Dear families and community members,

We are truly excited to be back for the start of 2026. It’s going to be a fantastic year! I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful break over the summer and we hope our students are all ready for a year of learning. We have a great deal to share in this issue of Channels. For our new families, Channels will be published each fortnight via Compass for our school community to see what our students have been learning, activities they have been participating in, and how our students are growing to become positive contributors in the broader community.

We have seen our students already on the front foot to make the most of their days at school. Our start has seen our students settle in very well. We envisage this positive start and attitude shown by our students will continue throughout this year.

Welcome to our Preps

Our 2026 Preps have started with a bang. The way they have transitioned into their first year of school is nothing short of incredible. Over the past week, students have been getting to know their teachers, new friends and classroom routines. They have been discussing our SWPBS matrix, and they are already showing the expected behaviours. It is great to see all our students with the correct uniform and bringing their hats. With the hot weather in term 1, please remind our students to have their hats and water bottles at school each day. Wednesdays will continue to be the day the preps have their one-on-one meeting with their teachers. If you are still yet to book in with your child's teacher, can you please do so soon? This will provide more information about your child's learning so the teachers can tailor and differentiate the learning specifically for your child's needs. We are excited to see our preps grow and get excited for their learning this year.

Welcome to Year 7s

Welcome to our Year 7 students!

Starting high school is an exciting milestone for our students, and we are so pleased to welcome all our Year 7 students to our school community. This year marks the beginning of a new chapter filled with opportunities, challenges, friendships, and achievements.

Year 7 is a time for the students to explore new subjects, meet new teachers, and discover interests and talents they may not even know they have yet. It’s completely normal for them to feel a mix of excitement and nerves — everyone feels that way at first! The most important thing for all our students to remember is that they are not alone. Their teachers, classmates, and school staff are here to support them every step of the way.

This year, we encourage our Year 7 students to:

• Try their best in everything they do

• Get involved in school activities

• Be kind and respectful to others

• Ask questions and stay curious

• Step outside their comfort zone

We are looking forward to seeing all our Year 7 students grow in confidence, independence, and knowledge throughout the year. We hope they make the most of every opportunity, build positive friendships, and most importantly, enjoy the journey.

To help them with this we have rolled out an exciting new initiative called the START program which allows our students a great opportunity to learn about each other, their teachers, the expectations of secondary school in a safe and supportive environment. Led by their Connections teachers this has been hugely successful and was really built upon in a positive way by those who went on camp.

To our Year 7 students, welcome to Year 7 — we can’t wait to see what you will achieve!

Year 9 and Year 10 families - portfolio contribution

Rather than purchasing expensive textbooks, a $20 per-subject, per-semester contribution provides customised learning portfolios. This is far more affordable, tailored to students' needs and interests, and kept as a record of progress. Check out the early bird price below!

House Swimming Carnival

We kicked off our first full week of school with our House Swimming Carnival. It was on Thursday 5 February where we had our Years 3-12 students participate in many events. Not only was it a positive house event, it was also a wonderful community event where we saw our students of various year levels working together. It was great to see our seniors support our very young students with their races, some guiding the students as they kicked to finish their race. Such a positive community spectacle.

Thank you to our students who took part and a special thank you to our student leaders for supporting their peers and ensuring there were participants in every event. At times, we ran up to eight heats for different races just to enable all competitors to have their go. This year saw more students attend and participate during the day.

Our Age group champions were recognised for their achievements at Friday’s assembly!

Congratulations to Allan house who were the winning house and the house Captains were awarded the swimming shield at Friday’s assembly!

Investiture Assembly

Recognising our students who will take an active role in leadership for the year ahead is important at the beginning of the year. It acknowledges our students who have worked through the process of selection which did include an application and interview. Our Year 6 and Year 12 Captains also delivered a speech to the student body at the end of last year.

It takes courage to put yourself out there and represent others. We are confident our student leaders will be active listeners and speak confidently on behalf of their peers. Our student leadership have already held their first meeting to brainstorm ideas for this year. Many great ideas have been shared.

On Friday 6 February, we presented our student leadership to the college community. They will do us proud this year.

