Principal's Report

School Council Elections

Whilst nominations for School Council officially close at 4pm today, it’s not looking likely that we will have enough nominations to fill the 4 vacant parent positions.  So, if joining School Council is something you were considering, but didn’t quite get round to submitting a nomination, please give me a call or pop in to grab a form.

Maintaining Opportunities for Students

Over the years we have gradually built a suite of initiatives and programs for students.  Some of these programs are designed to support wellbeing and learning, along with programs that give students the opportunity to pursue areas of interest and extend their learning.  This includes providing extension opportunities for students with particular interests and skills.

This is something we’re proud of, as we seek to engage all students and ensure their learning and wellbeing needs are met.

The following will help give you a sense of initiatives and programs that are happening beyond the classroom in 2026:

·       Scholarship Programs – These are for selected students in grades 4-6 and involve weekly sessions in Photography, Cooking, the Visual Arts, music and STEM.  All five programs are now up and running.

·       Victorian High Abilities Program (VHAP) - Each term we have a number of Year 5/6 students who are selected to participate in VHAP. The students meet weekly and participate in the program throughout the term, along with other like-minded students from across Victoria in either the English or Mathematics program.

·       Grade 6 Leadership Teams – All of the grade 6s get to be part of one of grade 6 leadership teams, which include our Art, Canteen, E-Learning, Flag/Bike Shed, Maintenance, Japanese, Photography, Sporting Houses, Sustainability, Transition Teams, along with our School Captains.  These teams each offer a unique set of experiences, challenging the kids and giving them an opportunity to contribute and feel more connected too our school.

·       Ready Set Grow – Small groups of selected students from year 3 come together with Mr

 Georgiou and representatives from the Friends of the Botanical Gardens to participate in gardening and maintenance activities that are designed to assist with positive mental health. Students develop practical skills growing their own plants and produce, focusing on sustainability and working together respectfully and safely. 

·       Tier 2 Cooking Classes – These sessions involve small groups that run across 3 days of the week.  These sessions are great for students that need a bit of a boost, some TLC or a bit of time out of the classroom. 

·       Federation University Primary School Outreach Program – Two provisional psychologists are allocated to our school, who support identified students with mild-moderate psychological needs, such as anxiety, school refusal, social skills, etc. As well as individual programs, some small group interventions will occur later in the year. 

·    Occupational Therapist  - We are very excited this year to have Occupational Therapist, Patricia Capino, join our staff. Patricia will work on Wednesdays and her role will be to work with Mr Rodgers to build the capacity of our staff to provide evidence based Tier 1 supports to create an inclusive classroom environment. Patricia will be working with specific teams across the school, and with a lot of experience in early-intervention, she will be doing a lot of work with our Prep to Grade 2 cohort on areas such as: pencil grips, handwriting, body positioning, focus and attention strategies, core strength, fine-motor skills, gross motor-skills and sensory strategies. 

·    Student Learning Interventions – As per usual, we have a range of intervention initiatives in place for students needing support with their learning.  In 2026 this includes:

- Small Group Intervention (Literacy and Numeracy Early Intervention Program) – This program is funded by the department and replaces the Tutor Learning Initiative that ran for a number of years. This program enables targeted, evidence-informed support for students requiring additional assistance in literacy and numeracy.  

This semester we will focus on literacy and in semester two we will include numeracy. Selected students in Years 3-6 are participating in small group literacy intervention sessions (3–4 times per week). These sessions are designed to strengthen decoding, fluency and comprehension skills and are aligned closely with classroom instruction.

- Additional Tier Intervention – Our Educational Support Team will continue to provide tier 2 intervention throughout the year for students identified as requiring additional support. Those groupings are currently being finalised as classroom teachers complete some additional assessment screening over this coming week.

- Literacy - Targeted early reading support will be delivered to selected students in Years 1 and 2. Intervention focuses on foundational reading skills and is delivered in small groups of 3–4 students, three times per week. This support complements the classroom program and aligns with our structured literacy approach.

- Numeracy- Numeracy intervention will focus on automaticity and fluency of number facts. Small groups of 3–4 students will participate in three sessions per week, designed to strengthen core number understanding and improve confidence and accuracy.

All of the above are important initiatives that run across the year. On top of this we have some significant programs that are a one off or run for part of the year.  These include:

·       Energy Breakthrough -This program is for students from grade 6 who want to test themselves physically and mentally.  These students learn about sustainability, while working with staff and parents to set up pedal carts before racing the carts against students from other schools in an 8-hour race in Maryborough from November 18-20.

·       Interschool Sports – Typically this involves students from grade 5 and 6, who can try out for a range of sports. For students who like to challenge themselves, they are lucky that we take up the opportunity to send teams to a wide range of interschools sports.  These include athletics, swimming, cross country, lawn bowls, tennis, AFL, netball, soccer, cricket and basketball.  Teams that are successful at district level are supported to go on to regional level and then sometimes to state level.

·      Choir – Our choir will get underway from the start of term 2.  Students from grades 2-6 will be invited to sign up and be part of regular choir sessions and the occasional performance.

·      Chess Club – Students will soon be invited to sign up for Chess Club.  Club members will

 come together regularly during break times to play and learn new skills.  Where opportunities arise, chess club members will get to compete against students from other schools.  The first of these opportunities will be on April 24, with a competition held at Kryal Castle that attracts school teams from across the state.  Ms Geddes will be running Chess Club this year and she’s keen to find a community member that is happy to help out.  Please get in touch if this is something you might be interested in.

·       Victorian State School Spectacular – This runs every second year (non-concert years), so we won’t be involved in VSSS this year.  But in 2027 we’ll be looking for 16 students from grades 3-6, who learn designated dance routines and then come together to perform with hundreds of students from across the state at John Cain Arena.  This an amazing experience for the students involved. 

·       GRIP Leadership Conference – Each year we invite grade 6 students to attend the annual GRIP Leadership Conference at the Melbourne Convention Centre along with students from approximately 300 schools across the state.  At this event students learn about what it means to be a leader and the strategies used by effective leaders.  We’re expecting a decent sized contingent to sign up for this year’s event, which is taking place on March 27.

·       Camps Program – We have a well-established camps program, providing students in grades 3-6 with the opportunity to spend a night or two away from home and learn lots in the process.  This flows nicely on from the grade 2s having a sleepover.  The camping program for this year kicks off with the grade 3s heading to Cave Hill Creek in the final week of this term.

·       Lunch Time Live Events – Mr Skilbeck does an excellent job of running Lunch Time Live Events across the year.  Students who like performing get to sign up, audition and then perform in front of their peers.  This always attracts a large and enthusiastic crowd, which is fabulous for our performers.

·       Debating – Students in grades 5 and 6 students are invited to be part of our debating team and participate in the South Street Debating Competition.  This is a fabulous experience for all involved. 

·       Lion’s Club Public Speaking – Each year the Buninyong and Mt Helen Lions Club runs a public speaking competition early in term 4.  Mrs Phillips works with a small team of school representatives who write and rehearse a speech that is then delivered on competition evening. This event is perfect for students wanting to challenge themselves and improve their public speaking skills.

·       Break Time Options – In addition to those listed above, we offer a range of other activities during break times, including lunch time club, lunch time library and use of the PlayPod.

As you can see from the list above, there’s a considerable effort being made to accommodate the needs and interests of students.  We greatly appreciate the efforts of staff, parents and community members who make all of the above possible.  If you would like to more about any of the above, don’t hesitate to get in touch.