Caulfield Primary School Newsletter

Principal's News

So much happening in and around our school over recent weeks and we have had so much good fortune to enjoy a very warm autumn fortnight providing plenty of opportunities for our students to be outside and play as they settle into Term 2. 

Thank you to our families who attended our Curriculum Information Session delivered by Miss Ryan, Onda sensei and Morita sensei, it was a real pleasure to share our approach to teaching and learning in a bilingual school. We also had some very talented students receive their Specialist Awards at our most recent assembly, congratulations and well done. 

A quick reminder as the weather begins to cool, please ensure that school uniform is worn at all times. Whilst I understand we face some colder mornings, I would ask that jumpers worn are our school uniform jumpers and not branded alternatives. 

A summary of some highlights and information around the school is shared below, as the finishing touches are put on our newsletter our Year 3-6 students are currently participating in our school cross country event. I look forward to celebrating the efforts of all students. 

 

 

Melbourne FC Visit: 

 

We had some excited students and staff as we began the school week with a visit from the Melbourne Football Club on the 28th April. They joined our Year 5/6 students with a question-and-answer forum, autograph and photograph session. It was a great opportunity for our students to ask the players some questions and follow up on what it means to be a professional athlete and how they apply themselves to their training and work-life balance. Melbourne are yet to lose since that visit so they might have also taken some inspiration from our talented and dedicated Year 5/6 students. 

 

Working Bee:

 

Our School Council – Buildings and Grounds Sub-Committee have set a Term 2 working bee for Saturday 28th June between 10 – 12pm. I will follow this up with a schoolstream reminder and seek some voluntary support, there will be some maintenance work to complete and we are also looking at improving our play space for our junior school students and might seek out some talented and handy parents and families that may be willing to assist. 

 

Open Days: 

I am looking forward to our first Open Day of the year tomorrow morning, this is a great opportunity for prospective parents and families to get a good understanding of our school or establish that relationship with the school for next year or beyond. 

School tours will be conducted at:

  • 9:30am
  • 11:00am. 

We have eleven Year 5/6 leaders in attendance alongside our prep teachers, Morioka sensei and myself. Enrolments for all families in and out of our school zone are now open, we look forward to sharing our school with visitors on Saturday morning. 

 

School Review - Minimum Standards:

 

I am very happy to inform our school community that the school was assessed with full compliance of elements of the Minimum Standards for School Registration. This is an extensive auditing process that allows the school to be an accredited and registered educational institution. It makes an assessment on the Child Safety processes in the school and includes: 

  • Governance
  • Enrolment
  • Care, Safety and Welfare of Students
  • Child Safe Standards 1-11
  • Staff Employment
  • Emergency Bushfire Management (Camps and Excursions)

Throughout this process, the school was asked to provide a thorough evidence base including: 

  • 23 current and implemented policies
  • 26 current and visible actions and appropriate responses

This produced a detailed 35-page report independently assessing every element of compliance and adherence to minimum standards. It is a great acknowledgement of the work undertaken at our school each and every day. 

 

PFC – Election Day:

 

A massive thanks to our Parents and Friends Club and volunteers that ran such a fantastic Sausage Sizzle and Cake Stall on election day. We received a lovely email on Wednesday morning from a visitor to the school who was full of praise for the stall noting that parents were ‘friendly and helpful’ and having visited two other primary schools she was ‘very disappointed with their stalls…. Congratulations on your hard work’. I really appreciate the efforts of our PFC to coordinate such a fantastic day, a fundraising success and a great community link between families in our school. Thank you for volunteering your time to support this day. 

 

Mother’s Day:

 

A very happy Mother’s Day for Sunday for all the Mother’s and carers in our school, thank you for making our school community so special, warm and inviting and for all that you do to support our students (your children) each and every day. I hope you have a wonderful day on Sunday and are spoilt and cared for. 

In addition to this, a very special thank you to our parents and parents and friends club who have coordinated a terrific Mother’s Day stall over the course of this week, thank you for opening this up before, during and after school and volunteering your time to support our students purchase a small gift for Mother’s Day. 

