Caulfield Primary School Newsletter

Principal's News

That is a wrap for Term 1! We have enjoyed a very busy and exciting first term and the last two weeks were no different. Could I express my sincere thanks to our families and school community for making our first term together such a success. We are unable to achieve many of the things we set out to do without your support. I wish all of our students and families a very happy and safe Easter and school holiday break. If the opportunity presents itself and you are travelling, please be safe on the roads and we look forward to seeing everyone back with us for the commencement of Term 2 on the 15th April. I would encourage you to take a minute to have a look at our highlights from the final two weeks of term. 

 

Open Days

 

The school has had a great deal of interest in 2025 enrolments from prospective families, this was highlighted by having to run two large school tours last Tuesday due to interest. This is really exciting for the school and comes off the back of some really outstanding achievements in our classrooms and within our school community over the last 12 months. We have also confirmed two Open Days for Term 2 to be held on Saturday 4th May and 15th June. We look forward sharing this day with prospective parents and families. Could I please thank Yoko Baxter (Mother of Joshua, Year 5) who designed a vibrant Open Day poster to advertise the event. These will shortly be placed on Real Estate boards on Poplar Street and Glen Huntly Road. Thank you Yoko! 

 

Clubs and Activities 

 

We are mindful of offering clubs, events and activities that engage our students beyond the less structured environment of recess and lunchtime. Sometimes these opportunities present a point of difference for a student throughout the week and can offer opportunities to build friendships and/or pursue an activity or hobby that might be of interest. These activities are shared to students via our timetable with plenty of activities offered to all students. I note that activities before and after school (Tennis Coaching, SoccerWise, Coding) are offered at an additional cost but activities offered during the week are delivered voluntarily by teaching staff. I thank our staff for offering these exciting opportunities for our students. 

 

School Holiday Maintenance Work

 

We are busy over the school holiday break embarking on a number of projects around the school. We will commence with the replacement of our window frames in the first-floor corridor of our main building in our first week, whilst our synthetic turf work begins in the second week of the holidays. We are looking forward to having both projects completed by the end of the first week back in Term 2. 

 

Harmony Day

 

It was great to see so many students and staff embrace Harmony Day celebrations today, Harmony Day celebrates our country's cultural diversity. The official day also coincides with the United Nations' International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Importantly the focus is on ensuring that everyone has a sense of belonging. A theme carried out over into our school, we continue to promote our school as an inclusive and respectful environment where all students feel supported and encouraged to celebrate their own background. 

 

School Council AGM

 

Last Tuesday evening, we held our school council AGM and welcomed new council members to the team. School council will meet twice per term during Term 2, 3 and 4. I look forward to working alongside our council members and greatly appreciate their voluntary commitment to supporting our school. 

 

School Council:

  • President: Emma Mattock
  • Vice President/Treasurer: James Macky
  • Secretary: Vicki Doust
  • Finance Sub-Committee: James Macky, Therese Meiers, Edward
  • Buildings and Grounds Sub-Committee: James Macky, Ken Fretwell, Caroline Robertshaw, Vicki Doust, Edward
  • Education and Policy Sub-Committee: Emma Mattock, Miharu Morioka, Krystal Ryan, Travis Ion, Rachel MacEwan
  • School Engagement Sub-Committee: Sara Ota, Kyoko Mahler-Isono, Edward

Parents and Friends Club

 

Last Wednesday afternoon we hosted our Parents and Friends Club (PFC) AGM. As a result of this meeting, the following office bearers were elected for the coming year.

  • President: Yayoi Yamamoto
  • Secretary: Libby Herman & Lucy Schrader
  • Treasurer: Sebastian Hancock

The meeting also detailed and celebrated the significant fundraising efforts undertaken over the 2023 school year. This fundraising has provided opportunities to improve facilities for our students and contributed towards projects including: 

  • New basketball backboards and goals 
  • New carpets in our prep classrooms 
  • Installation of our new synthetic turf soccer pitch

We look forward to working alongside our PFC team and our school community over the year ahead. 

 

Staffing Update – Term

 

Over the last few weeks, we have undertaken a recruitment process for a STEM teaching role beginning in Term 2. We are excited to secure Emma Campbell for the teaching position in our STEM program, Emma has considerable teaching experience both locally and overseas and we look forward to her joining our team. Emma has worked alongside Ms Parkes over this week to plan together for Term 2. I acknowledge the fantastic work Ms Parkes has undertaken over this term in setting up such an exciting STEM program for our students. On behalf our school community, we wish Ms Parkes and her fiancé Simon all the best as she commences some family leave at the end of Week 1, Term 2 to welcome their newest member to their family. We look forward to sharing this news with everyone next term. 

 

Thank You

 

We have some great relationships with neighbouring schools, this allows us at times to share resources and work together with a host of collective priorities. I extend my sincere thanks to Murray sensei who undertook some voluntary work over at Caulfield Junior College last week. Caulfield Junior College recently experienced the passing of a long standing and highly respected staff member at the school. To support their staff to attend the funeral and pay their respects, local schools pitched in to help by covering classes for the afternoon with one of our own teachers. Murray sensei kindly offered to do this without hesitation, a great credit to her and a great support in a time of need for a local school. Thank you Murray sensei!  

 

Junior School Council

 

Congratulations to Alice Shklyar, Evelin (Harper) Phan, Leo Foenander, Shiori Ogawa, Sebastian (Sebby) Toh, Alex Black, Sen Weis, Levi Binshtok, Vivien McCosh, Kaylee Gunawan, Sienna Over who were presented with their Junior School Council leadership badges at our assembly last week. Our Junior School Council meet regularly throughout the year and work alongside Kurokawa sensei, Mrs Watts and Murray sensei over the course of the year. 

 

This afternoon we also welcomed local member for Caulfield, David Southwick MP to our final assembly for the term. Mr Southwick presented our Year 5/6 leaders with a leadership certificate acknowledging the important role they play in our school. 

 

Wherever the next two weeks take your child and family, please enjoy the time together. I thank you for your support over Term 1 and wish all families a very Happy Easter and a safe holiday break. 

 

See you in Term 2, my thanks, 

 

Edward Strain 

Principal