Viewbank Voice 07.05.2026

2026 IMPORTANT DIARY DATES

• 8th and 10th September - School Production

PUPIL FREE DAYS (TheirCare School Holiday Program will be available on pupil-free days)

• 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

SCHOOL COUNCIL Just a reminder to all School Councillors that the May meeting of School Council is next Tuesday, May 12, commencing at 7pm in the staffroom.   ANGLESEA CAMP The Grade 4s are heading down the highway next Wednesday, May 13 for their three-day adventure at the Anglesea Discovery Camp, a YMCA hosted venue. Many thanks to the Grade 4 team for all of their planning in advance and I trust and hope the weather is fine for the duration.  For those interested in the venue and activities on offer, please navigate to https://camps.ymca.org.au/anglesea-discovery-camp   WORKING BEE Just a heads up that the first working bee for 2026 is planned for Sunday, May 17, commencing around 9am (come earlier or later if you wish!!).  There are a range of tasks planned, with all ‘handyman’ skills catered for and with the promise of a sausage sizzle and good company we hope we will get a large turnout on the day.  Further information will be posted via Compass in upcoming days.   DISTRICT CROSS COUNTRY After the successful school cross country held at Price Park last month, the next step for those students who have qualified is the District Cross Country to be held at Banyule Flats on Tuesday, May 19.  For those who can manage some time off from work or home duties we would love to see you there to cheer on all of our talented runners. Medals were presented at assembly on Monday, May 4 with the following students making their way to the ‘dais’ during assembly :- Clementine ALEXANDER-BODY Clara ARIYATHILAKA Gabriel ARUL Xander BEILIN Imara BHARDWAJ Emma BOOTH Jack BOUETTE Riley CADUSCH Alexander CARNOVALE Paris CAVALIERI Emma CHEN Marcus CHIANG Indigo COOK Cameron CULLEN Benjamin DI MARZIO Madeline DIAS Beau DORAN Aoife FINN Costa GEORGAKOPOULOS Ariana GEORGAKOPOULOS Ethan HOWELL Maddie ISAAC Georgia KENT Cartia LA ROSA Lars LEWIS Ruby MARTIN Jessica MARTINEZ Jake MCKELLAR Tea MCMURRAY Rubi NARULA Nita NIKKHAHAN Atilla NOTARO Freya O'REILLY Ciaran PALMER Henry PANNIFEX Morgan PATFORD Chau PHAM Max PIASECKI Ashley RALPH Bailey RALPH Lizzie RANCE Scarlett RICARDO Lucas SCHMIDT Evelyn SELETTO Sansa SHABESAN Sami SHARIF Bi Ren TIAM Oleg TSYGANOV Zara VASIC George VASILIADIS Hesam VESAL Layla WALKER Mia Guo WANG Sam WATKINS Charlotte WATKINS Hamish WATT Tyler WEBER-BYRNE Ethan WOO Billy WOODHAMS Bethany WORTH

EDUCATION WEEK OPEN DAY AND MORNING Education Week is an annual celebration of public education in Victoria. In 2026, Victoria celebrates Education Week from Monday 18 May to Friday 22 May. At Viewbank Primary School, our school will be open for the community to see what great programs we have on offer from 9.30am until 3.00pm on Tuesday, May 19.  School tours will be on offer on that day with our student leaders from Grade 6 conducting these tours as required.  This is a great opportunity for you to see our school in action and to hear about our school from the student’s viewpoint.  Further, our school will also be open on Saturday morning, May 23, primarily for new and prospective families who perhaps couldn’t take up the Tuesday opportunity but would nonetheless like to tour the school facilities and hear from some of our students what makes an education at our school great!   ENROLMENTS 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. If you live within our school zone or you already have a sibling enrolled at our school your enrolment will automatically be accepted but for planning purposes please get these enrolments in earlier rather than later! We have capacity for 675 enrolments across the school and expect to be able to cater for around 80-90 Foundation students in 2027.   SCHOOL HISTORY You may or may not know that when Viewbank PS turned 50 years old in February 2016, we had a huge day of celebrations to mark the occasion.  Rooms were set aside to house memorabilia from each decade, there was an official ‘opening’ to mark the occasion and have a cake-cutting ceremony (involving ‘original’ staff and students from 1966), an honour board was unveiled and a 50th birthday book was published written largely by Louise Buissink, our library technician, education support staff member and unofficial historian. Our 60th birthday slipped by a few months ago without the same fanfare, but I wanted to let the community know that we are planning on a reprint of the original book this year, along with a second (much smaller) update entitled ‘Viewbank PS- the next ten years’ (or similar).  Over the next few newsletters, we plan to re-release excerpts from the original publication, and in so doing gauge how much interest there might be in not only the reprint but the update of the school’s more recent history.  The last ten years have been significant ones, not least because of the massive facilities upgrades that have taken place. 

