Head of Primary Years' Report

Dear parents, carers and friends of Hazel Glen College,

The year of 2025 has drawn to a close. There is so much to be proud of for our students and College community this year. Hazel Glen Primary Years continues to receive wonderful feedback from our community members as a College that provides a meaningful learning environment with staff who are excellent in their field. We know the successes of our students this year and share in the celebrations with you. Our home/College partnerships are very strong and we thank our families for their trust and commitment to working with us, as this is pivotal for student success. We wish your families are restful and safe holiday break and we look forward to a new year for our College community in 2026. 

Please take note of the change of College times for next year and please make the necessary adjustments to your before and after College routines where required. A reminder that if students are being dropped off prior to yard supervision time commencing, they require parental/carer supervision and where this is not possible, bookings must be arranged for before or after school care at the OSHC program. This program is a cost-effective option for families who require early drop-offs to our College in the mornings. Doors to classrooms will not open until 8:40am with the classroom program beginning at 8:50am. On occasions that teachers have yard duties or meetings before the day starts, the doors will not open until 8:50am when the classroom program begins.

We farewell the following staff and we thank them for their contributions to Hazel Glen College. We know they will be dearly missed by students, families and staff.

• Amy Vong
• Katrina Bruch
• Julia Lipinski
• Emily Thompson
• Georgia Carroll
• Leanne Williams
• Bella Chard (returning to HGC in 2027)
• Nicole Thrower

I would like to introduce our 2026 teaching teams

• Prep - Miss Ellisdon (Team Leader), Miss Bowlen and Ms Trajesvki
• Year One - Miss Evans (Team Leader), Ms Christie, Ms Chada/Ms Ralph and Ms Veal 
• Year Two - Ms McLeish (Team Leader), Miss Keating, Miss Laws, Ms Banes
• Year Three - Miss Davies (Team Leader), Ms Hendry and Mr Palazzolo, Ms Serratore, Ms Stuart
• Year Four - Miss Lochland (Team Leader), Ms Campbell and Ms Finnin, Ms Hutchinson, Ms Palazzolo/Miss Delaney, Miss O Williams
• Year Five - Ms Faber (Team Leader) and Ms Aldridge, Miss Dixon, Ms Dent, Ms Henwood and Ms Elsaafin, Ms Oliver and Ms Jacobs/Mr Jones, Ms Hayes
• Year Six - Ms Tabain (Team Leader), Ms Osland, Miss Morgan, Miss J Williams, Ms Curran/Mr Murphy and Ms Felle

Education Support: Ms Carboni, Ms Britcliffe, Ms Howe, Miss Priest, Ms Versteegen, Ms Ristovski,  Ms Smith, Miss Kearnan and Ms Thrower

Student Wellbeing Leader: Ms Xuereb

Instructional Leaders: Ms Frangos, Ms Ralph, Mr Palazzolo and Ms Finnin

Assistant Principals: Ms O'Halloran, Miss Reid 

Head of Primary Years: Mrs Lynch

Admin Team: Ms Viavattene, Ms Demires and Ms James

A big thank you to our staff here at the College who are committed and dedicated to their students. 

We would like to take a moment to thank our parent members of the School Council this year. Our College Leadership team have enjoyed working alongside you this year and you represent our College community proudly. 

• School Council President: Bek Lilley
• School Council parent members: Melanie Holmes, Sarah Nardella, Jane Heath, Neena Sharma, Jodie Shaw, Bree Marendaz and Emma Almond
• Student Representatives: Ayeh Samet, Ananya Sharma

We would also like to thank our parent helpers who have supported the Primary Years this year. Having helpers where needed has been fantastic and we look forward to many more opportunities for involving our families next year.

We are proud of our recent NAPLAN rankings as released in the media. Our Year 5 results ranked 737 in the state of more than 1800 Victorian Schools. We continue to ensure that our teaching approaches and programs are evidence based and focus on student progress over time for both literacy and numeracy. 

We farewell our first cohort of Year 6 students from the Primary Years. The year has been thoroughly enjoyable and listening to our Year 6 teacher speeches to their classes at their celebration evening brought a tear to our eyes and was a true reflection of the importance of the Year 6 schooling year and the connections the students form with their peers and their teachers. As a staff team, we could not be more prouder than watching our Year 6's finish their primary years and have their final few days with us for the year. We know that they will all go on to do great things and we look forward to hearing about their journeys. 

Please note the following dates for the start of 2026.

• Thursday 18th December: Last day for students Prep - Year 9 - normal 3pm finish
• Friday 19th December: Office will close at 12pm - no students
• Tuesday 27th January: Office will re-open at 11am
• Tuesday 27th - Wednesday 28th January: Curriculum day - no students
• Thursday 29th January: Prep to Year 12 Meet The Teacher - no students on site except for their meeting
• Friday 30th January: Prep to Year 12 students commence (Prep half day)
• Wednesday 11th - Thursday 12th February: College Photo Day

Have a wonderful and restful break with your families and we look forward to a great year in 2026. Take care and thank you. 

Andrea Lynch

Head of Primary Years

Hazel Glen College