Out and about with Mr Walsh

Staffing Update - Mrs Camille Mewett - Kitchen and Garden Program

It is with feelings of sadness and excitement that we announce that our Kitchen and Garden specialist Camille Mewett will be finishing up at Surfside Primary School at the end of term 3. Camille and her family will be relocating to Tasmania and unfortunately due to current COVID restrictions this move has been fast tracked. Camille has been such an integral part of our Kitchen and Garden program this year and it has been fantastic to see the buzz and excitement in each class. Camille will be sadly missed and we wish her and her family all the best with their move. We are currently planning for the term ahead in the Kitchen and Garden and look forward to 2022.

Thank you Mrs Mewett

Remote and Flexible Learning Update

Please check the Return to School information via compass or on our return to school page within the newsletter. Below is a snapshot of activity across our See Saw platform - well done Surfside!!

School Events Update

Fresh Food Fair Update 2021

Unfortunately at our last school council meeting we had to make the tough decision to cancel our 2021 Fresh Food Fair as a community based event. Unfortunately the risk associated with outgoing costs and the high possibility of short range cancellation is to great for the school to cover. Once we have more clarification regarding term 4 we will plan towards a school and student based bonanza type Fresh Food Fair that will be a student celebration of all things associated with our Kitchen and Garden program. We anticipate on our current planning to coordinate this event in week 6 of term 4. This is not an easy decision to make as a school as our kitchen and garden program is reliant on this fundraising program and we will explore alternative methods to fundraise for the continued success of this program as well as a focus to engage our local school community.

School Swimming Program

Due to the current uncertainty surrounding restrictions, the term ahead, costs and community facilities we are going to postpone our swimming program for term 4 for our Foundation-year 5 students. We will aim on continuing our program for year 6 students during weeks 3 and 4 and will communicate with our year 6 families via Compass. We aim for our school based swimming program to be postponed until term 1 2022. We fully understand the importance of a Learn to Swim program and encourage all of our families to participate in a community based Learn to Swim program during term 4 if available. More information can be found at the following centers regarding Learn to Swim programs:

Bellarine Aquatic and Sports Centre

Leopold Swim School 

Geelong Aquatic Centre

NAPLAN Results - Well done Surfside

We want to congratulate all of our year 3 and 5 students who this week received their individual NAPLAN results from their 2021 tests. NAPLAN test results provide us with information on how students are performing in the areas of literacy and numeracy and support improvements in teaching and learning within our School Strategic and Annual Implementation Plans. The data from NAPLAN test results also gives us the ability to measure our students’ achievements against national, state and similar school minimum standards.

Victoria has held top spot as the highest-performing jurisdiction on seven out of ten measures in the primary school years with Victoria’s Year 3 and Year 5 numeracy results being the highest in the country. 

As a school we are very proud of our students and staff and our performance within the 2021 NAPLAN tests. We want to acknowledge the impact of remote and flexible learning and understand that this is one snapshot of student performance and we continue to use ongoing assessments and explicit teaching and learning experiences to triangulate a broader picture of student performance over time. As a school we will continue to unpack this data when we have an opportunity to get together to determine our targets for 2022 and identify our support and extension program moving forward. Below is a small snapshot of our cohort data.

School Review Update - Thank you

Our school review has been impacted by current restrictions but we were extremely grateful to finalise our process last Friday and set a specific direction for the school from 2022 through to 2025. This has been a rigorous process involving classroom observations, extensive data analysis, staff interviews, student interviews and parent interviews. There were many celebrations and achievements that the school community should all be proud of over the previous four years and it has set the school in a very direct and collaborative direction with a specific focus on achievement, inclusion and engagement. Once our School Strategic Plan has been confirmed and signed off we look forward to sharing these goals with our school community. A big thank you to the following individuals involved throughout the process:

Review Team

• Julie Myers - Reviewer national Curriculum Services
• Alan Davis - Senior Education Improvement Leader - Barwon Region
• Rose Roberts - School Council Vice President

Challenge Partners

• Jason Smallwood - Senior School Improvement Practice Leader - South West Victoria
• Emma Castelow - Education Improvement Leader Barwon / Acting AP Lara Lake

Staff Representatives

• Linda Giggins - Assistant Principal
• Rochelle Snowdon, Laura Myers and Lynda Patterson - Learning Specialist Team
• Gill Hodgson and Kellie Hewson - Mental Health, Wellbeing and Engagement Team
• Jenny Holland and Adrian Chapman  - Literacy and Numeracy School Improvement Leaders

School Based Events - Updates - 

Please check the dates for your diary page and we will communicate with year levels or whole school as required. 

• Surfside PS Athletics Carnival (Years 3-6) - Landy Field - Wednesday 13th October Unfortunately we won't be able to complete our year 3-6 school based athletics carnival this term and have now rescheduled until term 4.

• Proposed Curriculum Days - Depending on operations during term 4 we have proposed with school council to conduct the following curriculum days during term 4: Monday 4th October (Day 1 of Term 4) & Friday 26th November. These will be dependent on ongoing restrictions and we will continue to communicate with families prior but have both been approved via school council.

• Region Cross Country Championships - qualified students only - Unfortunately School Sport Victoria have announced that this event has been cancelled for 2021. Well done to all of our students who have trained in preparation for this event and we are sure that you will have many more opportunities in the future. More details regarding upcoming School Sport Victoria events can be found here.

• Upcoming Incursions and Excursions - Teams are currently working with venues and organisations to coordinate what we can participate in during term 4. Teams will communicate with families once they have confirmed bookings and requirements.

We will continue to keep our school community updated regarding ongoing restrictions and updated events.

Keeping our community COVIDSafe

The Victorian Government, Department of Health Services and The Department of Education continue to have specific measures in place to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our local community. We can all do our part in the following ways:

We have the following in place at Surfside PS to ensure the health and safety of our school community as advised by the Department of Education:

• All adults, staff and visitors to the school are required to wear a face mask when on site
• Continue good health and hygiene practice by washing hands regularly, coughing or sneezing into your elbow and using hand sanitiser regularly.
• When unwell it is essential that you remain home, seek medical advice and be tested if required.
• Ensure 1.5m physical distancing when required.
• Please sign in to the school using the Services Victoria QR code when in attendance - more information below
• Get vaccinated if you are eligible

For further support please visit the DHS Coronavirus webpage

Continue to stay safe and healthy throughout 2021.

QR Code Check In - Services Victoria

When attending Surfside Primary School as a visitor it is essential that you sign in via the Services Victoria QR code. All visitors need to report to the administration office prior to entering the school grounds. This is required when entering buildings or classrooms. This will require everyone to download the Services Victoria App on their device.

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR SUPPORT ON HOW TO DOWNLOAD THE APP