Ms D Principal Message
Suada Dzaferovic
Suada Dzaferovic
Ski Camp
49 year 5 and 6 students headed off to Mt Buller this morning at 6:30am for the annual Ski Camp. Ski Camp is a valuable opportunity for students to build resilience, independence, and teamwork in a unique and challenging environment. Beyond the physical activity, it fosters confidence, strengthens peer relationships, and creates unforgettable memories that support both personal growth and wellbeing. We look forward to hearing from them over the course of the week.
Leaving TPS? Moving House? Moving Overseas? Visa Expiring?
If you have any intentions to unfortunately leave TPS in the next 6 months, please let the school office know. Your decision doesn't need to be confirmed and doesn't mean your child loses their spot if you change your mind, but giving us a heads up is very helpful. This information is vital for the school to budget and plan for staffing in 2026. We don't want any children to be placed in classes that are too big or only have a few students, but this relies on us knowing who will be here. If you suspect you may be moving house, travelling overseas or you know your visa is expiring, please inform the school via email: toorak.ps@education.vic.gov.au at your earliest convenience.
Victorian Teaching and Learning Model 2.0 (VTLM 2.0) - Explicit Explanation and Modelling
On Monday 28 July, our very own Luke Fletcher participated in a high-quality, practical, and interactive digital workshop on effective explanation and modelling, led by renowned educator Bron Ryrie Jones. This online professional learning session was attended by over 1,000 educators from across Victoria and focused on the importance of breaking down complex processes into smaller, manageable parts — a key strategy for supporting student understanding across the curriculum, and one we’ve been refining here at Toorak Primary School for some time.
We are incredibly proud to see our staff expertise recognised on a state-wide platform. A special thank you to Luke for generously giving up his own time to prepare and represent our school in such a meaningful way.
Drop Ins
The first round of drop-ins by the School Improvement Team (Suada, Julie, Luke, Sam, Renee and Margaret) were conducted last week. The drop ins are a short 5 minute observation that allow leaders to be visible, build trust, and stay connected to classroom practice. They are a vital part of strengthening teaching and learning across the school. Regular classroom visits provide valuable insights into how school-wide approaches—such as explicit instruction and evidence-based routines—are being implemented, and enable timely feedback, support, and celebration of good practice. This ongoing presence supports staff development, promotes consistency, and ensures that improvement strategies are embedded and responsive. Ultimately, drop-ins help create a culture of shared responsibility and continuous growth, all in the service of better outcomes for students. As a collective we observed high quality teaching and learning practices across all classrooms with calm, orderly and highly engaged students.
News from Stonington Council re: Year 1 Playground
I am pleased to inform you that as part of Council’s ongoing commitment to enhancing public spaces and providing sun-safe spaces for our children, $55,000 has been allocated in the 2025/26 Capital Works Budget for the installation of shade sails at Brookville Gardens.
In addition to this investment, Council's Playground Renewal program has determined that the second playground at Brookville Gardens catering to younger children is also due for renewal. Planning and design for the new playground is already underway with community consultation on the draft design scheduled for late this calendar year.
The local community and park users will be notified once draft plans have been prepared.
Installation of the renewed playground and shade structures is anticipated to commence in late FY2025-2026 and be completed by early FY2026-2027.
NAPLAN
Last week year 3 and 5 students received their official 2025 NAPLAN results. We are once again extremely pleased with the results of all our students. This year is the first time, since the changes to the proficiency scales were made that we could track and compare the growth of our students from year 3 to 5 and WOW what outstanding growth results.
At Toorak Primary School, we are proud of the strong growth our students have shown. This success is the result of a focused, whole-school approach to evidence-based teaching. The graph below outlines that our current year 5 cohort growth from year 3 to 5. The school outperformed similar schools, our network schools and the state results in 4 out to the 5 areas.
Since 2022, we have strengthened our instructional practices by embedding the Science of Learning into daily teaching. This includes high-quality explicit instruction, structured routines, daily review, and responsive teaching tailored to student needs. Our programs — such as Synthetic Phonics, Prime Maths, and Core Knowledge Units — are delivered with consistency and fidelity across classrooms to ensure every child has access to a high-quality learning experience.
In addition, we use assessment tools like DIBELS, Acadience, PAT, and Essential Assessment to identify learning needs early and provide targeted support. Our teachers regularly analyse student data in teams to inform teaching and track progress. We draw extensively upon the expertise of our Allied Health team, Inclusion leader and the learning enhancement program to support the development of targeted adjustments for learning to support all our students.
This combination of strong pedagogy, consistent programs, and data-informed teaching has helped us lift student achievement — and we are committed to continuing this growth into the future.
Importantly, this growth would not be possible without the support of our families. When school and home work together — through regular reading, home practice, and open communication — our students thrive. We are grateful for this strong partnership and look forward to continuing our shared efforts to support every learner.
Parent Teacher Interviews
Thank you to all the families who attended the parent-teacher interviews, either online or in person, last Wednesday. It was wonderful to see such strong participation and a deep commitment to your child’s learning journey.
Many staff have shared how uplifting and encouraging your positive feedback was. Small acknowledgements like these go a long way in fostering a culture where staff feel valued and take joy in the important work they do.
Whilst teachers were busy undertaking these sessions, the specialist team, ES and leadership hosted students to a short movie related to the social and emotional learning framework The F-2 students viewed a film called ‘Luca’ with key themes being building courage and resilience to try new things. The 3-6 students viewed the film ‘Odd Squad’ with the key theme being solving problems rather than hiding them from others.
WhatsApp Communication Update
We are very grateful to have a strong and supportive parent community at Toorak Primary School. One of the ways this connection is maintained is through class or year-level WhatsApp groups, which are a helpful tool for sharing reminders, coordinating events, and fostering community spirit. Whilst this is not a school run communication channel, parents find this a helpful tool to keep connected.
We kindly remind all families that these groups are intended solely for school-related communication, such as:
- Clarifying school events, dates, or class-related logistics
- Sharing reminders about school activities
- Organising classroom volunteering or group tasks
- Promoting respectful and inclusive discussions
To maintain a positive and respectful tone, we ask that personal opinions, complaints, or concerns about staff, students or school policies are not discussed in these forums. If you ever have a question or concern about your child’s learning, wellbeing, or school matters, we encourage you to speak directly with your child’s teacher or contact the school leadership team. This ensures any issue is addressed appropriately and constructively.
We appreciate your support in using these platforms in a way that reflects the school’s values of respect, responsibility and kindness.
Thank you for helping us keep communication supportive, purposeful and inclusive for everyone.