Swimming Sports Carnival, the Year 7 Rubicon Camp, and the Year 9 Campaspe Downs Camp.

At the Australia Day event held in Seymour on Monday, 26 January, Seymour College students Sam Quigg and Max Chetcuti were both named Young Citizens of the Year. In 2025, they led the Vietnam Veterans’ Day service in Seymour. Their efforts not only revived a cherished community service, but they also captured national attention. The Greatest Generation Foundation in the United States was so moved by their involvement that both students, along with their mentors and four local veterans, have been invited on a 14-day journey to Vietnam.

Congratulations to Sam and Max on their award – so well deserved, and we are very proud of you both!

On Tuesday 3rd February we were delighted to be presented with our Variety Sunshine Coach. Thank you to Variety - the Children's Charity, which supports kids living with disabilities and illnesses, or experiencing disadvantage. Their work enables children to gain mobility, get out and about in the community, communicate, achieve independence, and increase their self-esteem.

We were so fortunate to be selected for a Variety Sunshine Coach. It will be life-changing, giving our students access to programs such as swimming, RDA, community excursions, and transportation to our agriculture block. This bus will ensure all Seymour College students can engage, participate, and thrive through richer, real-world learning opportunities.

Thank you again, Vatiety - our students are so excited to have this luxurious transportation!

We take great pleasure in celebrating our former students and following their career paths. Please see Tom Garner's journey below.

Cyber Incident at Victorian government schools

I am informing you of a cyber incident that impacted some student data across all Victorian government schools in January.

What has been accessed

A Department of Education database with current and past student information was accessed by an external third-party.

The third-party accessed active and inactive past school student accounts, consisting of:

student name
school-issued email address and encrypted password (for those that use them)
school name
year level

The third-party did not access other student data such as birth dates, home addresses or phone numbers.

Your child’s safety

The safety and wellbeing of students is our priority.

If you have safety concerns about your child’s school location being known, please contact me and notify Victoria Police or The Orange Door as necessary.

For secondary school students

The department has protections in place for student email accounts which are used by our secondary students. However, you may wish to remind your child not to respond to unexpected or unknown emails.

What’s happened to the accessed data?

There is no evidence to suggest that the data accessed has been released publicly or shared with other third parties.

Steps we are taking

All student passwords have been reset. This means students are unable to access their school accounts. New passwords will be issued to VCE students as a priority. All other students will be issued a new password at the start of the school year.

The department has identified the cause of this incident and has put protections in place. They will continue to provide me with updates as we enter the 2026 school year.

If you wish to speak with someone from the Department of Education about this, please call 1800 338 663. As always we are ready to support your family in any way.

Best regards,

Debbie Oliver

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