2026 IMPORTANT DIARY DATES
- Tuesday 10th February: District Swim Trials
- Tuesday 10th February: Foundation Welcome Picnic
- Tuesday 17th February: Get To Know You Interviews
- Thursday 19th February: Get To Know You Interviews
- Tuesday 24th February - School Photo Day
- Friday 27th February Year 3-6 Athletics Day at Willinda Park
- Monday 9th March: Labour Day
- Wednesday 11th March: NAPLAN for Year 3 and 5 students begins
- 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)
- Dates for 2026 pupil-free days remain unconfirmed.
2026 CAMP DATES
- Year 6 Phillip Island Adventure Camp: 18 March to 20 March
- 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
School Council Elections Each year we conduct School Council Elections at our school. Our School Council is made up of NINE members in the ‘Parent Category’ and FOUR members in the ‘School Employee Category’. The intent is that each year half of the positions in both categories become vacant, as the elected members have served their two years term of office. I would very much like to thank Patrick Walsh (School Employee Category) and Kate Doran, David Filcoff, Michelle Pan and Svitlana IIevlieva (Parent Category) for their contributions to our school these last two years as their current term on School Council is now complete. In addition, our School Council President, Jason Hemingway has one year of his term to run but as his youngest child graduated at the end of 2025, he is no longer eligible to sit on School Council. This therefore creates a one-year casual vacancy which is filled by co-option by the new School Council. On behalf of the school community, I want to thank everyone for their contributions to our School Council. Being a School Council member requires a commitment to attend nine meetings per year and a determination to make decisions with the rest of the Council in an impartial, non-biased fashion always with the best interests of the students at heart. Whilst David Filcoff, Jason Hemingway and Michelle Pan are no longer eligible to be on our School Council as they no longer have children at our school, others are eligible for re-election, providing they still have children at our school, or remain as a School Employee (depending on the category). Therefore, I am now in the position to give notice of an election for members of Viewbank Primary School’s Council. There are four two-year vacancies in the Parent Member category, and one two-year vacancy in the School Employee Member category. Nomination forms may be obtained from the General Office (by email or sent home with your child) and must be lodged by 4.00pm on Monday, February 16, 2026. If a ballot is required, it will close at 4pm on Monday, March 2, 2026. For further information please read the included advice on School Councils later in this newsletter. You are also very welcome to speak with me about the role, if you require further information. Student Leader Badge Presentations We will be graced by the presence of our local member of parliament, Anthony Carbines, tomorrow morning at 9am to present the 2026 School Captains with their badges at a short whole school assembly. Anthony has graciously performed this role for us for more years than I care to remember, and we truly appreciate his support of our school and his part in emphasising the importance of leaders in our community. Then, at our Monday assembly, we are thrilled to have Ash Riddell come along to present the house captain badges. Ash plays for North Melbourne in the AFLW, and won the AFL Women’s Best and Fairest and AFLCA AFLW champion player of the year award in 2025. Looking forward to both presentations. Further details will be provided of the remaining badge presentations in upcoming weeks. School Council Meeting The first meeting of School Council for 2026 is set down for next Tuesday, February 10, commencing at 7pm in the staffroom. All paperwork will be emailed to members by this Friday. Foundation Welcome Picnic A new Viewbank tradition is the Foundation welcome picnic to be held at school from 3:45pm on the same evening – Tuesday, February 10. Here’s hoping for pleasant weather and looking forward to meeting new families in a relaxed social setting. I trust that everyone has settled well into the 2026 school year. Enjoy your weekend. Kind regards, Bill Kersing
Appendix A
Fact sheet 1: school council elections – information for parents
What is a school council and what does it do?
All government schools in Victoria have a school council. They are legally constituted bodies that are given powers to set the broad direction of a school, in accordance with Ministerial Order 1280 Constitution of Government School Councils, and the Education and Training Reform Act 2006. In doing this, a school council may directly influence the quality of education for students.
Who is on the school council?
