Term 1

Wednesday 18th February – No school for Foundation students

Thursday 19^th February – District Swimming Sports Beechworth

Wednesday 25^th February - No school for Foundation students

Friday 27^th  February – Division Swimming Sports Waves

Monday 9^th March-  Labour Day Public Holiday

Wednesday 18^th  March – Regional Swimming Sports Wangaratta

Friday 20^th March- Folk Festival Parade 6pm

Wednesday 1^st April – House Cross Country

Thursday 2^nd April -  Cross Country – Back Up Day

Thursday 2^nd April – Last Day of Term 1

Friday 3^rd April- Good Friday Public Holiday

Parent Information Sessions
Our classrooms are now well and truly settling into their learning programs, practising their skills and building on their knowledge across a range of areas.

Staff hosted four wonderful parent information sessions this week, where teachers shared what learning will look like in our learning spaces throughout 2026. These sessions provided valuable insight into classroom routines, expectations and the exciting opportunities ahead for our students.

They were also a fantastic opportunity for parents to connect with other families in their child’s class. Building these relationships helps create a strong, supportive learning environment and fosters a healthy, connected school community.

Relocation
Speaking of strong school communities, I was once again awed by Yackandandah Primary School’s inclusivity, flexibility and resilience this week as we welcomed Osbornes Flat Primary School on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Our staff and students truly demonstrated our values of fairness and respect by generously sharing learning spaces and equipment, ensuring Osbornes Flat students could continue to learn and grow without too much interruption. The kindness, cooperation and adaptability shown across the school were a powerful reflection of who we are as a community.

It is this spirit of collaboration and care that makes me incredibly proud to be Acting Principal of our wonderful school. Well done, Team!

School Council Elections
Each year half the parent positions on School Council become vacant. This means that there are four school council parent positions becoming vacant at Yackandandah Primary School. I am calling for Nominations for School Council. You can nominate yourself or someone else (be sure to check they would be interested). Nominations close Monday 23rd Feb at 4pm. Nomination forms are available from the school office. One for self-nomination and one if you are nominating someone else.

If there are more than four nominations received, we will go to an election process within the school parent body. If there are four or fewer nominations received those nominees would be automatically elected.

If you would like to learn more about what is involved in being a School Council member you can talk to existing school council members or any staff member (including Stacey). 

Have a wonderful weekend.

Stace Hogan
Acting Principal

Student Details & Photo Consent Forms – Reminder
On the first week of school, the eldest student in each family brought home an envelope containing a copy of the Student Details we currently have on file at school.

We are still waiting on some of these forms to be returned. Please carefully check all information, make any necessary changes, and return the form to school as soon as possible. It is very important that your contact details are kept up to date.

Please also remember to check your Family Occupation Code. If you are unsure which code applies to your family, feel free to call into the office, we have a more comprehensive list available to assist you.

Included in the envelope was also the:

• Photographing, Filming & Recording Students Consent Form – one form must be completed and returned for each child.
  There are three consent options listed on the form — please ensure you tick the boxes you are consenting to before returning it.

Thank you to the families who have already returned their forms.

Sandra & Kerryn

This Week:  Evie Burston and Will Boddenberg

Next Week: Isla Cleverley and Taidhg James Hillier

Congratulations to all our award recipients.

WE ARE FAIR

Eddie Booth, by ensuring everyone in her team had a turn during  lacrosse practise

Kiera Porteous, for always being fair and friendly to others in the classroom and doing everything that is asked of you.

WE ARE LEARNERS

Bay Smith Deans, for starting Foundation with a dedicated and enthusiastic approach to learning! Very impressive, Bay!

Leo Collimore, by asking amazing questions that help him understand and think about maths

Phoebe Moore, what a wonderfully resilient few days you've had, making learning at school a priority.

Isla Wallace, for writing an excellent recount and using full stops and capital letters

Dash Lockett, for demonstrating the Value of Learning by: always being ready to learn and focused on the task at hand.

Zoe Glanville, for making strong text to world connections during reading this week, and showing great pride in her work

Hush McLennan, for demonstrating the Value of Learning by contributing thoughtfully to class discussions and showing curiosity during lessons.

Landon Mackay, for making a fabulous start to his learning at Yackandandah Primary School. You are calm, quiet and focused. Keep it up!

Macklan James Hillier, for having an absolute ball playing sports games with his peers last week. His joy was unmistakable—when asked how he felt, he summed it up perfectly with the words “happy tears.”

WE SHOW RESPECT

Heidi Dobrautz, for starting Foundation with a positive approach to all learning tasks and always displaying respect to those around you.

Joshua Gadd, for always being a quiet and organised learner, who listens well during floor time, and transitions seamlessly onto the next task.

Chelsea McNichol, for coming into the classroom and organising herself, being ready to listen to instructions.

Hazel Arnott, for displaying the school values and ALWAYS being focused and ready to learn.

Ed Hogan, for demonstrating the Value of Respect by: being a great listener in our classroom. Always calmy looking towards the teacher or students when they're talking.

Josie Neumeyer, for consistently showing kindness and respect to her peers during our sport sessions. You are always a kind and enthusiastic teammate and an excellent role model for others.

