Student Achievement: Australian Volleyball Tour to Japan

Congratulations to Kennedy Cesari-Ford (Year 11, Everard House) who recently travelled to Japan representing Australia. Kennedy’s recollections are below:

“Recently, I went on an Australian volleyball tour to Japan. For two weeks, we trained extensively, learning and adapting to a different style of play. The competition was extremely tough, but I personally learnt so much, and I’m so grateful to have been given such an incredible opportunity.

We played against a range of teams—from younger high school groups to university-level squads—all of whom showed amazing discipline and hard work during the games.

Experiencing the Japanese style of volleyball was incredible. It taught me a lot and really motivated me to train as hard as I can and keep pushing myself to improve my skills!

Outside of the games, we also had the chance to explore Japan during our limited days off. It’s such a beautiful country, and the people were all so polite and welcoming.

I’m beyond grateful to have been selected for this opportunity, and I’m bringing everything I’ve learnt back home. I’ll keep working as hard as I can to prove myself as an athlete and be the best I can be for my team.”

What an amazing experience and the learning that Kennedy speaks of will set her up to excel as she progressed with the sport. Congratulations!

GENERATIONS IN JAZZ 2025

Congratulations to our Stage Band, Jazz Band & Big Band musicians who attended the Generations in Jazz National Stage Band Awards on the 2 - 4 May in Mount Gambier. There were 4500 musicians, hundreds of ensembles, and five different divisions of Bands and Choirs that performed as part of the Festival, making it a truly national competition.

This is the first time since 2019 that our Big Band has played at the Festival. They performed in Division 5, a non-adjudicated section designed for younger bands either playing at their first festival or have larger instrumentation than a standard Band. It was a great experience for our younger students in our Music Program to attend the Festival and see what is possible in the future as they progress into their senior years.

Special mention to the following students who were selected for the Generations in Jazz Super Bands. The Super Bands are formed from the most outstanding performers across all schools in each division during the Festival.

Kyhan Douglas-Dwyer (Year 10, Pakana House) was selected on Tenor Saxophone 2 for the Division 2 Super Band.

Angus Jewell (Year 11, Pakana House) was selected on Alto Saxophone 1 for the Division 4 Super Band.

Ethan Burkitt (Year 9, Toner House) was selected on Bass for the Division 4 Super Band.

Congratulations to the Jazz Band and their Director Brent Mills, who placed 3rd in Division 4.2

This is an amazing opportunity for our young musicians and I take this opportunity to thank all our staff who took time out of their own families and weekends to provide this amazing experience for our students. I know that our students are very grateful.

New School Crossing Withers Way/Susan Street

You will remember from the last edition of this newsletter, that over the term break a great deal of work took place to develop the new pedestrian crossing at the Withers Way/Susan Street “T” intersection.

The new crossing is a welcomed change for the safety of our students who are using the crossing well and as intended. However, it is important for all of us to realise that with the new development there have been changes to the traffic condition and traffic flow in this area.

I ask that you all familiarise yourselves with these and take note of any new signage in the area indicating traffic direction and flow. In particular take note of any “STOP” and “Give Way” signs and follow through with the expected road rules around pedestrian crossings. Getting this right is the last step in ensuring that our young people remain safe when crossing this highly travelled path.

Parking in school Quadrangle

Whilst parking in empty parking bays in the front quadrangle of the school is quite acceptable if you are visiting the school during the day, I would like to draw to your attention that close to the exit of the driveway there are 4 parking spots designated for use by the Wildcats Basketball Club staff. Some of their staff come and go at various times throughout the day and are entitled to park in their designated spots. As such can I ask you to ensure that you do not park in these allocated bays. If there are no other parking bays free, please drive out of the quadrangle and park elsewhere. I remind you that during the day between 10:00am and 2:00 pm you can park along the curb outside the front entrance to the school

I thank you for your support with this.

STEAM CENTRE Development

The building of our new STEAM Centre is well on its way and meeting the scheduled timeframe. All the groundwork will be completed across the next couple of weeks, and the laying of the concrete slab will follow. Watching work progress is quite satisfying.

I want to acknowledge the patience and understanding of our neighbours. When building works such as this take place in a school, there is always a little upheaval until the program gets well into gear and processes become normalized. It is during this initial stage that the work impacts greatly on everyone, especially our neighbours. So, I want to thank them for pointing out inconsistencies with the expectation of work displayed by some of the contractors associated with our builders. These have all been addressed. Furthermore, I am hoping that the Victorian School Building Authority will do a further letterbox drop informing our neighbours of the timeline for the work across the year. We want to work with our neighbours and address any of their concerns to the best we can.

Reminders

Staff Work Hours:

Parents/carers and students are reminded that regular work hours for staff are 8:30am - 4:30pm. Staff are not available to respond to emails outside of regular work hours.

You are at liberty to send an e-mail at your convenience, but please be aware that it will not be responded to immediately if it is outside of the regular work hours. However, your email will be responded to within 48 hours from the first workday that it is received.

Thank you for your understanding.

Should you require immediate assistance with a matter of concern, please contact these external services:

Telephone or Webchat Support for Young People:

1800 55 1800

https://kidshelpline.com.au/

Parents/Carers Support:

13 22 89

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/serviceprofiles/parentline-service

School Drop Off and Pick Up Times:

I remind all parents and guardians, and inform new parents and carers to the school, that student safety is always the primary consideration including both drop off time and pick up times.

Whilst traffic seems to flow smoothly through the circular driveway of the school at the start of the day, there seems to be greater congestion at pick up time in the afternoon.

The circular driveway is to be used purely for drop off and pick up.

There is very little parking available within the school grounds between the following time (8:00 – 10:00am and 2:00 – 4:00pm). “No Standing Anytime” signs are located within the school, and it is important that parents/guardians adhere to these. Furthermore, double parking is illegal in the street and within the school grounds, it causes further congestion, which in turn impinges on student safety.

We will be enforcing the use of the circular driveway purely for drop off and pick up of students.

As you move into the circular driveway, if your child is not at the front of the school you will need to exit the driveway and re-enter. You may need to do this more than once. Alternatively, it is advisable that you organise with your child another location for pick up.

As always, we will continue to expect everyone to abide by road and safety laws and procedures as they move through the driveway. The same applies at the Ely Street end of the school. Staff parking on the street is now minimal and this means that there is space for drop off and pick up. Please do not park in residents’ driveways. No parents are to drive into the school driveway or park in it or across it. This is the only avenue that students have to get to and from the school buses and we must be vigilant for their safety.

Subsequently, it is imperative that everyone behaves in a lawful and safe way out in Withers Way, Susan Street, Bell Street and Ely Street. We have informed the traffic division of the Shire of Nillumbik of the school’s strategy, and it is possible that the Ranger’s office may act against people who disregard road and safety laws out in the streets. Likewise, the police will patrol the area at these peak times, and they will not hesitate to reprimand and fine if necessary.

I trust that you will understand the need for this direction, and I ask you for your continued support to ensure the safety of our kids.

If you do use the drop off and pick up zone on Withers Way, can you please direct your children to cross the road at the school crossing both on arrival and on their departure from school. We certainly do not want students crossing the road in front of oncoming cars and placing themselves at risk.

Thank you for your support with this matter.

VINCENT SICARI, Principal

Student Welbeing

Nillumbik Youth News May 2025