2026 IMPORTANT DIARY DATES
- Monday 23rd March: NAPLAN last day
- Wednesday 25th March: Whole school Walk-a-thon
- 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 1: 28 January - 2 April
- TERM 2: 20 April - 26 June
- TERM 3: 13 July - 18 September
- TERM 4: 5 October- 18 December
NAPLAN The dramas associated with the first day of this year’s NAPLAN testing have been well documented and extended right across Australia. Having said that, the appropriate adjustments and catch ups have been made and the program has run relatively smoothly since then. Grateful thanks to Patrick Walsh for his high-level organisation of this (as always), and to all staff for their careful and considered administration of the assessments. SCHOOL CAMP – GRADE 6 As you read this, the Grade 6 students are actively engaged in the second day of their three day camp at CYC Phillip Island Adventure Camp Resort. I have attached a link to the camp website for your interest - https://piar.cyc.org.au/ . Many thanks to the Grade 6 team for the planning and implementation of this highlight of the Grade 6 school year (and for allowing me to come along and be part of the fun!). To date, the students have taken part in a range of activities including beach combing at Smith’s Beach, the giant swing, flying fox, canoeing and archery. And, of course, a trip to Phillip Island is not complete without a visit to the penguin parade. Many thanks also to other staff members and parent volunteers for coming along to ensure our student supervision ratios are more than adequate and for contributing and supporting in so many ways. When all is said and done, taking 106 Grade 6 students away for three days and providing a fun filled program with due diligence and care is a massive undertaking so grateful thanks to all involved!
INDUSTRIAL ACTION As you will be aware, the Australian Education Union has called on its members to take strike action on Tuesday 24 March 2026. This is because of the breakdown in negotiations over the new Victorian Government Schools Agreement (VGSA). The VSGA is an industrial agreement that sets the pay, working conditions, and rules for staff working in Victorian government schools. Presently, it is being negotiated between the government and staff of government schools via the Australian Principals Federation and the Australian Education Union. The previous VSGA expired at the end of 2025. I believe there will be a number of staff who WILL be taking industrial action next Tuesday and will NOT be in attendance. Staff need to give me 48 hours notice of their intention to stop work. Students of staff taking action are not required to attend. If this will cause you difficulties, in particular if you are a critical services worker, please get in touch as soon as possible after we advise of whether or not your child’s teacher is taking action. You will receive final summary information about this via Compass at 8am on Monday, March 23 outlining the staff taking industrial action and those grades where students are not expected to attend school. I would advise families to contemplate care arrangements for Tuesday as a precaution, understanding that there will be disruptions on the day. Whole day TheirCare will NOT be provided. SCHOOL COUNCIL NEWS It was a busy night on Tuesday, March 10 when School Council met in the staffroom. Firstly we presented the Annual Report of 2025. The Annual Report provides an opportunity to share the school’s achievements and progress with the school community, and it is a legislative requirement that all Victorian government schools prepare such a report each year by April 30 and that this includes specific information on student outcomes, attendance and financial activities. The Annual report was ratified by School Council and now needs to pass through the Department’s QA process before it is published both in our newsletter and on our website. The second meeting of the evening was the election of office bearers meeting, and I am pleased to announce the following office bearers for 2026:- PRESIDENT Aisha Stewart VICE PRESIDENT Michael Parrent TREASURER Andrew Hume SECRETARY Kate Cullen You will also note from our previous newsletter that we needed to coopt one further parent member to School Council and I am pleased to announce that Aaron Davies is that parent member. Hopefully in an upcoming newsletter, I will be able to provide photos of all School Councillors so that you can put a name to a face and then have a means of sharing ideas, thoughts and feedback for the betterment of School Council meetings into the future!! DIVISIONAL SWIMMING Congratulations to all of our students who competed at the Divisional Swimming Championships last week. A great effort from all. Special congratulations to the following students who have qualified for the Regional event to be held at Oak Park today :- Lucas Liu - Boys U12 Freestyle and backstroke Darcy Carpenter - Boys U11 Breaststroke Charles Li - Boys U12 Breaststroke Girls U11 Freestyle Relay - Madeline Dias, Thalisa Kosumo, Imara Bhardwaj, Rubi Narula
STUDENT LEADERS BADGE PRESENTATION BY KATE THWAITES We were thrilled to welcome Kate Thwaites, Federal Member for Jagajaga to our school on Monday to present captains badges to our Communications Captains (Kaisan Furqan and Marley Walker) and our Sustainability Captains (Ethan Emerson and Noah Kuriakose). Having such noted community members present the badges is not only a thrill for the students and their families but also emphasises the importance of the roles they have undertaken to take on in 2026.
