Principal's Report

The final newsletter of the year presents the opportunity to reflect on some of the most significant successes in 2023 and look forward to 2024; and recap on an incredibly busy two weeks of successes and events! In trying to be succinct, (and failing miserably), I have missed quite a lot, as it would be impossible to capture it all in one piece. For everyone in our community there will be a different ‘highlights package’, this is ours from a school governance perspective. 

2023 in Review

This year, our staff have focused most heavily on three key areas; namely Reading, Mathematics and Wellbeing. The most significant developments in these areas include:

Reading: a gradual shift in practice has occurred over the past two years, with a focus on creating greater alignment between lesson goals (Learning Intentions) and task/activity engagements. This has resulted in a greater level of consistency, collaboration and differentiation from teachers and students, more agency in book choice, more time reading rather than writing about reading and greater levels of support and challenge in the class and in support sessions. 

The outcome of this is stronger growth in indicative reporting data, as well as being above similar schools, network schools and state averages in both Grade 3 & 5 in NAPLAN (87% of students in top two bands in Grade 3, 94% in Grade 5). 

Mathematics: There has been a strong focus on differentiation of the program, through better using assessment tools to understand students’ level of ability and then using a repertoire of strategies to target their abilities. This has led to greater engagement, more diversity in task design and again, us being above similar schools, network schools and state averages in both Grade 3 & 5 in NAPLAN (94% of students in top two bands in both Grade 3 and 5).

Wellbeing: This year we undertook a full review of our wellbeing programs at the school (the Resilience Project, Cyber Safety Project, Respectful Relationships) and audited their alignment with our vision for wellbeing. Whilst The Resilience Project and Cyber Safety Project have served us well, next year we will be evolving our practice to be more contemporary, more responsive and more engaging and most importantly, more connected to the regular classroom learning. Through building teacher capacity in this space (using Visible Wellbeing as a framework), as opposed to providing them with a set program, we will see better outcomes for students and teachers in this space.

The priorities for next year remain relatively consistent with this year, albeit a slight shift away from reading to writing and spelling. Our staff are passionate about their job and importantly, getting better every day which culturally is integral to continued growth. 

Thank You

This work, and much more does not occur without a considerable amount of effort from all stakeholders. To all staff, volunteers, School Councillors and students, I thank you for bringing your passion and skillsets to our community. 

As with any school year there are some staffing changes. A critical indication of a positive culture is turnover, and the reasons for it, and whilst we don’t like losing great people and teachers, when we look at the reasons for change this year, they are unanimously geographic. The following staff will be moving on, and I thank them each individually for their considerable contribution to their students, their teams and more broadly our school community. 

Paul Coverdale: Paul and his family are moving to Ocean Grove and has taken up a position at Ocean Grove Primary School. Paul has taught at our school since his graduate year and led the Grade 4 team this year. His measured and knowledgeable approach will be missed.

Dean Ross: Dean has been traveling over an hour to school each way since moving house and has taken a job much closer to home at Skye Primary School. Dean has also been at our school since graduating and has taught in Grade 3 and 5. His calm and caring approach to his students and team will be sorely missed.

Stuart Macdermid: Stuart has worked at our school for 6 years across the middle and senior years. He has been a strong contributer across a range of teams in that time and is an energetic, highly committed and positive teacher and person. Stuart is moving to Frankston Heights PS where he is pursuing leadership opportunities in a growing school. 

Kate Siebert: Kate has worked at our school for three years since graduating, and in 2024 is satisfying a long held desire to teach in outback/remote Australia. Kate has accepted a position at a school in the remote south of Western Australia. She is a very skilled, insightful and passionate teacher that has brought a high level of performance and organisation to the Grade 1 team.

Maddy Gabsch: Maddy is moving to Airey’s Inlet and has accepted a position at Airey’s Inlet Primary School. She has been with us since mid-2022 and has added her positive, energising and passionate approach to the team and her class. 

Jodi Finnegan: Jodi is taking a year to travel and apply her dual degree in languages and education abroad. She intended to do so this year, however decided to instead delay it and begin her career here. She is a very knowledgeable and organised graduate teacher and has been an active contributor in her first year to the Grade 3 team. 

We wish all of them well with their new homes, communities and travel and we hope to welcome some back in the future. 

2024 Staffing

To complement our staff for next year, we welcome the following teachers. 

Welcoming back to Laura Fraser and Alana Gadsby from family leave in a part-time capacity.

