Out and about at Surfside

Mr Walsh (Principal) & Mrs Patterson (Assistant Principal)

Happy Father's (Special Person's) Day

Our Foundation students enjoyed a Father's Day and Special Persons lunch during the week and our year 4's enjoyed a game of dodgeball in the sunshine. We hope that our Surfside Dad's and the Special People in our kids lives have an amazing day on Sunday.

Bonanza Day Wrap

Wow!!!! What an amazing student led iinitiative that allowed our year 6 students the opportunity to create a business, advertise, work our profit and loss, invest and celebrate their hard work with an amazing day with our student community. The Year 6 students were lucky to have perfect conditions and it was great to see our students exploring the stalls, enjoying some sweet and savoury delights and spending quality time together. From face painting, bands and necklaces, smoothies, sushi, snow cones, churros, plenty of games and activities with prizes and even a woodfired pizza stall. All of our students showed a great display of our school values of Respect, Honesty, Teamwork and Achievement throughout our bonanza day and a big thank you to our year 6 teaching and education support staff for preparing the year 6 students with the skills to make the day a successful venture. A big thank you to our school community for their support.

2026 Planning & Preparation Well Under Way

As we come to the end of term 3 and enter spring we know that with all of the excitement that term 4 brings - junior swimming, Fresh Food Fair, school concert, junior sports day and everything else in between that 2025 will be a distant memory. As a school we have started considerable planning for 2026 and look forward to starting our 2026 Foundation transition sessions early next term. We are excited to confirm that we will have 4 classes of Foundation next year and we hope to confirm our Foundation team for 2026 prior to transition beginning. We will see a slight increase in student numbers for 2026 and with a minimum of 25 classes in 2026 this will put some pressure on learning spaces. We continue to meet with the Department of Education and Victorian School Building Authority to advocate for Surfside Primary School's needs and continued growth. We hope that we can update you in term 4 for a plan for 2026. If you are relocating in 2026 and won't be continuing at Surfside it would be great if you could let your classroom teacher or administration staff know.

Term 4 is just around the corner

As we enter the last 2 weeks of term 3 it is important that we are all ready for the busy nature of term 4. Here are some things to plan for or be aware of as we enter term 4 and the festive season:

Hats for Term 4 - Sun Protection Policy hats are mandatory for term 4 for all students to participate in outdoor activities and be outdoors during recess and lunch. If you need to order a hat for term 4 this can be done via DCS Uniforms - https://www.dcsuniforms.com.au/collections/surfside-primary-school
2025 Fresh Food Fair - Friday 7th November - keep an eye on upcoming newsletters regarding information for the Fresh Food Fair and it starts with a special page in this newsletter.

2025 School Annual Concert -

Thursday 27th November - students have been busy preparing for our upcoming concert and the staff have been busy organising for a massive Jungle Adventure at the Grove Outdoor Pavilion. Keep your eyes open for more information in term 4

F-2 Swimming Program

Our Swimming and Water Safety Program will be held in Term 4 over 2 weeks beginning Tuesday 7th October, for students in Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2. Surfside Primary is able to reduce the cost for families with a subsidy from the Department of Education's Positive Start Initiative'. All families who have paid at the start of the year only need to give consent through their Parent Compass. Families who have yet to pay can do this via compass and give consent. Call our office if you have any questions.

Preparation is the key to allow for a successful 2 weeks:

Have all clothing and swimming items labelled
Students should wear their swimming costume underneath their school clothes
Have an extra bag with swimming items (towell, change of underwear, goggle, etc)
Students are not allowed to get changed in shower or toilet cubicles as these need to be available for the general public
A hooded towel is great for students
Over the holidays it might help to do a couple of trips to the BASC pool to help your child with the routines and familiarise themselves with the area if they are feeling a little anxious or don't regularly do lessons.

Canteen Update

Thank you to the parents and members of our community who have expressed interest in re-establishing a canteen service at Surfside Primary School. We recognise the convenience this would provide to our school community.

After careful consideration via staff and school council, we've identified several operational challenges with external canteen operators, including financial sustainability, workplace health and safety requirements, school access, student ordering logistics and potential restrictions on our existing services like Camp Australia and Snack Shack programs. Most importantly, we must ensure that the administrative demands of an externally-run canteen service don't divert our focus from our primary mission: delivering excellent teaching and learning outcomes for our students. However, we remain open to exploring parent-led solutions and we would welcome a detailed proposal outlining how such a service might operate effectively within our school environment in conjunction with our canteen and food sharing policies.

We appreciate your understanding as we work to balance community needs with our core educational responsibilities.

Linking Art & Science - STEAM - Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Matematics)

A big thank you to Mrs Mercer, Mrs O'Toole and Mrs Richardson who have been linking in with STEAM based activities with a focus on design, construction, digital art and biology in the form of nature. This was a great showcase of the work completed across our specialist classes.

