School is always a busy place with plenty happening in and out of the classroom and it has been fantastic to see with our students so well settled with everything going on around them. It has been pleasing to see our students (especially our Preps) working on their whiteboard routines, lining up routines, transitions around the school and starting the day in a calm manner with our yarning cirlce. Programs are up and running and the following is already taking place:

Teacher/Parent/Carer Meet & Greet Sessions
Kitchen and Garden Sessions
Snack Shack launched for 2026
Student Voice and Agency Meeting - with a representative from each class across the school
Breakfast Club
Victorian High Ability Program

We have the following exciting opportunities coming up over the next couple of weeks:

School Photos
Bebras Maths Competition
Summer Lightning Premiership - Years 5/6
School Swimming Trials

A massive highlight of last week was introducing our 2026 Prep cohort at our first assembly of the school year. A massive thank you to their year 6 buddies who supported them and presented them with a 'Welcome to Surfside Award'. It was great to have so many parents/carers and special guests come along to welcome our VIP's!!

Jack the School Dog has started back for 2026 and enjoyed being around the students, staff and many of his favourite parents and carers. He has enjoyed the attention and the many pats and cuddles that he receives throughout the day. Like our Preps Jack has had a staggered start to the school year with 1 day last week, 2 days this week and will return to his schedule of 3 days per week in week 4. It is important to recognise and support Jack's wellbeing so we try not to bring him alonmg when it is too hot or too stimulating for him (major events, etc). Jack has also settled well into his daily routines and definitely loves his afternoon naps.

Parent/Carer/Teacher/Student Meet & Greet

A big thank you to our staff, students and Surfside families for participating in our recent Meet and Greet sessions. It is a great opportunity to discuss student strengths and meet families. It is also a great opportunity to learn a little more about your child and work toward building strong connections. We look forward to fostering the student - teacher - family connection that allows our students to achieve their best possible outcome.

Introducing the staff and teams at Surfside

During term 1 we will introduce our teams throughout our upcoming newsletters - these are the awesome people that make Surfside tick along.

Introducing our LeadershipTeam

Our leadership team do a lot of work behind the scenes in planning and running the logistics of the school and at times these jobs can be endless. However, they might often be the first port of call if you are walking through to start your day.

Introducing our Maintenance Team

Terry's retirement at the end of 2025 was a massive loss for the Surfside community and it was great for him to receive so many positive messages. 2026 brings new beginnings and we welcome Andrew and Darren who will be arround the school on a Thursday completing a variety of our maintenance tasks. It definitely didn't take them long to find their way around the school and they enjoyed the many greetings and questions from the kids.

Student Engagement

Snack Shack is Back for 2026

We welcome a brand new group of year 5 students who will be working in our Snack Shack during Term 1. The students make our Snack Shack delights on a Tuesday afternoon with the support of Clancey and Stacey, advertise and promote their selection and serve their delights to the school on a Wednesday at recess. This helps to build the skills of teamwork, planning and organisation as well as building financial literacy.

On a Tuesday afternoon you will usually receive a compass post advertising what our Snack Shack treat is and the ingredients and all of our delights will cost $1. Every Wednesday at recess the students line up in front of our canteen and have year level windows to assist them. We usually allow our students to buy 1 treat and if there are extras available we will do an announcement for them to buy an extra sweet.

Proceeds from our snack shack go towards our sustainability and kitchen and garden program.

Breakfast Club is Back!

We are excited to welcome everyone back to Breakfast Club for 2026!

A huge thank you to our incredible team for their dedication, organisation and positive energy in getting us up and running again. Your willingness to give your time each week makes such a difference to our students and families. We truly appreciate the care and enthusiasm you bring — it sets the tone for a wonderful start to the day.

A special welcome to Mark Ward, one of our amazing Education Support staff members, who has joined the Breakfast Club team. We’re so grateful to have you on board, Mark!

We would also like to thank Bec for her return and ongoing support. Your commitment and care are truly valued, and Breakfast Club is all the better for it.

It was fantastic to see so many smiling faces at our first session back. There was such a positive vibe in the room — great conversations, laughter and a calm, happy start to the morning. Thank you to all the students and families who came along and helped create such a welcoming atmosphere.

When: Most Thursday morningsTime: 7:30am – 8:30am

There’s something for everyone, with a range of breakfast options including:

A variety of cereals
Fresh toast
Baked beans and spaghetti
Fresh fruit
Warm milk

Breakfast Club is a wonderful opportunity for students to connect with friends, enjoy a nutritious meal and ease into the school day feeling settled and ready to learn.

We look forward to seeing you there each Thursday morning!

Student Attendance

Regular attendance at school is very important for your child's learning and social development. Very good attendance for a child is 95% and above.

It is important that children are at school as much as possible to ensure the BEST opportunity for learning growth. We need to utilise every available minute to ensure student growth academically, socially and emotionally, in and out of the classroom.

If early collection for a shopping trip or to beat the traffic happens on a regular basis this can take away from valuable learning time throughout their schooling life. Please take the time to read the graphic below and to understand the long term affect this can have on student development. We understand that students are impacted by illness, injury or other ailments. If your child is going to be absent you are required by legislation to notify the school by:

Logging onto Compass and
Enter the absence for full days only
If your child/children arrive late or are being collected early, the office staff will enter this onto Compass for you.

SCHOOL COUNCIL 2026 CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

Our first school council meeting for 2026 will take place on Tuesday 17th February. This will be our final full meeting with our 2025/2026 school council prior to our AGM in March. We look forward to welcoming our new school council following our upcoming Annual General Meeting and returning members for 2026. Nominations for our 2026 school council is now open and elections will take place if required.

