Foundation

This year began with students learning to confidently write their own names, and we are so proud of how far they have come. Many are now creating their own imaginative stories! Their enthusiasm during writing time has been inspiring, and their progress is something to be truly celebrated.

Reading has also brought great excitement into our classroom. From discovering new books to read to sharing stories with friends, students have found genuine enjoyment in reading. Their curiosity and love for books have blossomed beautifully.

One of the most rewarding parts of this year has been watching students develop their social and emotional skills. They have learned to share, cooperate, express their feelings, and support one another. Many strong and meaningful friendships have formed, creating a warm and caring classroom community.

As they prepare to venture into Grade One, we know they will carry these skills, achievements, and memories with them. We are confident they are ready for the next step in their educational journey, and we can’t wait to see what they accomplish next.

Thank you for your ongoing support throughout the year. Your partnership has played a significant role in your child’s success.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and all the very best for the year ahead. Enjoy a safe, happy, and restful holiday break.

Mrs Tanya and Mrs Annette.

Year 1 & 2A

What a wonderful year we’ve had in 1/2A!

As we come to the end of 2025, it has been a joy to look back on just how much our students have grown—not only as learners, but as kind, capable members of our Wedderburn College community. This year, our class has developed strong working habits, shown great determination, and built the capacity to include others in every part of our learning journey. We’ve learnt that mistakes matter, that they help our brains grow, and that the power of yet can take us further than we ever imagined.

Our students shared some of their favourite highlights from the year:

Pippa loved all the learning and fun we had together.
Harley enjoyed learning new tricky words and reading new books.
Billy chose swimming as his highlight.
Edward was proud of learning how to do multiplication with Mrs T.
Heath also enjoyed doing multiplication.
Haven felt proud of working hard on writing using the five senses.
Charlie chose the School Fete as a standout moment.
Jack loved playing dodgeball in the steel stadium.
Levi highlighted having fun in P.E.
Bella especially loved when Miss Lockhart came to teach our class.
Piper was proud of making new friends this year.

We also celebrated some major events together. Our Year 1s enjoyed their Late Stay, taking part in fun activities and plenty of laughter together. While Year 2s took on the challenge of the School Sleepover and headed off on a memorable excursion, building independence and confidence along the way.

Across the year, students always had their expected behaviours packed, ready to show their amazingness at any moment—whether during Athletics, Cross Country, Book Week, the Fete, community events, classroom learning, or simply supporting their friends.

It has been a privilege watching every student grow, learn, wonder, create, connect, and shine this year.

Thank you to our families and our wider Wedderburn College community for your support, encouragement, and partnership throughout 2025.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Here’s to a safe, joyful break and a fantastic year that 2026 brings!

Miss Anderson

Year 1 & 2B

Mrs Torney, Classroom Teacher

Year 3/4A

As we reach the end of another terrific school year, we want to take a moment to reflect on just how much our grade 3/4 students have achieved. It has been a year filled with learning, laughter, new friendships, and countless moments of growth. From tackling new maths topics, to diving deeper into reading and writing, working effectively together and celebrating milestone, big and small.

I am incredibly proud of how far they’ve come and the confidence they have built along the way. Thank you to all families for your ongoing support and encouragement throughout the year. It has been a pleasure to work with you in my first year teaching, I appreciate all your help and the success that we have been able to achieve for students.

I wish everyone a safe, happy and restful break. Enjoy the holidays and look forward to seeing you all return refreshed and ready for another exciting 2026!

Events this week:

Monday – Thursday: Swimming lessons
Thursday night: Awards night
Friday: Pool party

Mr Campbell, Classroom Teacher

Year 3/4 B

Wow, it's already the end of the year! We have had some fun times in Term 4. The Grade 3s finished reading The Wild Robot and The Wild Robot Escapes and the Grade 4s finished reading The Wild Robot Escapes and The Wild Robot Protects. Everyone seemed to love these books, which is great to see! We have been exploring physical sciences in Inquiry. We've done some experiments exploring different forces, gravity and friction, magnets, balancing forces and air resistance.

We have had Ms Mclean continue to come in with the Ozobots, where we programmed them to do and say certain things. This was a great experience for our class, and we appreciated Ms Mclean coming in and teaching us how to do this.