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our wonderful mothers a very special Mother’s Day for this Sunday.  I hope you are all truly spoiled! Grateful thanks to our Parents and Friends committee for organising a terrific Mother’s Day Stall today.

Kind regards,   Bill Kersing Principal

Thank You to our Education Support Staff This month we would like to recognise and thank our Education Support Staff (ESS), who are an essential part of our Viewbank Primary School community. Education Support Day is officially the 16th May and allows us to honour and recognise the extraordinary contribution Education Support Staff make to public education. We will be celebrating our amazing ESS team with a morning tea on Wednesday 20th May.   Please join with us to celebrate and thank Lucy, Sue, Georgeina, Louise, Fiona, Thelma, Sarina, Bree, Kelli, Melissa, Kirtley, Jodi, Heather, Jamie, Anu, Inoka, Chris and Trev for their extraordinary contributions, hard work and dedication that they demonstrate every day!  These talented people help to keep our school running smoothly and ensure everything is on track. They look after the school finances, business operations, enrolments, administration and the health and welfare of everyone. They support our students to learn and our teachers to teach, they provide additional programs, manage our library and look after our school environment. Our ES staff are essential in educating the ‘whole student’ – their contributions ensure that our school is a welcoming and safe environment where students’ academic, health, socio-emotional and practical needs are met, fostering equitable and inclusive education. Our school simply could not function without our wonderful ES staff. Your contributions are truly appreciated.

A huge thank you to our amazing Parents and Friends group, as well as all the volunteers that organised and assisted at the Mother’s Day stall today. There were so many lovely items for the students to choose from. I hope all our Mums and special friends have a wonderful day on Sunday.

Regards Gill

Parents and Friends A sincere thank you to our Parents and Friends Committee for the significant time and effort they have invested behind the scenes over recent months. Their work in organising events such as the Walkathon and Mother’s Day Stall helps provide meaningful and enjoyable experiences for our students. We also extend our appreciation to the many parent volunteers who support these events, as well as to all families who contribute financially. Your support is especially valued given the increasing cost of living and the financial pressures many are currently facing.

Class Coverage Like all employees in Victoria, our staff are entitled to access sick and personal leave when required. Schools do not have a designated pool of Casual Relief Teachers (CRTs) assigned exclusively to them. CRTs are able to work across a range of schools, although some may choose to regularly support one or two particular sites. When a staff member is absent, we make every effort to secure a replacement teacher. Our priority is to maintain stable learning environments, and we aim to avoid ‘splitting’ classes, where small groups of students are temporarily placed across other classrooms, unless it is necessary. Inclement Weather Policy As the weather becomes cooler and wetter, there will be times when students are required to remain indoors during recess and lunchtime in line with our Inclement Weather Policy. For the purposes of this policy, inclement weather includes conditions such as extreme heat, rain, lightning, dust, strong wind, cold, or any other circumstance deemed unsuitable for outdoor activity by the Principal or Assistant Principals. As we move into more typical winter conditions with colder temperatures, rain and wind, it is important to note that cold weather alone does not usually require students to stay indoors. We encourage families to ensure children come to school with appropriate warm clothing, or at the very least have a jumper in their bag. We also know that for some families, encouraging children to wear anything beyond a polo shirt and shorts can be a challenge, regardless of the temperature! For rain, we always check the Australian Bureau of Meteorology radar https://www.bom.gov.au/weather-and-climate/rain-radar-and-weather-maps (new BOM site) or https://reg.bom.gov.au/products/IDR023.loop.shtml (previous BOM site) to see what rain is coming, or not! You can find our Inclement Weather Policy on our website here: http://www.viewbankps.vic.edu.au/forms-policies   Have a great weekend,   Patrick

Second Hand Uniform Shop Due to a lack of parent volunteers, the Second Hand Uniform Shop will be closed tomorrow. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause to families who were planning to visit during this time. 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

2026 Student Attitudes to School Survey We are pleased to invite our students in Years 4 to 6 to participate in the annual Student Attitudes to School Survey (AtoSS). This voluntary survey provides valuable insights into student experiences, including their thoughts on school life, learning, and wellbeing. The survey will be conducted at our school from 25 May to 12 June. Please find a link to the detailed parent information which outlines the survey process, how privacy is protected, and instructions on how to opt out if you prefer your child not to participate.

Walk-a-thon Our Walk-a-thon took place on Tuesday 5 May, and it was a fantastic day. Thank you to everyone for their support and involvement. The event ran smoothly, and it was wonderful to see everyone come together for such a great cause. It is now time to make donations, and the fundraising link remains open until Monday 11 May, 9am. Every contribution will help make a real difference. https://compasstix.com/e/p2owg7i0tn  Thank you again for your understanding and support.

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 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 – 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.