ANNUAL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN At our March School Council Meeting, School Council ratified our Annual Implementation Plan for 2026. All schools must prepare an AIP each year which outlines how the school will implement the goals and key improvement strategies (KIS) that will be their focus for improvement in the coming year. Our four-year strategic goals are to maximise learning outcomes for all students and to maximise wellbeing and inclusion for all students. We intend to strengthen teacher capacity to implement evidence-based teaching strategies that enable student cognitive engagement in their learning and to strengthen a whole school approach to promoting student wellbeing. The full AIP is now a link on our website for those who really wish to have a more forensic read and understanding of what we are setting out to achieve this year. PUPIL FREE DAYS FOR THE REMAINDER OF 2026 The four further pupil free days for 2026 are now set in stone, having been approved by School Council. They are:- Wednesday, May 6 - Disability Inclusion Focus Friday, June 5 - Implementation of the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model Wednesday, July 15 - Three Way Conferences Monday, November 2 - Report Writing Day Whole day care is available via Their Care on those days. FREE BOOK One of our families contacted me with the following, which I am happy to share with our school community. A Free e-book for our children, illustrated by one of our students in Foundation Kookaburra Kindness is a free children’s book created to help young children feel safe, connected, and reassured in a world that can sometimes feel confusing or overwhelming. The story centres love, belonging, and simple acts of kindness, reminding children that small actions — like sharing, helping, or including others — can make a big difference. What makes this book especially special for our school community is that it was illustrated by Aayah, a student in Foundation S, and authored by her mother. Over the holidays, Aayah and her mum worked together to create the story and illustrations, with Aayah’s drawings shaping the gentle, hopeful tone of the book. Kookaburra Kindness was created with early childhood and primary-aged children in mind. The book also includes contributions from a Jewish Aunty and a Wiradjuri Elder, bringing voices of wisdom, connection, and shared responsibility for caring for children and community. A free PDF version is available for parents, educators and schools to download, print and use as they wish, alongside a printed edition for classrooms and libraries. Free PDF: https://forms.gle/4M1se7u58vU31nth7 Printed Copy: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0GGH554TP?ref=sp_email Kookaburra Kindness is a beautiful example of how storytelling, creativity, and community can come together to support children’s wellbeing and sense of belonging. I trust everyone has a lovely weekend. Kind regards, Bill Kersing
Cultural Diversity Week and Harmony Day Victoria’s annual Cultural Diversity Week recognises our rich multicultural heritage and is being celebrated from March 21 to 29. Cultural Diversity Week is a great opportunity to highlight and celebrate the cultures within and around our school. The theme for 2026 is Culture connects us all, and highlights how sharing intercultural stories and experiences fosters understanding, belonging and connection. At Viewbank, we will celebrate with different activities across the week with a special focus on Monday 23rd March, for Harmony Day when students are invited to wear their cultural dress and celebrate during a cultural parade at assembly. Our student leadership team are currently developing a range of resources to promote and celebrate the week. More information regarding the planned activities will be communicated by our student communication captains. Across our school, the students and staff will be using these events to share and reflect on our multicultural heritages and stories while strengthening cultural inclusion within our school and community .
Year 6 Camp We have had a great start to camp with the Year 6 students jumping eagerly into activities and embracing camp life 100%.
