Principal's Report

Dear Parents/Carers

We’re excited to begin the second half of the school year and continue supporting every student on their individual learning journey. This term, students will be working towards their personalised learning goals through a variety of differentiated activities, including whole-class lessons and targeted small-group work.

Our focus remains on tracking and supporting your child’s growth, and we look forward to sharing their progress with you throughout the term. If you have any questions or would like ideas on how to further support your child’s learning at home, please reach out to their classroom teacher — we’re always happy to help.

NAPLAN

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9. It tests the essential skills of reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy. These assessments provide valuable insights into your child’s progress and help us tailor our teaching to better support their learning needs. The testing period for NAPLAN in 2024 took take place from May 12th to March 24th.

I am delighted to share that we have received the NAPLAN results, and I am extremely pleased with the outcomes. Our students have demonstrated significant progress across all tested areas, reflecting their hard work and dedication. Individual results have been provided to families, allowing you to see your child's achievements. 

This graph displays the percentage of students at Elsternwick Primary School who achieved results in the Strong and Exceeding proficiency bands in each NAPLAN domain. These bands reflect students who are demonstrating above expected levels of understanding and application for their year level.

By focusing on the Strong and Exceeding categories, the data highlights the proportion of students performing at or beyond the higher end of the proficiency scale. This provides us with valuable insight into how many students are not only meeting but surpassing key literacy and numeracy benchmarks.

Principal’s Citizenship Award

Congratulations to Fraser M in Year 4 on receiving the Term 2 Principal’s Citizenship Award. Fraser received this award for being an exceptional student who embodies everything we value at Elsternwick Primary School. He leads with confidence, compassion, and a genuine commitment to excellence. Throughout his time at EPS, Fraser has approached every opportunity with enthusiasm, consistently demonstrating resilience, initiative, and a strong sense of responsibility. His ability to positively influence those around him, rise to challenges, and remain focused on his goals is truly inspiring. Congratulations Fraser.

2026 Prep Enrolments

We received 75 enrolment applications in line with the 2026 Statewide Timeline.https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/enrolment/guidance/foundation-prep-enrolment

It is our intention to accept 64 enrolments, forming four Prep classes of 16 students each.

Intention to Leave While we’re discussing enrolment numbers for next year, we kindly ask that any families who are planning to leave our school community in 2025—whether due to relocation or other reasons—please notify us as soon as possible by emailing the office at elsternwick.ps@education.vic.gov.au. 

We will be submitting our 2026 enrolment projections to the Department of Education this week, so any early advice will be greatly appreciated and extremely helpful for our future planning.

Emergency Contact Numbers

From time to time, we may need to contact parents or carers for various reasons, such as when a child is unwell, to share important information, or to arrange a meeting. Please ensure that any changes to your contact details, or those of your emergency contacts, are communicated to the office immediately.

Practice Emergency Drills

As part of our commitment to providing a safe environment for students, staff, volunteers and visitors, Elsternwick Primary School conducts regular emergency drills. These drills are carefully planned and practised to ensure that, in the event of a real emergency, our staff and students are equipped to respond quickly, calmly and in a coordinated manner to minimise risk and harm.

At EPS, we conduct at least one emergency drill per term. Students are supported to understand that these are practice scenarios so that any fear or anxiety is reduced in the event of a real emergency.

The types of emergency procedures we practise include:

• Lockdown/Lock-in – e.g. a person on-site is behaving aggressively, an intruder is present, or there is an identified safety threat.
• On-site evacuation – e.g. a serious accident nearby, significant water leak or flooding, or structural damage to buildings.
• Off-site evacuation – e.g. a fire, chemical hazard, gas leak, or bomb threat. Our designated off-site evacuation location is Elsternwick Park.

How families can support students who may feel anxious:

• Acknowledge their feelings – Let children know that it’s normal to feel annoyed, scared, or unsettled by drills or evacuations. These feelings often subside as they become familiar with the procedures.
• Provide perspective – Reassure them that the purpose of these drills is to keep everyone safe. Answer questions honestly, simply and in an age-appropriate way.
• Promote coping strategies – Help children identify what they can do if they feel nervous (e.g. take deep breaths, talk to a teacher).
• Focus on normalcy – Emphasise that the school quickly returns to normal once the drill or emergency is resolved.

We recognise that some children—particularly those with a history of trauma—may be more vulnerable during emergency drills. These students may require additional support or preparation. If your child would benefit from advance notice of upcoming drills, please contact Laura in the office on 8534 6100 to opt in to these communications.

Staff Celebrations

It may come as a surprise to some, but we’re excited to share that two of our staff members are now engaged! Congratulations to Prep B teacher Miss Rachael Feldtmann and STEAM teacher Mr Liam Eddington on their recent engagements.

Rachael’s beautiful engagement ring has certainly caught the attention of her Prep students and sparked some amusing conversations. We’re so happy for both Rachael and Liam as they begin this exciting new chapter, and we wish them all the best in the lead-up to their big day.

Have a great weekend,

Michael Portaro

Principal