General News
20 February, 2026
Students set goals for new school year
The students at Hopetoun P-12 College began their school year on Thursday, January 29.
The first day was Ready to Learn Day. Students got to know the new school year, learned about classroom expectations, set goals, and set up their form rooms.
Students could choose between Yoga or Active, and they also took part in an Elevate session.
After the first House meetings for 2026, students elected the Yarrara and Banksia sport captains.
In Yoga, students entered a calm and relaxing space where they practised stretches to release tension and test their flexibility.
They also practised breathing exercises to calm their minds and slow their breathing.
Students in the Active lesson went to the Stadium, where Mikayla from Jeparit had set up different activities.
They formed small groups and rotated between stations to play fun games.
In the Elevate session, students listened to Evan from Melbourne, who shared tips on making studying easier and taking good notes.
Students went to their first house meeting of the year. Spirits were high as they debated which house might win the swimming sports, the first event of the year.
They also voted for leaders they believed could guide each team to victory.
On Tuesday of Week Two, students had their first Buddies session.
Everyone gathered in the Stadium, where the Year 9 and 10 students taught their Buddy groups how to play two games.
Everyone showed great teamwork, had fun, and demonstrated leadership.
Some Year 10 and 11 students had an early start on Wednesday of Week 2, heading to Horsham for their first VET day or to begin their second year of VET.
Year 10 students Axel, Jaymon, and Maxwell had their first VET day. Maxwell enjoyed it, as he is doing Sport and Rec.
They played games in the stadium and took part in Shark Tank pitches.
Axel and Jaymon’s first day in Automotive involved mostly paperwork and was more of an information session, with little hands-on work.
Both Jaymon and Axel said they enjoyed the day and looked forward to starting hands-on work.
Year 11 students are studying a range of VET subjects. Benjamin and Spencer are doing Certificate II in Engineering Studies, Lachlan is in Certificate II in Vocational Automotive Preparation, Noah is studying Cookery, and Lena is in Sports and Rec.
Students said they are excited for the year ahead.
During the first two weeks of school, P-6 students took part in the swimming program every day.
The 4-6 class practised all the main strokes - freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, and some butterfly - and focused on improving their stroke skills.
The P-3s were learning to blow bubbles, kick, retrieve items from the bottom of the pool, and play games, while the other students were perfecting their strokes as they swam the full length of the pool.
The swimming program for Years 7-8 has also commenced. They had their first session during Periods 1 and 2 on Thursday, in the second week of school.
During the session, they swam a variety of strokes, focusing on arms and legs for each stroke, and they were lucky enough to play volleyball after swimming their laps.
For many students, their favourite part was playing volleyball. The Year 9-10 class have also started their swimming program.
Their first session was during their PE lesson on Friday, in the second week of school, during Periods 1 and 2.
Throughout the session, students swam freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly, perfecting their skills for all the strokes.
They also worked on their starts for the swimming sports day, tweaking a few of their techniques, and did a few practice races during the session.