Out and about at Surfside

Surfside Fresh Food Fair - 2 Weeks to Go!!

It is 2 weeks to go until the biggest day on the Surfside calendar and it is all systems go and the team have been super busy organising so many aspects in preparation for the big day. Below are some of the important bits and pieces but please check out our Fresh Food Fair Newsletter special edition so you are prepared for everything. A big thank you to Stacey, our staff, our student and our many helpers - we definitely can't prepare for the day without you!

FRESH FOOD FAIR NEWSLETTER 

SPECIAL EDITION - CHECK IT ALL OUT HERE

Entertainment Line Up

We are excited about our entertainment line up and we hope that you get an opportunity to get some food and a drink and enjoy the talented musicians on offer. We are very thankful to our parent community and students (current and ex students) who are prepared to showcase their skills and join us for a festive afternoon. Below is also a timetable for Surfside's Got Talent.

Surfside's Got Talent Run Sheet

Fresh Food Fair Wristbands

Wristbands allow the wearer unlimited entry to: 

• The Tornado is back by popular demand
• Cha Cha
• Chair-O-Plane
• Giant Slide

• Animal Farm

   

Families can now purchase wristbands for Surfside students via their Compass portal. Tickets for friends or relatives who do not attend Surfside can be purchased directly from our office or with the hardcopy note that will be sent home soon.

Wristband prices purchased on or before Thursday 6th November: 

$40 per primary/secondary school age child, $20 per pre-school age child.

Purchase on the day of the fair at the ticket box: Friday 7th November: 

$45 per primary/secondary school age child, $30 pre-school age child.

Students who have pre-purchased tickets will have their wristbands placed on their wrists, after lunch on the day of the fair. Any non Surfside pre-purchased tickets for wristbands can be collected from our ticket booth near the rides at the Fair.

Silent Auction

You can now view and bid at our online Silent Auction by clicking this link. The auction will close at 7pm on FFF Night, Friday 7th November and items will be available to collect from Monday 10th November from the school office.

How Can You Help Out???

Working bee and kitchen cook-ups...

Your enthusiastic support for our prize-winning Kitchen and Garden program warms our hearts. From gardening, lemonade prep to curry making, soups, pastries and preserves, we have exciting kitchen sessions lined up.

If you can spare some time to help, even if it is an hour or two - your help would be greatly appreciated on any day.

Thanks to the few helpers that volunteered their time in the school holidays to help preserve and make pastries - we appreciate you!

Let us know if you can join us in the kitchen or garden by completing this google form or by just showing up. Kitchen vols - Please sign in at the office and stroll to the kitchen.

• Saturday 25th October, 9-10:30am, working bee morning
• Wednesday 29th October, 1:30-3:15pm - General kitchen help
• Thursday 30th October, 8:45-3:15pm - General kitchen help
• Tuesday 4th November, 8:45-3:15pm - Curry making
• Wednesday 5th November, 11-3:15pm - Curry making
• Thursday 6th November, 8:45-3:15pm - General kitchen help

• Friday 7th November, 8:45-3:15pm, Fresh Food Fair Day!

   

We love that the Surfside community always shows enthusiastic support for the Fresh Food Fair. You are the essential ingredient to the success of our biggest fundraising event of the year.

We appreciate and are very grateful for all the help you give us.

Click the below attachment to view the most up to date class stall volunteer roster.

Thank you to our sponsors!

The Surfside Primary Fresh Food Fair is the biggest event on the Surfside Primary School calendar, where we all come together for a festive evening including food, rides, market stalls, live music, art, games, silent auction, entertainment and much more.

Your sponsorship and support of our Fresh Food Fair ensures the continuation of the Surfside Primary School Kitchen and Garden Program, which helps our students build vital skills.

Year 3 Marine Biology Incursion Report - Student Report

In term three 3️⃣ we learned lots about marine biology 🧬 we learnt about all kinds of animals and plants that live in The Great Southern Reef 🪸 We classified them as producers, consumers and predators. We enjoyed being given a plant or animal from the Great Southern Reef and putting it into a life cycle. 

