Friday 7^th March – JSC Representatives will be announced in a special Ceremony
Monday 10^th March – Labour Day Public Holiday
Friday 21^st March – MTB – Falls Creek
Thursday 27^th March – School Cross Country 
Friday 28^th March – School Cross Country (Back up day)
Friday 4^th April – Last day of Term 1
Monday 7^th to 16^th April – OSHC Holiday Program
Monday 21^st April – Easter Monday Public Holiday
Tuesday 22^nd April – First day of Term 2
Friday 25^th April – Anzac Day Public Holiday
Wednesday 7^th May – School Photos
Tuesday 20^th May – District Cross Country
Friday 30^th May – Division Cross Country
Friday 13^th June – Regional Cross Country, Benalla

Congratulations to a number of students who have represented the school recently. This includes the students who competed at the Regional Swimming event where students participated in a highly skilled field of competitors. It is a great opportunity to compete at such a high level.

Congratulations also to the students who competed in the National Interschools Mountain Biking event at Thredbo. This is a huge event involving competitors from all over the country. There were some amazing performances, including a couple of podium finishes – an amazing result for a small country school. Be sure to read more about the event in the rest of the newsletter.

Both the swimming and Mountain Biking events were only possible due to the organisation and logistical support of families. A huge thank you to the parents who gave their time, know how and resources to support the children in being a part of such wonderful sporting opportunities. Well done all!

You have probably noticed the conspicuously bare garden bed in front of the old building next to the basketball court. The trees were removed as a result of a bushfire safety audit conducted by the Department of Education. We are considering how to rehabilitate the space after the removal of the trees, and in a way that is safety compliant. Any suggestions for low risk and fire unfriendly plants or small shrubs would be welcome.

Michael Edwards

Principal

School Savings Bonus

Parents are reminded that they need to log into the SSB Portal and allocate their SSB $400.  With the Year 5/6 camp coming up it will need to be allocated to school activities for parents to be able to put it towards camp.

The link to the portal is below.  If you do not know your voucher number, please call into the office or if you need assistance accessing the portal we can do it with you at school.

https://www.schoolsavingbonus.vic.gov.au/s/

Kerryn & Sandra

This week’s helpers are Sharni Barnes and Alfie Bayne

Next week’s helpers are Charlotte Wilson and Will Black

Congratulations to all our award recipients.

WE ARE FAIR

Ivy Mahoney For helping out in class, working hard to be a positive part of our senior community and gaining confidence in participating in discussions and presentations. 

WE ARE LEARNERS

Ned Burston for working hard to achieve the goals set for a lesson and also trying hard to share your learning with the class.

Stella Ciantar for always taking your time to complete learning tasks to a very high level.

Arlie Johnstone  For demonstrating the value of learning by following the writing process and making changes based on feedback to publish his recount 'A Hot Afternoon'.

Max Bebbington  For demonstrating the value of learning by trying challenge tasks in maths and growing his brain. Well done, Max!

Spencer Pretty for demonstrating the value of Learning by responding to feedback to clearly explaining your thinking in your Maths journal.

Macey Hogg  For showing focus and thoughtful reflection when working through multi-step problem-solving tasks.

Mia Bebbington  For using humour to tackle challenges and always finding the fun in situations.

Kaia Allan For exceptional attention to detail when documenting her thinking and learning, particularly in Maths.

Aiden Hillier For consistently trying his hardest in class. Participating in class discussions and asking for help when needed. 

Finn Summons for showing excellent understanding of ordering decimal numbers and placing them on a number line.

Nicholas Shepherd  For demonstrating the Value of Learning by: building amazing lyrics to use in the 5/6 rap battles. Your use of figurative language cast a spell over the competition!

Grace Pritchard for including so many amazing words from our “Word of the Day’ task in her writing, PLUS lots of amazing, varied openers.

WE SHOW RESPECT

Oscar Bulman for demonstrating the value of Respect by showing initiative to take care of class resources and equipment,

Eliza Westbrook  for demonstrating the value of respect by always offering a helping hand to others during learning tasks

Sebastien Quaglio- for demonstrating the value of respect by always being ready for learning during whole class instruction and leading by example

Felix Neumeyer for being so incredibly kind and caring of other students, always lending a hand to help and demonstrate leading by example.

Will Boddenberg  For demonstrating the Value of Respect by: valuing the opinion of others and encouraging your classmates to do their best. You help to build a positive learning environment for everyone.

Hot Lunch was Chicken/Tofu Wraps. 

