Principal's report

Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung People of the Kulin nation; past, present and those who will walk with us into the future. We acknowledge the rich and unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters and seas, educational practices and the hopes of all First Nations Peoples. We do this in the spirit of reconciliation as we move to a place of justice and partnership - together we work, learn, play and care for one another and this land.

An action-packed term

This term so far has been one of the busiest and most exciting times since I have been at Kalinda. We have certainly packed in so much over this last month, and I am truly grateful to the enormous efforts made by staff, parents, volunteers, and students to have made all the events we have had so exciting and memorable.

Whilst we pride ourselves on learning growth at Kalinda, and have amazing classroom teachers, school is more than just literacy and numeracy. School camps, production, athletics, and visits from our sister school provide opportunities for our students to have enjoyable and memorable experiences that help them to develop their resilience, teamwork, bravery, and a huge range of lifelong learning skills.

School Production - The Wizard of Oz

Our student performance of the Wizard of Oz over two nights last week was spectacular.  We were so incredibly proud of every student, both on-stage and behind the scenes; you absolutely shone and made us all so proud.

For some students, being under lights on the stage is where they are at their very best. We love allowing students to share their talents and display amazing acting, comedic, and singing skills.

For some others, getting up on stage is incredibly challenging and even scary. We are so proud of every student, who, with the support of our amazing staff, was able to face their fears and anxiety and get up on stage to perform. 

Providing opportunities to shine, and be completely outside of your comfort zone, are both incredibly important parts of school and human development. Resilience, bravery, and overcoming obstacles are what life is all about. Providing a balance of challenge and support is crucial to everything we aim to do at Kalinda.

Congratulations to our producer, Mrs Sarah Butler, and Director, Mrs Cheryl Henry-Wild, on a brilliant production. Please see the Production page in this newsletter for a list of thank yous. Without the amazing support of parent volunteers, these events are not possible.

Year 3-6 House Athletics

I was also incredibly proud of how our students all performed at our 3-6 House Athletics. There was a great sense of teamwork, supporting each other and striving to achieve your personal best.

Wishing all the students who qualified for District Athletics all the very best at this next level of competition. And congratulations to every single student for participaiting and giving it your all.

A huge thank you to Mrs Oakley for her amazing organisation, the staff for doing a great job at the event and to all the volunteers who gave up their time to make the day possible.

Visit from our Japanese sister school - Lilyvale Elementary 

It was a great pleasure to host the students and staff from our Japanese sister school, Lilyvale Elementary from the 14th to 19th August.

We had 13 year 5/6 students come to stay with our host families and attend school here at Kalinda. The students had a fantastic time, learnt a huge amount about Australian family and school life, and lifelong friendships were formed.

I am really proud of the international connection we provide our students at Kalinda and our strong partnership with our sister school strengthens every year.

Thank you to Hiromi sensei and White sensei for all of the amazing work they put in to making their visit a fantastic success.

And of course, a huge, huge thank you to all of our Host Families who gave the Lillyvale students an amazing time in Australia. Your kindness and generosity is so greatly appreciated.

Plans for our own students to travel to Japan in 2026 are already underway, and information will be shared during Term 4.

Invitation to participate in Parent Opinion Survey

Our school is conducting the annual Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey and is seeking your feedback. 

The survey, offered by the Department of Education, is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behavior, and student engagement.

Your opinions are important to us and will contribute to identifying areas for improvement and professional development needs in the school, to target school planning and improvement strategies. The department will use the results from the survey for research purposes and to improve outcomes for students.

The survey will be conducted online and only takes 20 minutes to complete. It can be completed on any internet enabled device (desktop computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone) and is compatible with most browsers.

The survey is available in English and 10 other languages: Arabic, Greek, Hakha Chin, Hindi, Japanese, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Turkish, and Vietnamese. If you require assistance in another language, resources may be available for you. Please reach out to your child’s teacher, or the school if you require assistance in another language.

The Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey will be open online from Monday 18 August to Friday 19 September 2025.

To complete the survey, simply:

1.    Click on the link below, or copy and paste the text into your browser. This link will take you directly to the survey.

https://research.orima.com/parent

2.    Select the School and Campus name below.

School Name: Kalinda Primary School

Campus Name: Kalinda Primary School

3.    Enter the School PIN below.

PIN: 785824

4.    When complete, please click on the ‘Submit’ button at the end of the survey to submit your answers.Please note that the survey will time out after 60 minutes of inactivity.

PLEASE NOTE: Only one parent / caregiver / guardian from your household is invited to complete the survey on behalf of the student’s family. Please reach out to your child’s teacher, or the school if your child’s family lives in two separate households, so both households can have the opportunity to provide their feedback.

To protect your responses, please DO NOT share the survey link and PIN with others, or on a public website, forum or similar.

Please be assured that your responses are completely confidential

The survey is conducted anonymously, and it is important to our school that you complete the survey as honestly as possible.

ORIMA Research, a private research company, is conducting this survey on behalf of the Department of Education. ORIMA Research Pty Ltd has not been and will not be provided with the contact details, names or any other personal identifying information about the parents / caregivers / guardians invited to complete the survey.

The department, the survey supplier (ORIMA Research) and the school can never personally identify you, or see your responses linked with the PIN.

The department and ORIMA protect your responses in accordance with the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic), the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) and the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic). ORIMA Research also adheres to the Privacy (Market and Social Research) Code 2021, as well as relevant State and Territory legislation. For more information, please visit ORIMA’s Privacy Policy here: http://www.orima.com.au/home/privacy-policy and the department’s Schools' Privacy Policy here: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Pages/schoolsprivacypolicy.aspx.

Questions?

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any general queries about the survey. For specific technical or participation-related queries, you may also contact the department or the supplier administering the survey, ORIMA Research.

·      Should you have any technical queries regarding the survey, or questions regarding the privacy and confidentiality of your survey responses, please do not hesitate to contact ORIMA Research on 1800 654 585 (toll-free during business hours), or by email: pos@orima.com

·      Should you have any participation or survey-related queries, please contact the school, or the department by email: school.surveys@education.vic.gov.au

52 Marathons in 52 Weeks

Curtis Cooper, the father of Archie in Year 2, is running 52 marathons in 52 weeks!! He is doing so to raise money for Braveheart, who strive to put an end to child sexual abuse.

Last year Curtis ran 7 marathons  in 7 states in 7 days, but this year, he is taking his efforts to a whole new level and is also striving to raise $250,000 for Bravehearts.

He will complete one of his marathons at school on Friday 24th October and come and speak at our assembly on that day.

Please see this link below for more information or to make a donation to support his efforts.

https://fundraise.bravehearts.org.au/52-in-52

Enrolling in 2026

If you have not yet enrolled your child for 2026, you still can. Please contact the office on 03 9876 3289 or see our website for more information: https://www.kalinda.vic.edu.au/page/131/Foundation-2026-enrolments

We are kind. We are resilient. We are respectful.