AIR CONDITIONERS

I’m pleased to share that the 18 split-system units have now been installed. We’re just awaiting the cages for the external condenser units. Their first day of use last Thursday was a big hit with both students and staff, creating temperatures far more conducive to teaching and learning. This achievement has been made possible through the incredible fundraising efforts of our families over the past two years, and we’re so grateful for your support in bringing this project to life.

SYNTHETIC TURF – TERRACE

The remaining fundraising dollars will be utilised to install synthetic turf on the terrace, allowing our preps and year ones to have somewhere comfortable to eat and play. This is likely to be installed in November.

WELCOME MARCO

I would like to warmly welcome Marco Romano to our staff as our new Business Manager. Marco joins us from the UK, with his family. He is available to support you with questions around parent contributions, CSEF, School Savings Bonus and much more. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Marco via the school email.

My name is Marco Romano, and I moved to Australia from the UK in August with my wife and our two young children. As we settle into our new environment, we’re enjoying exploring the city and discovering everything it has to offer.

As a family, we love travelling and are always on the lookout for new places and experiences. In my own time, I’m a big sports fan and enjoy both playing and watching a wide range of sports, especially football (soccer), basketball, boxing and darts.

I’m excited to begin my tenure at South Melbourne Park Primary School as the Business Manager, and I look forward to supporting the school and its students as they progress through their primary years.

PREP, YEAR 7 & WITHIN SCHOOL TRANSITION

This term we will commence our transition program for our in-coming Preps. If you are yet to enrol a Prep for next year, please do so as soon as possible so that you don’t miss out on the information regarding orientation days. Our Year 6s will be participating in their Year 7 Orientation Day on Tuesday, 9th December. We will also hold our within school transition day on December 9th, where students will meet their new classmates and teacher for 2026.

LEAVING SMPPS?

If you are leaving South Melbourne Park Primary at the end of this year, could you please inform the school, via email at south.melbourne.park.ps@education.vic.gov.au ? It’s really important that we have a clear picture of enrolments for next year so that we can ensure staffing requirements are met.

CLASS STRUCTURES 2026

In 2026, our enrolment numbers will shift slightly as three Year 6 classes graduate and two new Prep classes join us. To ensure we continue delivering high-quality learning experiences within our resources, we will have one composite class in Years 3/4 and one in Years 5/6.

Composite classes are a common and effective way to manage varying class sizes, and they provide rich opportunities for collaboration, leadership and differentiated learning. Our Year 3 and 4 teachers will work together as one Professional Learning Community (PLC), as will our Year 5 and 6 team, ensuring consistent planning and shared expertise across all classes.

We are confident that every child will receive a comprehensive, tailored program, whether in a straight or composite class as our dedicated staff maintain their focus on meeting individual needs and fostering growth for all children.

CLASS PLACEMENTS FOR 2026

We are currently in the beginning stages of structuring classes for next year. All classes will be developed with care. Later this week, the students will be asked to provide 5 names of children that they work well with, including some children from outside their current class. These names will not be ranked. We will endeavour to make sure that every child gets to be in a class with at least one person from their preference list. You might like to discuss some possible options with your child at home, in preparation.

As a staff, we will do our best to create balanced classes based on many criteria and complexities. Parents/Carers who believe that there are extenuating circumstances which need to be considered during this time, should email the school with the subject heading ‘Classes for 2025’ by Friday, 31st October. If you have forwarded your request for consideration in previous years and it is still pertinent, we ask that you send in a new correspondence each year. We will not consider requests for your child to be placed with another student or for them to be taught by specific teachers or in particular classrooms. Thank you for your understanding with this.

YEAR 4 CAMP

I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge our Year 4 students who spent three days at Camp Weekaway last week. We are incredibly proud of each and every one of them for showing courage and perseverance during the activities, and for demonstrating excellent manners and respect throughout their time at camp. I also want to show my gratitude to Ms Azzopardi and Mr Loong for spending many hours organising Camp Weekaway and extend thanks to our incredible staff, Ms Azzopardi, Mr Loong, Ms Xanthos, Ms Davis, Mae and Swapna, who gave up precious time with their families to provide this special opportunity for our kids.

I’m looking forward to seeing you all for a fun-filled artistic extravaganza at our biannual Art Show on Thursday, 30th October.

Nicole

Next newsletter 3rd November

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