An easy and delicious lunch to finish out the week :)

Next week we are having Sausage/Veggie Rolls, which is always one of our busiest mornings for the term. Please reach out if you can fill the last volunteer position for the morning. 

Please also note that in week 8, Hot Lunch will be served on THURSDAY 20th March. We need to make this change to free up the kitchen for meal prep for the Folk Festival community dinner on Friday March 21st. If this impacts your child's order, send an email and we will happily cancel it for the day and issue a credit for Term 2. Thanks for your understanding!

Last week's helpers were Wil and Grace, who did an amazing job preparing mountains of fruit and Fried Rice!

Hannah Glanville-Jones
YPS Hot Lunch Coordinator
ypshotlunch@gmail.com

It's action stations in the Art room with the sewing machine whirring away! Many of our students are busy hand-sewing their wearable artworks for the Folk Festival Street Parade! Here are some examples of hand-sewing by Kaia and Jono in 3/4 R.

There will be FREE face painting at the Rotunda in the Memorial Gardens from 3:30pm on the afternoon of the parade, Friday 21st March!! Important information about the Street Parade is in the Folk Festival section in the newsletter. 

Please find below an Art competition linked to the Light Horse. The Chauvel Anniversary Light Horse Memorial riders and their horses are riding through our region, visiting local schools along the way. Please find attached entry details of the Art competition open to students.

Mandy & Caz


       

The House Cross-Country event is taking place on Thursday 27^th March, at the Yackandandah Sports Park. The event will begin at 9am and we ask that students be dropped off at the sports park directly, after 8.40am, rather than going to school. The school bus will drop kids off at the sports park, and a teacher will walk with students from Before School Care, at 8.40am.

A draft timetable is below.

Students will be competing in their houses and are encouraged to wear their house colours for the day. Students should also wear appropriate footwear and bring their bag with snacks and water. Ribbons will be handed out for students who come 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd in their age group and gender.

In the senior age groups (9/10, 11, 12/13) up to 10 runners from each classification can qualify for the District event, however, students will need to demonstrate that they can run the course in a competitive time to qualify. The District event will be held in Beechworth on Tuesday, 20^th May.

Drink bottles and sunscreen

Just a reminder for all students to please bring a drink bottle to school, particularly on days they have sport. With regards to sunscreen, students who require ‘alternative’ sunscreen to what we have at school (various 50+ SPF brands) need to have this sunscreen available in their school bags ready to apply for our PE sessions. Some students apply their preferred sunscreen at home before school commences, however it only lasts around 4 hours and needs to be re-applied at school.

Robyn

2025 Australian MTB Interschools

Six students traveled to Thredbo this week, representing YPS at the Australian MTB Interschools. This included a full day of official practice on Sunday and three days of competition.

Riders compete in four disciplines: All Mountain, Flow, Pump Track and Downhill.

Ewan McInerney made a mighty debut in Division 5 (Yrs 3 & 4) riding well in all events. With an impressive qualifying lap in Pump, Ewan was the sole YPS rider to progress to the finals! Ewan’s solid performances across the four disciplines earns him 12th overall in Division 5.

Sebastian Davison, Spencer Dowsley, Jim Kelley, Hugo and Zack Dickeson represented YPS in Division 4 (Yrs 5 & 6). Having three (or more) riders made the boys eligible for Team awards as these results add up your top three riders in each event.

YPS placed 3rd in two events! They backed up these fantastic results, placing 4th in both Pump and Downhill.

The boys demonstrated great team spirit in a largely individual sport, supporting each other through crashes and significant mechanical failures. This was reflected by all boys contributing to the Team results, and a well deserved 3rd place in the Overall Division 5 Champion School!

Congratulations to all of the YPS riders for such great results at a national competition. The boys must also be commended for their spirit, conduct and sheer physical efforts over four days! A very big thank you to the families who supported the boys - and each other - well done.

ALL MOUNTAIN 

The Maxxis All-Mountain is a 6km enduro style racetrack with rock rolls, pinch climbs & steep switchbacks. The course has everything a rounded rider could ask for and is a test of fitness. 

Ewan 26

Jim  15

Zack 18

Hugo 44

Spencer 53

Seb 67

Team Result 3rd

FOX FLOW

The Fox Flow has competitors riding down on Thredbo’s famous 5km Kosciuszko Flow Trail. Although not super technical, this race requires a fit efficient type of rider and is high speed from top to bottom. This is a great introduction to gravity racing.