One thing that I loved learning about was the blue devil 😈,it is a big fish that basically glows blue!!

One thing that I loved learning about was the flat head and how it ate food!

In week 2 the Year 3 students had a marine biology incursion! A marine biologist named Catia came to tell us about the Great Southern Reef!🪸 

If you don’t already know about it, the great Southern Reef is a reef that spreads across Western Australia all the way to Tasmania and across to the border between New South Wales and Queensland! It was amazing to learn that the great Southern reef is the biggest reef, at 8000km long, in Australia and was only named in 2021.

When Catia came into the steam lab, she showed us that the Great Southern Reef is on our doorstep . She also showed us some seaweed, shells and shark eggs that she had collected after the storm!⛈️Catia let us use the microscope to look at seaweed up close, it was so cool. 😎She also showed us some videos of sharks 🦈 and weedy sea dragons 🐉 that they had filmed! 

By Iris Whelan and Clara Shaw

Thank you 🙏 and have a great weekend!!

Year 6 Parliament Incursion

Our Year 6 students participated in a Parliament incursion which allowed the students the opportunity to examine the democratic process and build their understanding of the three levels of government in an interactive way. They actively participated in a Federal Parliament role play to illustrate how bills become laws. 

Important Upcoming Dates. 

With a busy fortnight ahead please continue to check out our Dates for your Diary page and know what is coming up!

October

Wed 29th - Foundation 2026 Information Evening 6.45-7.45pm 

Thu 30th -   Breakfast Club in the kitchen - 7.45am-8.30am

Fri 31st -     Assembly @ 2.30 in the courtyard (World Teacher's Day)

November

Wed 5th      Foundation 2026 Transition Session #1 

Thu 6th -    No Breakfast Club

Fri 7th -       Fresh Food Fair 2025 (note change of date for 2025)

Mon 10th   School Dental Program TBC

Tue 11th -  Remembrance Day Assembly @ 10.30am in the courtyard

Wed 12th - Emergency Management Drill

                       Foundation 2026 Transition Session #2

                       Year 5 Ecolinc Incursion

Thu 13th -  Breakfast Club in the kitchen - 7.45am-8.30am

Fri 14th -     Assembly @ 2.30 in the courtyard

Mon 17th-Fri 21st - Book Fair Week in the library

Tues 18th - School Council at 5.30pm (Finance 5.00pm)

Wed 19th - Foundation 2026 Transition Session #3

Thu 20th -  Breakfast Club in the kitchen - 7.45am-8.30am

Fri 21st -     Proposed F-2 Sports Morning - school oval & basketball court 

Surfside Primary School 2025 School Review Wrap Up - Final Report

During term 3 Surfside Primary School participated in our school review. This is a process that takes place every 5 years and helps to set the school's next strategic plan and goals for the next 4 years. The school review process is coordinated by an independant company and supported by the regional Department of Education team. The 2025 review was facilitated and supported by the following:

• Robyn Blackie (Review facilitator)
• Shelby Papadopolous (Barwon Region Senior Education Improvement Leader)
• Nigel Holloway (Challenge Partner - Principal - Hamlyn Banks PS)
• Louise Medler (Challenge Partner -
• Sharon Hogan (Barwon Region Education Improvement Leader)
• Megan Hay-Smith (Student Support Services
• Sabrina Lunn (Surfside PS - School Council President)

Key findings on student outcomes and school practices - Community Report

In term 3, 2025, Surfside Primary School, a coastal school in the South Western Victoria Region (SWVR) with an enrolment of 544 students, completed their 4 yearly school review to inform development of the next School Strategic Plan (SSP). The review was facilitated by an independent, external school reviewer with input from the school’s senior education improvement leader and 2 challenge partners. The principal, school council president and key staff members were also part of the school review panel.

