Assistant Principal's report

Early arrivals

With the arrival of warmer weather, children love meeting their friends before school to have a play. Please remember that students are not allowed to play in the school grounds before 8.45am as there is no supervision until this time. Especially at the moment, we do have tradespeople and their vehicles moving around the school outside of school hours (we arrange this specifically as it is the safest time) so we must insist that students come to wait at the office when they arrive earlier than 8.45am. Thank you for your help with this. 

Kalinda Giving Tree

From 2nd-16th December, we will be collecting toys and gifts under our Kalinda Giving Tree in the school foyer. 

These donations will be collected by the wonderful people at Uniting who support local families experiencing homelessness, poverty and economic disadvantage. You can read more about their work here. If your child would like to contribute to our collection, please consider helping them to select a small unwrapped and unused gift to place under our tree. 

I wanted to give families plenty of notice in case you would like to contribute. There is of course no expectation to participate in our donation drive. I have attached a flyer below from Uniting which outlines the sorts of gifts most appreciated at Christmas. Donations can be brought any time from 2nd December and will be collected by Uniting on Monday 16th December. 

Supporting our families

A message from our Business Manager Melissa O'Rorke.

As we approach the festive season, we recognise that this time of year can be particularly challenging for many families. At Kalinda, we believe in the strength of our community and the power of coming together to support one another.

To assist families during these difficult times, we have several resources available:

• $400 School Saving Bonus: This government bonus is designed to help ease the financial burden of 2025 school-related expenses.
• Help with Uniform Costs: We offer support to ensure that every student has access to the necessary school uniforms.
• Camps, Sports, and Excursion Fund: Families with Health Care Cards can access this fund to help cover the costs of school camps, sports, and excursions.
• Food Hampers: We provide food hampers to families in need, ensuring that everyone has access to essential groceries.
• Smile Squad: Free dental care for students.

We understand that accepting help can sometimes be difficult, but we want to assure you that there are many ways to give back in kind. We certainly do not expect anything in return for any support we provide but also remind you of the following opportunities: 

• Finding a Red/White/Green Shirt: Instead of shopping for a gift for the Kalinda Giving Tree,  consider finding a red, white, or green shirt at home ready for Carols Night.
• Volunteering: Spend some time at school during our volunteer working bee week. Your time and effort are invaluable to our community.

We encourage you to reach out and see how we can help. Whether you need assistance or want to offer your support, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Together, we can make this season a little brighter for everyone.  Requests for support will be handled confidentially.  Please email Melissa.Ororke@education.vic.gov.au or lauren.hopkins@education.vic.gov.au 

Take care Kalinda, you matter to me. 

Lauren Hopkins

We are kind. We are resilient. We are respectful.