From the Acting Principal

Celebration Day

We hope many of you can join us for our Celebration Day today from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM! With the sun shining brightly, we’re excited to make use of our newly updated Senior Yard, where the fences have just come down in time for today’s event. There will be music, face painting, bubbles, games  and some special visitors. We’re also honoured to have Councillor Anthony Aitken with us to help present the Richard Marles Outstanding Leadership Award to two deserving students. 

Students are looking forward to bbq sausages and donuts for lunch; we'd like to say a big thank you to East Geelong Quality Butchers and Rod's Bakery Lara for their support of  our school. Money raised from today's lunch orders will go towards more playground equipment for our students.

Graduation Ceremonies

Last week, we celebrated the Graduation Ceremonies for our Year 6 and Year 12 students. These events were a lovely way to mark these significant milestones, and we wish Angus, Tiana, and Beau all the best as they move on to their chosen post-school options in 2025. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped make these celebrations so special!

Christmas  Carols

On Monday, our school was filled with the sounds of Christmas cheer as students treated us to some festive carolling. It was a lot of fun, and both staff and students enjoyed singing along. A big thank you to Bingyao and Ronnie from the Song Room for leading this special event!

Music Grant

We are thrilled to announce that we’ve secured a significant grant to partner with the Bluebird Foundation on an exciting music project next year. Students will explore their emerging identities as young adults and school leaders through music, collaborative song writing, dance, and video making. We can’t wait to see the final product! Many thanks to Bingyao for her hard work in writing the grant application.

School Yearbook

The Annual Yearbook has been shared online with families, and it’s a wonderful keepsake of the many events and activities that have taken place this year. A huge thank you to Mara for her  work  in putting together this publication.

                                                        Save the Date!

We’re excited to announce that Hamlyn Views School will be the starting point for the Variety Club’s Rally Around Victoria on February 28th next year. This annual fundraiser directly benefits Victorian children living with disabilities, illness, or disadvantage. Rally participants will stop at our school for a cooked breakfast before they head off on their drive. We are very happy to support this event given that we’re the proud owners of a bus previously donated by the Variety Club but it is also another opportunity for us to fundraise again. We’re hoping the school community can support this event by either volunteering to help us with breakfast between 7.30 and 9am,  or by donating breakfast food or raffle prizes. More details will be available at the start of Term 1.

Classes and Staffing

Last Tuesday, we held our annual Step-Up Day, where students moved to their 2025 classes and met their new teachers. We also welcomed new staff members during an Induction Day on Monday. While we’ve made several new appointments, we are still in the process of recruiting to fill some staffing gaps. 

We are looking forward to Ashley Kalkandis returning to her Assistant Principal role next year. I 'd like to thank Sam Simpkin who has been Acting AP this semester in Ashley's absence

Goodbyes

As the year comes to a close, we bid farewell to the following staff members who will be leaving us at the end of the year. We thank them for their contributions to our school community, and wish them all the best in their next adventures:

• Jessie Zerbst
• Lauren Foster
• Cara Pattenden-Stansfield
• Jarrod Clarke
• Brielle Stocks
• Demi Lucas
• Indiana Studham
• Tyler Carmody

Final Thanks

As we near the end of the year, I want to extend my gratitude to everyone in our school community for your continued  support and commitment. To our dedicated staff, thank you for your tireless efforts and passion in making a difference in the lives of our students. Your hard work and care are much appreciated. To all our families and carers, thank you for your continued partnership and trust in us. I wish everyone a restful and happy  holiday season. Stay safe, and I look forward to seeing you all in Term 1!