From the Principal 

Elissa Campbell

Dear Families

Welcome back for the final term of 2025, we hope all students were able to have a restorative break and are ready for all that Term 4 has to offer. Our teachers have worked hard to plan an engaging term of learning and activities.

Whole School Performance

Mr Bromley has been working hard with students in all year levels to prepare for our bi-annual whole school performance. This year we will be doing it a little bit differently to how we have in the past with three separate performance sessions planned. The Year 1-Year 3’s, the Year 4-6’s and the Foundation students on their own. More information will be shared with families soon so that you are all able to lock in these important dates into your calendars. We are looking forward to seeing our students shine with the entertaining performances that Mr Bromley has been working hard to perfect.

Transition

During Term 4 our teams spend a lot of time preparing our students for the transition into new year levels and classes. Next week our Year 3 students will be spending some time out at Carlsruhe, beginning to familiarise themselves with what a day in the life at Carlsruhe is like. Over the next few weeks our Year 6 students will be attending orientation days and a network transition event and we will begin to welcome our new Foundation students and their families.

We are aware that students can struggle during periods of change and we will be working hard to provide them with as much support as possible to reduce any anxiety/worries that they may have. Please be aware that as a school we work hard to find the best fit for all students in terms of class placements and we consider many elements including academics, social and emotional needs. I will send out information about classroom placement and requests next week.

Emergency Management Planning

Each year our school updates our Emergency Management plan for a range of hazards, such as bushfire/grass fire, severe weather, medical emergencies, building fires, intruders, etc. We develop specific response procedures to address these risks. 

Our school is considered at risk of bushfire or grassfire. We are Category 3 on the Bushfire At-Risk Register/Category 4 List. Our school will close on days of Catastrophic fire danger in the Central weather district. On days identified as High or Extreme fire danger students who attend classes at our Carlsruhe campus will remain onsite at the main campus. The Country Fire Authority also has more information for schools at risk of fire: https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/schools.

We also conduct drills regularly, ensuring that our core procedures of on-site and off-site evacuation, sheltering-in-place, and lockdown/lockouts are well-rehearsed and understood by staff and students. So far this year students have participated in one of these drills each term and this term we will hold an offsite evacuation drill.

If we enact our emergency management plan, we will notify you by a Compass notification with updates on our actions. If there is anything we need you to do, we will let you know. Please do not come to the school unless directed to do so, as you may put yourself and others in danger. In the event of an emergency that impacts telecommunications, we will endeavour to update you by email or Compass. During an emergency, the school will work closely with emergency services to get specific advice to keep our community safe. Additionally, the Department of Education has dedicated emergency management staff to help monitor the situation and provide additional support to schools during emergencies. If you have any questions about our school’s emergency management plan, please contact us at (03) 5427 2455. Please be assured our top priority is the safety of our students and the school community.

Semester 2 Reporting

Our teachers will be working on completing student Semester 2 assessment and reporting over the term, please note that if a teacher has concerns about your child’s progress they will make contact with you prior to reports being sent home at the end of the term. Student support group meetings will be organised where appropriate. If you have any questions or concerns that you need to speak to your classroom teacher about please ensure you make contact with your child’s teacher to discuss.

Disabled Parking

Just a reminder to all members of our community that as a school we do not currently have a car park, however we do have one clearly identified Disabled park outside of the portables on Owen Street. Please be aware that this park is only for people with disability parking permits and the council and local police do patrol and issue fines if you are caught parking in this spot without the appropriate permit.

Ramp Works

Many of you will have noticed that our ramp works have continued over the holiday break, with the front main entrance on High street being closed off at the moment. Yesterday we were informed that unfortunately the temporary fencing will remain in place for at least another two weeks. During this time we encourage all our students and families to utilise the driveway entry around the corner on Owen street, to access the front of the school grounds. Please ensure you encourage your children to use the appropriate entries to the school grounds.

We are looking forward to another great term of learning.

Principal

Elissa Campbell