Ms D Principal Message

As our 2025 school year comes to a close, we continue to strive for excellence in everything we do at Toorak Primary School. This year has certainly been one to celebrate, with our students demonstrating outstanding personal and academic achievement and growth.

At our school, we measure success in a range of ways. Some outcomes are captured through standardised assessments, while others are seen through anecdotal evidence of students’ social and emotional development. We meet each child at their point of need and ensure learning is responsive to what they need at that time. While this can sometimes be challenging to capture on a five-point scale in school reports, we know that many of our students have met and exceeded their individual learning goals.

Once again in 2025, our Year 3 and Year 5 NAPLAN results indicated high levels of achievement. However, as a school and improvement team, we focus strongly on student growth between year levels, as this provides a clearer measure of the value added through our teaching. This allows us to refine our practice and continue to improve.

As the school enters the final year of our current School Strategic Plan in 2026, we reflect proudly on the many goals we have achieved and the areas where we have exceeded our original targets. This does not mean we stop. Our 2026 goals and targets have been set, and we will continue to seek guidance and support to further strengthen our work.

 In Term 1, we will be working with the psychologists and specialist education staff from OnTrack to further develop our school’s vision for a Multi-Tiered System of Supports for all students. Further information will be shared with our community in 2026. From Term 3, we will be working with Emina McClean to build on our literacy improvement journey. She will support staff and the leadership team by providing expert professional learning and in-school coaching.

As we close the year, I would like to extend my warmest wishes to all families for a joyful festive season and a safe, restful holiday break. Thank you for your continued support and partnership throughout the year.

To our wonderful Grade 6 students — we are so proud of you. As you graduate from Toorak Primary School, we wish you every success, happiness, and confidence as you begin the next exciting chapter of your learning journey. You will always be part of the TPS community.

Wishing everyone a happy and safe holiday season.

2026 Parent Payments

Each year the school is allocated funding from the state government to support the operations of the school.  The school is funded on the total enrolment numbers and is aimed at providing enough for a standard education.  As we are all aware standard is not what we strive for at TPS, we strive for excellence in all areas and provide opportunities for our students to excel.  In saying this, the standard funding does not cover all the extras to make us ‘Exceptional’ and therefore each year we ask for voluntary contributions to further enhance what we offer.  Over the past several years we have seen a decline in the number of families contributing and we understand that the cost of living pressures may have an impact on this. In 2026 we have aimed to reduce the contribution amount for families in line with this and therefore have made changes to our parent payment structures:

2025 Achievements – Where Do Your Contributions Go at TPS?

Our academic achievements have been shared regularly throughout the year via our newsletters; however, I would also like to highlight some of our broader achievements for 2025 that have been made possible through our strong sense of collaboration and community support.

Fundraising - Over the past several years, the EMF team has worked tirelessly – turning sausages, selling raffle tickets, and hosting community events to raise vital funds for our school. This year, fundraising efforts contributed $100,000 towards the new playground installation, with the school allocating a further $120,000 to complete the project. This has been a wonderful achievement for our school community.

The EMF group is also very close to achieving its $32,000 target to further develop the area adjacent to the Prep playground. These works will commence in early January and are expected to be ready for use on the first day of the 2026 school year.

Library Upgrade - Voluntary contributions to the library fund have enabled a significant upgrade of our library space. This has included new shelving and soft furnishings, new books, updated library software, and new search devices. A total investment of over $60,000 has been allocated to this work. Margaret Whitford has led this redevelopment to ensure our students have access to an inviting, high-quality reading environment.

Music Contributions - This year, a total of $7,000 was raised through voluntary contributions to support the school musical. As a result of the musical’s huge success, these funds have now been redirected into the 2026 music budget to purchase additional instruments and support the development of a band program.

Classroom Furniture - In 2025, we renewed furniture sets in eight classrooms and will continue this work to ensure our learning environments are high quality and responsive to student needs. These updates include the provision of standing desks and sensory areas, along with tools to support diverse learners. These improvements have been guided by recommendations from our highly valued school-based Allied Health Team.

Allied Health Team Expansion - In 2025, we expanded our Allied Health team to include a school-based psychologist, joining our Occupational Therapist and Speech Pathologist. This team has been invaluable in supporting students and staff. They work across classrooms and play a critical role in leading inclusion and adjustment practices across the school.

Fencing Upgrade -Each year, the school sets aside funding for major infrastructure works. The perimeter fencing has been a focus of our Buildings and Grounds Committee for some time. In July and August, we secured the necessary approvals and quotations, and the updated perimeter fence will be installed during the January break, commencing on 5 January. We look forward to seeing this important project completed before students return at the end of January.

