Principal News
Visit from Santa and his helpers
On Wednesday afternoon our students (and staff) were treated to a visit from Santa, two of his elves and one crazy Grinch. Santa took time out of his busy schedule to visit our school and present each student with a mini basketball, hat and lollies as well as pose for photos and find out what our students were hoping to get for Christmas. Santa and his helpers arrived in spectacular fashion via helicopter, circling overhead first and then landing on our oval- he was greeted by the cheering and excited students who were totally unaware of what was about to happen. This visit was made possible by Powercor and Beon Aerial Services and was not pre-announced due to the visit being dependent on the weather and air space being available- plus this meant that it was a total surprise for all.
What a great way to kick off December and begin our countdowns to Christmas.
New Staff Member at LCS
We are delighted to announce that Miss Julia Adams will be joining our teaching staff next year. Miss Adams comes to us from Portland North Primary School and has had six years classroom teaching experience. Miss Adams is an active member of the Wimmera and South West Literacy Group and has a particular interest in the teaching of English.
Please see below for message from Miss Adams.
Hi everyone, I grew up in the Wimmera and have been lucky enough to spend my teaching career working in both Horsham and Portland. Outside of school, you’ll usually find me on a tennis or netball court, catching up with friends, or enjoying time outdoors. I’m really looking forward to getting to know the school community and can’t wait for the year ahead!
Classes for 2026
Earlier this week our families were sent a message on Xuno with the classroom teachers for 2026. Our team have worked with careful consideration to create balanced and supportive class groups that will provide every student with the best possible learning environment.
During the placement process, we considered each child’s academic needs, social and emotional development, learning styles, and friendships. Our goal is always to ensure that every student is set up for a positive and successful year ahead.
Classroom Teacher Allocations for 2026:
- Prep: Jenny Howlett
- 1/2A - Julia Adams
- 1/2B - Alyce Falls (who will be known as Alyce Green from 2026)
- 3/4A - Jackie Newth & Jackson Gray
- 3/4B - Taylah Smith
- 5/6A - Trish McVeigh
- 5/6B - Chris Boal
We understand that class placements are important to families, and we assure you that each decision has been made with great care. While we cannot accommodate individual requests for specific teachers, please know that all of our teaching staff are dedicated professionals who are committed to your child’s wellbeing and growth.
Students will find out their allocated classrooms and teachers on our Transition Day- Tuesday December 9th. We will also announce Education Support allocations on this day. Specialist Teacher allocations are still being considered and we hope to be able to announce these soon.
Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to a wonderful year of learning ahead.
Statewide Transition Day
On the morning of Tuesday December 9th our existing Year Prep to Year 5 students will spend the morning in their new class groups and in most cases, their new teachers. Unfortunately our newest member of staff, Miss Julia Adams, is not able to travel up from her current school in Portland this day and therefore her 2026 class will be taken by Emily Gusman that morning. Miss Adams is preparing some activities for her class to introduce herself to them and to begin to make a connection with them. As Miss Falls is also away on sick leave, she is not able to be with her new grade that morning either, but luckily we have Mrs Robyn Angove who has worked in that space for several years, coming in to have a wonderful, fun-filled morning with 1/2B.
Our current Year Six students that are heading to Rochester Secondary College will spend the day there, whilst those who are heading to St Josephs are welcome to attend school here as normal and will be supervised in the morning block.
After recess our students will return to their regular 2025 classrooms and teachers.
Farewell to Mrs Connors
As many of you already know the wonderful Kathy Connors, our most extraordinary Visual
Arts Teacher is looking forward to a well-earned retirement. Kathy will cease her role at the end of this term and take some long service leave in Term 1, 2026. She will then officially retire following this leave. Our students have been so very fortunate to have Mrs Connors as their art teacher for many years and we as a school and wider community have been so lucky to have her promoting and value adding to our program and connections with the Lockington Community. We wish both her and Rick all the very best as they move into their next phase of life and enjoy slowing down and spending time with family.
Volunteers Make Our School Great!
We are so thankful to all of our volunteers who help keep our school ticking along. We appreciate you providing your time to work in our canteen, be a parent's club member, cover books, paint walls, make costumes, be on School Council and/or come along on our excursions/camps as a helper.
A reminder that our THANK YOU Morning Tea is on today- Friday December 5th at 11am. Please join us for a cuppa an cake to let us show how much we value you.
Graduation and Awards
Don't forget to join us on Wednesday December 17th for our Year 6 Graduation and Whole School Awards Ceremony. The event will commence at 2pm sharp, so please ensure you arrive from 1.45pm to find a seat. Our event will begin with our Year 6 Graduation ceremony and celebration and we will then move onto the awards.
Following the ceremony our Year 6 students and their families will be able to pose for photos in our specially created photo "booth" and join us for some graduation cake.
Students in other year levels will be able to head out to the undercover area and have an icy-pole.
Families of awards recipients will be contacted over Xuno but all families are welcome to attend. Families of Year 6 students will have received a letter via Xuno outlining additional arrangements for the day.
School Council
The 2025 Lockington Consolidated School Council met for the final time last week. At this meeting we agreed to hold our School Council Elections early in the school year so that our new council can meet in February (previously the new council did not meet until March). We will call for nominations in the first week of Term 1, 2026 and let potential candidates know of the process for nominating yourself or someone.
We have several members who are at the end of their two year term (they may chose to retire or renominate, if they have a child still enrolled in our school).
Members who have completed their two year period are: Anna Kemp, Michelle Johns, Mel Sproal-Portwine, Breanna Giddings, Daniel Portwine and Jackie Newth.
I want to take this opportunity to thank all members of our 2025 school council for their willingness to take time out of their already busy lives to support our school. An extra special shout out to Daniel Portwine who has had an extremely busy year as our School Council President and at all times represented our school with professionalism, approachability and with the best interests of our students at the centre of his actions.
That is all for this week, Lisa Duffy