Student Achievement

The release of this year's VCE results was the culmination of a big few weeks of acknowledging student achievement at Wimmera Lutheran College. It has been great to be present for the Year 12 Graduation Services, 10 and 11, 7-9 and 3-6 Closing Services to see our students acknowledged for their academic and service achievements. Congratulations to all students who were presented with awards, you have done yourselves, your families and the college proud. I want to also acknowledge those students who weren’t officially acknowledged but gave it their best this year.

A special congratulations to Year 12 student Cadi Streeter who was announced as Wimmera Lutheran College’s Dux after achieving an ATAR score of 92.35. Cadi has worked tirelessly this year and deserves this result. Congratulations also to Samuel Hahn who is the Proxime Accessit with an ATAR of 91.95. Samuel also posted a perfect score of 50 for General Maths. Well done to Cadi, Samuel and all our VCE students.

Acknowledgements

• VCE Students on their outstanding results
• Year 7 and 8 students who went on camp and the leading staff
• Mrs Polack, Faith Captains and the Ministry Team for the Hope of Christmas event held last week
• The Junior School SRC for using money raised over the course of this year to purchase items for the Kmart Wishing Tree
• Special celebrations including the Year 9 Rite Journey Homecoming Ceremony, Year 6 Celebration and Foundation Celebration
• All staff, students and parents of the three Wimmera Lutheran College Campuses for contributing to another excellent year, our first as an amalgamated entity

Important Dates for 2026

Term Dates, 2026

Tuesday 27 January - Term 1 commences
Thursday 2 April - Term 1 concludes
Monday 20 April - Term 2 commences
Friday 26 June - Term 2 concludes
Tuesday 14 July - Term 3 commences
Friday 18 September - Term 3 concludes
Monday 5 October - Term 4 commences
Tuesday 20 October - Year 12 Last Day
Friday 27 November - Year 10 and 11 Last Day
Tuesday 8 December - Middle School students conclude
Wednesday 9 December - Junior School students conclude
Friday 11 December - Office closes

Public Holiday and School Closure Dates, 2026

Monday 26 January - Australia Day
Monday 9 March - Labour Day
Friday 5 June - Report Writing Day
Monday 8 June - King’s Birthday
Monday 13 July - Student Free Day (Staff PD)
Monday 2 November - School Closure Day
Tuesday 3 November - Melbourne Cup
Monday 23 November - Report Writing Day

Christmas Blessings

As we come to the end of another school year, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to our entire school community. To our staff, thank you for your dedication, professionalism, and the genuine care you show our students each day. You create a learning environment where young people feel supported, challenged, and valued. To our students, thank you for your enthusiasm, resilience, and willingness to grow. You bring life, energy, and purpose to our school, and it is a privilege to walk alongside you in your learning journey. To our parents and caregivers, thank you for your partnership, trust, and encouragement. Your support strengthens our mission and helps us create the best possible environment for your children.

Above all, we give thanks to God for sustaining us throughout the year. His faithfulness and grace have guided us through both the joys and the challenges we have shared. We are reminded of the promise in Isaiah 9:6: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given… and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” May this promise bring peace and hope to you and your family as we look ahead to the Christmas season and the year to come.

Mr Jason Przibilla
Executive Principal

In the Old Testament, we often see God give people instructions about creating special memorials, rituals or festivals to commemorate special events or significant things that God did for his people. Examples are seen in Joshua 4:6-7 where God instructed the people led by Joshua across the Jordan to put large memorial stones as a monument of God's deliverance, and in Exodus 12:14 where God instituted the Passover feast that was to be celebrated every year. God's explanation for both of these things was that from that time on the people who passed the memorial stones or who participated in the Passover feast would ask what the meaning of these things were and that the answer would be that they serve to remind people of the great things God did for his people and point people toward him. For example, regarding the Passover, God told Moses to tell his people: “In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." 