For most primary school councils, there are several possible categories of membership: • A mandated elected parent member category –members of this category generally comprise more than one third of the council’s total membership. Department employees can be parent members at their child’s school providing that they are not engaged in work at the school. • A mandated elected school employee member category – members of this category make up no more than one-third of membership. The principal of the school is automatically one of these members. • An optional community member category – members are co-opted by a decision of the council because of their special skills, interests or experience. Department employees are not eligible to be community members. • A small number of school councils have nominee members. For all schools with a Year 7 and above cohort, there is an additional category of membership: • A mandated elected student member category, two positions. Generally, the term of office for all members is two years. The term of office of half the members expires each year, creating vacancies for the annual school council elections.
Why is parent membership so important?
Parents on school councils provide important viewpoints and have valuable skills and a range of experiences and knowledge that can help inform and shape the direction of the school. Those parents who become active on a school council find their involvement satisfying and may also find that their children feel a greater sense of belonging.
Do I need special experience to be on school council?
Each member brings their own valuable skills and knowledge to the role, however, in order to successfully perform their duties, councillors may need to gain some new skills and knowledge. It is important to have an interest in your child’s school and the desire to work in partnership with others to help shape the school’s future.
Code of conduct for school councillors
School councils in Victoria are public entities as defined by the Public Administration Act 2004. School councillors must comply with the Code of Conduct for Directors of Victorian Public Entities issued by the Victorian Public Sector Commission. The Code of Conduct is based on the Victorian public sector values and requires councillors to: • act with honesty and integrity – be truthful, open and clear about their motives and declare any real, potential or perceived conflict of interest and duty • act in good faith in the best interests of the school – work cooperatively with other councillors and the school community, be reasonable, and make all decisions with the best interests of students foremost in their minds • act fairly and impartially – consider all relevant facts of an issue before making a decision, seek to have a balanced view, never give special treatment to a person or group and never act from self-interest • use information appropriately – respect confidentiality and use information for the purpose for which it was made available • exercise due care, diligence and skill – accept responsibility for decisions and do what is best for the school • use the position appropriately – not use the position as a councillor to gain an advantage • act in a financially responsible manner – observe all the above principles when making financial decisions • comply with relevant legislation and policies – know what legislation and policies are relevant for which decisions and obey the law • demonstrate leadership and stewardship – set a good example, encourage a culture of accountability, manage risks effectively, exercise care and responsibility to keep the school strong and sustainable.
Indemnity for school council members
School councillors are indemnified against any liability in respect of any loss or damage suffered by the council or any other person in respect of anything necessarily or reasonably done, or omitted to be done by the councillor in good faith in: a. the exercise of a power or the performance of a function of a councillor, or b. the reasonable belief that the act or omission was in the exercise of a power or the performance of a function of a council. In other words, school councillors are not legally liable for any loss or damage suffered by council or others as a result of reasonable actions taken in good faith.
How can you become involved?
By participating in, and voting in the school council elections, which are held in Term 1 each year. However, ballots are only held if more people nominate as candidates than there are positions vacant. In view of this, you might consider: • standing for election as a member of the school council • encouraging another person to stand for election.
What do you need to do to stand for election?
The principal will issue a Notice of Election and Call for Nominations in Term 1 of each year. Council elections must be completed by 31 March, unless varied by the Minister for Education. If you stand for election, you can arrange for someone to nominate you as a candidate or, you can nominate yourself in the parent member category. You can only be nominated by another member of the same category that you are eligible for (e.g. a member of the parent electorate may only nominate another parent of that electorate). Department employees with a child enrolled at a school where they are not engaged in work, are eligible to nominate for parent membership at that school. Return your completed nomination form to the principal within the time stated on the Notice of Election. You will receive a Nomination Form Receipt via post, email or by hand delivery. Generally, if there are more nominations than vacancies a ballot will be conducted in the two weeks after the call for nominations has closed.
Remember
• Consider standing for election to school council. • Ask the principal for instructions if you are not sure what to do. • Be sure to vote if the election goes to ballot. • Contact the principal if you are unsure about what is required at any stage of the election process.
