Principal's Report 

Dear Families, students and staff,

It’s hard to believe, but Term 1 is already coming to a close and the school holidays are just around the corner!

We’ve had a fantastic start to the year, with a strong focus on student learning and growth in the classroom. Alongside this, we’ve enjoyed a number of exciting events that brought our school community together. Our core values of Respect, Responsibility, and Resilience have been clearly visible in everything we’ve done — both in and out of the classroom.

We were delighted to welcome our new Year 7 students at the beginning of the year. They’ve now completed their first full term of high school and are growing in confidence every day — their enthusiasm has been felt right across the school!

As you’ll see in this newsletter, it’s been a busy and rewarding term, with many highlights, including NAPLAN testing and Harmony Week.

Term 1 is also a significant spiritual time for many in our community. To our families observing Ramadan, Ramadan Mubarak, and to those celebrating Easter, Happy Easter.

School Council elections

Congratulations to our new and returning College Council members for the term March 2025 – March 2027. They will join our existing representatives to help shape our school policies and ensure a safe, inclusive, and conducive to learning environment for all.

Family Engagement

Thank you to all the families who attended our recent information evening on Wednesday 26 February. The activity was extremely well attended and attendees gained valuable insights into the upcoming school year. Your involvement in school activities is crucial and shows your child that their education matters.

NAPLAN Testing

Well done to all the Year 7 and 9 students who sat their NAPLAN tests across the last two weeks. Special thanks to Mr Wilson who oversaw the organisation of this assessment program. 

Harmony Week

During Week 8, we celebrated Harmony Week — a time to recognise and honour Australia’s cultural diversity. As one of the most successful multicultural countries in the world, our diversity is a vital part of who we are. It’s important to continue celebrating this richness by fostering inclusion, respect, and a genuine sense of belonging for all Australians — from the traditional custodians of the land to our newest arrivals. 

At Lyndale, we marked this important week with a series of student workshops delivered by our guest presenter, OneLove. These workshops, titled One School, One Community, encouraged students to explore what it means to be an Upstander, not a bystander. Through powerful storytelling and meaningful conversations, our students reflected on how we can continue to build a safe, inclusive community where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued. 

We are proud to be One School, One Community, where our core values of Respect, Responsibility, and Resilience are at the heart of everything we do.

Communication Policy

There are several documents relating to email and other communication at the college between staff, students and parents. The Communication Policy (https://www.mwsc.vic.edu.au/our-college/college-documents/#policies) sets out a number of requirements and expectations.

The Communication Policy focuses on the following:

• Building positive relationships between home and school and the community based on mutual respect and trust that results in success for all students.
• Ensuring the wellbeing of students and improvement of their learning outcomes.

The Communication Policy aims to:

• provide a framework for effective communication
• create co-operative teamwork and partnership between school, parents/carers and students and the community
• assist the best learning outcomes for students
• ensure that the college values are reflected through effective communication

Effective communication encompasses the exchange of ideas, where people feel they have   been heard and their opinions valued, and where information is clear and accurate. Communication needs to be related to student performance, wellbeing, and behaviour, as well as school related issues. Communication should be respectful, timely and relevant, allowing for open and honest interaction.

This policy refers to the following forms of communication:

• voicemail/ telephone conversations
• emails
• official letters
• student planner
• college website
• newsletters
• Compass

All members of our learning community should respond to emails within 3 days. Emails should not be sent or responded to after 8 pm in the evening or on weekends – this applies to emails between students & teachers and teachers and parents.

Engaging with your child's learning

The focus for students at Lyndale Secondary College is to achieve their very best and to continually improve their learning. An important part of this focus is the partnership between school and home, between teacher and parents/carers and student. Parent/student/ teacher interviews play a key role in this partnership where all parties meet to discuss the student’s achievements, progress, and strategies for improvement. 

These will take place week 2 Term 2, Thursday 1 May. Progress reports will be published at the start of Term 2 to facilitate discussions about your child's progress. I encourage you to have positive and productive conversations with your child's teachers and help them set goals for Term 2. 

These interviews provide our students with an important learning experience where they can reflect upon and evaluate their progress and join in partnership with their teacher and parents to plan for ongoing success. For these reasons I recommend everyone is involved in this process. 

If you have any questions or concerns about your child's learning progress, their year level coordinator is your first point of call.

Code of conduct for school students on buses

It is every student's responsibility to behave in a manner that demonstrates our values of respect and responsibility in ensuring the safety and comfort of passengers and drivers. This includes:

Behaving appropriately

• Respect the needs and comfort of other passengers, such as no use of offensive or racist language, fighting, placing feet on seats, throwing things in or from the bus, eating or drinking - except water - unless the bus operator gives written permission.
• Give up seats to all adults and disabled passengers.
• Adhere to the law that bans smoking and vaping on buses.
• Obey reasonable directions from the driver, such as where to sit or to remain in the bus.
• Keep arms, legs and heads inside the bus.
• Refrain from attracting the attention of the driver except in the case of emergency.

Respecting property

• Protect bus property.
• Ensure that buses are not vandalised.
• Report any vandalism, such as graffiti and window etching.

Holding passes

• Tap on using myki when boarding, or when requested.
• Use the myki pass only for its intended purpose.
• Keep your myki pass for your own use - you should not lend your pass to other students or borrow one from them.

End of Term 1 – Start of Term 2

Students will be dismissed at 2.30pm on Friday 4 April and we will look forward to their return for Term 2 on Tuesday 22 April.

Please remember that there will be an ANZAC Day holiday on Friday, April 25th, so there will be no school. Students should check Compass before their first day back for any timetable adjustments. 

Thank you for your ongoing support, and I wish you all a safe and enjoyable school holiday!

Pam Robinson

Principal

Lyndale Secondary College

School Saving Bonus and Camps, Sports and Excursion Funding Reminders

Cut off for applications for Camps, Sports and Excursions Funding are coming soon.

Please make sure, if you are eligible, that you have applied for CSEF by June 20, 2025.

And those that are still yet to access their School Saving Bonus or have credits still left over, you have until June 30, 2025 to use these funds on textbooks and uniform. After this date, your funds will be sent to the College and will be added as a credit against the student's account. 

The funds will no longer be able to be used for textbooks and uniform and will only be able to go towards school activities such as Camps, Sports and Excursions.

If you have any questions or queries about accessing your School Saving Bonus, please contact the SSB Team at the Department of Education on 1800 338 663 or email school.saving.bonus@education.vic.gov.au