Looking Ahead to 2026

As we move into 2026, we welcome community input into how future fundraising dollars should be allocated. Families are invited to share their ideas by speaking with one of our School Council parent representatives or by emailing the school.

Tax-deductible building fund contributions will be directed towards upgrading our hall facilities, including potential expansion into the green room and an update to the hall’s audio-visual equipment.

Student Reports

Student reports will be published to families on Wednesday 17 December.  Staff have worked tirelessly over a number of weeks to finalise assessments, gather and interpret data usually more than 3 sources to support them to allocate a Vic Curriculum mark.  During this process teacher moderate samples and work with learning specialists to ensure that the evidence collected matches the outcomes reported. Please take some time to read your child’s reports and celebrate their wonderful achievements.

Transition Day

Yesterday the whole school was involved in ‘Step Up Day’, an opportunity to meet their 2026 teacher and classmates.  The students showed a high level of resilience during the session and were able to connect with a range of peers from the cohort.  As we prepare for the new school year, we understand that class placements and teacher changes can be an emotional time for both children and families. Your attitude and words at home play a powerful role in shaping how your child feels about these changes. When parents speak positively about new teachers and classmates, children are more likely to feel safe, confident and excited about learning.

It’s also important to remember that not being in the same class as a close friend can be a valuable growth opportunity. While friendships remain important at recess and lunch, new class groupings help children develop resilience, expand their social circles, and build independence. With your support and reassurance, your child can approach the year ahead with confidence, curiosity and a positive mindset.

2026 Staffing

2025 Goodbyes

At TPS, we continue to be a school of choice for many staff; however, we cannot hold on to everyone as they seek to grow professionally beyond what we can sometimes offer. It is with a heavy heart that we say farewell to the following staff:

Luke Fletcher:

We would like to share that Luke Fletcher, our Maths Learning Specialist, will be finishing up at Toorak Primary School. Luke began his career with us as a graduate teacher and has worked incredibly hard to become a highly respected member of our leadership team.

Luke has been instrumental in leading change in teaching and learning, co-founding our coaching program, and driving exceptional growth in Mathematics outcomes across the school. His passion, expertise and commitment to excellence have had a lasting impact on our staff and students. We thank Luke for his outstanding contribution to our school community and wish him every success as he begins his new role as a Leading Teacher at Canadian Lead Primary School.

Sara Harris:

Sara joined the Toorak Primary School community as our dedicated First Aid Officer, supporting students across the school for many years before moving into the role of Student Welfare Officer. She was instrumental in fostering the engagement of The Fathering Project, which focused on strengthening connections between families – particularly fathers – and their children, and she also ran the Breakfast Club for many years. Sara facilitated strong links between external services and families, providing invaluable support over time. Her care, compassion and commitment to our community will be deeply missed by all.

Roxy Brito:

Roxy spent the time on her return to TPS as business manager in training for the best part of 2025. She has been successful in securing a business manager position at Carnegie Primary School.  Roxy joined the school in 2018 as a part of the administration team often being the first point of contact for many of our families either in person or over the phone. She will be sadly missed by many at the school and within the school community no doubt, however we wish her all the best.

Ryan Bolger:

Ryan was on loan to us from Brighton Beach PS for the 24/25 school year and has made positive contribution to our school community.  We wish him all the very best as he returns to our base school in 2026.

TJ Turner:

TJ joined our education support team in July 2025 and has had a positive impact on so many students she has supported across the school.  We wish her all the best in her move up north.

Raina:

Raina joined our education support team in 2025 while completing her teacher training. She has continued to support students across the school in many ways, allowing them to reach their full potential.  We wish Raina all the best as she enters the teaching profession.

School Disco

The annual school glow disco was well attended by many excited students. Thank you to Michelle Stephen (mum of Hugo and Sailor), who led the team behind the disco’s organisation. The team dedicated many hours before and during the event to ensure the students enjoyed a fun and memorable evening.

Songs of Celebration 

What an incredibly talented group of students we have here at TPS! Our annual concert was a wonderful celebration of creativity and community, showcasing the amazing skills of our students and the staff who supported them every step of the way. From the outstanding choreography to the confident performances, it truly was a spectacular show.

The beautiful weather created the perfect setting, with our picturesque school grounds providing a relaxed and joyful backdrop for an afternoon of singing, dancing and celebration. It was heartwarming to see our students shining on stage and enjoying the opportunity to share their talents with our school community.

A sincere thank you to our School Council members who led the cooking and serving an endless supply of sausages for our appreciative families. A special thank you Sonia Fisher (Henry’s mum) and the team of parent volunteers who worked tirelessly selling raffle tickets. The raffle will be drawn at the final assembly on Wednesday 17 December.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this event such a memorable success.