2026 IMPORTANT DIARY DATES
- 8th and 10th September - School Production
PUPIL FREE DAYS (TheirCare School Holiday Program will be available on pupil-free days)
- Wednesday 6th May
- Friday 5th June
- Wednesday 15th July
- Monday 2nd November
2026 CAMP DATES
- Year 5 Lady Northcote Discovery Camp: 07 October to 09 October
- Year 4 Anglesea Discovery Camp: 13 May to 15 May
- Year 3 Phillip Island Adventure Camp: 26 October to 28 October
2026 TERM DATES
- TERM 2: 20 April - 26 June
- TERM 3: 13 July - 18 September
- TERM 4: 5 October- 18 December
Welcome Back Hopefully, everyone had a wonderful Easter and for those of us lucky enough to enjoy school holidays I trust these were restful and enjoyable. We have a busy ten-week term 2 in front of us as we head toward shorter days and colder weather. A reminder that we have two pupil free days during the term, the first being on Wednesday, May 6 and the second on Friday, June 5. Whole day care is available via Their Care for both, provided you book in advance of course! ANZAC Ceremony Students and teachers will take part in an ANZAC Day ceremony tomorrow from 10.25am in the gymnasium. Parents are invited to attend. Term 2 Events There is always plenty to keep everyone busy at Viewbank PS and this term is no exception. Whilst it is still just April, we hold the first of our 2027 Information Sessions next Thursday, April 30 in the gymnasium! The Cross Country program for students in Grades 3 to 6 commences with the school cross country to be held at Price Park on Tuesday, April 28. Our parents and Friends Walkathon has been rescheduled to Tuesday, May 5 and the Grade 4s head to Anglesea Camp on May 12. Probably the most important of all events in the first few weeks of term is the Mother’s Day stall to be held on Thursday, May 7 in preparation for that special day on May 10. Best you mark all of those dates down now!! Term 2 Industrial Action The AEU has flagged its intention to continue with industrial action during Term 2, with this taking slightly different forms to the whole day stop work late in Term 1. I will give sufficient notice to all parents, students and community members of any action which may impact them. At this stage there is the possibility of half day stop work action on a day/days yet to be announced, and the withdrawal of comments on midyear reports but further notice and/or information will be provided on these in due course. Hoping you have a great weekend. Kind regards, Bill Kersing Principal
At Viewbank we value the diversity of culture, ethnicity, and faith of all our students. We are proud of our diversity, and everyone is welcome at our school. Celebrating the diversity of our community makes us stronger, kinder and more innovative. We are committed to making sure that students from all backgrounds feel accepted, supported and able to learn. We teach all students according to our school values of Respect, Resilience, Responsibility and Kindness, and teach the respectful relationships framework. This includes education around diversity and inclusion. To achieve our values and aims, everyone at Viewbank plays an important role. Through our School-Wide Positive Behaviour program, we routinely reminded students of our values and the importance of using these in everything we do. To help us make Viewbank a place where everyone feels welcome, respected and supported, we encourage you to also speak to your child about these values, as well as the importance of:
- understanding that we celebrate diversity and multicultural inclusion
- understanding the importance of everyone at school being treated with respect
- understanding that Viewbank takes racism very seriously
- reporting incidents of racism
- understanding that the school will support students if they experience or see their classmates experience this racism
For more information, please see Racism: talking with children and teens, Raising Children Network. We also expect families to also display our school values when dealing with other members of our school community. The Preventing and Addressing Racism in Schools policy supports all government schools to strengthen their culture and practice to prevent and address racism, religious intolerance and racial and religious vilification. All Victorian government schools must implement this policy. This policy is available in over 30 languages and also supports compliance with Victoria’s Child Safe Standards. If you or your child/ren have experienced racism or other unfair treatment, Viewbank PS is here to help. Please talk with the Leadership team. If you don’t feel comfortable reporting the incident to school, you can call or email the Report Racism hotline. The Department of Education runs the Report Racism hotline. It is available 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) on 1800 722 476 or via email at report.racism@education.vic.gov.au. Late last term we celebrated Cultural Diversity week with classroom activities and a parade of national dress/cultural attire at assembly. Many students proudly shared the significance of their cultural dress as well as insights into their cultural traditions and the different languages spoken within our community. Gill
