School Leaders

Family Holidays

School attendance is important for many reasons, including learning, social connections, wellbeing, routines and more. 

Wherever possible, family holidays or trips overseas should be taken during the school holiday periods. Victorian school holiday dates are published well in advance. Dates up until 2030 can be accessed here: https://www.vic.gov.au/school-term-dates-and-holidays-victoria

There are exceptional circumstances that require a student to take an extended break from school during the term, such as a funeral for a loved one overseas. In these cases, teachers will provide a learning plan of some simple tasks (such as reading a book, writing a diary) that students can do to maintain the basics in reading, writing and maths.

We have updated these plans, called Extended Holiday Learning Plans, to ensure they are manageable for families and staff. If your child is away for 10 or less school days, no learning plan will be provided. If your child is away for more than 10 school days, please let your child’s teacher know as far in advance as possible. They will arrange a meeting with you to go through the Extended Holiday Learning Plan, and will then get the plan approved by the Principal. We are introducing a general policy that we no longer allow school-owned devices to be taken on family holidays. These need to be returned before leaving.

Extended Holiday Learning Plans won’t provide the full schooling experience of learning new skills and topics, making and maintaining friendships in and out of class, building routines and habits, etc. so if your child is going to be away from SMPS for longer than a term (approximately 10 weeks), we will support you to pursue a short-term enrolment at a school local to your travels.

Year 6 to Year 7 Transition Process 

Term 2 marks the beginning of the transition to secondary school process for our Year 6 students.

Year 6 students will be given their transition pack by their class teacher in Week 1. This pack includes:

• Application for Year 7 Placement 2024 Form and Privacy Notice
• Frequently Asked Questions

Parents and carers are required to hand the application form back to South Melbourne Primary School (not the high school) by Friday 12th May 2023.

Students are guaranteed a place at their local high school. For most of our students, this is Port Melbourne Secondary College. For families living south of City Road, Albert Park College is deemed the local high school. You can check your address at https://www.findmyschool.vic.gov.au Families may apply at another school but are not guaranteed a place.

To make an informed decision on which secondary school to apply for, we recommend that you visit prospective secondary schools for their Open Days.

Secondary School Open Days are as follows:

Port Melbourne Secondary College:

• 3rd May 2023
• The staff, students and families of Port Melbourne Secondary College invite you to join them for their Open Day on May 3. 
• Hear from Port's Foundation Principal and students, before having refreshments with families and a tour of their building.
• If tickets are sold out, you can contact the event organiser here: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing?eid=1038118&#
• https://www.portmelbournesc.vic.edu.au/open-day/

Albert Park College:

•  Thursday 4th May in 2023 from 2 - 6pm. 
• This event will consist of a Principal Presentation that will explore the programs, facilities and opportunities that are offered by the College.
• http://www.albertparkcollege.vic.edu.au/events/openday/

University High School:

At the time of writing this, the tour dates were unavailable. 

• Check for updates on the Uni High website here https://www.unihigh.vic.edu.au/

If you are interested in sending your child to an independent school, please check their website for Open Day dates.