Principal's Message

Jackson School is a collaborative learning community for all. We aim to develop independence through safety, respect and responsibility. We aspire to offer authentic, quality educational experiences that develop futures, create opportunities and inspire student potential; enabling our students to be valued and contributing members of the wider community. We share and celebrate our successes and achievements.   

The Issue Highlights

• Welcome Back!
• Staff Goodbyes
• Jackson Canteen and Tuckshop - Revised Menu
• Lunchbox Ice Pack Reminder for Summer
• The Mighty Trek
• Changes to Digital Device Use
• Showcase of students' learning from across the school in Primary and Secondary
• Health and Wellbeing information to support you and your child.
• Community news including from Jackson OSHC provider TheirCare.
• School Dates -For the most up-to-date calendar dates, always refer to the Xuno Calendar in your Parent Portal.

Dear Families,

Welcome Back to Term 4!

I hope you all have a good holiday as a family. I was able to take some long service leave to go to Bali as a family. We have had a positive start to the term over the last two weeks.

We have much to look forward to in Term 4, including: Melbourne Cup long weekend (Curriculum Day for Report Writing); Values Week where we celebrate Russ Jackson Day by displaying our school values and the 8 Employability Skills; The Art & Design Show; Staff Wellbeing Week; the Year 6 and 12 Graduations; Water Play Day; finishing with our Concert in the Courtyard and the final the Achievement Assembly. The last day for students will be Wednesday, 18th December. Thursday, 19th December, is our last Curriculum Day focused on transition, with time allocated to share our students' Jackson Learner Profiles and other important plans and documents to set them up for success in 2026.

Staffing

This term, we say goodbye to Rohan and Nathan at the end of week 2. Rohan has secured an ongoing position at Parkville College. Nathan has taken an opportunity to work at Craigieburn Primary School. We thank you both for your contribution to our students and the community and wish you all the very best for the future.

We welcome back Belinda and Cody. Belinda will be delivering our Play Program for Term 4. Jess N and Sabiha will now be the class teachers in 3/4C. Bhavaani will be supporting with Teacher Referral/Vineland/DI Cover for Term 4. Cody will be supporting the VPC team. 

Jackson Canteen & Tuckshop

This week was our first week of the Canteen and Tuckshop. Thank you to all families who purchased something this week. This was a successful start and will continue every Wednesday for students. Fresh salad rolls, hot foods, and bakery treats will be provided by St. Alban's Hot Bread Bakery each week. Please note that a $0.29 fee applies per order.

Click below to view the final Term 4 2025 menu. Please note some of the prices have changed slightly. We have rectified the issues some families experienced if they didn't want their child to have tomato sauce.

Please use the Flexischool app for families and staff to place lunch orders from the Jackson Canteen and/or Tuck Shop. This means that you will be able to order and pay for items from our school without needing to pay cash or visit in person. 

To create an account with Flexischools so that you can order and make payments for our school, you can download the Flexischools app from the Apple App Store or Google Store and follow the prompts to create an account. Account set-up and online ordering instructions are available from Flexischools here. If you already have a Flexischools account for another family member, just select the Profile icon on the app and +Add yourself as a "New Student".

The Flexischool app also offers FLX prepaid Mastercard for student use in shops and online, but not at ATMs. These also allow families to gift ongoing pocket money to students and support students in saving for future purchases. The annual fee $25, which is cheaper than competitors like Spriggy. Our Learning SIT are working with our Maths Consultants to embed the use of EFTPOS and online banking into our curriculum. 

Lunchbox Ice Pack Reminder for Summer

Students are encouraged to bring store their lunches inside the classroom; particularly where they have an outside locker.  This is to increase student independence and for food safety. We unfortunately do not have provision to refrigerate or heat student lunches at school. Please consider this when packing your child's lunchbox (deli meats/chicken/fish/dairy/salads/leftover rice or pasta). We also recommend you place an ice block in your child's lunch box. These are readily available at local supermarkets from $2. We recommend the MontiiCo brand as these last up to 8 hours. Failing this you can use a wrapped frozen water bottle.

The Mighty Trek - Monday 20th October 2025

Please register and donate by scanning the QR Code above or visit www.themightytrek.org.au 

Life’s Little Treasures Foundation is a charity that supports families across Australia who have had a premature or sick baby. I know this is a charity close to many of our families hearts. 

This year they are celebrating their 20th anniversary and they’re building on their flagship Walk for Prems fundraiser by introducing The Mighty Trek Challenge.. The challenge will push an incubator 900km in 20 locations from Sydney to Melbourne. The organisation has chosen Jackson School as one of those locations. Jackson School has been invited to take part in this Mighty Walk due to our close proximity to Joan Kirner Hospital, the fact that some students with disabilities are likely to have been born prematurely and that we have a running track! This event will take place inside the school grounds around our track.

There will be fun and games as well as music, and students will come out in grade cohorts to take part in pushing the incubator around the track up to 20 times. Families are welcome to attend but please note that your child’s class will only be involved for the allocated time which is outlined on the flyer.

Please note that students will not push the incubator but be part of the group doing so. 

For more information about the organisation and the walk please click on the link below:

Walk for Prems

See the link below to watch the incubator being pushed across Sydney Harbour Bridge:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPTYLYsEYBK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Changes to Digital Device Use

As you may have seen in the media this week, from 2027 the Victorian Government is introducing changes to the use of digital devices for students from Prep to Grade 6. 

Under the new guidelines, schools:

• will no longer invite families to purchase or bring their own digital devices to use at school for Prep to Grade 6
• will follow new recommended digital device times, including minimal device time for Prep to Grade 2; and a maximum of 90 minutes per day for grades 3 to 6.

These changes are intended to support families by reducing cost-of-living pressures. They will also support students by reducing screen-time which can reduce the risk of eye strain, sedentary behaviour, and reduced peer interaction. These reforms complement Victoria’s nation-leading mobile phone restrictions, ensuring an integrated approach to addressing digital distraction and the inappropriate use of technology.

As you know, we already provide school-owned digital devices for student learning, so there is no impact on our school’s BYOD programs. 

Students with disability who use a digital device as a reasonable adjustment are exempt from these changes. This includes where students use a communication device or for regulation on the SDTP school buses. 

You can read more about the changes on the department’s website: Digital Learning: Policy.

Please also find below an article from the eSafety Commissioner on managing screen time: https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/issues-and-advice/screen-time. 

I hope you have a lovely weekend!

Anthony