Welcome Back!

Term 1 2025

Welcome back to the start of a new school year. I hope you’ve all had a well-earned, relaxing break after another very busy year for us all with the School Review, VRQA Minimum Standards Assessment, OHS Assurance Program, VPC Audit... We should all be immensely proud of our success and achievements in navigating these massive tasks whilst continuing to offer quality and authentic learning opportunities for our students. Thank you!

In amongst family illnesses and trips to the hospital, we were able to get to Sydney, NSW, to see my cousin visiting from the UK and had a week visiting friends in Robe, SA. It was lovely to have some quality time as a family of five. Auggie's immune system has had a rough month, but he is now luckily on the mend. Thank you for your care and understanding at the end of the term.

Whether you were able to get away or spent time at home watching the Australian Open, I hope you were able to turn off from work and feel refreshed to start back at work. At least the weather has been good.

Workforce & HR

Despite the many staffing and recruitment challenges still faced across the state, I am proud that we are starting the 2025 academic year with a teacher and education support staff member assigned to every class. We have also increased leadership, education support staff and allied health staff.

On behalf of the Jackson School Community, I would like to officially welcome our new staff for 2025.

Teachers: Ann K (4-6A), Bhavhaani B. (2/3A), Casey N (1/2A), Jenna Mae E. (3-5C), Johannes S. (Media Arts), Lauren M. (1/2C), Leah W. (7/8D), Roka G-F (TLI),
Classroom ES Staff: Celeste D. (4-6D), Daniella E. (Prep B), Eve O. (4-6A), Gracie L. (7/8C), Haley G. (3-5B), Helen N. (5/6F), Mathilde G. (2/3A), Michelle B. (Prep A), Nisha C. (1/2B), Oluwatunke A-O. (1/2C), Pauline D. (9/10D & 9/10E Additional ES) and Syeda Z. (11/12D & 11/12E Additional ES)
Admin ES Staff: Alyssa P. (Receptionist)
Allied Health ES Staff: An N. (Speech Pathologist), Jade M. (Occupational Therapist), and Stefani T. (Occupational Therapist)

A full staff list is available on the 2025 Timetables and Lists page.

Our school will continue our new structure into three collaborative learning communities (sub-schools): Junior School (Prep - Year 4), Middle School (Year 3 - 8) and Senior School (Year 7 - Year 12). Within these communities, staff and classes work in smaller collaborative Professional Learning Teams (PLTs) led by an Assistant Learning Specialist (PLT Leader).

Chloe, Justin, Uzer, Gabby RM., Taleisha, Jo P., Faith and Ben have been appointed as Assistant Learning Specialists (PLT Leaders) for 2025. Brianna has been successful as the PLT Leader for the Allied Health Team.

Aaron (Travel Education), Alison (Phonics), Dash (Career Education), Kat D. (Independent Learning), Ian (Health & Fitness/Active Schools), and Vu (Jobs, Skills & Pathways) also take on Assistant Learning Specialist roles to support the School Improvement Team.

Helen, in her role as the Health and Safety Rep (HSR), will continue work with Graeme and Matt on OHS; Bec M. will support our ES staff with their induction program and support the delivery of the ES professional learning; Jodie, Nathan and Manu will continue to support the specialist team in their full-time roles; Nadya and Liz will support the teaching and learning team with literacy and numeracy resources; Lauren L and Karlie will support the junior and middle school teams with resourcing support; Haley will support in the library and marking throughout the school; Sarah P. will continue to support the school's policy and compliance, and Sandra will support in the running of the Jackstore.

Congratulations to all the staff who were successful in being appointed to a new position or position of responsibility for 2025.

The leadership team will continue to focus on our SSP goals and AIP actions and activities in three smaller School Improvement Teams: Learning and Wellbeing. These are as follows:

Learning SIT: Julie (AP - Inclusive Practice), Kelly (LT Curriculum & Assessment), Gabi M. (LS - Professional Learning), Sarah B. (LS T&L - Literacy), Jaclyn (LS T&L - Numeracy) & Jess R. (LS Inclusion Outreach Coach).
Wellbeing SIT: Bernadette (AP - Community Partnerships), Michelle (LT Mental Health & Wellbeing), Meggan (LT Junior School), Kathy P. (LT Middle School), Helena (LT Senior School) & Alex (Social Worker & Child Safety Officer).

Click below to download the School Structure for 2025:

Buildings & Grounds

Over the holidays, we continued to have several trades in each day. Thank you Graeme, Lyle, Azmi, Jo and Matt for your work with this over the holidays.

Jackson Station with train platform and bus interchange. We have been working with PTV and Vix to get a working Myki reader so that students can practice at school before they enter the community. School Council have also approved the installation of a pedestrian crossing to join the train platform and the bus interchange. This project will be completed shortly.
A new TLI Room was established at the end of Block 3. N.B. There will be no direct access to the courtyard near Design Technology until modernisation works are completed in the Design Technology room. TLI (Roka) will operate out of this space.
Back Car Park Asphalted. The entry side of the car park will be sealed shortly. Because Western Health owns this parcel of land, we are unable to fully asphalt this area. When parking, please ensure the school buses can turn.
Concreting Outside Prep/Allied Health Rooms. Landscaping and astroturf will follow for junior school assemblies and OSHC.
Locks installed on Side Gates instead of padlocks
New Smartboards in Rooms 13- 20, 22 (Junior School)
Rooms 17 - 20 Painted
New Carpet in Rooms 15-20
Interactive Whiteboard platforms were removed in Rooms 13 & 14
Minor Plaster Repairs & Paint Touch-ups throughout the school

Curriculum Days - Tuesday 28th and Wednesday 29th January

Like last year, our Curriculum Day 1 (Tuesday, 28th January) will be held at Lakeside Banquet & Convention Centre at 65 Melton Hwy, Taylors Lakes, VIC 3038.

Please arrive by 8:45 am for a 9 am start. There is adequate parking onsite.

If you are planning to travel via public transport, we will offer a Bus Shuttle from Jackson School at 8:15 am on Tuesday.

The day will be fully catered with morning tea and lunch. There will also be a cash bar after the event, should you wish to stay and reconnect with colleagues.

Our Curriculum Day 1 will be focused on school operations, outlined in this bulletin, to begin the school year. We will also launch our 2024-2028 SSP and an overview of the Victorian Curriculum 2.0 changes. To make the most of the day, we will also have an Asthma/Epilepsy briefing and an OHS/Emergency Management Briefing.

On arrival, please sit with your PLT Team.

Our Curriculum Day 2, on Wednesday 29th January 2025, will be at Jackson School. This will be dedicated to PLT and classroom activities to ensure our school is ready for our students' first day back on Wednesday, 30th January 2025. Staff will be given the remainder of the time to work with other staff to continue to review your students' working files and set up classrooms and areas, as well as meet with staff/teams as required. No catering will be provided on this day. Please use this allocated time for any incomplete compulsory LearnED modules.

For more detailed information on other areas of School Operations, please click on the pages on the left for important updates ready to start the school year. These include:

I hope you enjoy the remainder of your break, and I look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday.

Anthony