Today for us in Australia, it is probably at Christmas time more than at any time, that we each have traditions that point us and our family members to things of meaning. There are many different traditions and some hold different meanings for different people: putting up Christmas lights, attending carols by candlelight, elf on the shelf, having a Christmas tree, giving to charity, gathering for meals with loved ones, gift giving, putting out Christmas stocking or drinking eggnog - just to name a few! I still love the nostalgia of putting a pillow slip hung over a chair on Christmas eve for my presents to be put in, just as they have been every year of my life. Never-the-less, my prayer for us all this year is that as we enjoy the Christmas season and engage in the traditions meaningful to us, that we will remember that Christmas is intended to point us back to God and renew the realisation of his great love and grace toward us because he sent his son Jesus to earth. His son who would grow up to die as a saviour of the world. May you and your family reflect on how your favorite traditions can point us to Jesus, our saviour. Attached is a printout for a family devotional resource that is one way that families can establish a tradition of reflecting each day on an aspect of the Christmas story.

Have a blessed and merry Christmas. May you know the love of God through this special season.

Mrs Kate Polack, College Chaplain

The End of 2025

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to our wonderful students, staff and parent community for their support throughout my time as Acting Head of Junior School this year. It has been an amazing experience, and I am deeply grateful for the encouragement, trust and collaboration that have shaped my learning and leadership journey. I look forward to returning to my role as Assistant Head of Primary Schools: Curriculum & Pedagogy, where I’m excited to continue innovating and enhancing the teaching and learning programs across all campuses of Wimmera Lutheran College. I wish Mrs Christina Jacobsen every success in her new role as Head of Primary - Horsham Campus and look forward to supporting her as she settles into our wonderful community.

Primary School Map 2026

Below is the Primary School class map for 2026. Next year, we plan to bring our classes together to enhance collaboration and make better use of shared resources.

Transition Day

Last Tuesday was the WLC Transition Day. What a wonderful day this was to ensure a smooth transition into new class groupings for 2026.

Volunteer’s Morning Tea

Thank you to all parent volunteers who attended the Morning Tea last Friday. We appreciate the time, support and energy that you have demonstrated throughout the year, and we are grateful for all that you add to our community.

Important Dates

• 27 Jan - First Day Term 1, 2026
• 28 Jan - Whole College Opening Service
• 2 Feb - Primary School Assembly
• 5 Feb - WLC Horsham Welcome & Information Evening
• 2 Apr - Last Day Term 1

Awards

FL: Gracie N, Toby S and Jett M, FR: All of FR, 1H: Nara F & Savio B, 1P: All of 1P, 2H: R Boyd, S Ranasinghe, Brodie A & Yarmiyah P, 2S: Summer L, Spencer P, Isaac K, Jack B, Anna L & Harriet R, 3D: Rafferty S, Roshil U & All of 3D, 3J: All of 3J, 4M: Hudson N, Indie O & Maggie K, 4R: Herbie H, Laila B & Cole T, 5D: Lacey A, Sophia B, Abel F, Felix F, Mia H & Addisyn K, 5J: Rylie P, Ollie M, Beau M, Maya S, Luella R, Tristan VZ, Max P & Javier B, 5K: All of 5K, 6H/6V: No Awards.

Specialist awards

Chinese: Charlie Y

Trinity Tiger/Cub Awards

Over the course of the year, house points have been tallied for each Trinity Tiger and Trinity Cub recipient. It is with great pleasure to announce Mallee as the overall House winner for 2025! Followed closely by Lowan in second place, and Wimmera. Congratulations to all of our award recipients this year.

Mrs Jacqui North, Acting Head of Junior School

We have had a wonderful two weeks in the Middle School. On 1 December, we celebrated our Year 9s at the Rite Journey Homecoming Ceremony. It was wonderful to hear how the students have been challenged and how they have grown over the year. They were presented with their ties, and we look forward to welcoming them to the Senior School in 2026. I would like to thank Mr Matthew McLoughlin for his leadership of The Rite Journey Program, and the teacher guides who have worked with the students.

On Friday 5 December, the Faith Captains, together with the Ministry Team and under the direction of our Chaplain, Mrs Kate Polack, and Director of Arts, Mrs Michelle Hahn, put on the Hope of Christmas event. It was a wonderful evening of community and a time to remember the true meaning of Christmas. We were spoiled with wonderful musical performances, delicious food, and a range of craft activities. Thank you to all involved, and to those who attended the event.

The Middle School Closing Service took place on Tuesday 9 December. This was a lovely way to conclude the year as a community and celebrate a range of achievements over the year.