WELCOME BACK Welcome back to what will be another very busy school term! LOST PROPERTY With cooler mornings and warmish days, jumpers and jackets regularly end up in lost property. If your child has lost their clothing, please check the lost property bin outside the Music room. As a reminder. Clothing items that are named are much more likely to be found and returned to the correct owner. Unnamed items that are of reasonable quality are likely to be re-sold through our second-hand uniform shop (open on Fridays 3-3:30pm, at the Music room). WALK-A-THON Don’t forget that the re-scheduled event is fast approaching on Tuesday 05 May. New fliers have been placed around the school and further below in this newsletter. TRAFFIC AROUND THE SCHOOL Please continue to be mindful of all road users, car, bus and pedestrians as you move around the local streets, particularly around drop off and pick up time. EARLY ARRIVALS TO SCHOOL Student safety is always our first priority. Please be aware that school supervision (Yard Duty) is provided only from 8:50am to 9:00am before school, and 3:30pm to 3:40pm after school. Students arriving outside these hours are unsupervised. For drop-offs before 8:50am, we strongly recommend enrolling your child in the TheirCare out-of-hours program. They offer supervised care from 6:30 am to 9:00 am before school and 3:30pm to 6:15pm after school, Monday to Friday, including school holidays and curriculum days. Contact TheirCare directly for enrolment details. This ensures your child's safety and provides a structured environment. Have a great weekend! Patrick
Financial Contributions Viewbank Primary School sincerely thanks all parents and carers for their financial support this year. Your contributions play an important role in enhancing our students’ learning by providing additional resources and opportunities beyond the standard curriculum. They have helped us to:
- deliver high-quality programs across all subject areas
- maintain and improve school grounds and facilities
- support and maintain digital devices and online subscriptions
- provide books, learning materials, and classroom supplies
- supply sporting equipment and hands-on learning resources
- ensure effective first aid for all students
Thank you for being a valued part of our school community. Enrolments For Foundation/Prep 2027 is Now Open Enrolments for the 2027 intake of Foundation/Prep students is now open. In line with the Department of Education’s Placement Policy and timeline, we will contact you in early August to advise the outcome of your child’s Foundation/Prep enrolment application. Please refer to Factsheet for more information.
Kind regards, Lucy Addati
To support the RSL ANZAC Day Appeal, Viewbank Primary School will be holding a Gold Coin Donation Day this Friday. Funds raised go toward supporting veterans and their families. If you prefer to donate online, you can do so via this link: https://shoutforgood.com/b/oAWyyN 🔗 Donate Online Please note:
- This is not a free dress day – students are expected to wear their regular school uniform.
- ANZAC badges are also available for purchase at the General Office, priced between $2 and $5.
Thank you for your continued support.
Issue 3 of Book Club is now available! - Orders Close Tuesday 5th May Issue 3 of Book Club is here—and it’s packed with great reads your child will love - ORDER NOW Here’s why now’s the time to order: ❤️ Great value for every budget With more than 50 titles at $6 or less, it’s easy to find something affordable. ❤️ Order now, get rewarded again When you place an order on Issue 3, you’ll receive a $5 discount code to use on Issue 4. ❤️ Build a love of reading at home Regular reading helps boost confidence, imagination and learning. Book Club makes it easy (and affordable) to grow your home library. ✨National Family Reading Month ✨ Register your family's participation in National Family Reading Month coming up in May, and you'll go into the draw to win one of 50 signed copies of Worst Hero Ever!: Feet First. Happy reading! ✨ ISSUE PREVIEW | Scholastic Australia https://mybookclubs.scholastic.com.au/Parent/Login.aspx
Walk-a-thon Reminder A quick reminder that our Walk-a-thon, which was postponed last term due to wet weather, will now take place on Tuesday 5 May (Term 2). Final details and any timetable changes will be shared soon. The fundraising link https://compasstix.com/e/p2owg7i0tn is open until Monday 11 May, so there’s still time to support the event. Thank you to everyone for your understanding and support—we’re looking forward to a great day!
