Acting Principal's Message

Dear Parents,

This year has been a resounding success, marked by incredible learning achievements by our students, made possible by the unwavering support and dedication of our committed teaching staff. Their efforts have been instrumental in empowering our students to strive for and reach their highest potential. Beyond academics, we have offered an amazing array of activities designed to nurture student well-being and enhance their social and emotional development, fostering a holistic and enriching educational experience for all.

A couple of weeks ago all schools’ NAPLAN results were released to the state via the myschool website. I very proudly shared these results with our School Council, highlighting the incredible progress our students have made. We are extremely proud of the progress and success achieved over the last few years. Congratulations to our entire school community for their hard work and dedication! Ms Dzaferovic, as the TPS leader of Teaching learning, has shared some further information about our outstanding results in her report on the next page.

As this is our last full newsletter for 2024 with next week’s communication being a short update. I extend my heartfelt thanks and appreciation, on behalf of myself and the school community, to our School Council members. It has been an absolute pleasure collaborating with such like-minded individuals, all dedicated to making our school the best it can be. They have been dedicated and committed to continuing the good governance of our school. Thank you to all the members, including Toni Hillyer our school Business Manager, who attends all our meetings, taking the minutes and assisting the Finance and Building and Grounds Subcommittees. I am deeply grateful for their ongoing support and trust. 

Parent Representatives 

• Alicia Brown (School Council President) 
• David Clark (Vice President)
• Matt Vaughan
• Laura West
• Bain Attwood
• Laura McAlister

Community Representative 

• Helena Gaetner (Treasurer)

Department Representatives 

• Sharon Wildermuth (Acting Principal)
• Suada Dzaferovic (Assistant Principal)
• Luke Fletcher (Acting Assistant Principal)
• Caroline Walters (Acting Learning Specialist)

Other Subcommittee members

• Elizabeth Exintaris
• Josue Edgardo

Our Amazing Songs of Celebration

Well, what talented children we have here at TPS! Our annual concert was an absolute delight and showcased the amazing talents of our students and the staff who enabled it all to happen. We thank the talented students and staff who choregraphed the outstanding dance moves, we saw! What a show it was! The beautiful weather enhanced the atmosphere, and the picturesque grounds provided the perfect backdrop for a relaxed afternoon of student performances. It was heartwarming to see our students thoroughly enjoying their time on stage, showcasing their incredible singing and dancing talents.

A heartfelt thank you to David Clarke (Rupert and Felix's Dad) and his dedicated team for tirelessly cooking and serving an endless supply of sausages to our grateful parents and students. A special shoutout also goes to Tamara O'hare (Eddie's Mum) and her team of parents for their hard work in selling a remarkable number of raffle tickets. There are four fantastic raffle prizes, generously filled with items sourced from our wonderful local shops. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making the event such a success!

Transition Day – classes for 2025

It was heartening to see our students smiling with excitement as they transitioned into their new classes to meet their new classmates and teacher yesterday. The school buzzed with energy and enthusiasm as students explored their new learning communities and engaged in activities designed to help them connect with their new home group peers and teachers. On this special day, we also warmly welcomed new students and teachers to our vibrant school community. Welcome back Ms Williams!

If your child is returning in 2025, a school document, which confirmed their class placement, was sent home (via a Compass news feed) indicating their teacher/s, classmates and their location in the school for 2025. 

Please note that no further changes will be made to class placements, as our staff have dedicated significant time and effort to creating the most effective class structures and thoughtfully considering student placements. We kindly ask for your support during this time by encouraging your child and speaking positively about the exciting new experiences and opportunities that 2025 will bring.

If your child came home and was a bit unsure of the class, you can help at home by being supportive and positive about their placement. All students received a friend choice and have been placed with great consideration. Moving class is a great opportunity to meet and work with new people and develop a wider friendship group. All our teachers are wonderful and different. Encourage your child to take the time to get to know them. Maybe even consider sitting and writing a letter with your child to their new teacher. You could include things they love to do or special interests. Include things that are making them nervous too. By working on this together you can have positive and informed discussions and develop a greater insight into how/why your child is feeling and how to support their transition.

Semester Reports

Teachers are very busily finalising their end of semester two reports so that they are available on COMPASS on Monday 16th Dec. The report aims to provide consistent, clear and concise information to parents about your child’s achievement against state-wide standards.

These reports will include the following information:

•    Overview of learning covered
•    General comment on your child as a learner
•    Progression point (dots) indicating your    child’s learning progress
•    Specialist comments for some students
•     Student reflection

We encourage you to take the time to read the report and use this as a valuable tool for reflecting with your child on their learning over the course of the semester.

To access your child’s reports, log into Compass, click on ‘View Academic Reports’ and select ‘Semester 2 Reports 2024’. This will download onto your device, which can then be saved and/or printed.

All Year 6 families and other families who are departing our school are encouraged to download all copies of their children’s reports as soon as possible. Once the school year ends (Friday 20th of Dec), there will be no further access to the COMPASS portal for past students and parents. All reports can be downloaded in PDF format.

Staffing Changes for 2025

Every year we farewell some teachers and welcome the new.  We would like to thank the teachers who are leaving us for their contributions to our school and wish them all the very best as they pursue further opportunities and experiences. We look forward to seeing some of our teachers back again in a year or so. Following an extensive recruitment drive, we are thrilled to welcome new teachers to our school. We look forward to the expertise they will share across our school. 

Staffing for 2025

I am excited to announce our staffing for 2025. As you will see from the list below, we have an exceptional team of highly skilled and motivated teachers working at TPS in 2025.

I am very pleased with the teaching team we have put together and know that their collective expertise and strong expectation of collaboration and best practise will see all our students flourish. 

As you may have noticed during our Step Up to 2025 whole school transition day there were a few new teachers who will be working with our community in 2025. We welcome the following new staff members:

• Assistant Principal – Julie Hall (Wellbeing and Inclusion)
• Ms Natasha Williams

We also farewell the following staff members and wish them the very best during their new journey, whether it be on leave, relocating to another school, continuing with further studies or moving interstate. 

• Ms Stimar, Ms Bryon, Ms Jukes, Ms Walters, Mr Pepi, Ms Shawani and Education support – Will, Nasim, Jacquie and Ruby

We thank them for their dedication, passion and service to Toorak Primary School and wish them all the best.

School assemblies for the remainder of the year.

To celebrate the conclusion of our 2024 school year we will have a final assembly on Friday 20th December (1pm to 1:30pm) where we will farewell our departing staff, students and families.  This coming Friday the 13th of December at 2:45pm we will announce our Student Leadership for 2025 including our School Captains and School Vice Captains. We look forward to seeing everyone there. 

Kind regards,

Sharon Wildermuth

Acting Principal