Year 12 Results

Congratulations to our Year 12 students who received their results this week. We are incredibly proud of the efforts of all our students and remind them that their value is defined by so much more than their final scores. A special congratulations to our 2025 VCE DUX, Cadi Streeter, with an impressive ATAR of 92.35, and Proxime Accessit, Samuel Hahn, who achieved an ATAR of 91.95.

The following results are of note:
ATAR OF 80 OR ABOVE

Regan Bell
Shivansh Bhutani
Natalie Cheah
Lexie Heard
Mia Nuttall
Ethan Rudolph
Jacob Rudolph
Swathi Sunilkumar
Stephanie Wundke

PERFECT STUDY SCORE
Samuel Hahn - General Mathematics

We celebrate the hard work, resilience, and growth of all our Year 12 students as they move forward to exciting new opportunities.

2026

As we prepare for next year, I would like to highlight the following key dates:

• 27 January - First day for Year 7 and 12 students
• 28 January - First day for Year 8, 9, 10 and 11 students
• 28 January - Opening Service at 9am in the MPC
• 29–30 January - Year 7 Activity Days
• 2–3 February - Year 12 Camp
• 5 February - Welcome and Information Evening

We are blessed at WLC to have a team of dedicated staff. This year, the students have been given a vast array of opportunities, and that is because of the commitment of our staff. I would like to wholeheartedly thank them for all that they do.

I want to thank all families for their support this year. It is truly a blessing and a privilege to lead this community. I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe and restful break. I look forward to welcoming everyone back in 2026 for what will no doubt be a wonderful year full of opportunities for our students.

Mrs Kate Carter, Deputy Principal - Head of Secondary

2025

A big thank you to the many parents and family members that assisted at Junior School Sports events this year. Your support for our school sports program is greatly appreciated.

Thank you to our staff for enthusiastically embracing the sports program to ensure students have the best opportunity to be involved in sport.

2026 Primary Division Swimming Carnival

Due to officials unavailability, the date for the Little Desert Division Swimming Carnival has been moved to Wednesday 25 February 2026.

Term 1 2026 Sports Events

WLC Year 4 - 6 Swimming Carnival - Tuesday 17 February

Little Desert Division Swimming - Wednesday 25 February

WLC Year 3 - 6 Athletics - Thursday 26 March

WLC Year F - 2 Athletics - Friday 27 March

WLC JS Cross Country - Thursday 2 April

Mr Gary Davidson, Head of Sport (F-6)

And just like that, 2025 draws to a close. It has been a massive year of sport from WLC, and I would like to thank all of the students, staff and parents who have been involved in making this year a success.

From transporting students to and from events, helping out with trainings - either at school or at home, allowing students to participate in the events that come up, and fostering a love of sport in our community, the success of the Wimmera Lutheran College sport program comes down to the passion and commitment of everyone involved.

This year, almost 62% of all secondary students represented WLC at a representative sporting event. Of those students, 51% were female. It’s an awesome thing to see so many girls be passionate and involved with sport, and I hope that this trend will continue into the future. We are also seeing excellent participation trends from our boys, with 73% of male students in the secondary school representing WLC in at least one sport this year.

In total, we had 17 representative teams participate in the Regional Finals, with five teams finishing as runner-up and four teams taking out the Region Championship and progressing to the State Finals. This year, 29 student athletes represented Wimmera Lutheran College at the State level, and we are proud of each and every one of them for their achievements.

We also continued our development of local talent, with 16 students participating in the WestVic Academy of Sport to improve their performance in Gymnastics, Swimming, Tennis and Volleyball. The WLC Netball Academy, run by Miss Meg Cashin, helped 17 athletes from Year 7 to Year 9 develop their skills, tactical understanding and teamwork on the netball court. It has been fantastic to see the growth of all of our athletes over the course of the year.

The Secondary Sport team has some more fantastic ideas in the works to ensure that 2026 is a bigger and better year again, so we hope to see you then!