Lower Plenty Bakehouse proudly partners with our school to provide fundraising lunch orders every Thursday. This initiative, organised by our Parents and Friends Committee, serves as one of our school’s major fundraising efforts. All proceeds will go towards our significant school upgrade project. Term 2 Fundraising Lunch Order Dates: Thursday 30th April (Orders close: Monday 27th April, 3:00 PM) Thursday 7th May (Orders close: Monday 4th May, 3:00 PM) Thursday 14th May (Orders close: Monday 11th May, 3:00 PM) Thursday 21st May (Orders close: Monday 18th May, 3:00 PM) Thursday 28th May (Orders close: Monday 25th May, 3:00 PM) Thursday 4th June (Orders close: Monday 1st June, 3:00 PM) Thursday 11th June (Orders close: Monday 8th June, 3:00 PM) Thursday 18th June (Orders close: Monday 15th June, 3:00 PM) Thursday 25th June (Orders close: Monday 22nd June, 3:00 PM) Ordering Instructions: Orders must be placed in advance via Compass Canteen. Ordering will close at 3:00 PM on the Monday before each lunch date. You can now place orders for all Term 2 lunch dates in advance if preferred. All food is Halal. A Parent User Guide on how to order through Compass Canteen is below for your convenience. Please note, a $0.35 transaction fee will apply at checkout. Thank you for supporting our school community!
ICY POLE FRIDAY Students can purchase icy poles over the counter every Friday at lunchtime for $1.00 each. We offer an assortment of different icy poles each week, but always have Zooper Doopers available.This serves as a school fundraiser.
If you're interested in volunteering as a parent helper to sell icy poles, please contact the school's general office.
Entertainment Book 20% of the membership goes directly to support our fundraising at Viewbank Primary School. https://www.entertainment.com.au/current-promotion
Lunches must be ordered online using the CLASSROOM CUISINE website.
WEEKLY SECOND HAND UNIFORM SALE - Every Friday 3:00pm to 3:30pm, next to the music room. Jumpers with the school logo, long and short sleeve school polo tops and school dresses will be $2.00. We are currently asking for donations of any unwanted reusable school uniform items to sell at our stall.
SINGING WITH GABRIELLA - Gabriella
- Email: favrettogab@gmail.com
- Phone: 0413 676 733
STRINGS – Jack Cai
- Email: jack3bld@gmail.com
- Phone: 0426 665 044
STRINGS - MR CAI
- Email: cai66@optusnet.com.au
- Phone: 0403 490 078
PIANO/KEYBOARD/DRUMS - Daniel Tucceri
- Email: info@banyulemusicandtutoring.com
- Phone: 0405 667 908
GUITAR - Dimi Holborow
- Email: mastermusic606@outlook.com
- Phone: 0409 629 612
Our school has partnered with an independent provider called TheirCare to provide exceptional Outside School Hours Care services for our school community.
The program is available for all children at Viewbank Primary School from 6:30am until 9:00am in the morning and from 3:30pm until 6:15pm each school day.
During School Holidays & Pupil Free Days the service will operate from 6:30am until 6:15pm.
Families wishing to use this service can visit the TheirCare website: www.theircare.com.au
Families are eligible for a Government Rebate called the Child Care Subsidy which can reduce the cost per session by up to 85%.
More information can be obtained by contacting the school or ringing TheirCare Support Team on 1300 072 410.
TheirCare provides a stimulating and safe environment for all children. During sessions, children develop life-skills, friendships, confidence and creativity through play-based programs.
Lowes Northland Uniform Store – Relocation We’d like to let families know that the Lowes Northland store has relocated to a new space within the Northland Shopping Centre.
- New location (from 14 March): Tenancy K004, near Rebel and JB Hi-Fi, Northland Shopping Centre
Families can also shop online via the Lowes website. https://www.lowes.com.au/schools-online/viewbank-primary-school Thank you for your understanding while the store completes its move.