Editorial
Welcome back to Term 4
Dear PVCC Community,
Welcome back to Term 4. As we enter this final stretch of the year, I want to take a moment to reflect, reconnect, and refocus.
This term marks a significant transition for me personally, as it will be my last at Plenty Valley Christian College. It has been a privilege to serve as Executive Principal, and I am deeply grateful for the journey we’ve shared together. I’m confident that Mrs Mackinnon, who will be stepping into the role next year, is the right person to lead our wonderful school into its next chapter.
One of my favourite figures in Scripture is the apostle, Peter. Though Jesus called him the rock upon which He would build His church, Peter was still capable of serious errors in judgment. Yet he was loved, redeemed, and served faithfully to the end. This reminds us that we are not called to perfection, but to live lives marked by grace, humility, and integrity - even in the midst of missteps.
At the beginning of the year, I dreamed of concluding my time at PVCC with the College running like a well-oiled machine. While the journey has taken some unexpected turns—and I acknowledge there have been moments of learning along the way—I'm confident that Mrs Mackinnon will be stepping into a vibrant and evolving school community. Plenty Valley continues to be a great school, full of promise and purpose, and we are steadily growing into the community God is shaping us to be.
We are so pleased to be witnessing a remarkable rise in student-led expressions of faith—through worship nights, prayer groups, interest in supporting and serving others, mission experience tours, and Bible studies in Primary and Secondary. In classrooms, students are engaging deeply with the cultural questions of our time, seeking to respond in ways that reflect their faith. This kind of spiritual growth and integration was not as evident five years ago and is a reflection of how the college nurtures faith, demonstrating that God is indeed at work in Plenty Valley.
Thank you for your continued support and partnership. May this term be one of unity, purpose, and grace as we finish the year together.
Yours in Christ’s Service,
John Metcalfe - Executive Principal
Car Parking
Today I had the opportunity to be on duty in the carpark, and I’m pleased to share that everything ran quite smoothly. The first primary parents began arriving just after 3:15pm, and by 3:35pm, there were no cars waiting to leave – a great outcome for a busy afternoon.
I observed one parent arrive around 3:30pm, collect two secondary students, and exit by 3:35pm. A five-minute pickup like that is a great example of how efficient the process can be when you get the timing right.
Thank you for your continued support and for working with us to make our school environment safe, efficient, and welcoming.
Change to Daily Start and Finish times in 2026
We’ve been listening closely to ongoing parent feedback, and I’m pleased to share that from next year, we’ll be adjusting the start and finish times across the College to help ease traffic congestion. Both Primary and Secondary classes will begin at 8:40am. Primary will finish at 3:00pm, and Secondary at 3:05pm.
We understand this change may take some getting used to, but we’re confident it will help reduce congestion on Yan Yean Road and make the school car park run quicker and less stressful for everyone.
This will mean a change to bus timetables in the afternoon, most likely running 10 minutes earlier than this year. More information will be available in the new year when we finalise the details. It is not anticipated that there will be any changes to morning bus timetables and we’ll keep bus travellers updated should this change
Timetables – aligning Primary and Secondary
In 2026 there will also be some changes to the timetables in both Primary and Secondary. Both sections will now have 6 x 50 min periods that will allow better sharing of facilities and staff as well as creating larger learning time blocks.
Term Dates for 2026
With changes to teacher employment conditions, that you may have heard about on the news, we are required to reduce the teaching time per week but to offset that we are increasing the number of days the students are at school. This slightly changes the start and finish of some terms as well as some student free days, with the most notable change being a reduced holiday period in term 3.
Term 1 :
Tuesday 27 Jan – First Day for Prep, Year 7 and Year 12
Wednesday 28 Jan – First Day for other students
Thursday 2 Apr – Last Day of Term 1
Term 2 :
Monday 20 Apr – First Day of Term 2 for staff and students
Friday 26 Jun - Last Day of Term 2
Term 3 :
Thursday 16 July - First Day of Term 3 for students
Friday 18 Sep – Last Day of Term 3
Term 4 :
Monday 5 Oct - First Day of Term 4 for staff and students
Thursday 10 Dec – Last Day of Term 4
More changes to the calendar
As you are aware the college has a very busy calendar and each year as we review our schedule we try to reduce the busy times and spread our activities out to reduce the pressure on staff, parents and students. Some of our activities will change dates in 2026. We will be publishing our calendar later this term with more information.
In 2026, primary camps will take place for Year 4, 5 & 6. Secondary camps will be in Years 7, 9 and 12. Year 11’s will also be going on a study camp in preparation for Year 12 in term 4, so the Year 12 study camp will not take place at the beginning of 2027.
Annual School Report
Each year the college produces a report which gives some insight into the college activity for the year as well as some statistics around attendance and performance measures. This report is sent to the government and also placed on our website.
The 2024 Annual School Report can be found on our website under Policies and Publications in the Parent Area: Policies and Publications - Plenty Valley Christian College - Private Christian School Melbourne