Term 1

Monday 16^th March – Book Club Closes

Wednesday 18^th  March – Regional Swimming Sports Wangaratta

Thursday 19^th March- BMX Bike Show

Friday 20^th March- Folk Festival Parade 6pm

Saturday 21^st March – Community Dinner (Memorial Gardens)

Sunday 22^nd March – Folk Festival Market

Monday 23^rd March- Catholic College Open Day 3:30pm-6:00pm

Monday 23^rd March - Beechworth Discovery Night 5pm-7pm

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

Term 2

Monday 20^th April – First Day of Term 2

Wednesday 29^th April- Smile Squad

Thursday 30^th April – Smile Squad

Wednesday 6^th May – School Photos

Thursday 14^th May- Incursion (Science of Snot)

Wednesday 10^th June to Friday 12^th June – 5/6 Camp

Friday 12^th June-  Regional Cross Country

Welcoming a New Staff Member to our School Community 

In Victorian government schools, principals now have the option of flexible working arrangements. Michael, upon his return at the commencement of the April school holidays, will be utilising this opportunity for the remainder of 2026. He will be returning to work 4 days a week in Terms 2, 3 and 4. The Department of Education has led a selection process to appoint a second principal 2 days a week and this process has now been finalised with the successful applicant accepting the offer of employment. 

I am very pleased to announce that the successful applicant and staff member to join our school community is Cindy Rebbechi. Cindy currently works at Yarrunga Primary School in Wangaratta. Please see a message from Cindy below, and please join me in welcoming her to our school community. 

Hi everyone,

I look forward to working closely with students, teachers, educational support staff, and families to build on the strong foundations already in place at the school. Together, we will continue to focus on high-quality teaching and learning, supporting the wellbeing of every student, and ensuring our school remains a place where all learners feel safe, valued and inspired to do their best.

Thank you to the school community for the warm welcome I have already received through my school visit, meeting members of the staff and School Council. I am excited to work alongside you all as we continue to support the success and growth of every student at Yackandandah Primary School.

Kind regards,
Cindy Rebbechi

NAPLAN
Today marks, for the most part, the completion of NAPLAN at our school. We have a couple of catch-up sessions still to run, which I will conduct over the course of next week.

Staff are very proud of our Year 3 and 5 students for doing their absolute best, persevering and remaining positive when faced with challenges. Thanks go to Earle and Brendan for their commitment and professionalism in conducting the test sessions.

Well done, everyone!

Folk Festival
One week to go! The excitement is building.

Staff will be sending out communication around the Friday night parade sometime early next week. We understand some families, particularly our new families, may have questions about this event. You can also check out the ‘Art News’ section of this newsletter- https://www.yackaps.vic.edu.au/enews/details/291  

Our helper roster is looking good, but we do require a few more helpers with washing dishes (between 5-8pm), heating food for the dinner (6-8pm) and the pack up at the end of the dinner and dessert stall (from 8pm). If an hour is all you can give, we’d love for you to still put your name down on the roster. Many hands make light work. Thank you. See the link below and in other sections of this newsletter. 

https://forms.gle/djMKzLr5SwimD3Kw7 

Outside of School Hours Care at YPS
Our School Council has done a wonderful job managing the OSHC program at our school for many years. Staff have worked incredibly hard to maintain this service and provide a high standard of care for the students and families who utilise it. The School Council would like to sincerely thank all staff who have contributed to the running of OSHC over the years. We appreciate the time, effort and care you have given when planning, managing and supporting our students. Thank you.

After much consideration and planning, we are delighted to announce that our OSHC program will move to an external provider from the 20th of April (Day 1 of Term 2). The provider is called TheirCare. School Council has been working with the team from TheirCare over the past few months to support this transition, with a focus on a smooth handover, continuity of staff and maintaining a service that remains strongly connected to our school community while continuing to deliver a high standard of care. TheirCare also runs programs in neighbouring schools such as Beechworth PS and Baranduda PS.

