Term 1

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 23rd March - Discovery Night BSC 5:00pm-7:00pm

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

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 – 2:30pm Finish

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)

Friday 29th May - Division Cross Country 

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

Friday 12^th June-  Regional Cross Country

AEU Strike Action
The Australian Education Union (AEU) has called on its members to participate in strike action on Tuesday 24th March.

Based upon the information provided so far, we anticipate that a number of our staff will be participating in this industrial action. As a result, we may need to adjust our class operations, such as merging classes and modifying the content being delivered on that day.

Additional information will be sent on Monday the 23rd of the March to outline the expected changes to our normal school operations.

Have a great weekend.

Stace Hogan
Acting Principal

This week: Indigo Agnew and Jake Blair

Congratulations to all our award recipients.

WE ARE FAIR

Georgia Dowsley - by always helping to create a positive classroom environment through her focused learning and thoughtful contributions. 

Andy Hogan - by taking turns with a partner to create geometric shapes in maths.

Connor Crispin - for always modelling behaviour inside and outside the classroom that is fair and respectful. 

Claudia Grech - for always contributing positively to our classroom and school culture. Claudia always puts her best foot forward.

WE ARE LEARNERS

Max Kelly – for always being a motivated and interested learner, willing to take on challenges but also seeking help when needed.

Chelsea McNicol - by always giving 100% effort and embracing every sport lesson with a big smile. Keep up the fantastic work, Chelsea!

Ed Hogan - by showing incredible energy and consistent effort throughout this week’s soccer lesson. Your enthusiasm for sport is truly infectious, Ed!

Grace Dowling - by using her calendar reading skills to identify the date and day of the events occurring.

Jasper Bulman - by using his great maths and calendar skills to share with the class what the abbreviated days of the week are. 

Gus Dean - for making positive choices in his learning and working consistently to complete his published writing piece titled Turtle.

Taidhg James Hillier - For demonstrating the value of Learning by consistently applying himself with focus and determination. Taidhg showed excellent understanding and skill during our work on prime and composite numbers, tackling challenges with confidence and persistence.

Harvey Thornton - by showing commitment to improving his time telling skills, reflecting a strong work ethic and a genuine desire to achieve his personal best. 

Kaidence Corben - for demonstrating enthusiasm towards learning all week and taking pride in her work.

Cooper Visentin - for demonstrating an excellent commitment to his learning at home and at school - the result speaks for itself!

WE SHOW RESPECT

Frankie Shegog-Dunn – for being a kind and caring classmate as well as a very good helper when packing up equipment and the classroom.

Ella Murphy - for being consistently helpful and respectful towards others, offering support whenever it is needed in the classroom.

Zack Dickeson - for demonstrating the value of Respect by consistently showing kindness and consideration towards others. Zack is thoughtful in his words and actions, always willing to help those around him, and includes everyone with a positive and supportive attitude.

Stella Hillier- Helping to care for the classroom resources and helping others to organise their learning tools.

As we move forward with using Compass, we are introducing the following.

School uniforms 

School uniforms can now be ordered and paid for through Compass and then collected from the school office. They can still be ordered and paid for from the office. 

Hot lunch 

Next term hot lunch orders will also be processed through compass . Stay tuned for more information- orders will open the last week of this term. This will help to streamline orders and payments. Orders will only be accepted through Compass moving forwards.

Please click on the link below for a video on step-by-step canteen ordering.

https://support.compass.education/en/articles/45264-compass-app-how-to-place-a-canteen-order-parents

Voluntary contributions

A reminder that family contributions can now be paid through Compass as well as through direct deposit to the school bank account or cash at the office.

Here is a link for all Compass parent guides.

https://support.compass.education/en/articles/44604-parent-student-guides

Folk Festival Fairytale Street Parade

Friday 20th March

Meet your class at 5:45pm on the High Street for a 6pm START!

Magical fairytale-like excitement is bubbling in the Yackandandah SMART room for the highly anticipated Folk Festival Street Parade. We have been busy geli-plate printing, painting, preparing t-shirts, making crowns, flags and necklaces that the students can wear in the parade. Students have the option of wearing a costume of their choice related to the theme of Fairytales and are encouraged to wear sparkling, bright colours with their Mary Blair inspired artworks.

Artwork of the Week: T-shirt designs by Year 5/6 student Sara Davison.



REMINDER

There will be FREE face painting for all parade participants in the Yack Memorial Gardens Rotunda, from 3:30pm onwards.

The parade will conclude at the Street Stage, this is located opposite the WAW and Post Office as per last year. The end of the parade will be after the official opening, acknowledgement of country and performance by the Year 5/6 Yackandandah PS Bucket Drumming  Band.

Looking forward to marching down the High St with all our creative fairytale folk this Friday evening!

Caz & Mandy

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.

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!

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

Also, we are very excited to announce our program of wonderful free children's events this year. These events are not tickets and everyone is welcome to join. 

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.

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

On Wednesday, a fantastic group of 16 students proudly represented our school at the Regional Swimming Carnival in Wangaratta. Competitors participated in a range of events, including Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly, Freestyle Relays, and Medley Relays.

As this report is being submitted early, official results are not yet available. A more detailed update, including student achievements, will be shared in next week’s newsletter.

All the best in your sporting pursuits,
Robyn

17^th  March           Joshua

20^th  March           Hudson

23^rd  March           Otto