We would like to thank our outgoing school council members over the last 12 months for their support, commitment and dedication. We look forward to welcoming our new 2026 school council at our upcoming AGM .

Returning Members	Outgoing Members
Melissa Ensink	Kate Reed
Alicia Brown	Sabrina Lunn (President 2025)
Clayton McIntosh	Stefanie Henderson
Lynda Patterson (DET)	Adam Kavanagh
Ongoing Positions on School Council
Peter Walsh (Principal)	Ebony Anderson (Business Manager)

School Council 2026

School Nomination forms may be obtained from the school and must be lodged by Friday 27th February at 3.00 pm (nominations following this date and time will not be accepted)

The election ballot if required will close at 3.00 pm on Thursday 5th March

Terms of Office

Membership categories and number of positions in each membership category open for election are as follows:

Membership category - 4 x Parent members & Co-opted member

Term of office - From the day after the date of the declaration of the poll in 2026 to and inclusive of the date of the declaration of the poll in 2027.

School Council 2026

What is a school council and what does it do?

All government schools in Victoria have a school council. They are legally constituted bodies that are given powers to set the broad directions of a school in accordance with their constituting Order and the Education and Training Reform Act 2006. In doing this, a school council is able to work collaboratively with school representatives to aid in the direction and quality of education that the school provides for its students.

Who is on the school council?

For most primary school councils, there are three possible categories of membership:

An elected parent member category – more than one-third of the total members must be from this category. DET employees can be Parent members at their child’s school as long as they are not engaged in work at the school
An elected DET employee member category – members of this category may make up no more than one-third of the total membership of school council. The principal of the school is automatically one of these members
An optional Community member category – members are co-opted by a decision of the council because of their special skills, interests or experiences. DET employees are not eligible to be Community members.

Generally, the term of office for all members is two years. The term of office of half the members expires each year, creating vacancies for the annual school council elections.

Why is parent membership so important?

Parents on school councils provide important viewpoints and have valuable skills that can help inform and guide the direction of the school. Those parents who become active on a school council find their involvement satisfying and may also find that their children feel a greater sense of belonging.

Do I need special experience to be on school council?

Each member brings their own valuable life skills and knowledge to the role. However, councillors may need to develop skills and acquire knowledge in areas that are unfamiliar to them. What you do need is an interest in your child’s school and the desire to work in partnership with others to help guide the school’s future.

Code of conduct for school councillors

School councils in Victoria are public entities as defined by the Public Administration Act 2004. School councillors must abide by the Code of Conduct – Employees issued by the Victorian Public Sector Commission. The Code of Conduct is based on the Victorian public sector values and requires councillors to:

act with honesty and integrity (be truthful, open and clear about their motives and declare any real, potential or perceived conflict of interest and duty)
act in good faith in the best interests of the school (work cooperatively with other councillors and the school community, be reasonable, and make all decisions with the best interests of students foremost in their minds)
act fairly and impartially (consider all relevant facts of an issue before making a decision, seek to have a balanced view, never give special treatment to a person or group and never act from self interest)
use information appropriately (respect confidentiality and use information for the purpose for which it was made available)
exercise due care, diligence and skill (accept responsibility for decisions and do what is best for the school)
use the position appropriately (not use the position as a councillor to gain an advantage)
act in a financially responsible manner (observe all the above principles when making financial decisions)
comply with relevant legislation and policies (know what legislation and policies are relevant for which decisions and obey the law)
demonstrate leadership and stewardship (set a good example, encourage a culture of accountability, manage risks effectively, exercise care and responsibility to keep the school strong and sustainable).

How can you become involved?

Nominate or be nominated for a position on school council. However, ballots are only held if more people nominate as candidates than there are positions vacant. In view of this, you might consider:

standing for election as a member of the school council or encouraging another person to stand for election.

What do you need to do to stand for election?

The Principal will issue a Notice of Election and Call for Nominations following the commencement of Term 1 each year. All school council elections must be completed by the end of March. If you decide to stand for nomination, you can arrange for someone to nominate you as a candidate or you can nominate yourself in the Parent member category.
DET employees whose child is enrolled in a school in which they are not engaged in work, are eligible to nominate for Parent membership of the school council at that school.
Once the nomination form is completed, return it to the principal within the time stated on the Notice of Election. You will receive a Nomination Form Receipt via post, email or by hand following the receipt of your completed nomination.
If there are more nominations received than there are vacancies on council, a ballot will be conducted during the two weeks after the call for nominations has closed.

Remember to ask at the school for help if you would like to stand for election and are not sure what to do. We are happy to assist. Please see below for the election process and timeline.

School council election process and timetable

Name of the School: Surfside Primary School

Notice of election and call for nominations - Friday 13th February 2026
Closing date for nominations - Friday 27th February 2026 3.00pm (nominations following this date and time will not be accepted)
Date by which the list of candidates and nominators will be posted - on Monday 2nd March 2026
Date by which ballot papers will be prepared and distributed if required - on Monday 2nd March 2026
Close of ballot if required - Thursday 5th March 2026 at 3.00pm
Vote count if required - Friday 6th March 2026
Declaration of poll if required - Tuesday 10th March 2026
First council meeting to elect office bearers (the Principal will preside) - The Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Tuesday 17th March at 5.00 pm prior to the first meeting at 5.30 pm

*Please see our administration at the office for the nomination forms for school council membership.

School Council 2025/2026 Meeting

Our first school council meeting for 2026 will take place on Tuesday 17th February in week 4. This will be our final full meeting with our current 2025 school council group. We look forward to welcoming our new school council following our upcoming Annual General Meeting in week 8 and returning members for 2026.

Teaching & Learning Page

Ms Charleston & Mr Chapman (Learning Specialists)

Understanding Phonics: A Guide for Parents, Carers and Families