List of new staff

Recent years have seen schools be challenged with ensuring all classes are staffed for the year. With the expansion of our Auslan program at Years 3-4 and Years 9-10, we have been successful in appointing another Auslan teacher during a time where Languages teachers are difficult to find.

We are proud to write that we have been able to staff all classes for this year. We have many new staff members to join our wonderful college this year, including several graduate teachers. They include:

Tea Franklin is a teacher of Auslan Years 1-4 and English Years 8-10
Sydonny Fry has picked up Humanities Years 7-10
Caroline Golding is a Years 3-4 Classroom teacher and the Learning Community Leader at Years 3-4
Kelly Grieve is a teacher of Science at Years 8-10
Jessica Hattie is a Years 1-2 Classroom teacher and is the Learning Community Leader at Years P-2
Kyle Hattie is our Acting Assistant Principal overseeing Years P-6 as well as the whole college curriculum and staff professional learning
Kat O’Brien has joined our College Office team in the space of Human Resources (HR) and Executive Assistant
Denise Stewart has joined our English team at Years 9-12

Hello Morning

We invite our families to ‘Hello Morning’ as an opportunity to connect with teachers and staff. Classrooms and specialist areas will be open for families to explore the learning spaces of their child/children.

Date: Wednesday 18 February.

Time: – 8:00 am – 8:45 am.

Location: Kyabram P-12 College.

Coffee will be available to purchase outside the Fischer Building and on the front courts of the Primary area. We hope to see you next Wednesday morning.

Kokoda scholarship

If you’re interested in an exciting adventure and building resilience and character at the same time, completing the Kokoda Trek might be for you! Thanks to an exciting opportunity, you could be like ex-student Matilda Sowter and be lucky enough to take part in the trek free of charge!

The Sinclair Scholarships are you way to do this and are being made available to Year 11 students across the Murray Plains electorate.

The scholarships provide our younger generation with an insight into the local connection of the Kokoda Trail and the sacrifices made by men from this area so they can enjoy the lives they live today. The award is an opportunity to join a Kokoda trek with ‘Adventure Kokoda’ in Term 2 school holidays (June 28 to July 9).

The successful applicants will be assisted with training and chaperoned on the trek. In addition to the scholarship, there will be a financial commitment required from participants for items such as hiking boots, some incidentals and medical insurance/expenses (students will need to pay for vaccinations and malaria medication as well as any transit insurance between Melbourne and Brisbane and return, if they wish, for injury, lost luggage etc).

HOW TO APPLY

The application process is to submit answers to a questionnaire and write a short essay of not less than 400 words outlining:

1. What does the Kokoda Story mean to Australia.

2. A local connection to the Kokoda Trail.

The above must be received by the office of Peter Walsh MP, 496 High St Echuca 3564, by 5pm Friday, March 6, 2026, accompanied by a parental permission note (also included) indicating support for the student to trek Kokoda. Full contact details (name, address, email and mobile) for students and parent(s) must be provided. Students must be available to attend a 20 minute in-person interview on a later date (to be specified) if shortlisted. From this interview process the successful applicants will be selected. These interviews will be held on one day and students must be available on this allocated interview day which cannot be altered once chosen and applicants are advised.

Please see Mr. Coombs if you would like more details or information.

Heads up about NAPLAN

We would like to inform you about the upcoming National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests scheduled for students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9 across Australia. These assessments play a crucial role in evaluating students' proficiency in key areas, including reading, writing, conventions of language, and numeracy.

The testing window for NAPLAN is set to take place from March 11th (Wednesday) through to March 23rd (Monday). During this period, students will be participating in online assessments organised by their respective schools.

To ensure your child feels confident and prepared for the NAPLAN tests, we encourage families to engage in practice sessions at home. Familiarising your child with the online testing platform and providing opportunities to practice various question types can contribute to their overall readiness for the assessments.

To support you in this process, we have provided an online link below. This resource gives you access to NAPLAN practice questions tailored for each year level. By using these materials, you can work with your child to reinforce their skills and enhance their comfort with the test format.

NAP - Public demonstration site

By participating in practice sessions, you can help your child build confidence, develop effective strategies, and alleviate any potential test-related anxiety. It is important to create a positive and supportive environment at home during this preparation period.

For those families who wish to withdraw their child from NAPLAN, please call the office to arrange a time to sign documents for this, as preparation may take up to a day.