We've got an exciting end to the year with our swimming program continuing this week, awards night on Thursday evening and our pool party break up on Friday.

Thank you to all the students and families for your support throughout my first year of teaching. I’ve truly enjoyed the year!

Miss Lockhart, Classroom Teacher

Year 7 2026 Transition Day

Year 6 students enjoyed a fun introduction to Year 7 Science this week by making slime while learning about substances, monomers and polymers. Using PVA glue and a safe slime indicator, they explored how tiny monomers join to form long polymer chains—giving slime its stretchy, gooey properties. A short, hands-on session full of curiosity, with some outside movement, set the stage for an exciting start to Year 7 Science next year.

Miss Graham, Transition Coordinator

STEM

Year 1/2B Bee-Bot Unit

Year 1/2B wrapped up their Bee-Bot learning with a fun “show and tell.” Students demonstrated how they programmed their Bee-Bots, explored sounds, and shared the pathways they created. It was a great way to celebrate their growing confidence with coding and communication!

Ms McLean, STEM Teacher

Year 8

Miss Milne, Mr Pettifer, Mr McCallum and Mr Braybrook

Year 7

Sullivan Steel headed to Fiji to represent Wanderers Australia for the 2025 Hockey Tour for U13/14 boys on the 1st of December. The Wanderers team will be competing against a range of Fijian junior teams at the Suva National Hockey Centre - playing in up to four matches a day. The boys will of course be making time for training, coaching sessions, adventures and tropical island getaways between game days, with an island cruise day planned for the day after arrival. It's certainly an ideal way to prepare for the upcoming winter hockey season, and representing both Wedderburn Redbacks and North West Lightning in his endeavours. Best of luck, Sully!

Miss Graham

Year 9

MY9 Duke of Ed, Bronze Adventure Expedition

Day One.

We arrived at Cohuna, packed our barrels and started canoeing straight away. We canoed for roughly three hours, when we were forced to stop, as the bridge we needed to go under was blocking our path because the water was too high. So we all decided to canoe back to the caravan park where the bus was and set up the tent’s. It was extremely hot so we were allowed to cool off in the pool. We then made dinner, before heading into our tents for bed.

Day Two

As the sun rose everyone began to crawl out of their tents and we made breakfast on our trangia. We had a quick group meeting to check the weather conditions and decide what we would do. With a hot northerly wind we decided to load the canoe’s and head to sheltered area on the Gunbower Creek towards Koondrook. Just as we were leaving Cohuna the fire siren went off, so we parked the bus and had a quick look in the Information Centre, until it was safe to continue our adventure. When we arrived at the creek we got our partners and launched down the canoe ramp. We quickly rafted up, discussed what we were doing and headed off around the canoe trail circuit. We ate lunch in our canoes, and kept paddling further down the creek. Unfortunately, we were forced to turn back because of the gusty northerly wind, which was dangerous due to the heat and huge gum trees on the edge of the bank. So we headed back to Cohuna, again into the pool to cool off, then dinner and got ready for bed.

Day Three.

We awoke and realised our canoe journey had come to an end. We started to pack up our tents, but of course it started to rain, so we had to wait to pack the tents. We loaded the canoes onto the trailer, and waited for Alan to arrive and pick up the trailer. We then headed to Echuca, for the holiday resort. We had a quick look around Echuca, then we all went to the next caravan park. The weather had changed from very hot in the previous two days, to a cooler temp, so the heated pool was just what we needed for a few hours. It wasn’t long before realising we have to get ready for tea. We all got dressed into nice clothes and headed to the Irish Pub for our 101 Parma meal with Mr Forrest. After eating our amazing meals we headed out for ice cream, thanks all to Mr Forrest. We then had an organised night walk with the Echuca Discovery Centre. The walk was full of amazing stories about Echuca, and how the township began.

Day Four.

We packed our bags and headed back into Echuca for a Paddle Steamer ride. Everyone would agree it is much easier travelling by paddle steamer than canoe! We were all very tired, but still thoroughly enjoyed the relaxed cruise up the Murray River. It was then time for home, we had a quick stop at a vintage style lollie shop, and started to head home. On the bus and in the car we listened to music and played Bean Boozle, talking, laughing and having fun on our trip home.

Thank you to Miss Van De Wetering, Miss Piccoli and Mr Forrest for making our final Duke of Edinburgh Canoe Expedition, and Echuca celebration a memorable week.

