Principal's report

Dear Parents & Carers,

Welcome back to Term 3! It has been wonderful to see our students return to school ready to reconnect with their classmates, settle back into familiar routines and continue building on the learning and progress they made throughout the first half of the year.

Term 3 provides an important opportunity for students to deepen their understanding, strengthen their skills and work towards their individual learning goals. Through whole-class teaching, targeted small-group instruction and differentiated learning activities, our teachers will continue to respond to the individual needs of every student.

We look forward to another positive and productive term and to continuing our strong partnership with families as we support every student to grow, achieve and feel successful in their learning.

NAPLAN

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment undertaken by students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. It assesses essential skills in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy. NAPLAN provides a point-in-time measure of student achievement and is one of several sources of information used alongside teacher judgement and school-based assessment to inform teaching and learning. The 2026 NAPLAN testing period took place from Wednesday 11 March to Monday 23 March. 

I am delighted to share that we have now received our 2026 NAPLAN results, and I am extremely pleased with the strong outcomes achieved by our students across the assessed areas. These results reflect the commitment and effort of our students, as well as the ongoing work of our teachers to provide high-quality, targeted teaching and learning. Individual Student Reports have also been provided to families, outlining each child’s achievement.

The tables below display the percentage of students at Elsternwick Primary School who achieved results within the Strong and Exceeding proficiency levels in each NAPLAN assessment area. Together, these levels represent students who are meeting or exceeding the challenging but reasonable expectations established for their year level at the time of testing. By examining these proficiency levels, we can identify areas of particular strength, consider how our achievement compares with similar and network schools, and determine where further improvement and support may be required. 

At the time of publication, 2026 state and national comparison data had not yet been made available. The 2025 Victorian state percentages have therefore been included as a broad reference point only. While they provide some useful context, they should not be interpreted as a direct comparison with the 2026 school, similar-school and network results. 

It is also important to consider the size of our NAPLAN cohorts when interpreting percentage differences. Approximately 67 Year 3 students and 57 Year 5 students completed the assessments. This means that one student represents approximately 1.5 percentage points in Year 3 and 1.8 percentage points in Year 5. As a result, what may appear to be a noticeable percentage difference can sometimes represent only one or two students. For example, the four-percentage-point difference between our Year 5 reading result and the similar-schools result is equivalent to a movement of just over two students within our cohort.

Every student represented within these results is, of course, important. Students whose results indicate that they require additional assistance are known to the school, and their NAPLAN information is considered alongside classroom assessments, teacher observations and other learning data. This information is being used to inform classroom differentiation and our targeted literacy and numeracy intervention program, led by Cheryl Clarke and supported by other staff working part-time across the school.

The Year 5 grammar and punctuation result represents our clearest area for further improvement, while the Year 3 grammar and punctuation result was a particular strength relative to the comparison groups. We will examine the Year 5 information carefully and use it to inform future teaching priorities. However, it is also important to consider these results alongside the writing outcomes, which were closely aligned with those of similar and network schools in both year levels.

NAPLAN writing assesses students across ten criteria and considers a combination of authorial elements—such as audience, ideas, text structure, cohesion and vocabulary—and technical elements, including sentence structure, punctuation and spelling. The writing result therefore provides insight into how students integrate and apply these skills within a complete piece of writing, rather than answering spelling or grammar questions in isolation. Our positive writing outcomes are encouraging, while the separate spelling and grammar and punctuation results provide useful diagnostic information about the specific areas that require continued attention. 

Principal’s Citizenship Award

Congratulations to Polly J in Year 6 on receiving the Term 2 Principal’s Citizenship Award. Polly received this award for being an active and positive member of our school community who continually strives to make EPS an even better place. She is caring, compassionate and consistently demonstrates honesty and integrity. Polly leads by example, celebrates the successes of others and builds genuine, positive relationships with those around her. Her respectful nature and thoughtful consideration of how her actions impact others make her a wonderful role model for our school community. Congratulations, Polly—this recognition is thoroughly deserved.

Intention to Leave As we begin planning for 2027, we kindly ask any families who are intending to leave our school community at the end of 2026—whether due to relocation or other circumstances—to please notify us as soon as possible by emailing the office at elsternwick.ps@education.vic.gov.au.

We will be submitting our 2027 enrolment projections to the Department of Education this week, so any early advice would be greatly appreciated and extremely helpful in supporting our planning for next year.

Emergency Contact Numbers

From time to time, we may need to contact parents or carers for various reasons, such as when a child is unwell, to share important information, or to arrange a meeting. Please ensure that any changes to your contact details, or those of your emergency contacts, are communicated to the office immediately.

Emergency Preparedness at EPS

Keeping our students, staff and visitors safe includes being prepared to respond to unexpected situations. Victorian government schools are required to conduct at least one emergency drill each term. These drills allow us to check that our procedures, evacuation routes and assembly points are effective, while helping students and staff become familiar with what they may need to do during an emergency. Each drill is reviewed afterwards so that any necessary improvements can be made. 

At EPS, drills are presented as planned practice activities. Staff provide calm, clear and age-appropriate instructions, and students are reminded that the purpose of practising is to help everyone respond safely and confidently.

Throughout the year, students may participate in different types of emergency drills, including:

• On-site evacuation – moving to a safe location elsewhere within the school grounds. 
• Off-site evacuation – leaving the school grounds and moving to our designated assembly point at Elsternwick Park. 
• Lockdown or lock-out – securing school buildings when there is a potential safety concern on or near the school grounds. 
• Shelter-in-place – remaining safely inside due to an external hazard or emergency. 

These reflect the core emergency procedures identified by the Victorian Department of Education. 

Supporting Children Who Feel Worried

Children can respond to emergency drills in different ways. Some may be curious, while others may feel unsettled by the alarm, disruption to their routine or uncertainty about what is happening. Victorian Government health guidance recommends taking children’s concerns seriously, allowing them to talk about their feelings, providing truthful and age-appropriate information, and maintaining familiar routines wherever possible. 

Families can assist by:

• listening to their child and acknowledging how they felt without dismissing or making too much of the concern 
• explaining that schools practise these procedures so adults and children know what to do 
• answering questions simply and honestly, without introducing unnecessary or frightening detail 
• helping their child identify a strategy they can use, such as slow breathing or speaking with a trusted adult 
• returning attention to usual activities and routines following the drill. 

Some students may benefit from additional preparation or support before participating. If your child experiences significant anxiety or has additional needs that may make emergency drills particularly challenging, please contact the office on 8534 6100 to request advance notice of upcoming drills.

Have a great weekend,

Michael