Out and about at Surfside

As we come into the last week of term 1 we have a few exciting adventures throughout week 10 with the last week of our year 3 and 6 swimming program (reminder no swimming on Wednesday) and the highlight of the week will be our colour run on Wednesday afternoon. Check out our fundraising page for more information. A reminder that on our last day on Friday we finish school at 2.30pm and our assembly will be at 1.45pm in the courtyard (weather permitting). Students are able to wear casual clothes on the last day with a gold coin donation. A reminder that this holiday break will see Camp Australia launch their holiday program at Surfside for the first time. Please check the Camp Australia page for more information or reach out to the Camp Australia team via their parent portal.

March 

Wed 2nd - Surfside PS Colour Run (check info on fundraising page)

Thu 3rd -    No Breakfast Club

Fri 4th -      Last Day of Term 1 - End of Term Assembly @ 1.45pm (Easter Raffle)

                      2.30pm Finish - Casual Dress (Gold coin donation)

Out and About with Mrs Patterson

Filming of Mathematics Victorian Lesson Plans (VLPs) at Surfside Primary School

Focus: How to use VLPs Mathematics Retrieval Resources in the classroom. 

Surfside Primary School were recently invited to participate part in the filming of the soon to be released Victorian Lesson Plans (VLPs) on Tuesday 25th March. The focus of this was to gain some insight into how we are using the VLPs with a particular focus on our trialling of the Mathematics Retrieval Resources that will soon be available for all teachers to access on VLPs. School leadership were both interviewed along with classroom teachers, Mr Ande Santilli and Mrs Melissa Lonergan and our Foundation teachers displayed our planning for explicit maths lessons. The interviews highlighted the journey that Surfside PS has been on for several years where we have embedded daily reviews as research has highlighted the importance of the retrieval practice after doing some research into the Science of Learning. They have had a whole school focus on consistent routines, explicit instructions and have found that this has improved student engagement. When interviewed the classroom teachers outlined that they felt more confident in their teaching of Mathematics, as their practice is consistent, clear and concise and their planning time in teams is more efficient. We all look forward to seeing these videos on the VLPs where the Surfside PS staff explain their journey. Jack even visited the classroom with Peter Walsh to observe a class doing their Numeracy daily review. 

Great work Surfside Primary School! 

(Please note: these Mathematics Retrieval Resources are not available yet, but will be coming as will the Yr 3-6 and Yr 9-10 VLPs.)

MoPA Foundation Excursion

As part of investigations program, the Foundation students attended MoPA (Museum of Art and Play) on Wednesday. The students were immersed in a range of sensory play-based rotations: readers, explorers, painters, builders, makers and players. The foundation students had an amazing first excursion together!

Year 4 Camp

The Year 4's had an amazing time at Anglesea Valley Lodge for 2 nights and 3 days. The weather was amazing and the location was beautiful. This is the first time we have visited Anglesea Valley Lodge after a long association with Coastal Forest Lodge but due to our cohort size we have had to look for a new option to cater for all of our students. The students participated in a range of camp activities including Hut Building, Low Ropes Course, Climbing Wall, Archery, Mountain Bike Riding and Buskwalking. Students worked on a number of character strengths that they had developed in the classroom and the school values. The food was plentiful and their were many stories shared with some added experiences of a disco, a nightwalk and a marshmallow challenge. A big thank you to the year 4 teaching staff, Kellie and the staff of Anglesea Valley Lodge for an amazing experience.

A big thank you to our year 4 teaching team and the staff at Anglesea Valley Lodge who did an amazing job in providing such a positive experience for the kids.

State Schools Spectacular

A very energetic group of year 5/6 students attended their first rehearsal for the 2025 Victorian State Schools Spectacular.  As part of the mass dance group they will learn, rehearse and perfect 8 dances over the coming months, in preparation for the performance at John Cain Arena in September. It was an awesome day and they are already looking forward to their upcoming rehearsal next term. 

Annual Implementation Plan 2025

At the completion of the 2024 school year the staff and leadership team at Surfside spend a considerable amount of time analysing our whole school data sets to inform our goals for 2025. The data sets that are used to drive student learning, engagement and wellbeing programs include the following:

• Student cohort data in literacy and numeracy including NAPLAN
• Student attitudes to school survey and wellbeing data check ins 
• Parent/carer and guardian opinion survey
• Surfside school staff survey
• Yard and classroom behaviour data

These data sets allow us to celebrate the many achievements and success that happen at Surfside but also allows us to set goals for areas of improvement and growth. Below is an overview of our Annual Implementation Plan for 2025 and our full AIP and 2024 Annual Report will be available on our website from term 2. It has been great to see a number of these goals and areas already taking shape across the school and in the classrooms. This work will be supported as we enter a review and we look forward to working with our challenge partners in term 3. The school review will help set our next strategic plan for 2026-2029. 

School Council 2025 - Meeting Overview

At our Annual General Meeting we welcomed our new and returning members for our 2025 school Council. Our nomination of office bearers saw Sabrina Lunn named School Council President, Stefanie Henderson named School Council Vice President and Clayton McIntosh as Treasurer. We enjoyed learning about our school council members and they definitely bring a range of skills and abilities to our 2025 school council. Highlights of our meeting was the presentation of our Annual Implementation Plan 2025 which is highlighted above and the presentation of our Draft 2024 Annual Report that will be released next term. We look forward to working with a skilled, enthusiastic and invested group of Surfside parents.