From the Principal's Desk
Dear CGPS Families and Friends,
We have reached the mid-way point of the school year. I am really pleased to report that our preliminary NAPLAN, Phonics Check and Attitudes to School Survey (AtoSS) data has shown that the hard work we have been doing to improve our teaching practices and refine our programs, as well as the continued priorities around improving safety and considering classroom environmental impacts, has begun to show in our school results.
Some of our most significant improvements have included:
A 29% increase from 2025 to 2026 in students performing at or above standard in numeracy in year 5 (45% to 74%)
Including an 18% gain in cohort growth (year 3 2024 to year 5 2026) in numeracy from 56% to 74%
A 14% increase from 2025 to 2026 in students performing at or above standard in reading in year 5 (59% to 73%).
Including an 8% gain in cohort growth (year 3 2024 to year 5 2026) in reading from 65% to 73%
64% of students at or above expected levels in the Statewide Year 1 Phonics Check, this is 16% higher than the similar school average, 9% higher than other schools in our network and 6% higher than the state average.
AtoSS data indicates positive endorsement from students in year 4-6 has grown by:
9% in the effective classroom behaviour domain (from 66% in 2025 to 75% in 2026)
17% (from 46% in 2025 to 63% in 2026) for the question "students at this school treat teachers with respect"
21% (from 32% in 2025 to 53% in 2026) for the question "students at this school treat each other with respect"
9% in the managing bullying domain (from 57% in 2025 to 66% in 2026)
11% (from 56% in 2025 to 67% in 2026) for the question "I feel safe at this school"
11% (from 45% in 2025 to 56% in 2026) for the question "The school deals fairly with bullying problems"
AtoSS data also indicates that
12% less students indicate that they have "experienced bullying this term" (25% in term 2, 2025 to 13% in term 2, 2026)
8% less students indicate that they have "experienced racism this term" (24% in term 2, 2025 to 16% in term 2, 2026)
I am also pleased to report that our attendance data is tracking better than this time last year also. It is great that our students and families understand the importance of coming to school every day, unless genuinely unwell. And when absent, reporting the absence and reason on Compass. The better a child's attendance is at school, the more learning they are exposed to and the greater their achievement outcomes become.
I wish to acknowledge the dedication and professionalism of all of our school staff so far this year. Despite the industrial unrest and AEU action, staff have remained vigilant in their duties and have not stopped focussing on our school improvement goals or their students' academic and wellbeing needs. It is testament to the value of every staff member, whether teachers or education support staff.
BEHAVIOUR IMPROVEMENT in FOCUS
We have had some pleasing results following our focus on implementing more rigorous positive classroom management strategies, including being vigilant in following up inappropriate behaviours that impact the safety or learning opportunities of others. We have seen a marked reduction in the number of classroom behaviour incidents this semester and an increase in student engagement and learning outcomes. We will continue to ensure these processes are being consistently embedded across the school and ask for continued parent support when notifications are received that your child has been given a consequence.
If you receive a notification that your child has been sent to a reflection class or has been removed from class by leadership, this means they have already been reminded about their behaviour but it has continued. They go to a nearby class or to a leadership member's office and take 5-10 minutes to re-think their behaviour and reset before returning. They will sometimes complete their work in the alternate space. Following this, there are no further consequences unless the inappropriate behaviour continues. For continued inappropriate behaviour, consequences such as a Community Service or Re-Teach are applied. Students complete these consequences during their own lunch time.
Next semester, we will be implementing some new strategies and processes to try and reduce the number of behaviour incidents that occur in the yard during playtimes. This may include some trial weeks of running different break times - more breaks but for less time. We have already made improvements to our lining up and entering/exiting classroom routine by implementing lining up in alphabetical order and having students who are late back from breaks or being silly in line, practising how to line up during their next break. It's amazing how quickly the students have adapted to the new system and that there are no more "I was first" arguments with pushing and shoving!
MILESTONE STAFF
Congratulations to the following staff members who have reached some amazing milestones in their teaching careers. Mrs Monica Curnow, Mrs Karryn Caruana and Mrs Anna Pawsey have reached 50, 40 and 35 years of teaching respectively. We are very lucky that they have all completed the majority of their teaching journeys at Courtenay Gardens PS, positively impacting hundreds of students between them! Amazing work, ladies. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do for the students and community of CGPS. Mrs Caruana was surprised by ALL 5 prep classes, led by her own class, filing through the staff room to present her with some flowers.
STAFFING NEWS and MOVEMENTS
I wish to thank Mrs Ann-Marie Pearce and Mrs Kristel Walker who have been in their Acting Leadership roles for the past four weeks. They have done an exceptional job as Acting Assistant Principal and Acting Learning Specialist respectively.
I also wish to acknowledge the amazing work of some of our replacement staff who have been covering classes for us this semester.
