Out and about at Surfside
Mr Walsh (Principal) & Mrs Patterson (Assistant Principal)
Happy Birthday Jack
We had a very special birthday celebration this week as Jack turned 4 on Wednesday. Jack enjoyed the birthday pats and cuddles from students, staff and parents and carers. We will officially celebrate Jack's birthday at next week's assembly and have a couple of activities planned during the week with the following:
- A colouring competition for our students
- A GAWS donation drive to support
Meg and Jack share the same birthday and it was nice that they could share a photo together
Term 3 Dates (Please check the dates for your diary page for all term 3 confirmed dates)
There is plenty to look forward to during term 3 in the classroom and from a whole school perspective so below is a summary of the first couple of weeks back. Please check the Dates for your Diary page for term 3 and 4 special dates and events:
August
Mon 3rd - Community Parent Workshop (OGPS) 7-8.30pm w/ Dr Justin Coulson
Tues 4th - Australian Maths Competition
Wed 5th - Foundation 100 Days of School Celebration
Year 5 EcoLinc Incursion - Under the Microscope
Thu 6th - Breakfast Club @ 7.45am in the kitchen
Fri 7th - Assembly @ 2.30pm - courtyard
Tues 11th - SSV District Basketball Championships
Wed 12th - Curriculum Day - No Students at School
Thu 13th - Breakfast Club @ 7.45am in the kitchen
Fri 14th - Year 1 Excursion - Marine Discovery Centre
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:
Supporting Our Kids Together: Years 3–6 Health Evening Recap
Monday night's Health and Human Relations Information Session for Years 3–6 families was a great success, with around 30 parents and carers joining us for a warm, relaxed and informative evening.
Led by Kellie Hewson (Mental Health & Wellbeing Leader) and Mel Lonergan (Disability & Inclusion Leader), the session covered why we teach Health and Human Relations, how the program builds year-on-year, and how families can support these conversations at home. A highlight was the discussion time, with parents asking thoughtful questions and learning from us and each other. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with an average rating of 4.75 out of 5, and parents valuing the practical, personable approach and clarity on what's covered at each year level.
Some of what we covered:
- Why age-appropriate education helps children feel informed and confident as they grow
- How content builds in depth across Years 3–6
- Practical ways to keep the conversation going at home – short, frequent chats work best
- What is (and isn't) covered, and how out-of-scope questions are handled
- Consent, respectful relationships and bodily autonomy as threads through every year level
Where to find further support, including DET policies and further resources
If you weren't able to attend, or would like a copy of the presentation, please contact the office or reach out to Kellie directly. Thank you to all who attended for such a positive and constructive evening.
Indonesian Celebration Week
Last week Surfside enjoyed a wonderful Indonesian Celebration Week! We were excited to welcome Bayu Prihantoro from Java. Bayu is an incredible artist, and was able to come to Surfside as part of a grant from the Australia-Indonesia Institute.
Bayu shared his culture, stories, and considerable skills in art and languages. It was a week of excitement, dance, food experiences, art, music, teaching, learning, and humour across all year levels.
It was an amazing opportunity for us all to learn more about Yogyakarta, including Bayu’s links to royalty! Students enjoyed hearing about Bayu’s life growing up in Java. The personal connection that Surfside students now have will help strengthen links in future areas of study.
Many people contributed to the success of Indonesian Celebration Week. Parents encouraged children by helping them to participate where they could, whether it was by organising a banana for the lunchbox, asking them about their experiences or cutting an old sheet up for sarong day.
We are lucky to have such a supportive staff, including the amazing specialist team we have at Surfside. Mr Walsh supported us all the way. Our enthusiastic students embraced the activities and Bayu, demonstrating our school values every day.
Thank you and well done Surfside!
Bu Braddick and Bu McLaren
Building Update
We have now progressed to stage 2 of our building program following the recent $11.6 million announcement from the State Government for the installation of a competition grade gymnasium. Stage 2 is led and supported by the Victorian School Building Authority and following a VSBA meeting with 3 appointed architects who will now complete a proposal we will work towards appointing an architect. Below is a proposed timeline and where we are in the process. We look forward to announcing our appointed architect within our week 7 newsletter:
Surfside Primary School Athletics Carnival - Landy Field
We were very lucky to arrive at Landy Field with the promise of sunshine and no wind (which was very different from the day before with torrential downpour, high winds and a full moon to add some extra spice) - a winter aths carnival meant it was a chilly start but ended with a pleasant afternoon. The conditions allowed for a successful and smooth day and we were well supported by our parent/carer helpers. There was a focus on our school values of respect, achievement, honesty and teamwork and the students working towards their personal best and working together.
