Principal's Message

Mr Forrest

Monday Curriculum Day - No Students at School

A reminder that Monday 3rd of November is a Curriculum Day and the following day is the Melbourne Cup Public Holiday. In the past everyone has appreciated the double long weekend as it is the last mini break before Christmas. Enjoy the double long weekend everybody!

Year 12 Celebration Day

Our Year 12s were seen off in style with one of our most successful Celebration Days. The students arrived in good spirits and soon got to decorating the school, being respectful to our refurbished areas – while still having fun. After a nourishing breakfast cooked by their loving homeroom teachers, the Year 12s were escorted into Steel Stadium by our Foundation students. This is a wonderful tradition, bookending the school experience. Our students gave great advice, including ‘make a lot of memories’ and ‘write your own story’, before having final time with their teachers at a staff morning tea.

The day finished with a lunch at Bridgewater Hotel, hosted by Mr. Forrest, where the students spoke about plans for the Summer and aspirations for 2026. We wish them well for their exams and next steps.

Good Luck Year 12 Students - Final Exams

Wedderburn College would like to wish all our Year 12 students the very best with their final exams that commenced yesterday. This is the culmination and final stage of your 13-year educational journey at secondary college. Take pride in how far you’ve come, stay focused through your exams, and give yourself every chance to finish strong. Remember to balance your study with rest, believe in the effort you’ve put in, and enjoy these last moments of school life with your classmates. No matter what pathway you choose next, you have every reason to be confident - your hard work, resilience, and character will take you far. Congratulations on reaching this milestone and good luck for the exciting future ahead!

Cooper, Nada and Violet pictured with friend, April, on drop off day.

Year 9 Students Enjoying SSL - Don Valley

Currently, we have three of our Year 9 students — Cooper, Violet and Nada — embarking on an incredible eight-week adventure at the Don Valley School Campus for Student Leadership. This unique program brings together around forty students from across Victoria to live, learn, and grow together in a collaborative and outdoor learning environment. It’s an amazing opportunity for our students to step outside their comfort zones, build confidence, and develop leadership skills that will serve them well into the future.

During their time at Don Valley, students take part in a wide range of activities and experiences designed to strengthen teamwork, resilience, independence, and communication. They will be involved in community projects, outdoor challenges, cultural learning, and personal development sessions, all while forming lifelong friendships with peers from across the state. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience that encourages students to discover who they are as young leaders and to return to Wedderburn College ready to share their new ideas and inspiration with our school community.

Miss Van Der Wetering and myself will visit the students for their community led project presentation in early December.

Wedderburn College Leads the Way

Two weeks ago I was fortunate to accompany Mr Lockhart and Miss Milne to Swan Hill to present at the 'School Attendance, Culture and SWPBS' Department of Education - North West regional schools professional learning day. Wedderburn College is held in high regard across the state for its work in SWPBS. So much so we are hosting an SWPBS day for schools in November. Keep up the great work everybody.

Out & About

It was great to drop in and visit some of our year 9's at Charlton Trade Training Centre last week while I was attending a meeting. We are lucky to have such a wonderful learning facility for our students to visit weekly.

The new courts are going well and are packed out every lunchtime, recess and often before school too. It is proving very popular for PE lessons. It just shows that this area was definitely designed right.

Out with the old and in with the new! Work on the new junior playground has begun with a permanent shade structure being installed at the moment with the new soft fall and playground to follow. The new Early Years Centre is progressing along at a fast rate with an expected completion date mid November.

Our grounds will be returned to green grass via a new watering system and tanks as part of the project. The new facility officially opens at the start of the new school year.

Planning for 2026

We are currently trying to finalise our planning for 2026. If you know that your circumstances may change at the beginning of the school year, please contact the school office or Home-room teacher. Looking forward into 2026, we are aiming to maintain six primary classrooms and provide more secondary senior years opportunities. We are currently exploring if we can bring back some elective subjects for Year 9/10 students. We are also considering some subject changes for Year 7/8 students. As you may be aware, Victoria is still experiencing the biggest teacher shortage in almost 40 years, however, I am confident that we will have the majority of our positions filled within the remainder to be finalised over the next few weeks. We will keep you informed of staffing, classes and other information for 2026 as the term progresses.