The following provides a summary of the review’s key findings regarding student learning and wellbeing outcomes and supporting school practices:

• The 2021-2025 SSP goal to improve learning growth for every student was partially achieved, with one target achieved, one target partially achieved, and 2 targets not able to be assessed. The panel found that student literacy and numeracy outcomes were stable or improving, particularly reading and writing, with most students at or above expected levels. Students needing additional support were accessing in class and tutoring support and demonstrating learning growth. Students performing well above expected levels could benefit from further support to extend their learning, particularly in reading.
• The 2021-2025 SSP goal to improve student voice, agency and leadership was partially met, with 3 targets partially achieved and working towards one target. In the past 4 years, the school focused on improving learning and wellbeing outcomes for students and on providing tiered supports to meet the needs of students requiring additional learning and wellbeing intervention. This was reflected in the progress made towards improving students’ positive perceptions of the school’s teaching and learning approaches and engagement and wellbeing strategies. Student survey data indicated high positive endorsement rates for most survey factors.
• The 2021-25 SSP goal to strengthen the mental health and wellbeing of all students was partially met, with one target met and working toward one target. Wellbeing was a key area of focus and students reported increased levels of emotional awareness and regulation, learning confidence, connectedness to school, respect for diversity and sense of inclusion, and were positive about how the school managed bullying. The school continued to work proactively with students and their families to improve school attendance rates. The wellbeing team worked with families of students with high absence rates to support them to reengage in school. 
• School leaders had built a positive and student centred culture and developed shared understandings of how students learned best in a safe and orderly learning environment. The school was an early adopter of the Department of Education’s (DE) Disability Inclusion Program (DIP) and the successful DIP applications provided resourcing to support the diverse needs of students in the school environment. A significant investment was made in Education Support (ES) staff and in a range of programs to meet the additional needs of those students. 
• The school implemented a systematic phonics based literacy approach and teachers adapted their teaching practices to include the new approach to reading. A whole-school instructional model was in place and progress was made in using evidence-based teaching and learning approaches, particularly through the Professional Learning Communities (PLC) approach. A focus on explicit teaching within the instructional model was observed and explicit and consistent classroom routines were observed. The panel found the school was well placed to implement the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model (VTLM) 2.0.
• Student leadership opportunities were broadened by the wellbeing team which included student voice captains from each class who met regularly with wellbeing leaders to discuss school issues.  
• A school highlight was the Surfside Garden and Kitchen program for Years 3-6 students. Students were timetabled weekly for 2 terms to participate in the kitchen program. The program relied on the support of parents to provide low student/adult ratios and the students worked in teams to cook an element of the meal which they shared at the end of their session. The school garden project was co-ordinated by an ES staff member with teacher support, and volunteer parents also assisted in the regular gardening tasks. Year 3 to 6 classes were rostered to work in the garden on Thursdays for one hour. The produce was incorporated into the kitchen program to develop student understanding of the concept of garden to plate. Students, parents and staff confirmed the kitchen and garden program was a school highlight.

Focus areas for the next School Strategic Plan

The school review panel recommends the following areas of focus be prioritised in the next School Strategic Plan:

• continue whole school, research-based approaches to literacy and  numeracy 
• continue to strengthen collaboration practices within teams
• assessment practices which improve differentiation of teaching and learning to meet student needs 
• continue to embed student agency and voice practices in and out of the classroom
• continue to strengthen multi-tiered teaching and learning and wellbeing practices 
• embed strategies to improve student attendance, particularly chronic absenteeism. 

School Council 2025 -October Meeting Wrap Up

Our school council representatives met on Tuesday evening to discuss the following areas:

• BYOD policy changes and steps forward for Surfside PS
• 2026 Planning - workforce planning updates, enrolment projections, class sizes, etc
• Budget overview and planning for 2026
• Proposed and ongoing maintenance and works
• Fresh Food Fair update
• Canteen update - an expression of interest will be live in week 6 following the FFF

School Council 2025 - November Meeting 

Our school council look forward to our next meeting which will be held on Tuesday 18th November:

• Finance Meeting at 5.00pm
• Council Meeting at 5.30pm