Principal's Message

Anthony Jackson

Jackson School is a collaborative learning community for all. We aim to develop independence through safety, respect and responsibility. We aspire to offer authentic, quality educational experiences that develop futures, create opportunities
and inspire student potential; enabling our students to be valued and contributing members of the wider community. We share and celebrate our successes and achievements.

The Issue Highlights

Harmony Week & Fun Run!
Stop Work Action - Thank you!
Jackson Student Leadership Team (JSLT) 2026
New School Council
Goodbyes
Showcase of students' learning from across the school in the Junior School, Middle School and Senior School
Health and Wellbeing information to support you and your child.
Community news including from Jackson OSHC provider TheirCare.
School Dates: For the most up-to-date calendar dates, always refer to the Xuno Calendar in your Parent Portal.

Dear Families,

Harmony Week & Fun Run!

Harmony Week is the celebration that recognises our diversity and brings together Australians from all different backgrounds. It is a time to celebrate that Australia is one of the most successful multicultural societies in the world. It is about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background, united by a set of core Australian values. Our cultural diversity is one of our greatest strengths and is at the heart of who we are. It makes Australia a great place to live.

Click here to view recipes of different cuisines from around the world.

Multiculturalism and diversity is also a core part of our school community. Our school is home to people who speak over 52 languages and our staff, students and their families have over 30 different countries of birth, with 25% of students speaking another language other than English at home. It's also a place where anyone can contribute and belong.

Below is a map and the flags of the diversity of our students family backgrounds. *If the flag of your family background is not represented here, please contact the office to update your family details.

Stop Work Action - Thank you!

Thank you to all of our families who supported the stop work action this week. I was very appreciative of all of our families who were able to make alternative arrangement for your child/ren on this day. As a consequence, we only had a very small number of students onsite on this day.

The Australian Education Union (AEU) Victorian Branch organised a 24-hour statewide strike for the first time in 13 years, involving over 30,000 public school teachers, principals, and education support staff. The strike action was taken following the rejection of the Victorian government's latest pay offer after eight months of negotiations, including: pay dispute to combat cost-of-living pressures and align with better wages in other states; excessive workloads with Teachers feeling overworked; school underfunding which impacts resources and staff support; staff retention and recruitment to address the ongoing workforce shortage.

A large number of our staff sacrificed a days pay to take part in the stop work action with many also attending the rally in the city. Thank you the AEU members to fighting for better pay and conditions across the teaching service.

Jackson Student Leadership Team (JSLT) 2026

This week we also appointed our 2026 Jackson Student Leadership Team (JSLT). Over the last couple of weeks, our students have applied and sat an interview for student leader positions. I would like to congratulate all of our successful student leaders, particularly our new school captains.

School Captain: Hayden B

School Vice-Captains: Noel

Primary Captain: Shailene

Primary Vice-Captain: Kyle, Kane

Student Leaders: Sterling, Lockie, Haidah, Zakaria, Noah, Zion, Boa, Ruari, Eilaija, Adam, Deng, Mercy, Benyam, Jeff, Ryan, Fynn, Yuna, Darios, Ngor, Sammy N, An, Joshua O, Jamsine, Jason, Jovanni, James, Audra, Evika, Anderson, Victor, Jayden, Abu, Erhan, Roisin, Jessica, Hayley, Zion, Dylan, Arum, Amelia, Archie, Lachlan, Georgina, Skye, Mitchell, Makela, Rashad, Daniel H, Ashton.

Our captains and student leaders play an important role in providing feedback to myself and the leadership team as well as representing the Jackson School at events and greeting important visitors to the school. Thank you to our outgoing captains and student leaders for their input and leadership in 2025.

New School Council

Last Tuesday, we had our Public Reporting Meeting of School Council. School Councils comprise of parents/carers, the principal, staff, community members and secondary students. They both bring a range of experience to help in governing our school. Thank you Loretta Sultana for your service and support in governing our school. Congratulations to our new and returning office bearers: Rod Tobin (President), Ian Brittle (Vice-President), Joe Lawrence (Treasurer), Jo Garofalo (Secretary). The members of the Jackson School Council are:

President: Rod Tobin (Parent Member)
Vice-President: Ian Brittle (Parent Member)
Treasurer: Joseph Lawrence (Community Member)
Secretary: Jo Garofalo (DE Staff)
Executive Officer: Anthony Jackson (Principal)
Returning Parent Members: Alisha Spargo, Daniel Borg, Venkatesh Manni Ramachandran
Returning Staff Member: Matthew Gravatt (Business & Operations Manager)
Student Member: Hayden B (School Captain)
Student Member: (School Vice-Captain)

If you are interested in joining school council please contact Jo Garofalo via the school office.

Goodbye

Ian Phelan has made the decision to retire from 26 years at Jackson School. More recently Ian has been responsible for our Active and Sporting Schools programs where he has coordinated group Health and Fitness session. This has included giving our students the opportunity to participate in tennis coaching. 12 years ago as a teacher at Jackson School, Ian and I took a group of boys to Beechworth on 100km bike camp. As a new staff member, I didn't have the heart to tell Ian that I hadn't been on a bike for some time let alone riding 100km with kids. Thank you for your commitment and dedication to our school community and students over the years. Best wishes for this next chapter.

We also say goodbye to Libby who has worked with us as an ES since the start of last year. Libby is now exploring legal assistant positions. Libby has made lots of staff friendships in a short amount of time so I am sure we will see you again soon. We wish you all the very best.

School Holidays Activities

Here are some activity suggestions for the school holidays:

Last Day of Term 3

The last day for students is Thursday 2nd April at 2:50pm. Buses and OSHC will run as normal on this day.

The first day for students in Term 2 is Monday 20th April 2026.

I hope you all have a happy and safe holiday break, and we look forward to seeing you all next term.

Anthony