Thank You

As we bring to a close the end to the school year, we do so with a sense of gratitude for our entire school community and also with a much broader sense of perspective in light of the tragic events on Sunday afternoon at Bondi Beach. I appreciate that there is a sense of deep pain and hurt amongst a community in Caulfield, in particular our Jewish families and those directly or indirectly impacted by these horrific events.

I offer my sincere condolences and express my care for our school community and our broader community. Events of this significance impact on all of us and provide a sense of perspective. As we enter into the school holiday break, I am grateful that our school community and staff have worked to ensure that our final week of term has maintained a sense of routine and a positive climate for learning and wellbeing. I appreciate families that have approached me, come and spoken to me or reached out. Thank you for supporting our students and our staff during a challenging final week to the school year.

Our final newsletter looks a little different this week with some gratitude shared throughout the school as we put a full stop to the end of the school year.

Our Teaching Staff

Thank you to our teaching staff that have contributed to such a positive year in our school. They work to support our students each and everyday, they are deeply committed to doing the little things and putting such thought and care in to their work. Our staff seek to maintain the high standards expected of them and in addition to this, continuously seek to improve our school and all aspects of our teaching, learning and wellbeing approaches. We are very fortunate to have a collection of teaching staff that have high expectations of themselves and one another, they have worked to support our students and our school community each day this year and I appreciate all that they have done in support of our school.

Our Education Support Staff

There is much unheralded work that influences our school on a daily basis, our education support team are often the first person you see in the morning in the office, they are often the staff behind the scenes, in our classrooms and around the school that contribute to our school operating so smoothly, never failing to go the extra distance to support a student or an event in our school. We are so thankful for our education support team and the work they do throughout our school.

Our Leadership Team

Thank you to our leadership team that have contributed to a very positive environment for learning and supported much of what the school has achieved throughout this year. Allowing the school to author a new strategic plan, a new annual implementation plan and driving some really fantastic outcomes throughout our school. My sincere thanks to Morioka sensei, Morita sensei, Onda sensei, Mrs Weston and Miss Ryan as our School Improvement Team. Our Middle Leaders including Murray sensei, Mrs Watts, Kurata sensei, Mrs Newman and Miss Molloy and Professional Learning Communities leaders including Miss Guzman, Mrs Curlewis, Okano sensei. Thank you for your valued leadership throughout our school.

Our Students

Our students are amazing! They are kind, supportive wonderful examples that set such a wonderful platform for us to work with them on a daily basis. I am continuously taken aback by what they can achieve in their classrooms, their ability to support one another and to look after each other. They set a wonderful tone for our school, fully embrace the expectations of our staff and themselves and take every opportunity to learn and challenge themselves. They are a pleasure to work with and a great credit to our families and the greater influences that they have on them that allow them to present to our school in this manner.

Our Families

On behalf of all our staff, I acknowledge and thank our CPS families for their continued support over the year. The partnership that exists between families and staff is something we all truly appreciate. Thank you for working with us and supporting the best interests of our students (your children). To those parents and carers that we farewell, thank you for your generous support of our school and the connection that you have cultivated with our classrooms, our staff and with our school community. I appreciate the generosity and voluntary support offered in so many aspects of our school environment, for your ideas, your enthusiasm for our school and the trust you have that allows us to work with your child each and every day.

Our Graduates

Congratulations to our 2025 graduates, it was so lovely to join with you on Tuesday evening and celebrate your achievements and the culmination of your primary schooling. Congratulations on all that you achieved in your final year of primary school. They legacy you have left on many of us that have seen you grow, mature, challenges yourselves and thrive in your time with us. We are all exceptionally proud of who you have become and we wish you every success in the next stage of your lives.

New Beginnings

Thank you to Miss Ryan and her partner Jono, Miss Guzman and her partner Ariel, Kato sensei and her husband, Teizo for allowing our staff to celebrate in your wonderful news recently. Miss Ryan, Miss Guzman and Kato sensei will all be welcoming their first child into the world in 2026 and will commence a period of family leave early in 2026. We were all so excited to share in this news and I know you will join with me in wishing Miss Ryan, Miss Guzman, Kato sensei and their partners and their growing bubs the very best over the coming months. All three teachers will begin the year in the classroom and we are in the process of undertaking recruitment to support their replacement teachers. We were also delighted to share in the news of Miss Guzman's engagement to her partner Ariel.

Our PFC

Our Parents and Friends Club bring a lot of fun and a sense of community to our school, establishing meaningful connections between our families and our school. My sincere thanks to our co-presidents, Yayoi and Maya for continuing to find innovative and fun ways to support our students. The generous and innovative support is felt across the school from our students, families and staff and have provided unique ways for our school to celebrate as a school community.

Our School Council

Thank you to our school council members that have taken an active and very supportive role in our school over the course of the year, to our executive team led by James, Sarah, Libby and Daniel and our sub-committee members and staff including Onda sensei and Morioka sensei. I am deeply appreciative of the time and passion that each of you have for our school and our students. Thank you for helping us make our school a great environment for our students.

Our Student Leaders

I have really appreciated seeing our student leaders step up and grow in confidence over the course of the year. Congratulations to Alice, Lewis, Eloise, Vivien, Masa, Ada, Noah, Naoki, James, Alex, Jasper, Hudson, Declan, Meina, Lenny and Anna on demonstrating your leadership on a daily basis in many ways throughout our school. I have enjoyed seeing you support our students, our teachers and lead with your values and your actions. Congratulations!

Congratulations to our 2026 Student Leadership Team that we had the pleasure of announcing at our final assembly this afternoon.

Midori House: Aidan R (Captain), Mae L (Vice Captain)
Aka House: Luke (Captain), Ayano (Vice Captain)
Kiiro House: Hudson (Captain), Eleanor (Vice Captain)
Ao House: Naoki (Captain), Julian (Vice Captain)
Student Community: Keira (Captain), Aoba (Vice Captain)
Student Voice: Ewan (Captain), Sebastian (Vice Captain)
School Vice Captains: Aki and Lucy
School Captains: Alex B and Ada

Our Award Winners

Congratulations to our award winners that have had their positive impact celebrated over recent weeks:

Terrific Kids Winners: Eleanor Y and Callum
Goldstein Award: Anastasia
Patterson Award for General Excellence: Willa and Vivien
Anderson School Dux: Reina
Bilingual Awards: Alice and Haruma
Visual Arts Award: Otis
Performing Arts Award: Sae
STEM Award: Declan
Sports Award: James S

Semester 2 Principal Award winners:

Prep

Year 1/2

Year 3/4

Year 5/6

Specialist

Ema

Thoma

Skye

Arlo

Sophia

Harper

Leo

Kaito

Ollie

Finn

Ashley

Henri

Frankie

Jiya

Remy

Wilden

Yuzu

Iris

Emmanuel

Finnlay

Mai

Ayaka

Louika

Milo

Ryan

Maya

Harper

Sen

Ayano

Haru

Rinka

Harper

Hina

Naoki

Nina

Francisco

Ada

Yavanna

Luke

Masa

Ethan

Zoe

Kai

Jasmine

Taishi

Sofia

Owen

May

Lani

Sebastian

Thank you to our families and school community for all the support offered throughout the year. On behalf of our staff, we feel incredibly fortunate to work alongside you. I wish you all a very safe and happy holiday break and we look forward to reconnecting with you in 2026.

Happy Holidays,

Edward Strain

Principal

Caulfield Primary School Newsletter

Excellence, Respect, Diversity, Responsibility, Kindness, Honesty

Issue 22 · 19 Dec 2025

In this issue