Madeleine Paslis (Class teacher / Learning Specialist: Wellbeing): Maddy is currently the Wellbeing Learning Specialist at Toorak Primary School. She has similarly taught across a range of year levels and in different schools and contexts and comes with a wealth of experience in many facets of wellbeing and contemporary classroom practice. 

Aeden Gordon (Class teacher): Aedan is a graduate student who comes to us highly regarded. He has completed placements in schools of very similar context, such as Armadale Primary School. He has completed a double degree in Arts and Education and is currently participating in an overseas study trip program in Italy. 

Jordan Hurley (Class teacher): Jordan is currently a Grade 4 teacher at Haileybury College and comes highly regarded and with strong experience in the middle years. Jordan has been a Bayside local all his life. He has already participated in transition activities and is enthusiastic about joining his team and our staff. 

Anne Hostein (Class teacher): Anne is currently a Grade 5/6 teacher and Curriculum Leader at St Leonard's College. She has a range of experience over many years in education in the government and independent sectors, as well as Masters in Educational Leadership and other post-graduate studies.  She has a sound understanding of our school context being a parent here currently. 

Breannan Corr (Class teacher): Breannan is currently a Grade 3 teacher and team leader at Albert Park Primary School. She has significant experience in leading teams across all areas of the school and comes with a wealth of knowledge and skill. She also has an in-depth understanding of our school being a parent here currently and having worked in a casual capacity previously.

2024 Dates

Please take note of the key dates for the start of 2024 which are below. The Calendar continues to be updated on Compass so please reference that over the holiday break.

Master Planning Update

Over the past month, I have been regularly (twice weekly) engaged in numerous meetings with the VSBA, regional staff and Atelier Wagner, our appointed architects to design a new master plan for our school. This process is tightly governed and adheres to strict processes and timeframes. School Council has been kept up to date, and parents, teachers and leadership have all been involved at various stages. This evening Council are meeting with Atelier Wagner and the VSBA to view the new master plan and provide feedback and or endorsement. From this point, further investigations and planning take place and then information will be able to be shared with the community. What I can share is that we will be presenting a master plan that includes an incredible multi-purpose gymnasium, new learning spaces, and greater connection between areas of our school as well as indoor and outdoor spaces. It has been exciting work and I cannot wait to share the fruits of it in early 2024 with a view to start building in late 2024 hopefully. 

Recent Events

SWIMMING & MINI OLYMPICS

Our first Swimming Carnival in four years was held yesterday and was an incredible event and success. Our students had a fantastic time at GESAC and competed well for places in the District Team for 2024 and for House Points. Congratulations and thanks to Rob and Yemi for their organisation of this event and brilliant execution. We look forward to the postponed Mini Olympics being similarly successful tomorrow!

CHOREOGRAPHY COMPETITION

Congratulations to HPS who won back to back Choreography Competition events last week. It was an amazing showcase of creativity, talent and teamwork and all students that competed should be incredibly proud. 

SOIREE

Last week’s Soiree was an extraordinary display of the talent within our student ranks. The diversity of acts and the collaboration, courage and commitment to challenge themselves were evident. A huge thank you to Traci for the organisation of the night and more broadly, the music program. 

DAD'S / KIDS CAMP

Thank you to the dads and children that attended the recent camp, bringing the total number of attendees to 500 over two camps. The feedback has been unanimously glowing, and full credit goes to Sven Karlsson and Mark Alexander for their organisation and commitment to it!

New Quadrangle Surface

Finally, the Quadrangle has a wonderful new Ruberrock surface thanks to the Carnival fundraising from 2022. It looks outstanding and will be far more functional and comfortable for our students, for events and assemblies. We hope you and your children enjoy the fruits of this project.

New & Important Dates

• Tuesday 19th December – 1:30pm: Students dismissed for the year
• Monday 29th & Tuesday 30th January – Curriculum Days
• Wednesday 31st January – Grade 1 – 6 Students first day of 2024
• Thursday 1st February – Foundation students' first day of 2024

To stay up to date with all events and key dates, see the Compass Calendar. 

Celebrations

STATE CHAMPIONS AGAIN (& RUNNERS UP)!

Last week our students brought home our second State title for 2023, with the Lacrosse boys team taking out the title. The students won a very hard-fought game to make the final, in a playoff, only to meet the second HPS team in the final! Congratulations to every student from both teams on their resilience and commitment and to Rob for training them so well (image on banner). 

HPS ALUMNI DRAFTED

Well done to a former student of Hampton PS, and cousin to Sadie and Bonnie Cashman, Archie Roberts, who was drafted to Essendon FC last week! A fantastic achievement and we look forward to following his progress, and hopefully a trade to Hawthorn at some point in the future!