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations Barnabas:

 

A big congratulations to Barnabas Z in Year 4 who represented our school last week at the Victorian State Swimming Championships. Barnabas finished in second place in the final of the 50-meter breaststroke setting a new personal best. Post race, Barnabas proudly put his CPS uniform on for the medal presentation. Well done Barnabas – congratulations! 

 

 

 

 

Communication:

 

One element to our school and services provision embedded in this work is sharing and promoting effective communication channels throughout the school and between families and staff and ensuring families will be comfortable with the avenue to approach and who to turn to. I will attempt to respond to any and every email or query I receive however sometimes I am perhaps not the first or most effective avenue to seek clarity from a classroom or playground issue.  

On Tuesday evening at our most recent school council meeting, we had a really engaging discussion around communication and what can and cannot be shared. The best place to source accurate information around the school is to seek a response from our school staff, items for consideration, concerns, clarification and positive feedback is always welcomed and allows us to provide a response. The summary below is a guide around where to best seek a response in our school, it is hoped that this can ensure families know who to approach and seek a response from. 

 

School Office (Therese, Jess):

  • School administration and urgent safety issues
  • Financial contributions and payments
  • Urgent messages for teachers or other staff
  • Making appointments with the Principal/Assistant Principal
  • Lost property

Our Teachers:

  • Your child’s progress and/or happiness or the curriculum 
  • Home reading (English or Japanese)
  • Not wanting to go to school 
  • Unhappy in class or at lunchtime 
  • Educational event info, e.g. Naplan, excursions, camps
  • Assisting in the classroom 
  • Positive feedback!

Area Leaders (Mari Murray, Rosemary Watts, Noriko Kurata, Kylie Newman, Niamh Molloy):

  • Curriculum if you see the issue as a team-wide concern/query
  • Inconsistent messages/expectations from teachers within the team 
  • Student issues or bullying across multiple grade levels
  • Learning clarifications in English/Japanese
  • Homework guidelines for English or Japanese homework

Assistant Principal (Miharu Morioka):

  • Curriculum
  • Your child’s progress or wellbeing when other channels (i.e. teacher, area leader) have been tried
  • Cyberbullying and bullying issues 
  • Student welfare issues
  • Child Safety
  • Complex student issues 
  • Issues involving school staff 

Principal:

  • School-wide Staff issues 
  • School management
  • Your child’s progress or wellbeing when other channels (i.e. teacher, area leader and Assistant Principal) have been tried 
  • Child Safety
  • School safety
  • School policy 
  • Very complex student issues 

School Council – Inclusive of Sub-Committees Finance, Buildings and Grounds, Education and Policy, School Engagement:

  • Buildings and Grounds
  • Health and Safety 
  • Parent/Carer communication 
  • Policies or guidelines 
  • Finance or budgets 
  • Health and Safety 
  • Outsourced programs

Parents and Friends Club and Parent Reps:

  • Communication 
  • Fundraising 
  • Social events
  • Issues impacting school community spirit

Professional Learning – Victorian Teaching and Learning Model (VTLM 2.0)

Recently, the key priorities for all Victorian government schools have included the implementation of the revised Victorian Teaching and Learning Model (VTLM 2.0) and the adoption of a Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP) approach as part of a strengthened literacy framework.

At Caulfield Primary School, our professional learning and school improvement initiatives are closely aligned with these state-wide priorities. Throughout the year, both teaching and education support staff have been, and will continue to be, engaged in ongoing professional development designed to deepen understanding and build capacity in these areas.

To further support this work, Miharu and I will be attending the Statewide Principal Forum on 3–4 June, where school leaders from across Victoria will come together to collaborate, share insights, and explore best practices in implementing the VTLM 2.0. This forum also provides an opportunity to celebrate school achievements and build leadership capacity across the system. We look forward to continuing this important work and strengthening our collective focus on high-quality teaching and learning for every student.

 

Enjoy a great weekend, a very Happy Mother's Day for Sunday. I look forward to reconnecting with everyone on Monday. 

 

My Thanks, 

 

Edward Strain

Principal