District Athletics

We had a large crew head to Landy Field Athletics Centre last week to compete in the School Sport Victoria District Athletics Carnival competing against other schools in the Bunjil District. There were many outstanding team and individual performances across a range of track and field events in very challenging conditions. These impressive performances will see a number of our students qualify for the Division event next week. A big thank you to Mr Baker and our 3-6 staff for their support during our 3-6 school sport program and most of all to our amazing support crew of parents and carers.

Surfside Snack Shack Update

A big thank you to the Surfside Snack Shack who have provided an opportunity for some mid week snacks while supporting community and world issues through a sustainable approach through term 3. Keep an eye out in term 4 each week via compass and the school Facebook page for the treat being offered for that week. As the weather warms up in term 4 there might be an increase in frozen fruit as well as some zooper dooper days. We have been able to celebrate some special events and connect with things happening around the school. A big thank you to Clancey, Gill, Mel and the Surfside Snack Shack for their great work and initiative throughout term 3.

All food items are in accordance with our Anaphylaxis Policy, being

nut free and sesame free. Dairy free options will also be available when possible.

Kitchen & Garden Program - Threatened Species Bake Off

Students in years 3 and 5 participated in the threatend species bake off this week. Check out the Kitchen and Garden page for more details. Students investigated and highlighted an Australian threatened species and then used ingredients to bake a cupcake. You can see by the designs below that they did a great job of representing their endangered species in cupcake form. A big thank you to the Kitchen and Garden team and our team of volunteers.

Last 2 weeks of term 3!!

Check the Dates for your Diary page for what is happening next term but here is a little snapshot of the last 2 weeks of term 3:

September

Tues 9th - SSV Division Athletics Championships @ Landy Field (Qualified Students)

Thu 11th - Breakfast Club in the kitchen - 7.45am-8.30am

State Schools Spectacular Rehearsal - John Cain Arena

R U Ok Day 2025

Fri 12th - Assembly @ 2.30pm in the courtyard

State Schools Spectacular Rehearsal - John Cain Arena

Sat 13th - State Schools Spectacular Performance - John Cain Arena

Mon 15th- Band Performing at Wonder Schools Showcase - Geelong Performing Arts Centre

Tue 16th - School Council 5.30pm (Finance 5.00pm)

Thu 18th - No Breakfast Club

Fri 19th - SSV Division Basketball Championships (Qualified Students)

Last Day of Term 3 - 2.30pm Finish (Casual Dress gold coin donation)

Term 4

October

Mon 6th - First day of term 4

Tues 7th-Fri 17th - Years F-2 Swimming Program (BASC)

Wombat's Wish

Support Grieving Children by Donating to Wombat’s Walk 2025

We’re reaching out to kindly ask for your support through a donation of a gift card, voucher, or product to be used in the auctions or raffle at our upcoming fundraising event, Wombat’s Walk, held on 12th October 2025.

Wombat’s Walk is a special community event bringing together around 600 people to walk in memory of parents who have died, while raising vital funds for bereaved children across Victoria. All proceeds will help us deliver at least one complete grief support weekend program and follow-up counselling sessions for 25 children and young people who have experienced the death of a parent.

Every donation makes a difference—each dollar raised directly supports a grieving child through their healing journey.

Your contribution will be gratefully acknowledged across our promotional channels, including social media, our website, e-newsletters, and printed materials.

Wombat’s Wish is a registered charity supporting the 1 in 20 Australian children who experience the death of a parent before they turn 18. Based on the Bellarine Peninsula and operating since 2005, we are the only specialist service in Victoria offering free therapeutic grief programs led by qualified professionals.

We rely entirely on donations and grants to operate, and all donations over $2 are tax deductible.

To donate or get involved, please get in touch with us—we would love to hear from you.

Together, we can help a grieving child find hope again.

Thank you.

Warm regards

Wombat’s Wish Team

info@wombatswish.org.au

Phone: 9060 0314 or 0499 966 228

Belllarine Railway - Fresh Food Fair Supporter

The Bellarine Railway is a supporter of our upcoming Fresh Food Fair and they have some exciting events coming up for kids. Check out the following

THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride – Queenscliff

Show dates: 6, 7, 13, 14, 20 & 21 December

Join us at the Bellarine Railway for a magical theatrical journey inspired by the beloved Christmas story, where festive pyjamas are encouraged for passengers of all ages!

https://bellarinerailway.com.au/the-polar-express-queenscliff/

Day Out With Thomas – Queenscliff

Event dates: 4–5 October

The Party Tour is rolling into Queenscliff for the final time this October, and you’re invited to be part of the celebration!

https://bellarinerailway.com.au/day-out-with-thomas/

School Council 2025 - September Meeting

Our school council look forward to our next meeting which will be held on Tuesday 16th September:

Finance Meeting at 5.00pm
Council Meeting at 5.30pm