Out and about at Surfside

Family Contributions

A massive thank you to our families who have supported us with finalising their curriculum and general contributions.  We really appreciate the support of the 75% of our families and will use these funds to enhance the learning opportunities for your children.   

We are still short particularly in the curriculum contributions area and this does impact the work we can do within the school.

If you contributed to or would still like to contribute to the Building Fund and would like your receipt please let us know and we’ll send it home, this can be claimed as a tax deduction.

If you need any financial assistance or would like to set up a payment plan please contact the administration team and if you have any queries regarding your accounts please contact the office on 5256 1411

Safe Travel to School

Riding/Walking and Scooting to School (Active Travel to school)

At Surfside we promote active travel to school but it is important to discuss with your children about safe active travel to school:

• Riding/scooting & walking to and from school – When children are travelling to and from school in order to support a safe community it is always important to please discuss the route that your child travels to school, encourage riding in pairs or small groups and use the main supervised crossings when crossing roads. 

We continually work with our students regarding child safety and we know that our families will support these conversations at home. Please always check our safe travel to school page.

Fresh Food Fair Sponsorship

We are busy in the planning and preparing for the 2026 Fresh Food Fair and we would love to welcome our local family businesses to support our amazing school community. Please jump on board and support the 2026 Fresh Food Fair and Surfside PS community. Check out the Fresh Food Fair 2026 page for more info:

Next week is the last week of term 2 and there is plenty in store for our students next week and to start term 3 so please continue to keep an eye on our dates for your diary page as well as compass updates as required. Below is a snapshot of the last week and the first couple of weeks to start term 3: 

June

Thu 25th -  No Breakfast Club

                      Year 4 Incursion (EcoLinc - Circle of Life)

Fri 26th -    End of Term 2 - 2.30pm dismissal

                      Assembly @ 1.45

                      Casual Dress (gold coin donation)

                      End of Semester Reports go live

Term 3

July

Mon 13th - First Day of Term 3

Thu 16th -   No Breakfast Club

Fri 17th -     Conference bookings close via compass

Mon 20th - Student Led & Parent/Teacher/Carer Conferences until 6.00pm

Tues 21st - Student Led & Parent/Teacher/Carer Conferences until 6.00pm

Wed 22nd - Student Led & Parent/Teacher/Carer Conferences until 4.30pm

Thu 23rd -   Breakfast Club @ 7.45am in the kitchen  

                        Year 4 EcoLinc Incursion - Earth Ed - Rock Cycles

                        Year 6 Smoothie Incursion

Fri 24th -     Assembly @ 2.30pm - courtyard

Last Day of Term 2 - Crazy Hair Day

Our student leadership team recently met to discuss plans for the last day of term 2. The students have planned a theme for the last day of term 2 - CRAZY HAIR DAY. Students can attend on the last day of term 2 in casual clothes (you might want to add a World Cup idea to your outfit as well) and do something crazy with their hair - mohawk, messy hair, different colour, raised pigtails, etc. Students are always required to wear suitable footwear to and from school and during recess and lunchtime. Students are reminded to bring a gold coin donation and fundraising efforts will go to a service in particular need during the winter months.

Victorian State Schools Spectacular - Ticket Sales

We are pleased to announce that tickets for the 2026 Victorian State Schools Spectacular will go on sale via Ticketek at 11am on Thursday 16th July. This year’s performance will be on Saturday 29th August at John Cain Arena.

www.ticketek.com.au/spectacular

Ticket prices:

• Adult: $40
• Child: (under 15) $20
• Concession: $30

Indonesian Celebration Event - Term 3

In week 2 of term 3, Surfside will be celebrating Indonesian Week! We are fortunate to have the artist Buyu Prihantoro from Java, Indonesia to work with our students. This is part of the Bridging Cultures: Indonesian Language and Art Immersion Program. There will be no cost to families. More details to follow early in term 3.