Annual privacy reminder for our school community Our school collects and uses student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy and the Schools’ Privacy Collection Notice. Our updated Photographing, Filming and Recording Students Policy, (on the school website) describes how we collect and use photographs, video and recordings of students. The policy also explains when parent consent is required and how it can be provided and withdrawn. Please note, that from 2025, consent for photographing, filming and recording students will only be collected on enrolment or during term 1 of 2025 for students currently enrolled. Further information and the updated consent for the photographing, filming and recording students will be communicated via Compass in the coming weeks. We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use Google Workspace for Education safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information. If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns regarding your child using Google Workspace for Education, please contact the school. For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ privacy policy: information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages:
- Amharic
- Arabic
- Chinese
- Dari
- Gujarati
- Mandarin
- Somali
- Sudanese
- Turkish
- Urdu
- Vietnamese
Volunteering at School - Child Safety Standards Induction Please read the Volunteer Induction Notice 2026 that was posted on Compass this week if you plan to be a volunteer at school this year. Volunteer Induction sessions will be held at school on Monday 16 February from 9.45-10.30am and Thursday 19th February from 2.40-3.25pm in the Staff Conference Room. Both sessions will cover the same content. During these sessions we will present a Volunteer Induction PowerPoint and take you through the Viewbank Child Safety Policies. At the conclusion of the session you will be invited to sign and return the VPS Child Safety Standards Induction Checklist 2026. If you are unable to attend the Induction sessions or you wish to volunteer before the school sessions, all the required documents and presentations are available on the school website for you to access in your own time. The VPS Child Safety Standards Induction Checklist needs to be completed annually. All adults volunteering at a school must have a current Working With Children Check and have completed the Child Safety Standards Induction Checklist 2026. Both these documents must be sighted at the school office prior to volunteering. Naming School Uniforms If you haven’t already done so, please remember to name your child/ren’s school uniform items so that they can be promptly returned. With over 660 students at our school, lost property is a constant issue. From time to time our wonderful ES staff will also be checking and naming any un-named jumpers and hats. They will write the family name onto these items using a permanent laundry marker. You can also assist us by teaching your child to tie their jumper around their waist if they take it off during playtime or when attending a specialist room. If your child does lose a uniform item, please check their classroom, specialist rooms or the purple lost property locker outside the music room.
Enjoy your week. Gill
Car Parking Before And After School Even with our staff carpark in use, parking before and after school continues to be a frustration. We ask you to please continue to obey all parking signs and respect our neighbours by not parking across or in their driveways. Road and parking rules are now on the Transport Victoria website https://transport.vic.gov.au/road-and-active-transport/road-rules-and-safety/parking. As a reminder:
There continues to be some confusion with the ‘Kiss and Go’ area along the school side of Nevin Parade. On school days, between the hours of 8am – 9:30am AND 2:30pm – 4pm, there is no parking allowed. Drivers can stop for no more than 2 minutes to drop off or pick up others. Drivers are to remain with their vehicle at all times. Banyule Council monitors this and issues fines in accordance with local laws and legislation. While frustrating, they are there to give our students, your children, the best possible chance to get to and from school safely each day.