It was great to see our house colours represented withplenty of outfits and colour. There were plenty of cheers around the stadium and some super performances with fast times and far throws and jumps. A highlight again was seeing the students vs staff relay with 4 teams competing and the staff cam away with a commanding victory led by Mr Florence, Ms Jones, Mr Marchbank and Mr Walsh.
A big thank you to Mr Baker and Mr Asher for their organisation, our staff for their support on each event, our parent/carer helpers for assisting on events, our supporters cheering loudly and most of all a thank you and well done to each and every student that participated!
Many thanks in advance!
Mr Baker and Mr Asher
Growing Leaders Day 2026
On Monday the 20th of July, we had the amazing opportunity to attend the ‘Growing Leaders Day’ at Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College (MFGSC). We were in a group with nineteen students from other schools and we participated in many fun activities. We were led by their eight fantastic House Captains of Gilmore (blue), Lipson (red), Beachley (yellow), and Freeman (green). Our highlight of the day was making delicious chocolate truffle balls. We weren’t allowed to see the recipe and one of the captains read the instructions for us to follow. After we finished making them, we cleaned up and went out on the deck to have a nice, warm hot chocolate. There were many other activities that fell under what we call the four C’s of leadership: Curiosity, Collaboration, Communication and Celebration. We feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to attend this day and represent Surfside.
Nellie, Harper and Hazel - Year 5
Victorian State Schools Spectacular!
Our VSSS crew had a dress rehearsal in Keilor last week. We rehearsed all of our dances with our spectacular costumes. We got to meet all of the dancing instructors as well as the Creative Director and DJ Daz! Our favourite dances so far are ‘Everybody Dance Now’, ‘Zero to Hero’, ‘Addicted to Base’, ‘The Greatest Showman’, ‘Hip To Be Square’ and ‘From Now On’ - oops, I guess they’re all our favourite! We’ve been working hard to perfect the moves (Mrs McCredden is still learning). We can’t wait to get to Melbourne and perform on the stage at John Cain Arena. You can still get tickets at ticktek!
By Bonnie C and Morgan L
Learning Spotlight - Measurement in M26
M26 were measuring out the sizes of different dinosaurs and mega fauna from prehistoric Australia. The students in M26 headed out to the oval to see if Australotitan (30 metres long) was longer than the class. Turns out they were both 30 metres in length. Wow!
Year 4 Supreme Science Incursions
On Wednesday 28th July, the Year 4 students had two amazing science incursions! We learnt about chemical reactions, friction and physics. Emily, Steve and Bryce showed us the power of chemistry. We had fun launching rockets, shooting vortexes and making slimy strings. We posed questions, hypothesised, conducted the experiments and analysed what happened, to answer the questions.
To Emily, Steve and Bryce, on behalf of the Year 4 students and teachers, we would like to say thank you.
Written by
Lucy M and Elsa
Friday Lunch Service
Friday Lunch Orders are here – Set Up Flexischools Today!
Our new Friday lunch order service with Groove Café has begun and was a roaring and busy success on week 1.
To ensure you are set up to place your orders, we encourage families to set up their Flexischools account.
What is Flexischools?
Flexischools is Australia's leading online school ordering platform, making it easy to order and pay for your child's school lunches using your phone or computer.
With Flexischools you can:
- Order your child's lunch by Wednesday afternoon for Friday delivery and future Fridays.
- Manage multiple children from one account.
- Pay securely without needing cash.
If you already have a Flexischools account from another school, simply add Surfside Primary School to your existing account.
Flexischools app, which can be downloaded from the AppStore (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android).
These instructions will help you to get started:
• How do I register for a Flexischools account?
• How do I add a student to my account?
The Groove Cafe Menu and Ordering ability is available now
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.
2027 Sibling Enrolments
Enrolments for 2027 are now open and close on Friday 31st July. Please check out our Enrolment Time at Surfside page in our newsletter for more information.
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
School Council 2026 - August Meeting
Our next meeting will take place on Tuesday 18th August
- Finance Meeting - 5.00pm
- School Council Meeting - 5.30pm