Book Week is Coming...2026 Update - Symphony of Stories

Book week is only around the corner (week 7 of term 3 Monday 24th August-Friday 28th August) and the theme for Book Week is 'Symphony of Stories'. Due to rehearsals for Victorian State Schools Spectacular during the end of the week we have moved our parade to a new date: 

'Book Week parade - Wednesday 26th August from 9.00am!' 

The term 2 break provides an opportunity to get that outfit ready.

Children's Book Week - Symphony of Stories

The 2026 Children’s Book Week theme is ‘Symphony of Stories’. 

Our talented illustrator is the fabulous Briony Stewart, award-winning author-illustrator of ‘Gymnastica Fantastica’ and other children’s books. Just wait until you meet all the wild characters she’s created.

‘I decided to try and show what stepping into a symphony of stories might be like. A huge colourful collection of characters bursting out of a book representing their different stories with weird and wonderful instruments.’ – Briony Stewart

Gymnasium and Refurbishment Updates

Stages of Development and Construction

Thank you to those families who provided some recent feedback and our Asset Management Plan 1 (AMP1) has been completed and endorsed by school council. This has been submitted to the Victorian School Building Authority and will receive feedback regarding this process and begin to move onto stage 2 which will see the construction of Asset Management Plan 2 (AMP2)

AMPs have 2 distinct stages:

• Asset Management Plan 2 (part of the design and construction phases) involves developing a more detailed master plan/spatial analysis in addition to broader site and project requirements.

Below is an estimated timeline from planning through to construction and we will communicate more specific timelines as they become available.

Year 4 Camp - Camp Burnside

Our year 4 crew headed to Burnside Camp in Anglesea last week and we have provided some reflections from our students as well as some photos below:

"My favourite thing about grade 4 camp was the Amazing Race. My team was called the Cockatoos and we came in second place! The cabins were amazing." - Isabelle

"My favourite thing about camp was the night walk because we went up a really big muddy hill.  Mr Hair fell and it was really funny and we were all laughing. The dinners were the best thing. So much food! The cabins were amazing as we got to hang out with all of our friends." - Lexi 

"One of my favourite things was the zipline. We got harnessed in and 2 people would run after you. I also loved my cabin. We would all go down to dinner together and eat and talk in the hall. My favourite dinner was the spaghetti. I also liked the low ropes.  The obstacle course was really fun, my favourite part was the tyres." - Penny 

“We were all so excited my group was Eagles, I loved all the activities. My fav was archery or rock climbing." - Isla 

“I loved rock climbing because it was a challenge in the rain.” - Luca S

“For dinner we had spaghetti bolognese and chicken schnitzel which were really yum… Camp was great.” - Luca S

“I was really nervous but excited too.” - Jude 

“We were all in activity groups based on birds (I was a magpie) and we all had our own chants. The 3 days at camp were some of the best days of my life” - Kaia 

“They had the best toast I’ve ever eaten.” - Beau 

“I had heaps of fun with the people in my cabin.” - Lani 

“I loved my activity group because I had all my friends and it was so much fun.” - Ziggy 

“On Wednesday night we did the night walk. It was so fun.” - Nash 

“I really enjoyed our trivia night, my group came 3rd.” - Charlize 

“Activity 1 was Archery, we all got a few goes and I got a bullseye. I was so proud!” - Caleb 

“I enjoyed the night walk because it was so muddy and I slipped over and got so muddy it was so much fun.” - Flynn 

“ I enjoyed camp, I was very excited when I found out about cabin groups.” - Fin 

“ I loved the night walk because we were all slipping in mud and it was really funny.” - Bohdi 

“ I enjoyed the cabins because I stayed up talking and giggling with my friends.” - Ollie 

