Junior School

2026 Junior School/ELC Staffing

Today was Orientation Day at Junior School. Our students stepped up to meet their teachers for 2026. Our Year 6s spent the day at the Middle Years Centre, orienting to their new surroundings and meeting other members of the 2026 Year 7 cohort.

Prep to Year 6 Staffing

• Prep - Mrs Sharon Kelly

• Year 1- Mrs Penny Callinan and Mrs Peta Alexander

• Year 2/3 - Mrs Bernadette Milich

• Year 4 - Ms Simone Brabham and Mrs Peta Alexander

• Year 5 - Mrs Joanna Bell

• Year 6 - Mr Toby Hawthorne

Specialist Teachers

• Art - Mrs Bec Cameron

• Chinese - Ms Angel Weisbach

• Drama - Ms Angela Kenna

• Music - Mrs Anne Kristin Christie

• P.E - Mrs Louise Patterson

Learning Enhancement/Enrichment

• Ms Gabrielle Lanman

• Ms Valetta Bolton

• Mr Stephen Nelson

Early Learning Centre

• Ms Silvina Werner

• Mrs Tamara Weilbaecher

• Mrs Bree Clapham

• Mrs Emma Gordon

• Mrs Bernadine Kelvy

Laidlaw House Service

Laidlaw House will hold the final House Service for 2025 next Monday, 10 November at 10.15 am in the Uniting Church. Laidlaw House have chosen Respect as its theme for this Service. All Junior School parents are warmly invited to attend.

Greater Western Region Volleyball

The Junior School had a Boys’ and a Girls’ team compete in the Greater Western Region Volleyball Championships in Horsham on Wednesday, 29 October. Teams from Horsham, Portland, Warrnambool and Hamilton took to the volleyball courts. Both College teams performed well, improved with every match, and most importantly, were great ambassadors for the College. In highly competitive fields, our Boys’ team finished 4th and our Girls’ team second. Thank you to Louise Patterson for coaching, Gapper Jemima Mitchell for officiating and parents Alana Green, Kate Pye and David Bufton for their transportation of our teams.

In addition to Speech Day Awards

We have added an additional award to our Junior School Speech Day program. The Ieva Hampson Award will be presented to a Year 6 student who has demonstrated integrity, commitment to academic studies, empathy and kindness, reflecting the ethos and spirit displayed by Ms Ieva Hampson in her 10 years as Head of the Junior School (2006 to 2016).

Uniting Church Food Appeal

A wonderful way to connect with the local community is through our annual support of the Uniting Church Christmas Food Appeal. Boxes went into classrooms this week. We have just under a month to fill the boxes with donated food items and assist those more needy in our local Hamilton community. The boxes will be delivered to the Uniting Church on the day of the Junior School Nativity, Tuesday 2 December. 

The following food items have been requested. 

• Tinned Ham

• Tinned Vegetables

• Tinned Fruit

• Long Life Custard

• Long Life Juice

• Long Life Milk

• Shortbread Biscuits

• Chocolate Biscuits

• Savoury Biscuits

• Rice Crackers

• Tea/Coffee

2026 Diary Art Competition

Tomorrow is the last day for entries in the 2026 Diary Art Competition. Students can drop their entries into Mrs Povey at the Junior School Reception. Our theme for next year’s diaries is College Opportunities. Winners will be announced in the Newsletter and at our Week 8 Assembly.

Cyber Safety Presentations

Our Year 5 and Year 6 students will attend a cyber safety presentation by a South West Victoria Police Community Liaison Officer next Thursday, 13 November. The presentation will focus on safety and the online world. Parents are invited to join us in the Year 6 classroom on the afternoon of November 13 at 3:30 pm, where College staff will provide a presentation aimed at offering information and strategies for parents to support their children in navigating the online world.

We have a busy time approaching.  Please pop the relevant events in your calendar.