For families who use the OSHC service, more information will be shared over the coming weeks, including an opportunity to join a live video conference with the team from TheirCare. We will send this information out as soon as possible. 

Here is a link to TheirCare’s website should you wish to explore- https://theircare.com.au/

Have a wonderful weekend.

Stace Hogan
Acting Principal

Attendance
Thank you to our families for your continued support with student attendance. We really appreciate everyone using Compass to record absences and coming into the office to sign students in and out when required. It’s great to see attendance records kept up to date and families being so proactive in returning correspondence. Thank you for helping keep everything running smoothly.

Have a lovely weekend,
Sandra and Kerryn

This week: Maeve Van Duinen and Zack Dickeson

Next Week: Indigo Agnew and Jake Blair

Congratulations to all our award recipients.

WE ARE FAIR

Eddie Crispin – For being a fantastic team captain, showing fairness, helping set up equipment, and checking in on teammates during the sport lesson.

Maeve van Duinen - for always contributing positively to our classroom and school culture. If you need someone to show you how to be a fair, respectful learner, see Maeve!

Neve Neumeyer - for your positive, enthusiastic attitude towards everything you do. Keep it up!

WE ARE LEARNERS

Lincoln Clausen - By taking risks in his learning, showing solid focus, and demonstrating commitment to completing tasks. 

Dara Freeman - By demonstrating excellent organisation, working diligently on tasks, and curiosity in her learning.

Jack McAlister - For demonstrating the value of learning by working hard & consistently showing progress in reading fluency.

Frey Holden - for demonstrating an excellent commitment to his learning at home and at school - the results speak for itself!

Max Bebbington - by working hard at being ready to learn. You’re sitting nicely and listening to everyone. 

Edward Pendleton - by leading his group during our maths lesson. You directed the best way to count the rather large pile of blocks and shared your strategy with the class.

Hugh Vorbach - by asking questions to clarify his understanding of activities and tackling challenges with a positive mindset

Cillian Carter - for listening carefully to the sounds in words to help you write them. Well, done!
Dara Freeman – For demonstrating excellent tactical footwork skills, skilfully dodging, weaving, and tagging opponents during our invasion games this week.

WE SHOW RESPECT

Ewan McInerney - For demonstrating the value of respect by being a positive role model - always working hard, showing kindness and displaying the 56L way!

Darcy Kelly - by always listening attentively to instructions and applying a careful and diligent effort to all learning activities.

This week's Hot Lunch was Cheesy Quesadillas.     

There are only 2 more lunches to go this term! Many thanks to all the volunteers, it's been fabulous having so many people available to help out. 

Please remember that next week Hot Lunch will be on Thursday March 19 instead of Friday, to make room for delicious Folk Festival cooking. 

Kids Busking Guidelines – Folk Festival
Busking is a great way to share your music and be part of the festival. Please follow these simple guidelines so everyone can enjoy the experience.

Busking Rules

• Performances must be acoustic (no amplification), except when using the keyboard outside the chemist.
• Sets should be rehearsed, musical, and ready to perform.
• Please limit your set to about 15 minutes, then move on so others can have a turn.
• Be mindful of nearby stall holders and keep pathways clear for festival visitors.
• Stay far enough away from other buskers so the music doesn’t overlap.
• Set up a small tip jar, hat, or instrument case 

Not Allowed

• Bashing bins, street chairs, or other street furniture with sticks.
• Any activity that creates excessive noise or disturbs stalls, performers, or audiences.

Remember

• Be respectful, share the space, and most importantly have fun making music! 

Road Closure
Yackandandah Folk Festival 2026: Friday 20^th March until Sunday 22^nd March.

Hoping you are all getting excited about the Festival and YPS Sunday Market!

Road closure information:

3pm Friday: High Street will be closed between Wellsford and William Street.

4.30pm Friday until 6pm Sunday: High Street from Bells Flat Road to Williams Street.

6am Sunday until 6pm Sunday: Wellsford Street: Hammond Street to Windham Street. (YPS Market)

Please assist our wonderful Festival and School volunteers who are setting up these streets by not leaving your vehicles in High Street on Friday or Wellsford Street on Saturday night.