Sovereign Hill Excursion - Year 5

Last week the year 5's went to Sovereign Hill to learn all about the gold rush in the 1850s. We learnt about the gold mines and that they go as far underground as 300 metres. In the Eureka Stockade some people even used theatre props to fight!. During the gold rush there was a very low chance of finding gold, but everyone wanted to be the lucky one to hit the jackpot. Eventually a group of people found the welcome nugget, the second biggest golden nugget in the world, but sadly it was melted. It weighed an amazing 68.98 kg and is worth around $4.5 to $5.5 million today. - Bridget S15

On Tuesday, our cohort went to the wonderful Sovereign Hill. We did heaps and heaps of fun, interesting and informative activities such as the mine tour. At the mine tour, we got to see what life was like in the mines all those years ago. At the Eureka Stockade reenactment, we got to dress up and perform the whole thing. We also got to go panning for gold. Finding gold was really hard! I kept on thinking that I found gold when it was just a normal rock! My friend, Austin, found two chunks of it. HOW!? It was totally worth the work though. And finally… the confectionery demonstration! We all got to see them make their delicious raspberry drops and toffee apples. We even got to try one of the raspberry drops. They were AMAZING! Everyone had an excellent time at Sovereign Hill, so I would definitely recommend it to other people in our school community. - Charlie S16

On the 9th of June, the year 5’s hopped on the bus to sovereign hill. We learned about the gold rush in the 1850’s. When we arrived, we panned for gold. Did you know that 1 ounce of gold was worth $20 in 1850? Then we dressed up and role played the scene of the Eureka Stockade. After lunch, we went down to the mines and looked at some gold. At the end we watched and learned about how they made the candies! Then hopped back on the bus home. - Billie and Molly S17

On Tuesday (The 9th of June)  last week we had our excursion to Sovereign Hill. We learnt about lots of interesting things. For example, how people lived in the gold rush. We also learnt that people from all over the world came to find gold and didn't succeed. Did you know that the Eureka flag was illegally made? People had to pay 1 pound (a thousand dollars in their time)  for a mining licence each month. If they didn't, they would get tied to a tree and wait for the troupers to come. We learnt about how the Eureka stockade started and how Peter Lalor was the person who started it. The Eureka stockade didn't go for long; it went for only 20 minutes on a Sunday morning. Although the stockade was a success people had lost their lives. One of our  activities was dressing up and reenacting the Eureka stockade scene in pictures. One of our other activities was gold panning. Surprisingly lots of people found small flakes of gold. At the end of our excursion we kindly each got a piece of raspberry drop. Sovereign Hill was amazing and we learnt a lot. - Rani S18

Student Reports Semester 1

Following Department of Education recommendations, Semester 1 reports will be more streamlined and easier to understand. An example of the report format is below.

To stay informed about your child's learning in each curriculum area, please continue to read the fortnightly learning statements that are emailed to families and published in the school newsletter - refer below.

Due to ongoing industrial action, written personal comments will not be included in reports this semester. Instead, families are encouraged to attend a Parent-Teacher Interview to discuss their child's progress and learning in more detail. Interviews will take place in Week 2 of Term 3 with bookings opening in Week 1. These meetings provide an opportunity to celebrate achievements, discuss progress, and set goals for the semester ahead.

Example Semester 1 Report

2027 Sibling Enrolments

We recently welcomed approximately 60+ families through Surfside over the past 2 weeks as part of our 2027 enrolment tours. Families experienced an overview of the school program and a tour of classrooms and school facilities. It is a great opportunity to allow new and prospective families an opportunity to develop a feel of the school and it's community. Enrolments for 2027 are now open and close on Friday 31st July. Please check out our Enrolment Time at Surfside page in our newsletter.

School Council 2026 - June Meeting Overview

We enjoyed meeting with our school councilers this week to discuss and present the following areas:

• Finance report
• Building progress - endorsement of AMP1
• Education Minister visit
• Student predicted enrolments
• Australian Education Union updates

School Council 2026 - August Meeting

Our next meeting will take place on Tuesday 18th August

• Finance Meeting - 5.00pm
• School Council Meeting - 5.30pm

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.