Hopefully you will be able to join us at assembly on Monday 23rd for our cultural diversity parade. Gill
Planning Week Next week (23 to 27 March) is our Term 1 Planning Week. Traditionally, this normally occurs in the second last week of each term. It is hard to believe that we are at the second last week of term already! For new families to our community, Planning Week is where your child/ren’s specialist classes are compressed into one day (they do not have specialist classes at any other time throughout the week). All classroom teachers in a year level, e.g. Foundation, have the same day together. This day is to reflect on Term 1, and to plan for Term 2. A question we sometime have from parents is ‘Will my child have the same Specialist Teacher as they normally do?’ e.g. Mrs Davey for Music. The answer is (like all good questions) ‘it depends’. The reason for this is that we have several part-time staff in specialist positions, and they may not be available on the allocated days. Our Specialist Teachers also receive time to reflect on Term 1 and to plan for next term. The timetable for next week is as follows:
National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy As of the time of writing this, our Year 3s and Year 5s have completed the scheduled NAPLAN sessions. We still have a few students that can complete a make-up session or two before the test window closes on Monday 23 March. The results will be shared once they have been made available. I would like to express my thanks to the Year 3 and Year 5 teachers for their professionalism and commitment to ensure that every student had the best opportunity to show what they can do. While NAPLAN is an important benchmark of where a Year 3 and Year 5 child’s strengths and weaknesses are in relation to the curriculum, it is still only a snapshot of what a student can produce on one day, and within a very narrow learning band. As an example, this year’s Numeracy test had 36 questions for Year 3, and 42 questions for Year 5. These questions covered Number, Algebra, Measurement, Space, Statistics and Probability; perhaps only 7 or 8 questions in each area to cover years of learning, and across two or three years of curriculum (some questions were easy, some challenging, and some hard). NAPLAN does not measure your child’s engagement with their learning, the way they play with their friends, whether they are Respectful, Resilient, Responsible or Kind, how well they communicate, whether they are sport stars or excel in the Arts, STEM or Auslan. They do not show that this year, for the first time, they have attended a camp or shown independence by walking or cycling home on their own. The data NAPLAN produces for us at a whole school level is important, as it can help us identify trends (up and down) in certain areas, and can help ‘triangulate’ the data for consistency with our own reporting measures. However, NAPLAN results on their own never dictate focus areas for staff and students. While we provided our students with opportunities over the past few weeks to familiarise themselves with the online test format and test conditions, we do not ‘teach to the test’, which is why we are proud of the results our students achieve. You should be proud, too. WALK-A-THON (Wednesday 25th March) The Walk-a-thon is now less than a week away and the students are getting excited! We still require many more parent volunteers (at least 10 per session) on the day to support the event. Signing up for a session does not mean you have to stay for the entire day, but you are more than welcome to if you would like. Current volunteer numbers, as of Wednesday 18 March at 2pm, are:
Just a reminder that all volunteers MUST have a current Working With Children Check and have completed the documentation for our Child Safety process. How to Support the Walk-a-thon Volunteer: Families are welcome! Sign up here to help make the day success https://volunteersignup.org/WYXKA Donate: Sponsor your child or another student via our Compass donation link: https://compasstix.com/e/p2owg7i0tn (Donations close 1/4/26)
We are incredibly grateful to the work completed by the P&F and the Walk-a-thon sub-committee, they have worked tirelessly to ensure we have a great event on the day. Thank you! Have a great weekend. Patrick
Harmony Day is coming up and we are so excited. Harmony Day celebrates cultural diversity and that we all belong. The day is on Monday the 23rd of March 2026. We encourage the students to come in cultural clothes. If you’re not dressing up, come in school uniform. Students are also welcome to add a touch of orange to their uniforms. For example, a hair ribbon, arm band or orange socks. There will be a parade at assembly on the 23rd and there will be fun activities in class.
Easter Hamper Raffle – Tickets Now on Sale! 🐰
Click here to purchase your tickets - https://compasstix.com/e/g207yo0q14 The Viewbank Primary School Parents & Friends Easter Hamper Raffle is here! Lots of great holiday prizes are up for grabs, including:
- 2 × vouchers for Banyule Hawks Holiday Clinics
- A holiday program at Action Drama Studio or five classes for a term of your choice
- A Family Funfields Pass
- A Cuisine lunch voucher
- Plus some delicious Easter treats!
📅 Raffle Drawn: Monday, 30 March at the Whole School Assembly 🗓️ Last Ticket Sale Date: Thursday, 26 March 🎟️ Ticket Prices:
- 1 ticket – $2
- 6 tickets – $10
- 15 tickets – $20
Don’t miss your chance to join the fun and support our school community!
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 1 Fundraising Lunch Order Dates: Thursday 26th March (Orders close: Monday 23rd March, 3:00 PM) Thursday 2nd April (Orders close: Monday 30th March, 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 1 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 – Temporary Closure & Relocation We’d like to let families know that the Lowes Northland store will soon be relocating to a new space within the Northland Shopping Centre. Please note that the store will be closed from Monday 10 March to Thursday 13 March while the move takes place. The new store will reopen on Friday 14 March.
- Current location: Tenancy F006, Northland Shopping Centre, 2–50 Murray Road, Preston
- New location (from 14 March): Tenancy K004, near Rebel and JB Hi-Fi, Northland Shopping Centre
During the closure period, families can continue to 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.