Riley Gadd, for demonstrating the Value of Respect by being quick to transition to new activities, by focusing attention on his learning, and by treating others with kindness.

Jono Shepherd, for  always following the school values and the 5/6B way by doing your best the first time and every time.

This week's Hot Lunch was Bacon & Egg/Halloumi Rolls.    

A very popular classic to start the new year of Hot Lunches! Student helpers Isla and Jake did an amazing job preparing fruit and lunches today. 

Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to prepare lunches this term. There were so many offers to help that the roster is already full, which is amazing!! 

Please make sure that the office has a copy of your WWCC before your volunteer shift. 

For anyone that didn't get a spot, thanks very much for your offer of help - you'll be first on the list if there are cancellations. 

Our F/1 and 1/2T students have been exploring the colourful and imaginative world of Mary Blair. Inspired by her bold use of colour and whimsical style, students created their own magical castles using vibrant pastels on black paper.

The contrast of bright colours against the dark background has made their artwork truly pop! We are so proud of the creativity, effort and imagination shown in these beautiful pieces.

1/2T

F/1E

F/1K

House Swimming Carnival
On Friday 6^th February we had our House Swimming Carnival for students in Years 3 to 6 (and those who turned 9 this year). It was awesome to see students ‘having a go’ and earning points for their ‘House’. Students supported each other, cheered, and congratulated each other on their achievements. Thanks, as always, to the teaching staff who assisted on the day.

What stood out to me on the day, was that every single point, even one point, made a difference to the overall House results.

4^th Kars, Green, 70 points

3^rd Hammond, Blue, 79 points

2^nd Windham, Yellow, 95 points

1^st Wellsford, Red, 118 points

Congratulations Wellsford on winning the most House Points. There were also a number of great individual results on the day. Check out the age champion results below.

2026 Age Group Champions

12/13 BOYS

1. Nate Maybury (Kars 15)
2. Zack Dickeson (Wellsford 13)
3. Will Boddenberg (Wellsford 3), Hugo Dickeson (Wellsford 3) & Renn Thompson (Wellsford 3)

12/13 GIRLS

1. Evie Burston (Wellsford 20)
2. Maeve Van Duinen (Windham 8)
3. Molly (Wellsford 3), Indie (Wellsford 3), Sara (Hammond 3)

11 BOYS

1. Ned Westbrook (Hammond 20)
2. Nate Millward (Wellsford 12)
3. Jack McAlister (Windham 7)

11 GIRLS

1. Mia Bebbington (Kars 14)
2. Kiera Porteous (Windham 9)
3. Mim Martini (Windham 5)

9/10 BOYS

1. Richie Burston (Wellsford 19)
2. Judd Maybury (Kars 17)
3. Cobie Flower (Windham 6)

9/10 GIRLS

1. Darcy Kelly (Windham 20)
2. Zoe Glanville (Windham 13 points)
3. Penny McNicol (Wellsford 8)

      
District Swimming Carnival – Thursday 19^th February
We have a brilliant squad of 31 swimmers heading to Beechworth to make a splash next Thursday, February 19^th. We will be taking a bus, and the cost is $10 per student.  Please refer to your Compass notification for consent and payment, which needs to be completed by Monday 16^th February.

Earle and I will be attending the event and supervising the students at the Carnival.

Best of luck to all those involved!

Robyn W

Team Vic - The School Sport Victoria (SSV) Team Vic representative program

There are many opportunities in the senior area (Grade 5/6) for students to participate in inter-school sports, including: swimming, cross-country, athletics, winter sport, tennis, cricket and more. There are also opportunities for students to try out for State Representation in a number of sports, including: swimming, AFL, baseball, basketball, lawn bowls, diving, netball, soccer, tennis, cricket, golf, hockey, rugby league, softball, touch football, track and field, triathlon and volleyball.

Students can be nominated by their school for these trials, but they are only for students who demonstrate an excellent level of proficiency or talent in a particular sport. If you would like your child to be considered for a nomination, you must express your interest with Stace/Michael or Robyn Wilson before you begin the registration process with the SSV website.

Registrations for the Team Vic teams, which we call ‘The Big 6’ encompasses 5 different sports: Boys AFL, Boys & Girls Basketball, Boys Cricket, Boys Soccer and Girls Netball need to be completed by the 2^nd of March.

The registration process and costs in relation to Team Vic are the responsibility of the child’s family.

Please visit the link below on the SSV website for more information on each sport and to register your child. Most registrations close by 2^nd March.

https://www.ssv.vic.edu.au/team-vic

OSHC Contact Details
To ensure smooth communication with our OSHC service, please see our updated contact details below:

OSHC Mobile: 0437 496 731
OSHC Email: yack.ps.oshc@outlook.com

Coordinator: Briana
Coordinator Email: briana.wingard@education.vic.gov.au

Please note that under new regulations, OSHC staff are not permitted to have personal mobile phones on them during sessions. For this reason, it is very important that families contact the OSHC mobile number listed above, rather than personal devices.

16^th February        Judd

18^th February        Ben

19^th February        James