Principal's News

What a huge term we have enjoyed, it is one of the busiest that I can recall with so much happening in and around the school, throughout our classrooms and throughout an eleven-week term. I greatly appreciate the collective efforts of our school community, our staff and students that have contributed to such a busy and purposeful term. Congratulations to our students on all that was achieved over the first semester of learning, to our families and staff that have continued to support our school throughout this term, we appreciate having you work with us and support our work on a daily basis. 

Working Bee

A huge thank you to our families who supported our working bee on Saturday morning. Taking the time to maintain our school and give up a little bit of time was greatly appreciated. We had a number of parents (and staff) that also took the opportunity to clean our student bathrooms which was greatly appreciated. We will look to coordinate another working bee later on the in year. 

School Review – Day 3

Over the past 3 weeks we have undertaken our school review. This has been a wonderful opportunity to look back over the achievements of the past four years and celebrate the wonderful work that has taken place. The panel was made up of an external reviewer, School Council President and Vice President, the Senior Education Improvement Leader (SEIL), two challenge partners (a principal from another school and an educational consultant) and our leadership team. Over these three days, the review team met with teachers, parents and students to find out the current strengths and areas for improvement, and to set goals and targets for the next Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan sets the direction for the school and feeds directly to the Annual Implementation Plan. This has been a rigorous and robust process and I look forward to sharing our new Strategic Plan with the school community when the reviewer has completed the final documentation. The final day was an opportunity to collaborate, assess the performance elements of the school, take into account the feedback provided from classroom observations and discussions with staff, students and families and look to aspire to get into the work over the years ahead. I am greatly appreciative of our school council, our staff and our school community who provided meaningful contributions to this process and provided our school with great clarity for the years ahead. 

We had some wonderful incidental feedback provided on the final day from members of our school review team: 

“Great opportunity for us to see CPS at its best!”

“It was a privilege to see such bright, engaged students being part of a bilingual program that delivered so much more than another language -- the art, the cultural events, the expanded understanding of culture and perspective. Just magic.”

“Congratulations on your previous work, a successful review and the commitment, enthusiasm for school improvement, and the ongoing determination to provide the most effective education program possible at Caulfield Primary School. Your bilingual approach is truly unique and extremely interesting to review.”

Enrolment Reminder

Families are encouraged to submit their 2026 enrolments by the 25th July, this allows the school to then provide application outcomes to all families between the 28th July – 8th August giving the school and families time to plan ahead. We have had strong interest in enrolments for 2026 with a mixture of siblings, out of zone applications and in zone enrolments. 

We are also welcoming a number of new students that will begin with us in Term 3, these families have a strong interest in bilingual education and we cannot wait to welcome them to our school community. 

Staffing Update – Term 3

The school extends our sincere thanks and best wishes to Emily Stuart (Education Support), Emily is finishing up with the school on the 25th July to pursue her career in nursing. Tomomi Coster (Japanese Assistant) is taking a period of leave for the remainder of the year, both positions are currently advertised with a view to having replacement staff in place by early Term 3. Thank you Emily and Tomomi!

I also extend a warm welcome to Joanne Weston, Joanne is joining us at the beginning of Term 3 as the Wellbeing and Inclusion leader in the school. Mrs Weston has significant teaching, learning and wellbeing experience and worked as school leader for many years. She has taken the time to introduce herself to the school community and is looking forward to beginning with us in Term 3. 

Hello! My name is Joanne Weston, and I’m very excited to be joining the Caulfield Primary School community next term as the Leading Teacher for Wellbeing and Inclusion. I’ve been teaching for over 15 years, with the past 10 spent in leadership roles, most recently Learning Specialist for EAL and Literacy. I’m particularly passionate about Wellbeing, Literacy, STEM, and creating inclusive environments where all students feel confident, capable and connected in their learning. Outside of school, I’m kept busy by my two young children—Xavier (5) and Isabelle (2)—as well as our fluffy Samoyed, Oscar, and our cat Hana (named after the Japanese word for flower because she was found in a garden bed!) I also love to crochet and get lost in a good book. I’m really looking forward to getting to know the students, families and staff at Caulfield PS!