Year 9 Community Learning Project

On Friday 5 December, Mr Forrest and I had the pleasure of visiting our three exceptional students at the Don Valley Campus. This was a particularly special day for our young leaders as they formally presented their Community Learning Project (CLP). Violet, Nada and Cooper represented Wedderburn College with pride, delivering an impressive presentation that showcased their hard work, initiative, and ambition to create a native garden that will benefit both our community and local birdlife.

Upon arrival, we were warmly welcomed and taken on a guided tour of the campus by Nada and a new friend she has made during her stay. The atmosphere across the campus was filled with excitement as students reconnected with staff from their home schools. It was wonderful to see the growth, confidence and happiness our students have gained throughout their time away.

Following lunch, the CLP presentations commenced. Schools from across the state shared their projects, and we eagerly awaited our students’ turn. After a brief intermission, Violet took to the microphone as MC for the second half of the program. She spoke with confidence and poise before joining her Wedderburn College peers to present their project.

Their pitch began with a symbolic planting of native seedlings, immediately capturing the audience’s attention. From there, they outlined a thoughtful and engaging plan to promote the planting of hardy native species throughout our school and wider community in order to support and enhance local birdlife. Their creativity, teamwork and genuine passion were evident throughout.

Mr Forrest and I were extremely proud of all three students and look forward to supporting them next year as they move into the implementation phase of their project.

We once again congratulate Violet, Nada and Cooper for their outstanding effort and commitment during their nine weeks away. While we are sure they will be sad to leave Don Valley on 13 December, we know they will also be excited to reunite with their families and share the remarkable growth they have achieved.

Miss V.

Miss Van De Wetering and Ms Piccoli, Homeroom and Duke of Ed. Teachers

Year 10

And that’s a wrap for 2025!

Our Year 10s finished the year strong, preparing for VCE with subject selections, final assessments, and Step-Up classes. A number of students will be undertaking a Vocational Major (VM), with work placements, VET, and school-based apprenticeships on the horizon. The others, who are not doing VM, have had a taste of their VCE subjects. While a lot of hard work lies ahead for all students, so does a lot of fun, exciting learning, and all our usual school events, which take on another dimension once you reach the senior end of the school.

We finished the year with a visit to the Zone Fun Park in Bendigo. While Aidan scored the highest kill-count in laser tag, Brea proved herself a sniper with the consistently highest hit percentage. Mr Watson tried his hardest but was smoked again and again by Mr Iser. If he remembers things differently, he should have written this fortnight’s newsletter article.

Hoping everyone has a safe and fun summer break and thanks for a great year!

Mr Iser, Mrs Barker and Mr Watson, Homeroom Teachers

Year 11

What a big year it’s been — packed with unforgettable moments and incredible achievements.

From building programs and 160th celebrations to push-up challenges, Book Week costumes, Kokoda trekking, Structured Workplace Learning, athletics, cross country, and swimming just to name a few, our students have embraced every opportunity with enthusiasm, resilience, and pride. It’s been a year full of highlights, growth, and memories that will last well beyond the classroom

The year was perfectly topped off with Step-Up Week, where students were introduced to their subjects and teachers for next year. The excitement is definitely building as we look ahead to Year 12!

We finally got to head away for our long-awaited camp to Torquay, which was an amazing way to finish the year together. The MasterChef Challenge was a huge success, with the judges treated to some impressive culinary delights — the standard this year was outstanding!

Surfing was another huge highlight, with students taking on some very tough conditions and looking like they’d been surfing for years. The confidence, resilience, and teamwork shown out in the water was fantastic to see.

A big thank you to Mrs Postle and Mr Fowles for their incredible support on camp — and especially to Mrs Postle for bravely taking on (and beating!) the Surf Coast traffic!

It’s been a real privilege working with you all in homeroom this year and seeing your growth and maturity along the way. I wish each of you the very best with your studies next year as you step into your final year of school. Remember the door to Room 19 is always open in the morning (unless I’ve forgotten to unlock it)

Have a fantastic break, enjoy a safe and relaxing Christmas and New Year, and I’ll see you all refreshed and ready to go in 2026.

Mr Gretgrix and Mr Fowles, Homeroom Teachers

School Wide Positive Behaviour Supports - SWPBS