Get To Know You Interviews These are now available for you to book via Compass. These 10-minute meetings are an excellent opportunity for you to share important information regarding your child, information that will help the classroom teacher best support them to ensure that they can succeed in 2026. As it is very early in the year, the teacher will be able to provide information on how your child has settled into their 2026 class. A comprehensive written report and interview regarding academic and social progress will be offered mid-year. Times will also be available with our Specialist teachers (see last week’s Viewbank Voice); however, these are only available on the days that they work, and the number of slots that they have are limited. We strongly recommend that you only book a time during these sessions if there is an important reason to do so (e.g. explaining to Mr Peters, that your child has a condition that may prevent full participation in PE classes). Please note the following classes with job share teachers and their availability. Tuesday 17 February: 2SM: Mrs Mentiplay 3NK: Ms Kearney 5GH: Mrs Hamwi Thursday 19 February: 2SM: Mrs Stepowski 3NK: Mrs Noakes 5GH: Mrs Gourzelas The above teachers have excellent communication systems in place, and anything communicated to one teacher will be shared with the other. The booking system will close to further bookings on Thursday 12 February at 4:30pm. If you have any difficulties booking a time, feel free to contact the office (9459 1512 or viewbank.ps@education.vic.gov.au). National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy Our Year 3 and Year 5 students will be completing the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) in the second half of March. The schedule has not been finalised yet; however, the tests will be conducted in the following order from left to right:
Families of students in Year 3 and 5 will be sent information regarding NAPLAN, Year 5 families will be sent a link to download the Locked Down Browser onto BYOD iPads (to be completed by Friday 20 February). School owned devices have had this completed already. Further dates and times for the last three assessments will be communicated as soon as confirmed. FREE PUBLIC TRANSPORT Transport Victoria now offers free public transport for children aged 5-17. Children this age must travel with a Youth myki. You can find more information about this here: https://transport.vic.gov.au/tickets-and-myki/myki/myki-types/youth
Have a great weekend! Patrick
Dear Parents and Carers, Viewbank Primary School is looking forward to another wonderful year of teaching and learning and would like to provide you with information about the Parent Payment Arrangements for 2026. Information regarding Curriculum and Other Contributions is available on Compass. Financial contributions from our families play a vital role in maintaining the high standard of education and resources that make Viewbank Primary School such a vibrant learning community. These contributions directly support classroom programs, specialist subjects, technology upgrades, and the upkeep of our learning spaces ensuring every student has access to engaging, high-quality learning experiences. The excellent facilities, resources, and opportunities we enjoy today are the result of the ongoing generosity and commitment of our families over many years. Your support whether through financial contributions, participation in fundraising, or volunteering makes a genuine difference in maintaining and improving the programs and facilities our students enjoy. We greatly value your continued support and dedication to enriching our students’ education and school experience. For convenience, all classroom supplies will be purchased in bulk and distributed directly to classrooms. Teachers will provide students with the necessary stationery and materials throughout the year. Please refer to the attached 2026 Parent Payment Arrangements document for more detailed information. Kind regards, Lucy Addati - Business Manager
Term 1 Kitchen and Garden Classes – Grades 3 & 4 Our Kitchen and Garden program is back for Term 1! Students will enjoy hands-on learning experiences in both the garden and the kitchen throughout February and March. We’re also looking for parent helpers to assist during sessions – if you’re available, please email viewbank.ps@education.vic.gov.au . Any time you can give would be greatly appreciated!
Grade 3 Garden Sessions: Dates: 16 Feb, 2 Mar, 16 Mar, 30 Mar
- 3W – 11:10–12:00
- 3P – 12:00–12:50
- 3/4B – 1:50–2:40
- 3NK – 2:40–3:30
Kitchen Sessions: 3W & 3/4B: 17 Feb, 3 Mar, 17 Mar, 31 Mar
- 3W – 11:10–12:50
- 3/4B – 1:50–3:30
3P & 3NK: 18 Feb, 4 Mar, 18 Mar, 1 Apr
- 3P – 11:10–12:50
- 3NK – 1:50–3:30
Grade 4 Garden Sessions: Dates: 9 Feb, 23 Feb, 23 Mar
- 4M – 11:10–12:00
- 4JB – 12:00–12:50
- 4W – 1:50–2:40
Kitchen Sessions: Dates: 10 Feb, 24 Feb, 10 Mar, 24 Mar
- 4W – 9:00–10:40
- 4M – 11:10–12:50
- 4JB – 1:50–3:30
We’re also looking for donations of large coffee and Milo tins to use in our Kitchen and Garden program. These make fantastic containers for our activities! If you have any to spare, please send them along to school.
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 12th February (Orders close: Monday 9th February, 3:00 PM) Thursday 19th February (Orders close: Monday 16th February, 3:00 PM) Thursday 26th February (Orders close: Monday 23rd February, 3:00 PM) Thursday 5th March (Orders close: Monday 2nd March, 3:00 PM) Thursday 12th March (Orders close: Monday 9th March, 3:00 PM) Thursday 19th March (Orders close: Monday 16th March, 3:00 PM) - Year 6 Camp 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.