Maintenance

In addition to our working bee on Saturday, we have had some maintenance work undertaken or organised for the coming school holidays, this has included: 

• Soft fall mulch in all playgrounds 
• Sandpit sand added to our two sandpits
• Rewiring of prep classrooms to increase load capacity 
• VSBA Maintenance: The Victorian School Building Authority is also leading maintenance work in the school over the holiday break. This includes maintenance items prioritised under our Condition Assessment Report. You will see some temporary fencing and scaffolding in place over the school holiday break. 
• Capital Works Grant: The school has also applied for a Capital Works Grant. This fund was open for applications for projects to improve the learning environment, condition or character of schools. The school has applied for a student bathrooms/toilets upgrade to be considered. 
• Playground Upgrade: Progressing along in the background is a playground upgrade to our junior playground. This work is championed by a team of parents that have taken on lead roles with building and landscaping qualifications. We are working directly with the landscaper to tender amendments to our plan and looking to then action this work to benefit our students. 

Terrific Kids

Congratulation to Ada W (Year 5/6) and Amelia C (Year ½) who were recipients of our Terrific Kids awards at our Week 10 assembly. Terrific Kids awards are recognition for students that are Thoughtful, Enthusiastic, Respectful, Responsible, Inclusive, Friendly, Inquisitive, Caring = TERRIFIC. This award is sponsored by Kiwanis Port Phillip and has a nomination and voting period where staff are encouraged to reflect on student accomplishments in the junior and senior grades in the school. Well done Ada and Amelia!

Principal Awards

Congratulations to our Semester 1 Principal Award recipients, these students have had their accomplishments highlighted to me by our teachers. Demonstrating our school values, academic achievements and a great desire to make the most of everyday of school. 

Congratulations: 

Emerging Leaders Award

Our local member for Caulfield, Mr David Southwick was on hand this afternoon to present a Year 6 student with the emerging leaders award. This award is presented to a student demonstrating outstanding leadership potential and a dedication to our school values. Congratulations to Anastasia T on this accomplishment and recognition. A wonderful semester of work Anastasia, acknowledged by our Year 5/6 teachers. Well Done! 

Tom Lahiff Cup 

Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of accompanying Miss Molloy to support our boys compete in the Tom Lahiff AFL Cup. We were both really proud of the teamwork, efforts and willingness of our team to compete in all matches, give their all, listen to their coaches and be respectful of one another and the opposition. Thank you to our families who came along to support us on the day. We were able to finish the day in 3rd place, a great achievement. Congratulations to our captains throughout the day and to James S who was awarded with the MVP for his overall performance. 

Grandparents and Special People

A huge thank you to our staff, our events and activities committee and our Parents and Friends Club who combined to put on such a wonderful celebration of our school for Grandparents and Specials Persons Day on Thursday morning. It was a wonderful event and one that many of us felt really proud of, it was one of the many highlights in a busy term. It was lovely to join with in with morning tea and speak to many of our grandparents and special friends who felt deservedly special and appreciative of our students and staff. Thank you for finishing the school term on such a high and supporting this event. It was a very special morning for our school. 

Happy Holidays

I am deeply appreciative of the efforts of our staff, students and families over this term. We have had great levels of engagement from our school community and the opportunity to work with each of you is a real highlight. The school term has involved significant time from our staff who continue to work incredibly hard in their work. I also appreciate the ongoing efforts of our assistant principal, Morioka sensei who has joined me over three Saturdays this term to support two Open Days and a working bee. I wish our families a very safe and happy holiday break, thank you for your continued support of our school and I look forward to reconnecting with each of you in Term 3.    

Stay safe, happy holidays, 

Edward Strain

Principal