We appreciate your collaboration in ensuring your child's success in the upcoming NAPLAN tests. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to your child's school or use the contact information provided on the NAPLAN website.

Thank you for your continued support in your child's education.

College Council membership

Nominations are now open for six parent vacancies, one staff vacancy, and two student vacancies on our College Council. If you are enthusiastic and interested in getting more involved and having a say in what our college is doing, or know someone who is, please consider applying to be on our College Council this year. We are looking for people who are committed to improving the educational outcomes for all our students.

Effective councils have a broad range of experience, skills and expertise. Face-to-face and online training is available to help councillors develop the skills and knowledge for the role.

College Councils play a vital role in the educational opportunities and outcomes of all students at the school. In essence, the role of a College Council is one of setting the long-term future for the school and maintaining oversight (not management) of the college’s future. We would like our parents/ carers, students, and staff to consider nominating for Kyabram P-12 College Council in 2026. Nomination forms for College Council will be available to collect from our college office, from Monday 16 February 2026 until 4:00 pm on Wednesday 18 March 2026. The first meeting of the College Council will be held on Thursday 19 March 2026, commencing at 6:00 pm. Please continue reading below for further information.

College Council Elections – Information for Parents/ Carers

What is a School Council and what does it do?

All government schools in Victoria have a school council. They are legally formed bodies that are given powers to set the key directions of a school within centrally provided guidelines. In doing this, a school council is able to directly influence the quality of education that the college provides for its students.

Who is on the College Council?

There are three possible categories of membership:

A mandated elected parent member category. More than one third of the total members must be from this category. Department of Education employees can be parent members at their child’s college as long as they are not employed at the school.
A mandated elected school employee member category. Members of this category may make up no more than one third of the total membership of the college council. The principal of the college is automatically one of these members.
A mandated elected student member category. Members of this category are enrolled at the college and in Year 7 or above.
An optional community member category. Members are appointed by a decision of the council because of their special skills, interests, or experiences. Department employees are not eligible to be community members.

Generally, the term of office for all members is two years. The term of office of half the members expires each year, creating vacancies for the annual college council elections.

Why is parent membership so important?

Parents/ carers on college councils provide important viewpoints and have valuable skills that can help shape the direction of the school. Those parents/ carers who become active on a college council find their involvement satisfying in itself and may also find that their children feel a greater sense of belonging.

How can you become involved?

The most obvious way is to vote in the elections which are held in Term 1 each year. However, ballots are only held if more people nominate as candidates than there are positions vacant. In view of this, you might seriously consider:

Standing for election as a member of the college council
Encouraging another person to stand for election

Do I need special experience to be on the college council?

The short answer is no. What you do need is an interest in your child’s school and the desire to work in partnership with others to help shape the school’s future.

What do you need to do to stand for election?

The principal will issue a notice and call for nominations following the commencement of Term 1 each year. All college council elections must be completed by the end of March unless the usual time line has been varied by the Minister. If you decide to stand for election, you can arrange for someone to nominate you as a candidate or you can nominate yourself in the Parent category. Department employees whose child is enrolled in a school in which they are not engaged in work are eligible to nominate for Parent membership of the school council at that school.

Once the nomination form is completed, return it to the college within the time stated on the notice of election. You will receive a Nomination Form Receipt following the receipt of your completed nomination.

Generally, if there are more nominations received than there are vacancies on council, a ballot will be conducted during the two weeks after the call for nominations has closed.

Remember

Ask at the school for help if you would like to stand for election if are not sure what to do
Consider standing for election to council this year
Be sure to vote in the elections (if this occurs)
Contact the college for further information

The terms of office, membership categories and number of positions in each membership category open for election are as follows:

Membership category 2026	Term of office	Number of positions
Parent member	From the day after the date of the declaration of the poll in 2026 to and inclusive of the date of the declaration of the poll in 2028	6
College employee member	From the day after the date of the declaration of the poll in 2026 to and inclusive of the date of the declaration of the poll in 2028	1
Students	From the day after the date of the declaration of the poll in 2026 to and inclusive of the date of the declaration of the poll in 2028	2

If the number of nominations is less than the number of vacancies, a notice to that effect and calling for further nominations will be posted in a prominent position at the school.

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