MESSAGE FROM PRINCIPAL

Semester Reports 

Congratulations to all of our students on a great semester of hard work and successful learning. It has been pleasing to see the individual growth that students have made, across the whole school.  Semester Reports will be published on Compass on Wednesday 24th June. We will also send home a hard copy in a sealed envelope, addressed to parents. 

Celebration of Learning - families invited 

In Week 10 on Thursday 25th June, families are invited to attend the Term 2 Celebration of Learning in your children’s classrooms. The session will go from 9:05am until 10:00am. If you can manage it, your children really appreciate having you there as they share their learning from Term 2. 

Wednesday 15th July - Curriculum Day #3 - Student Led Conferences 

On the first Wednesday of Term 3, there will be no school for students. It will be our third curriculum Day. The day will focus on Student-Led Conferences. These 10 minute appointments are for the student, the family and the classroom teacher. The students will be hosting the conference, sharing their progress towards their individual learning goals. In Years 3 to 6, this looks more student-led, while in Years Prep to 2, the teachers will support the students in reflecting about their learning. 

Appointments will be 15 minute timeslots, with the following structure:

We truly value the Student Led Conferences, as it builds the students’ ‘learner agency’, the ability of the students to self direct their learning. The conferences are a great example of our values ‘Success’ and ‘Optimism’ and also of Dinjerra’s motto ‘powerful learning for empowered loves’. The students at Dinjerra have individual goals, and their learning is personalised to what they need next on their learning journey. By adopting a goal setting attitude through Literacy and Numeracy, our students are setting a great base for a goal oriented future, where they choose their goals, put in effort, and show pride in their achievements.

So, the student led conferences are a very important event for your children. We have set aside a whole day for these. Appointments times can be made on Compass from 9:00am to 4:45pm. Bookings will open on Monday 22d June. Please ensure that you make an appointment and celebrate your child as a learner. 

Ms Celia is a National Champion! 

Congrats to Celia Iao, classroom teacher of 1/2C! If you haven't heard the news, last week, Celia became the Australian Weightlifting Federation National Masters Champion for her weight division in the 40-44 age category! What an incredible achievement! It is great for the students to see that there are adults around them, chasing their own goals. Congrats, Celia! 

Friday 26th June - last day of Term 2 and Out of Uniform Day

Friday 26th June is our last day of Term 2. I would like to thank all the students, staff and families for a great semester at Dinjerra. I hope you all enjoy a lovely term break, and I look forward to seeing you in Term 3! 

Our Junior School Council has been busy with organising events. The Loose Change Competition winners will be announced at Friday’s assembly. The JSC have organised an Out of Uniform Day for Friday 26th, so please have your children bring a gold coin donation. The theme is the World Cup, so I am sure we will see many soccer jerseys! 

There is also a Year 6 students versus staff soccer game at lunch time, which I am sure will be a lot of fun, and hopefully no red cards! 

End of Term Information:

Last day of Term 2:  Friday 26th June

Assembly: 1:50pm 

Dismissal:  2:30pm

Term 3 starts: Monday 13th July

Code Camp - Holiday Program 

There is another Code Camp Holiday Program planned for the holidays for 29th and 30th June. This will be held at Dinjerra. Please see the flyer attached towards the end of the newsletter. 

Coming Up for Term 3:

NAIDOC Week - Term 3, Week 1

Over Week 1 of Term 3, we will celebrate NAIDOC Week, which celebrates and recognises the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth. The theme of 2026’s NAIDOC Week is ‘50 Years of Deadly’. 

Leadership Professional Learning Workshop:

I am excited about a special leadership professional development workshop that the Dinjerra Leadership team will be attending at the start of Term 3. From Tuesday 14th to Friday 17th July, Nerissa Hatton,  Leah Stork, Nazlia Edwards, Catherine Robertson and I will be attending a 4-day professional learning workshop called Balanced Leadership. Dr Kent Davis, the associate director of McREL International, is coming all the way from Arizona to facilitate the program for over 40 school leaders. Catherine, Naz and I have completed the workshop before, and as many school leaders around the South Western Melbourne region say, McREL Balanced Leadership has been the best leadership learning that they have ever taken part in. 

In terms of school leadership at Dinjerra over Tuesday to Friday of Week 1, we have organised coverage for leadership. I will communicate this organisation closer to the start of Term 3. 

Other information:

Family Holidays

If your family is planning to go on a holiday longer than 5 days during the school term, could you please email me at natalie.vulic@education.vic.gov.au before you leave. Please include details such as departing and returning date and reason for travel.