COMING EVENTS - 2026

FEBRUARY

• 5 - Black Ranges Intermediate & Senior Tennis
• 10 - Black Ranges Intermediate & Senior Cricket
• 20 - WLC Year 7 - 12 Swimming Carnival
• 23 - Holy Trinity Racing HPV Team Trials
• 26 - Black Ranges Swimming

MARCH

• 2 - Holy Trinity Racing HPV Team Trials
• 4 - Greater Western Region Intermediate & Senior Tennis
• 4 - Greater Western Region Intermediate & Senior Cricket
• 16 - Black Ranges Intermediate & Senior Volleyball
• 25 - Greater Western Region Swimming
• 28 - AHPVSS Round 1: Mount Gambier 8-hour
• 30 - WLC Year 7 - 12 Athletics Carnival
• 31 - Greater Western Region Intermediate & Senior Volleyball

APRIL

• 21 - WLC Year 7 - 12 Cross Country
• 23 - State Swimming
• 28 - Black Ranges Intermediate & Senior Girls AFL

Mr Matthew McLaughlin, Head of Sport (7-12)

As we reflect on the year, the Wellbeing team are thankful for the trust placed in us by students, families, and staff. It has been a privilege to be a part of so many lives, offering support during difficult times, celebrating milestones, and helping to build a stronger, more connected community. We would like to take this opportunity to wish our WLC community a very Merry Christmas and a safe, restful holiday break. This season offers a wonderful opportunity to pause, reconnect, and care for ourselves and one another. We hope the coming weeks bring moments of joy, reflection, and togetherness, and we look forward to continuing to support our students, families, and staff in the new year.

As families around the world prepare to celebrate Christmas by decorating their homes, singing carols, buying gifts and planning feasts, often the true meaning of Christmas can be lost due the commercial exploitation of this time of year. Many people see it as a joyous occasion to spend with family and friends, but for others it is viewed as a stressful and challenging time attributed by a combination of things such as financial pressures, relationship issues, and quite often, loneliness.

During the Christmas period, there is a huge increase in the number of calls to support organisations. Many of these callers are considered to be in a high-risk category and sadly, this is the ugly side to Christmas. Should you, or a loved one, ever feel that the pressure of Christmas becomes too much, it is important to seek help. Reach out to a trusted friend, talk to your doctor or counsellor, or phone one of the many support organisations available to you 24/7.

To view this special report please go to the link below.

The end of the school year has quickly approached, and upon reflection, I have had the opportunity to cover many different areas within Health and Medical Administration at Wimmera Lutheran College.

From introducing new policies and managing risk, to updating medical systems, applying Band-Aids, administering daily medications, providing icepacks, and caring for bumps, scrapes, and knocks - each day has been meaningful and rewarding.

Wimmera Lutheran College is committed to supporting the medical welfare of both staff and students, and we take pride in ensuring all needs are met with care and diligence.

I want to sincerely thank everyone who has supported me in this role throughout the year. I feel incredibly blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful staff, students, parents, and community members.

If your child’s medical plan, details, or management requirements will change going into 2026, please email the updated information to either:

medical@wlc.vic.edu.au or admin@wlc.vic.edu.au

Wishing you all a safe and healthy Christmas and New Year.

Mrs Kristy Kelly, Medical Administration

Our Student Representative Council (SRC) has truly shown the power of kindness, leadership and community spirit this year.

Through a range of fundraising efforts across the year, our dedicated SRC students worked hard to raise money that would make a real difference in the lives of others. Their commitment recently came full circle as they spent the funds at the Kmart Wishing Tree, purchasing a variety of gifts for people in our community who are less fortunate.

With thought, care and generosity, the students selected items for all ages, spreading joy to families and individuals who need it most during this season. This experience not only highlighted the importance of giving, but also strengthened the students’ understanding of empathy, social responsibility and the impact of small acts of kindness.

We are incredibly proud of our SRC for their leadership, teamwork and compassion. They are a wonderful example of what it means to give back and look out for others.

Well done, SRC - you’ve made a meaningful difference in many lives.

Wimmera Lutheran College is seeking parent and carer feedback on the drop off and pick up zone, particularly following the recent installation of new bollards.

Your feedback will help us assess safety, traffic flow and overall functionality of the area. All responses will be reviewed carefully and used to inform future planning.

Building on the success of this year’s classroom music program, we are thrilled to launch a new, dedicated instrumental program for our Year 6 and 7 students in 2026. This is a unique opportunity for committed students to receive weekly tuition on a Brass instrument.

For more information, please read the parent letter attached and fill out the form provided.