Principal Report

Welcome to Week Ten of Term Four, our last newsletter for the year. As we come to the close of another remarkable school year, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to our entire school community. This year has been filled with learning, growth and memorable moments and none of it would have been possible without the dedication and partnership of our students, staff, and families.

To our students: your hard work, curiosity, and resilience have been inspiring. Whether you achieved a long-term goal, discovered a new passion, or overcame a challenge, each of you has contributed to the vibrant spirit of our school.

To our staff: thank you for your unwavering commitment to excellence. Your guidance, creativity, and belief in every learner make Highvale a place where students feel supported, empowered and ready to learn.

To our families: your involvement, encouragement and trust are deeply appreciated. Working together, we have created an environment where every child can thrive.

As we look ahead to a new year, we carry forward the lessons, achievements, and relationships that defined this one. Although we have another week of school, I wish everyone a safe, restful, and joyful break when it comes around. I look forward to welcoming you back refreshed and ready for all the opportunities the new year will bring.

A reminder that our school year concludes on Friday 19th December at 1:30pm. Please continue to check Compass and our school newsletters regularly for up-to-date information and details about these upcoming events.

Birthdays 

Happy Birthday to the following students who will celebrate their special day throughout December: Vincent G Prep B, Adyant Singh 2S, Ashley C 5S, Aaron P 5S, Kenul P 2J, Ann L 2M, Warren C 6S, Jia y 3J, Diya V 6S, Leanne L 1D, Max W 1D, Dennis D 2S, Livia F 6S, Ethan S 6S, Louie F 6D, Markus W 3J, Shawn W 3J, Anaaya M Prep FY, Edward Y 2S, Danny Ho 1S, Aarna K 2S, Ruvee R Prep FY, Grace Lai 6S, Harriet K Prep FY, Flora X 2M, Aashna P 2M, Steven H 4A, Yimei L 4U and Vicky L 5D. We hope you all have a terrific birthday.

Attendance

At Highvale Primary School we firmly believe that attending school every day plays a crucial role in shaping a child's educational journey. Regular attendance allows students to fully engage in classroom activities, discussions, and hands-on learning experiences. It provides them with the opportunity to grasp new concepts, ask questions, and collaborate with their peers. Consistent attendance helps build a strong foundation of knowledge and skills, enabling children to excel academically. This term, we will be reinforcing the importance of attending school every day. 

Congratulations to the students who have achieved 100% attendance so far in December. Some of these students include:  Austin C Prep FY, Fiora J Prep FY, Alice H Prep B, Noah L Prep B, Isabella M 1S, Caleb W 1S, Leanne L 1D, Charlie D 1D, Hannah J 2S, Dennis D 2S

Gabriella D 2M, Jason L 2M, Zara L 2J, Phoenix J 2J, Anjali S 3CBB, Nimmrit L 3CBB, Remi F 3J, Isaac O 3J, Khloe L 4A, Leo G 4A, Talitha H 4U, Quinn L 4U, Violet W 5S, Danny G 5S, Mikayla L 5D, Seth Y 5D and Jayson Y 6S. 

Here are some attendance figures for 2025 so far:

Remember: it is not ok to be away!

Year Six Graduation

We were delighted to celebrate our Year Six Graduation Ceremony last week. It was wonderful to see our graduates surrounded by proud families, friends, and staff as they marked this important milestone together. The evening was filled with heartfelt speeches, warm smiles, and a strong sense of community that reminded us of what makes Highvale so special. We are incredibly proud of each graduate and grateful to everyone who helped make the night so memorable. A huge thank you to our Year Six teachers Tamara Scully & Yolanda Nell for their organisation of the event. Congratulations to our four School Captains Sham, Anvita, Ethan and Mann who led the ceremony and gave outstanding speeches. 

Transition Program

Our transition sessions have now concluded and it was wonderful to see students engaging confidently with their new classrooms, teachers, and peers. These sessions have helped build familiarity, ease any anxieties, and spark excitement for the year ahead. It’s clear that our students were ready to take this next step, and we look forward to seeing them settle further into their new classes in 2026. School will return on Thursday 29th January 2026 for all students besides Preps who will begin on Friday 30th January.  

