Principal's Report 

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to the final newsletter for 2025. We have had a great year, but are looking forward to the holidays, to rest, recharge and spend time with family and friends. I would like to start by wishing you and your family and very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and look forward to continuing our partnership in 2026.

Tomorrow the assembly will be at 1.10pm ONLY. will hold two assemblies, where we will farewell any staff leaving as well as the year 6 Graduates who will sing their Graduation Song before being formally farewelled. 

We have the following staff leaving at the end of year and wish them all the best in their new endeavours:

• Mr Spudvilas-Powell

• Ms Simone Gardener

• Mrs Kelly Sammut

• Ms Sophie Di Fabio 

• Mrs Ashima Chauhan

• Ms Sara Kaur

• Ms Caitlin Cummane 

Mrs Feetham is also leaving to begin her retirement, for a second time. She had already retired from the Catholic sector and decided in 2022 to respond to a callout from the Department of Education to rejoin the teaching service due to a chronic shortage of teachers. I wish to thank her for coming back to teaching and working at Melton West for the past few years. 

New Staff: I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome new staff to our school. The following will be joining us in 2026, with many taking the opportunity to meet with their 2026 team last week and/or their class today. 

• Andrew Lyster

• Daniel Joffe

• Judi Parkhouse

   

2026 Staff: 

Meet the Teacher: Today students met the teacher they will be having in 2026. They will bring home a note detailing the name of the teacher and the room number. Unfortunately, have not confirmed one of our teachers at this stage. However we do feel confident that we will have teachers at the start of the year, as we have had this experience in previous years. If your child is in the class without a teacher yet and you feel they would benefit from meeting the teacher before the first day please contact us on 97435818 or email melton.west.ps@education.vic.gov.au and we can arrange a time on the 27th of January before school begins. Thank you for your ongoing support and understanding around the difficulties we are facing being fully staffed. 

Changes to ministerial order for school councils: From 2026, parents, carers and community members who would like to join the school council need a working with children (WWC) clearance to nominate. If you are considering nominating for school council, and don’t already have a WWCC, I encourage you to apply for a volunteer WWC check as soon as possible. This will allow for processing times, which are estimated to be from 3 to 12 weeks. Please note that if you do not hold a WWC clearance, you will not be able to nominate for school council, so it is vital that you prepare in advance. Obtaining a WWC clearance is free for volunteers, and you can apply online at Service Victoria. When applying for your volunteer WWC check, please nominate the Department of Education as the organisation you are working for. If you already hold an employee WWC clearance, you do not need to obtain a volunteer WWC clearance to nominate for school council. Victorian Institute of Teaching-registered teachers and school students who are interested in joining school council are not required to obtain a WWC clearance. For more information, refer to Ministerial Order 1280 (Constitution of Government School Councils) 2020. If you have any further queries or wish to discuss further, please do not hesitate to contact myself via the School Office on 03 9743 5818.

Introducing Village OSHC: We are changing our Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) service in 2026. Extend will conclude operations at Melton West Primary School at the end of this term, and from 2026, the service will be transitioning to VillageOSHC, part of The Extend Group. This is an exciting development for our school community. VillageOSHC will continue to provide high-quality care for our students, with engaging programs and a strong focus on safety, wellbeing and fun. We are confident this transition will offer a positive experience for all families. To support a smooth changeover, please refer to the flyers attached, which outline the steps for registering and preparing for the new OSHC service in the new year. 

* Fees are per child per session. For a full list of fees and charges, including late notice and walk-ins, see Terms and Conditions at villageoshc.com.au 

For more information, visit their website at villageoshc.com.au

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

High Levels of Learning for All

Michelle Costa

Principal