Mrs Wallace has been looking after 6D while Mrs Spencer has been recovering from two knee operations. Mrs Wallace will continue teaching 6D for the first few weeks of Term 3 until Mrs Spencer returns. It has been great having one consistent teacher for the duration of Mrs Spencer's absence.
Miss Kimli Yap has been teaching 2C for the past 6 weeks after previously completing just a few CRT (Casual Relief Teacher) days here and there. I know she was nervous about the challenge of full time teaching to begin with, but she has proven to be a most effective, caring teacher and has provided wonderful support for the students of 2C.
Mr Tim Joustra has been teaching 4A to provide stability and consistency to the class while Mrs Walker has been in her Acting Learning Specialist role.
Miss Jess Boskell will be missed by the children of 1D whom she has taught for all of term 2, following her return to us from teaching interstate. Miss Boskell will be moving into 2C for the remainder of the year as Miss Mohr takes leave.
Fortunately for us, all of these wonderful teachers will remain with us in some capacity into next semester as replacement staff for other teachers taking long service leave or occasional absence days. Classes with teachers taking leave in Term 3 will be contacted via Compass regarding temporary arrangements and replacement teachers.
Next term we are welcoming Mrs Emma Wright back after her maternity leave. Mrs Wright will be joining our year 3 team, sharing the teaching of 3D with Mrs Kellett. This is due to the fact that Mrs Sam Piastrino is leaving us to have her second baby! The year 3 students and our staff are going to miss Mrs Piastrino but we are all very excited for her and husband Chris and can't wait to hear their baby news next term.
We also welcome Miss Mitchell (1D) back from her leave, and Mr Flanagan (Assistant Principal) also returns to us from his placement from the start of Term 3.
ROAD SAFETY - CASEY COUNCIL PROGRAM
The City of Casey is excited for Courtenay Gardens Primary School to participate in the Safe Around Schools Program in Term 3, 2026 to educate children and parents about road safety around schools. While there are no immediate solutions, a collaborative approach between schools, council, parents, and students can help ensure that everyone arrives safely and on time each day.
We strongly encourage all parents and carers to complete the online survey in their preferred language via Safe Around Schools | Casey Conversations (or by scanning the QR code in the flyer that was sent out on Compass). Your feedback will provide valuable insights into your experiences and perspectives as a parent/carer within your school community.
INDUSTRIAL ACTION and REMINDERS
You may have heard in the news that the recent EBA offer was rejected by the voting AEU members and that further industrial action, including the possibility of more stop-work (strike) days may occur from early next term. As I understand it, this will continue as school staff move to negotiate better funding for schools, equitable pay increases for all staff and maintainable workloads and conditions. Hopefully something will be achieved before too long that will see improvements to the workforce shortage and exodus we have been experiencing in education over the past few years. I understand and share the frustration this may cause to our families and hope this will not cause too many unmanageable inconveniences.
I will endeavour to keep the community informed of any impacts this will have as soon as I have the relevant information. I am also hopeful that we will see the Government provide full and recommended school funding to all our Government schools so that we can continue to make positive impacts on the lives and future opportunities for our students.
With mid-year reports published to your childrens' Compass Profiles this week, just a reminder that due to the AEU industrial action, a ‘ban on all aspects of work related to the provision of written comments on student reports that will be provided to parents’ was implemented for its members. Therefore, reports will only indicate student achievement against the relevant curriculum areas of the Victorian Curriculum (progression points).
SHOP FOR YOUR SCHOOL at CASEY CENTRAL
Casey Central are running Shop for your School this August. Every dollar spent at Casey Central can be turned into bonus points for participating schools, giving our school and families the chance to win a share of $10,000 in prizes.
During August, you are encouraged to shop at Casey Central, then upload your receipts to allocate points to your school.
We will share a link early in Term 3 where you can track our school's progress. If you participate, you will also go into a weekly prize draw for a chance to win a $250 Coles Gift Card.
SCHOOL and GATE OPENING and CLOSING TIMES - Reminder
Gates open at 8.30am
Gates close at 9.05am
Gates re-open at 3.20pm
Gates close at 3.45pm
Outside of these times, entrance and exit from the school is via the front office only.
LAST DAY of TERM and HOLIDAYS
I'm looking forward to wearing my PJs to school on Friday for our Student Leader's Pyjama Day. Make sure your students have warm pyjamas to wear! Slippers are fine too, provided they are close-toed and suitable for playing outside.
I wish everyone a wonderful winter school holiday period and look forward to seeing everyone refreshed and back at school on the 13th July. If you find the kids are at a loose end over the break, consider having them enter one of these Royal Lifesaving Victoria colouring or writing competitions. They might even win a swimming prize pack.
Take care,
Alison