Thank you

Congratulations to our Year Six School Captains on successfully leading our school in 2025! Mann, Ethan, Sham and Anvita, we are incredibly proud of the leadership, enthusiasm, and commitment you have shown throughout the year. Your hard work, positive attitude, and willingness to support your peers have made a wonderful impact on our school community. As captains, you have set an inspiring example for younger students and demonstrated what it truly means to lead with kindness and responsibility. Well done on this outstanding achievement, and we wish you every success as you continue to grow and shine in the years ahead!

School Captains for 2026

Choosing our Year Six School Captains for 2026 was an inspiring yet challenging task, as we received so many thoughtful and impressive applications. Each candidate demonstrated enthusiasm, leadership potential, and a genuine desire to contribute to our school community. After careful consideration, we selected four students who demonstrated strong communication skills, responsibility and a commitment to representing our school values. We congratulate all applicants for their effort and courage, and we are proud of the new captains who will lead our school with pride in the year ahead.

In 2026 our two female captains will be Maya Edge and Aradhya Tummalapalli. In 2026 our two male captains will be Keitarou Sau and Minul Pituwala. We congratulate our newly appointed captains and look forward to the positive impact they will make as they represent our school community in the year ahead.

SWPBS Whole School Reward: Fun Day 

Yesterday all year levels participated in a whole-school Fun Day to celebrate our second whole school reward for SWPBS! Students stepped away from their regular classes to enjoy a full day dedicated to fun, collaboration, and community spirit. This event was a wonderful opportunity to recognise and celebrate the positive behaviour and efforts our students demonstrated throughout the year. They truly earned this reward—well done, HPS! We hope everyone had a great day!

Opportunity to provide parent feedback

Last month, I shared a Compass Feed inviting parents to contribute to a Stop–Start–Keep survey, and offer feedback on what is working well and what could be improved as we continue striving to enhance our wonderful school. I would like to highlight some more of the feedback received and provide further context or clarification around the decisions and circumstances that inform our current practices.

“Open the gate at Grantley drive earlier at 8.30 am.” 

Unfortunately, we cannot open the gates any earlier as we cannot supervise students onsite any earlier than we already do. Teachers are required to be on duty from 8:45am and that’s why we open the gates at this time.

“We really liked the art exhibition and feel it should continue. Also please continue to have ICAS at Highvale as it was a good opportunity for the students.”

Both of these things will continue in 2026. They were very popular with our students and school community.

“Very short notice for activities like excursions and Christmas carol etc”

Common practise is that events are planned by teachers at Highvale at least six weeks in advance. We then have protocols around how to price events, when compass events need to go live to parents and when reminders need to be sent to parents too. We are confident that almost all of our events in 2025 that have required a payment have had a months notice, besides some sporting events where students have needed to qualify first. This short notice has been unavoidable. Christmas Carols was mentioned via the School Newsletter and Compass almost 4 weeks ago.       

“Teachers and office staff have become easier to communicate with, more supportive, and more helpful toward the school community”

Thank you for this positive feedback. We are happy to hear that you’ve noticed a change. Our aim is to always be there to communicate and support our whole school community. We aim to do this even better in 2026! 

“Parents certainly would appreciate the initiatives from the Acting School Principal and/or Vice Principal to get to know HPS students and their families via casual encounters or “meet and greet”, less formalities”

We will take this feedback on and endeavour to get to know each and every HPS family. Please come up and introduce yourself if you get the chance. Mrs Soccio and I loved meeting families at the Sports Carnival, Art Show, Dance Curriculum Performance, Education Week Open Classrooms, Year Six Graduation and other family events this year. Mrs Soccio also went on the Year Five/ Six Camp this year and had a great time getting to know the students on a more personal level. It was also nice to meet many of you at the Parent Helpers Morning Tea last week. These events are great opportunities for all of us to get to know each other.

That is all the feedback I will share in this week’s newsletter. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all 57 of the parents that provided feedback in our Stop, Start, Keep document. Your feedback is appreciated and there are some things that we can definitely work towards improving in 2026. If you have not provided feedback and would still like to, please email me personally at carly.epskamp@education.vic.gov.au

Exciting upcoming community events

Christmas Carols: TONIGHT - Thursday 11th of December 4:30pm-6:00pm

Our students have been rehearsing and are almost ready to bring you an evening full of music, joy, and holiday cheer. Bring your friends, family, picnic rug and best singing voice — so you can sing along and soak up the festive spirit. Food will be available to purchase, using cash ONLY. This includes a sausage sizzle, soft drink, chocolates and icy poles. 

