From community involvement and events to internal changes and development, 2024 was a year for the history books for Kyabram P-12 College.
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Journalist Jemma Jones sat down with principal Marina Walsh and secondary school assistant principal Mitchell Coombs to chat about the past 12 months and what the 2025 school year holds.
Kyabram P-12 College is the one of the two schools in Kyabram, and with over 1200 students enrolled in 2024, the past 12 months have seen the school plastered across the pages of the Free Press.
It all began with a special announcement in April about the return of the previous year’s interim principal, Mrs Walsh, and this time she was back for good.
“It felt good to know that any work I did this year, I would be able to see it through,” Mrs Walsh said.
“I’ve been appointed for five years … I’m excited to be able to continue working with the wonderful school leadership team.”
Mr Coombs said a focus for the year was strengthening the ties between the school and the community.
“The school isn’t just an important part of the community, we’re aiming for it to be the centre of the community by getting the community involved so that our students are doing real world and relevant things as much as possible,” he said.
Mrs Walsh said links to local organisations such as Warramunda, Sheridan, Kyabram Community and Learning Centre and Kyabram Legacy had helped students become aware of what lay outside the classroom.
In between the usual Book Week events and 100 Days of Prep celebrations, the school was undergoing a whole school review where leadership met with teachers, parents and students to understand what a perfect Kyabram P-12 College looked like to them.
Looking forward, both Mr Coombs and Mrs Walsh said they would be working to implement the feedback from the review into the coming years.
They have two goals that have stemmed from that feedback, and members of the leadership team have already begun working on improving what they believe is the most important: learning.
Mrs Walsh said the school struggled with the ongoing teacher shortage, with the school short six teachers at the beginning of 2024, and some classes having to merge.
“And we were consulting families and staff … and the feedback was it was better because (students) knew they always had a teacher and loved having the same teacher every day,” she said.
This year, the staff team is almost complete, with Mrs Walsh confident the school can kick the year off with a full squadron of teachers.
“It’s all about the small consistency with the approach of learning … having teachers in place so that students can come back to the same teacher every day is going to be huge,” she said.
The other goal is in relation to the wellbeing of students, beginning with listening to students directly by strengthening the school’s student voice.
“Agency is more in the classroom, where (students) get to have more of a say on what you’re learning and how you learn,” Mrs Walsh said.
“People have different learning styles, different learning needs … we want to enable them to have a say and then us to take that on board to show students that communication is a two-way street.”
Mr Coombs said he was excited for 2025 to kick off, as he believed the college was a school that focused on improvement.
“We’re looking forward to implementing some new, exciting things for next year and allowing the students to connect well with each other, but also well with the school and well with their learning, so that they can achieve the outcomes of which they are capable,” he said.
Top Free Press headlines for Kyabram P-12 College
It’s official: Principal here to stay
Kyabram P-12 College principal Marina Walsh is here to stay after the school council appointed her as the substantive principal.
Ms Walsh started as the acting principal of Kyabram P-12 College, which has 1200 students and 120 staff, just over 12 months ago.
The Kyabram P-12 College council has now appointed her as the substantive principal, and she will be at the school for the next five years.
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Generational harmony: Students sing for aged care residents
In a cross-generational collaboration, the Kyabram P-12 College primary students worked with the Sheridan Aged Care residents, and it all kicked off with a harmonic performance by the choir.
Students of Kyabram P-12 College primary choir put on a special performance for the residents of Sheridan Aged Care who visited the school on Friday, June 28.
Five Sheridan residents made their way to the college on Friday morning for an early morning concert by the student volunteer choir, led by teacher Susan Meeking.
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Forever etched in history: Statue unveiled under Kyabram’s first Lone Pine
It was cold and rainy as Alwyn Drysdale unveiled a statue of her husband — but the atmosphere was warm and welcoming.
On Thursday, August 20, Kyabram P-12 College hosted an intimate ceremony in front of its Lone Pine tree, where a short list of veterans and their family members were present to commemorate the actions of Robert ‘Lone Pine Bob’ Drysdale.
More than two decades ago, an Aleppo pine seed was planted at the college: the seed both a descendant of the famous Lone Pine tree that originally stood on Turkish soil and a reminder of the soldiers that lost their lives on that very earth.
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Students perfect their pitch ahead of State School Spectacular
Students from Kyabram P-12 College fine-tuned their pitch and put the final touches on their catalogue of songs as they made their way to Melbourne for the State School Spectacular.
Joining them were nearly 1000 gifted students from across Victoria, each with an ear for music, ready to dazzle the audience at John Cain Arena on Friday, September 14.
Sue Meeking, the dedicated choir director, guided the 20 enthusiastic Year 5 and 6 students over the past few months, preparing them for this spectacular event.
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Onboard with Kyabram P-12 College VET students
Kyabram P-12 College VCE VET building and construction students are getting a first-hand masterclass on community involvement with their fixer-upper project — a boat — for the Kyabram Community Learning Centre.
Not only is the project a way for students to involve themselves in the community, but it’s also a way to convert their learning into practical skills with a piece that is much more than a school project.
The boat, once completed, will be placed in the community gardens for preschoolers to play on, adventure with and to explore imaginative worlds.
Cadet Journalist