Ms D Principal Message

Parent Opinion Survey

Our school is conducting the annual Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey and is seeking your feedback. The survey, offered by the Department of Education, is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behavior, and student engagement. We want to know about and celebrate our current strengths as well as hear about ways or areas of improvement.

The survey is conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete.  We have already had 51 (15%) of the 337 families respond to the survey and would love to have as many families participate as possible.

All families are invited to participate in the survey: https://research.orima.com/parent

School PIN: 417407

The survey will remain open until Friday 19 September 2025. Opportunities to complete the survey onsite are available on Wednesday before Assembly, our grade 6 leaders will be around with iPads in the hall.

School Musical Update – A Night at the Museum 

Our school production is just around the corner, and excitement is building! Students have been working hard on their performances, and we are so proud of their dedication and creativity.

To help bring everything together, we have two full-school rehearsals onsite with Kinect to Dance on Thursday 28 August and Thursday 4 September. These sessions will allow students to polish their routines and fine-tune the production as a whole.

Friday 5 September will be a whole school dress rehearsal from 12 - 2:30pm.  All students who are participating in the musical will be required to come to school dressed with the items as described below (see compass email from Elizabeth for more information)

On Monday 8 September, we’ll be holding a full rehearsal at Lauriston Girls’ School (our performance venue). Students will be transported to and from Lauriston by bus on the day.

🎟️ Tickets are now available for purchase via TryBooking until Friday 5 September. We encourage families to secure theirs early, as this is set to be a truly memorable event for our school community.

Thank you for your support — we can’t wait to share this spectacular show with you!

School Uniform

At Toorak Primary, we take great pride in how smart and well-presented our students look in their school uniform. Wearing the uniform neatly and with pride not only reflects the high standards we set for learning, but also helps keep our students easily identifiable and safe when out in the community.

Thank you to the families who have supported their students to be in full school uniform each day.  We have noticed an increase in students wearing the correct school uniform when at school.  We will continue to monitor this over the rest of the term.  You may receive a notification from the school if your child is regularly out of school uniform.

2026 Learning Partner Questionnaire

Each year, Toorak Primary School students select the names of 5 students that they learn well with, and in 2025 we would like to include discussion with their parents/carers.  We will endeavour to place your child/ren in a class with at least one of the students that you/they have nominated that they learn best with.

We aim to set up each year for success, for teachers and students. This means that as well as making sure that all students have at least one of their nominated learning partners, we also endeavour to ensure that there is a balance of personalities, academic abilities, interests and preferences in each class.

We also acknowledge that in certain cases, some students are not a good fit together in a class. If there is someone you think your child should not be placed with please email toorak.ps@education.vic.gov.au with a short explanation by Friday 19 September 2025. Please include your child's first and last name and also the class they are currently in. Please don’t assume that requests from previous years are sufficient information – we acknowledge that relationships, behaviours and interactions change year to year.

To ensure that students and their families feel confident about nominating 5 learning partners that they learn best with, we are asking you to complete the attached form with your child(ren). Please make sure that as a family you agree that all of the names (surnames will need to be included) on the list make great learning partners for your child. We also ask that you select 5 different names as Learning Partners.

Learning Partner Form

We ask that this form is completed by no later than Friday 19 September 2025.

Leaving TPS? Moving House? Moving Overseas? Visa Expiring?

If you have any intentions to unfortunately leave TPS in the next 6 months, please let the school office know. Your decision doesn't need to be confirmed and doesn't mean your child loses their spot if you change your mind, but giving us a heads up is very helpful. This information is vital for the school to budget and plan for staffing in 2026. We don't want any children to be placed in classes that are too big or only have a few students, but this relies on us knowing who will be here. If you suspect you may be moving house, travelling overseas or you know your visa is expiring, please inform the school via email: toorak.ps@education.vic.gov.au at your earliest convenience.

In The Classroom

As much as I enjoy leading the school, I must admit that I also love being in the classroom working with our learners. Last week, I had the pleasure of teaching PC a maths lesson on making numbers by adding two or more groups. I was truly amazed at the students’ knowledge of number facts—especially in addition—considering they have only been at school for just over 100 days. Some students confidently explained, for example, that 17 is three less than 20, while others were able to show me more than four different ways to make the number 10. They even demonstrated a strong understanding of zero as a place value holder.

Our teachers continue to set high expectations for all learners, and seeing the children rise to these challenges makes my role as principal incredibly rewarding. I was also delighted to have several Grade 3 students share their digitally published narratives with me. We certainly have some talented young authors who are using language to craft highly engaging texts. I would encourage all parents of Year 3 students to ask your child to share their writing with you—you will be just as impressed as I was!

Father’s Day/Special Person’s Day

At Toorak Primary we know that families come in all shapes and sizes, and we are mindful that Father’s Day can mean different things to different children. That’s why we celebrate Father’s Day / Special Person’s Day—a chance to recognise and thank the important people in our students’ lives who care for, guide and support them.

We warmly invite families to join us for our Father’s Day / Special Person’s Day Breakfast BBQ on Friday morning before school. Our traditional Father’s Day / Special Person’s Day Stall will also be running, giving students the opportunity to purchase a small gift. 

We look forward to celebrating together while respecting and valuing the many special relationships in our school community.