Whole school Assembly: Friday 12th of December 9:00am – 9:30am 

In this assembly, we will announce the following student leadership positions: 2 x House Captains for each house, 2 x Performing Arts Captains, 2 x Art Captains, 2 x STEAM Captains, 2 x ICT Captains and 2 x Wellbeing Captains. 

Enrolments for 2026

If you are planning to move house or will be leaving Highvale Primary School at the end of this year, we kindly request that you inform our office staff. This information is essential for us to accurately forecast student numbers and effectively plan the grade structures for the upcoming year. If your child is currently in Grades Prep to 5 and will not be attending Highvale in 2026, please notify the school office in writing at your earliest convenience.

2026 Workforce Plan

The 2026 Highvale Primary School Leadership Team is listed below:

Principal (Acting) – Carly Epskamp 

Assistant Principal – Kelly Soccio 

Learning Specialists – Steve Smith (Numeracy) & Dean Salamouras (Literacy) 

Disability Inclusion Leader – Megan Fegan

Mental Health & Wellbeing Leader - Caroline Coady

2026 Classes 

2026 Specialist Team 

PE - Sophie Stokes & Soleda Graham 

Visual Arts - Pereena Sinclair & Jo Fellows

Performing Arts - Erin Stoddart & Jo Fellows

STEAM - Caisha Williamson 

LOTE – Hannah Guo & Robin Miao 

Support Role - Jess Janky

2026 Education Support Staff

EAL – Shu Wong & Candy Luk

ES - Dot Tang, Allie McNamara, Andrea Gill, Emily Jenkins, Dania Albander, Bridie Williams & Trish Neilson 

Office Staff

Business Manager - Fiona Figg

Enrolments - Charlotte Smith

Office Admin – Kate Steele

As I mentioned last week, we have a number of staff who are leaving us at the end of 2025 and moving onto new ventures. Congratulations to the following staff who have secured positions at neighbouring schools: 

Mark Usai – Brandon Park PS

Lilly Ji – Glendal PS

Adrian Creswell – The Knox School

Aleesa Altube – Weeden Heights PS

Yolanda Nell - Hillcrest Christian College

Rachael Fleming – Monash Children’s Hospital School

We wish to also mention that Michelle Cheong, Nick Dempsey and Chloe Bellotti will be taking a year away from Highvale to further develop their professional skillsets.

Financial Contributions 

I sincerely thank all parents and carers who support our school each and every year through financial contributions. Your generous contributions play a vital role in helping us enhance and enrich the educational experiences that we offer our students. These contributions have enabled us to provide additional resources and opportunities beyond the standard curriculum. 

In 2026, we’d like to use the financial contributions to assist with the following projects:

* Full refurbishment of the Junior and Senior Toilets

* Painting of remaining areas that were not painted in 2025

* Improving the driveway, turning circle and car park 

If you would like to make your contributions for 2026 prior to the end of this year, you are most welcome too. Please see Compass or visit us at the school office. You are helping to make Highvale a very special place for our students to learn and grow. 

Celebrating Student Achievements

If your child has competed in a special event/ competition outside of school, we’d love to know about it so that we can all celebrate this milestone together. I hope to make this section of the newsletter a permanent fixture celebrating our wonderful and very talented HPS students.  

Accident in teachers car park

On Friday 5th December between 9:00am – 4:30pm someone hit my car (black Audi) which was parked in the teachers car park. There was a note left on the car with a disconnected phone number, which is disappointing. If anyone saw anything or has any insight, please come and see me or contact the School Office on 9887 8000.   

IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS 

Kids Help - kidshelpline.com.au phone 1800 55 1800 

Parent Line - betterhealth.vic.gov.au phone 13 22 89 

Headspace - headspace.org.au phone 1800 650 890 

eSafety Commissioner - esafety.gov.au - Advice for parents and carers to help children have safe experiences online 

Have a great week ahead HPS families,

Carly Epskamp 

Principal

carly.epskamp@education.vic.gov.au