Principal's Report

Grappling with keeping the newsletter brief, but also have a long list of very positive things to share, is a wonderful conundrum. I have done my best to summarise what is a suite of extremely positive news to share; enjoy!

$9.8 Million Funding to HPS!

What an incredible day it is when you get to welcome the Deputy Premier and Education Minister to our school to announce a nearly $10 million investment in significant upgrades and the creation of a multipurpose gymnasium for our students!

We will share plans and a detailed breakdown of actions as soon as we are able to, and we look forward to working together to deliver this exciting infrastructure. 

A significant thank you goes to the Development and Engagement Working Group for their tireless efforts over the last four years; very much a rollercoaster of occurrences throughout this time, but the team, led by Mark Alexander and Travers Nuttal, deserves much of the credit for this outcome.

Cross Country Success

I’m very pleased to share that our school won both the overall School’s Shield for Best-Performed School, as well as the shield for Best Performed School (moderated for student population). This is an outstanding achievement and one that is rarely accomplished, particularly by larger schools winning the moderated award. A massive congratulations to all students who competed, showing so much hard work and resilience, as well as to Jordy and Yemi for their work in supporting students to be so successful. 

Perimeter Fences

Upcoming, we will be replacing the majority of the school’s fencing around the perimeter to address ongoing maintenance issues that we are facing with plinth boards rotting and pulling away, as well as bent and rusted posts and panels and gates that are not reliably latching properly. It is hoped that this will be completed in the upcoming school holidays, however, we will keep you updated on progress. 

System Leading 2024 Performance!

Our 2024 Annual Report has been finalised by School Council and ratified by the Department of Education. It is available on our website or by clicking the link below. This report, which contains a range of data sets that are highly-valued and pre-populated by the Department, as well as commentary around the initiatives the school has implemented to influence results, provides a snapshot of performance for our school. Pleasingly, there is a lot to be proud of, most specifically, higher than State and Similar School* performance in every area outlined. These areas are below: 

• Parent satisfaction
• Prep – 6 English outcomes 
• Prep – 6 Mathematics outcomes
• 7 of 8 NAPLAN outcomes
• Managing bullying
• Sense of Connectedness 
• Attendance (better than state, below similar schools) 

As mentioned, having performed more strongly that Similar Schools on all of the above areas is an incredible achievement and one that we are both proud of and continue to use as momentum for continued improvement. Data at a more granular level enables us to define clear areas for growth, which we absolutely have, to see us improve further in future years. Pleasingly, our response to some of this data which we’ve had since last year (eg. 2024 NAPLAN Data) has seen our indicative 2025 NAPLAN data show strong growth in all areas. We look forward to sharing this with you when it is finalised and we are able.

*Similar Schools are a group of Victorian government schools that are like HPS, taking into account the school’s socioeconomic background of students, the number of non-English speaking students and the size and location of the school.

Rotary, BAYCISS & Parent Donations

We had the pleasure last week at assembly to have Hampton Rotary, Brighton Rotary and BAYCISS present our school with a combined $13,000 in donations to support funding for the upgrade to our Kitchen Garden space. This provides us with the opportunity to install cover for tables as well as outdoor kitchens in the space. Alongside funding from Sandringham Community Bank ($15,000), fencing will also be installed in this space. 

Similarly, we have had significant parent donations and contributions recently with the installation of a petition between the sandpit and what will be a garden bed full of edibles, to stop the sand spilling into it. A huge thank you to Rob Matthews (Harry Matthews' dad) for constructing the wall over a number of afternoons/evenings and Florent Hostein (Sebastian Hostein) from James Hardie for the donation of the materials.

We are enormously grateful for the contribution from our community to what will be an incredible program from Term 3.

Posca Partnership

I am very pleased to share that we have a partnership with POSCA Markers that will see our Grade 3 students engaging in ideating, designing and creating a beautiful mural on the aforementioned wall in the Kitchen Garden, to brighten up the space and tap into their wonderful creativity. This is an initiative of POSCA and comes to the school completely free of charge, with equipment, artist hours and support. 

Acting Principal

From tomorrow, I am beginning a five-week period of Long Service Leave to visit friends and family in Europe (along with a fair bit of fun in between!) with my wife and children. I’m very grateful to Cam and Amanda for stepping in throughout my absence; I know the school is in very good hands!

Cam Azer will be Acting Principal whilst I am on leave. 

End of Year Dates

Please find below another reminder regarding dates confirmed for end of year events.

• Soiree - Wednesday 17th September @ St Leonard’s Leonardian Centre
• Art Trail - Wednesday 29th October
• Book Fair – 27th – 29th October 
• Curriculum Day planning for 2026 - Monday 15th December
• Graduation – Wednesday 17th December @ St Leonard’s Leonardian Centre
• School finishes – Friday 19th December @1:30pm

To stay up to date with all events and key dates, see the Compass Calendar.