Our much-loved Community Dinner is back and live!

Families can scan the QR codes to place their orders online, or if you prefer, orders can be made through the school office from Tuesday 10th March 2026.

This special dinner is a fundraiser for our school, and it’s always a wonderful way for our community to come together during the Folk Festival weekend.

We can’t wait to share another wonderful evening with everyone and thank you for supporting this fantastic school fundraiser!

Community Dinner & Sunday Market – Volunteers Needed

Here is a look at our Roster so far.





As you can see we still have some spots left to fill. This is a great fundraiser for our school and as the saying goes many hands make light work. Please click the link below if you are able to help out over the folk festival weekend.

https://forms.gle/djMKzLr5SwimD3Kw7

Thank you 

Dessert Stall
Calling all bakers! Along with the community dinner we will also be running a dessert stall and we need donations of cakes, slices, brownies, and biscuits to make it a success. If you are able to whip something up, head over to the volunteer form let us know -  https://forms.gle/djMKzLr5SwimD3Kw7

Goods can be dropped off from 3-4pm on Friday March 20th at the school or 3-4pm on Saturday March 21 at the memorial gardens.

We will be selling dessert for a bargain price of $5 a box, no pre-ordering required.

We are still looking for any children's dress-ups that you are happy to donate. There is a collection basket inside near the office at school. 

Also, we are very excited to announce our program of wonderful free children's events this year. You don't need a festival ticket for these events and everyone is welcome to join. 

Yackandandah Folk Festival Parade
With the Yackandandah Folk Festival opening parade approaching, students have been practicing marching and “parading” in music classes. As this year’s parade theme is “Fairy Tales,” they have also been learning the rhythms to the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” from The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. In addition, students have been rehearsing the “Heel and Toe” so they’ll be ready for the bush dance that takes place after the parade. 

Bucket Band
All Year 5/6 students are part of the Folk Festival Bucket Band and play an important role in the parade.

5:45 pm – Parade line-up outside the school. Students gather behind the High Street Shufflers at the front of the parade. Front-line students hold the YPS banner.

6:00 pm – The parade begins. The High Street Shufflers lead the march down High Street, with the Front-line leaving a small gap before leading the Year 5/6 students.

Around 6:30 pm – At the end of the parade, students move to the street stage area (near the bakery and motel) for their Bucket Band performance. Watching for cues from Miriam, they will play and chant “Yack-an-dan-d-ah” with the High Street Shufflers, building to a grand crescendo before the MC’s opening speech. The Folk Festival Kids Choir will then sing the Acknowledgement of Country, followed by groovy and exhilarating rhythms from the Bucket Band to officially open the parade.

Around 6:45 pm – After the performance, students stack buckets as directed by the Bucket bosses and return the buckets and drumsticks to school.

Senior Choir
Students in choir have been preparing for their performance at the upcoming ANZAC Day ceremony. This year, ANZAC Day falls on Saturday, April 25.

Our choir will be performing at the morning ceremony at the Memorial Gardens, so please mark this date in your diary. ??

Assembly performances
If you’re child takes private music lessons and would be interested in performing an item at assembly sometime, I would love to hear from you! Please send me an email and I will arrange for this to happen.

House Cross-Country
The House Cross-Country event is taking place on Wednesday 1^st April, 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, water and their broad brimmed hat. 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 at a date yet to be decided. I will publish the date in the newsletter once known.

Regional Swimming Carnival

For those who make it through to the Regional Swimming Carnival, the event will take place next Wednesday 18^th March in Wangaratta. Your child has already received this information last Friday at Division. If you don’t have this information, please let me know (robyn.wilson3@education.vic.gov.au) and I can email you the details.

Hats, drink bottles and sunscreen

Just a reminder for all students to please bring a broad brimmed hat and 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.

All the best in your sporting pursuits,
Robyn

17^th March            Oliver

18^th March            Zaarib