Ewan 38

Spencer 19

Zack 42

Hugo 46

Seb 76

Team Result 3rd

 PUMP Track

A test of ultimate skill and stamina, as riders pump, double and manual around the perfectly sculptured course. Riders lay down a qualifying run in the morning with the top riders making it through to the afternoon Final events

Ewan 17

Spencer 28

Jim 33

Seb 63

Zack 71

Team Result 4th

CANNONBALL DOWNHILL  

The RockShox Downhill is raced on Thredbo’s famous Cannonball Downhill trail. This a black trail and is the most technical and advanced race at Interschools. The course is a high-speed downhill track comprising of rock gardens, rough chutes, large jumps & raw terrain. 

Ewan 18

Zack 24

Jim 39

Spencer 42

Hugo 46

Seb 52

Team Result 4th

KING Of the MOUNTAIN

To be eligible for an overall individual ranking, students must compete and record a time in all four disciplines.

Congratulations to Spencer (26) Zack (28) Seb (42) in Division (4) and Ewan 12th overall in Division (5).

BLUES Folk Festival Street Parade, Friday 21st March @ 6pm

5:45pm All parade participants please proceed to the marshalling area. 

Parents, staff, students and community groups marching in the street parade, please assemble in your designated area on the High St. This will be clearly marked out in chalk paint on the High St, near the marquee on the Yackandandah Primary School oval and close to the Kars St intersection. 

6:00pm Parade Commences
Lead by the High Street Shufflers, the Folk Festival Street Parade will march down High St, turn around at the bottom of High St, and finish at the Street Stage.

MC (Julia Brinsdon-Farr) Street Stage Official Opening
The MC will declare the Folk Festival officially open, introduce the Bucket Band and the Acknowledgement of Country song. The MC will direct parents and students to meeting areas to be reunited with their little-people after the parade, and invite all to join the Old Jig Jog Dance Band for the open-air bush dance at the Street Stage.

Face Painting

Once again this year, free face painting for kids marching in the parade will be available in the Rotunda at the Memorial Gardens, from 3:30pm onwards.

Street Closures

Street closures will commence from 3pm on Friday 21st March. The main section of High Street will be closed from 3pm.  
High Street will be closed all the way up to Kars St. and an additional part of Wellsford St. from 4:30pm-9pm.

Additional road closures will take place from 6am, Sunday 23rd March, for the community market. 

Please reach out via email if you require more information, see you on the Friday night. Please email me through your designated meeting point after the parade for lost parents and little-people to be reunited.

Folk Festival Volunteers 

We have a google form for our Volunteer list for the Folk Festival. We have updated some days so please check back in.  Please find link below.

https://forms.gle/ZRzizTjn4Qj6jQrH7

The Volunteer roster has been emailed out to families, the spaces where we still need help have been highlighted.

Wodonga Middle Years College is opening its doors for their ‘On Show’ event held on Thursday March 20th.

This is your opportunity to tour our Huon and Felltimber campuses, explore our classrooms and specialist facilities to support your Middle Years education from 3.30pm.

Then at 7pm, you can join our College Leaders online for our information session and live Q&A where we’ll be answering your questions.

For further details, please visit: https://www.wmyc.vic.edu.au/on-show-2025/

12^th March  Florian Whitley

Yackandandah Soccer Club

Expressions of Interest for miniroos Saturday competition 2025.

With the soccer season (4 - 12 year olds) just around the corner we are calling out for expressions of interests for miniroos!

The season starts on Friday May 2, with Friday night trainings from 4.30pm, not including public or school holidays and the miniroos competition is on Saturday's in Wodonga.

Please check our Facebook page for more information and details - Yackandandah FC (not Yackandandah Netball Football Club) or email us at yack_fc@outlook.com

We are looking forward to another wonderful year.

AUSKICK - Yackandandah

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has 100,000 temporary jobs available across Australia at the next election.

Although the date for the election is yet to be announced, we need to ensure we have the temporary workforce to run the event.

There are jobs available before, on and after election day in metro, regional and remote areas.

We are seeking your help to spread the word about these jobs. All jobs are paid, no experience is required and training is provided.

To help spread the word there are promotional resources that you can:

• share on social media
• add to newsletters and websites
• print and display

Please read our ‘Users Guide’ before using these promotional resources.

If you or anyone you know are interested in applying, please visit aec.gov.au/electionjobs

Cathy | Office Assistant
Division of Indi | VIC Divisional Offices
Australian Electoral Commission
T: (03) 8584 1503