Principal's Report

 Dear Skye Families,

NAPLAN 2026 Results: Celebrating Growth, Committed to Improvement

Each year, NAPLAN gives us a valuable snapshot of how our students are tracking in literacy and numeracy. We're pleased to share this year's results with you in full, including where we've excelled, and where we're focusing our energy next.

Year 5: A Cohort to Be Proud Of

Our Year 5 students delivered outstanding results in 2026. They outperformed both Similar Schools and the state average in Reading, Spelling, and Grammar & Punctuation, and matched Similar Schools in Writing. This is the payoff of consistent, high-quality teaching over several years, and a great credit to our students, teachers and families.

Year 3: An Honest Look, and Our Plan Forward

Our Year 3 cohort's results eased across most domains this year compared to last year's particularly strong group. We want to be upfront about this with our community, and just as clear about what we're doing in response. It's worth noting that our 2025 Year 3 cohort performed well above typical trend, so part of this year's shift reflects a return toward the norm. That said, we're treating this as a genuine priority, not an excuse.

The Full Picture

% of students achieving Exceeding or Strong (2026)

What Stands Out

Numeracy is the clearest shared focus area across both cohorts, with Year 3 (58%) and Year 5 (54%) sitting below Similar Schools and state benchmarks. This is exactly why our whole-school Systematic Maths Fluency program, with daily structured routines running from Foundation through to Year 6, is our single biggest lever for lifting outcomes across the entire school, not just one year group.

What We're Doing About It

• Systematic Maths Fluency, embedded school-wide, to build strong numeracy foundations from the earliest years
• Targeted intervention for Year 3 students currently below expected levels in Reading and Maths
• A new Pulse Check Assessment Framework, giving teachers real-time, in-term data to identify and support students earlier

• Ongoing professional learning for our teaching staff, anchored in the Skye Primary School Instructional Model, to lift consistency of high-quality instruction in every classroom

   

We're incredibly proud of what our Year 5 students have achieved, and just as committed to giving our Year 3 students, and every cohort that follows, the same trajectory of growth. We'll continue to keep our community informed as these initiatives take hold across the year.

Whole School Production: The Great Australian Road Trip!

The countdown is officially on, with just over two weeks to go until our 2026 Whole School Musical Production hits the stage at the Frankston Arts Centre on Tuesday 8th September!

Our students have been working incredibly hard all term alongside the choreographers from STOMP Dance Company and our dedicated staff team, fine-tuning their routines, building confidence, and bringing their performances to life.

This year, we invite you to hit the highway with us for The Great Australian Road Trip. The show follows a family, and their unforgettable Nana Jude, as they journey across the country visiting iconic Aussie landmarks like the Big Banana, Uluru, and the mighty MCG (with a few classic road-trip bumps along the way!). Along the journey, they'll cross paths with a fantastic cast of colourful characters, all brought to life through energetic dance and music.

Performance Details & Key Information:

Venue: Frankston Arts Centre  Date: Tuesday 8th September  

Showtimes: Matinee Performance at 12:00pm | Evening Performance at 6:00pm

Ticketing Information:

With two performances and strong demand expected for the evening show, we're using a fair, two-phase ticketing process to make sure every family has the opportunity to see their child perform:

• Phase 1 (Opens Monday August 24 at 12pm): Evening (6pm) tickets are capped at 2 per family to ensure every family can attend. The matinee (12pm) is open with no ticket limit — a great option for grandparents and extended family wanting extra seats.

• Phase 2 (Opens August 31st at 12pm): Any remaining evening tickets will be released on a first-in, first-served basis, with all families notified when they go live.

   

Keep an eye out on Sentral for final reminders regarding ticket booking dates, costume details, and arrival times for students. We cannot wait to showcase the incredible talent of our Skye community!

Picasso Cows 2026 

Congratulations to our students, along with Mrs Jackson and Mrs Nestor, on a fantastic result in this year's Picasso Cows competition

While we didn't take out the top prize this year, our cow, "Dairy McLairy," scored incredibly well with the judges across both assessment tasks:

• Designing and Decorating the Cow: 24/25 — Judges described her as "fun, bright, engaging and educational," praising the colours and dairy-themed imagery representing the paddock-to-plate journey.
• School Learning Journal: A perfect 25/25 — Judges called it "an incredible journal with great insight into the students' learning," highlighting the videos of students on the farm and their overall learning journey.

That's an overall score of 49/50 — a fantastic result to be proud of!

Well done to all the students involved for their creativity and hard work, and a big thank you to Mrs Jackson and Mrs Nestor for guiding this wonderful project.

A Reminder for Families: Student Bathroom Use

We've had a few instances recently of parents entering student bathrooms, including in the BER during Breakfast Club, and at drop off and pick up times. We wanted to send a quick reminder to help keep this area safe and appropriate for our students.

As a school, we're required to uphold the Victorian Child Safe Standards, which set out our obligations to maintain child-safe environments and minimise opportunities for students to be placed in unsupervised or inappropriate situations. Restricting adult access to student bathrooms is one of the practical ways we meet this responsibility, and it's a standard practice across Victorian government schools.

If you need to use a bathroom while on site, please head to the front office and ask staff to direct you to the staff bathrooms. We're always happy to help.

We'd also ask that parents avoid entering the general student bathrooms with their own children during school hours.

2026 Parent / Carer Opinion Survey – Launching Monday 24 August

We want our parents/carers to tell us what they think!

Next week, our school will be conducting the annual Parent / Carer Opinion Survey, offered by the Department of Education. The survey helps us understand families' perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, and student engagement — and the results directly inform our school planning and improvement priorities.

Last year, we had a fantastic response from our families, and this high level of engagement was noted in our school review. We'd love to continue that strong participation in 2026!

Who's involved: A random sample of parents/carers has been selected to participate in this year's survey. If you're one of the families selected, you'll receive an individual invitation email early next week with a unique survey link, School/Campus name, and PIN.

When: The survey opens Monday 24 August and closes Friday 18 September 2026.

How long it takes: Just 20 minutes, and it can be completed on any device — desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone.

Languages: The survey is available in English and 10 other languages, including Arabic, Greek, Hakha Chin, Hindi, Japanese, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Turkish, and Vietnamese. If you'd like a guide in your language, please reach out to the front office.

The survey is optional, but we warmly encourage participation.

Kindergarten Project Update – Module Delivery

We'd like to update our community on the next stage of the Kindergarten Project.

The Kindergarten modules are scheduled to be delivered to site between Wednesday 26 August and Friday 28 August. Traffic management will be in place for the duration of these three days.

School drop-off/pick-up: Deliveries have been scheduled, where possible, to work around school drop-off and pick-up times (8:30–9:15am and 3–4pm). Morning drop-off is not expected to be affected; however, some of the last trucks each day may arrive during the afternoon window. Every effort will be made to minimise any impact on pick-up.

Please feel free to reach out to the office if you have any questions or would like to discuss further.

Upcoming Long Service Leave

As we push ahead with a busy term, I want to share a brief personal update with our school community. Starting Monday 24th August, I will be taking three weeks of Long Service Leave, heading off on a family journey to Sri Lanka to explore a new culture and spend some quality time together.

While I am away, the daily leadership and management of Skye Primary School will be in exceptionally capable hands:

• Gareth Snow will be stepping into the role of Acting Principal.

• Danielle Wadley will continue in her role as Acting Assistant Principal

   

I'm grateful to our staff team for taking the reins, and to our parents and carers for your ongoing support. 

Have a great fortnight!

Warm regards,

Tim