Caulfield Primary School Newsletter

Principal's News

As we draw towards the end of a very busy first term, this will be the final school newsletter for Term 1. I wanted to take an opportunity to thank our school community for their work and support for all that has happened in and around our school throughout Term 1. Congratulations to our prep students who are a week away from finishing their first term at school, a wonderful achievement. I have enjoyed seeing them develop their confidence and routines around our school. This term we have completed our Year 5/6 Camp, a Year 3-6 Swimming Carnival, Bush Dance, Harmony Day, Naplan and various incursions and excursions. Term 1 is always busy thoroughly rewarding. Thank you to our families and school community for the support you have offered us throughout this term, I look forward to sharing in the final week of Term 1 with each of you. 

 

In and around the classrooms over the last few weeks, I was lucky enough to learn a lot about butterflies and lifecycles thanks to some very talented Year 1/2s who came to read with me. Thanks to Amelia C., Jiya, Remy, Lucas and Marco for reading their information reports about Butterflies to me. Our Prep classrooms were learning all about the character Ki ‘キ’ located in Fox – ‘Kitsune’ and Autumn ‘Aki’. They used this to create some wonderful collages using origami and autumn leaves. 

 

Car Parking:

A reminder to families that the school car park on Poplar Street near our Prep building is not a school drop off or pick up zone for cars in the morning or afternoon under any circumstances. Please ensure you are not driving into this area in the morning or afternoon and are not dropping your child off from a vehicle in this area at any time. This is used as the main entry for many our prep and year 5/6 students in the morning and I would ask that this is kept safe and free from any moving vehicles entering the car park at all times. 

 

Emergency Drill:

On Wednesday, we conducted an emergency drill for all students. A scenario-based drill involved a lockdown, simulating a scenario where the school buildings and classrooms were secured. I acknowledge the response and the maturity of our students to support this process. 

 

School Council:

 

 

 

Last Tuesday evening, our school council team met for our Annual General meeting and first meeting of the year. This included the presentation of our annual report and endorsing our Annual Implementation Plan. Following our School Council AGM, the following office bearers were appointed to positions for 2025/26. I look forward to working with our school council members and our sub-committees over 

  • President: James Macky
  • Vice President: Sarah Browne
  • Treasurer: Libby Herman
  • Secretary: Daniel Shaw

Sub-Committee membership includes:

  • Finance: Libby Herman, James Macky, Therese Meiers, Miharu Morioka, Edward Strain
  • Buildings and Grounds: Ken Fretwell, James Macky, Miharu Morioka, Edward Strain, Libby Herman
  • Education and Policy: Sarah Browne, Asami Onda, Miharu Morioka, Daniel Shaw, Rachel MacEwan
  • School Engagement: Sarah Browne, Daniel Shaw, Kyoko Isono

The Annual Report highlighted a summary of well-rounded performance throughout our school in both an academic and wellbeing focus, these data sets are represented in the graphics below identifying teacher judgement data, naplan data and student attitudes to school data all measured against state and similar school averages. These data sets provide an opportunity to celebrate the work throughout the school and also allow us to identify some commonalities in data trends and explore some areas for improvement. Importantly, it also helps to identify the value add that bilingual education provides our school and identifies that academic outcomes are not compromised in any way by the delivery of a bilingual immersion program.  

Parents and Friends Club (PFC): 

Our Parents and Friends Club held their Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, I wanted to acknowledge the work of our Parents and Friends Club and the momentum built through fundraising and an emphasis on building on our school community, office bearers for the coming year include:

  • Co-Presidents: Yayoi Yamamoto and Maya Bartlett
  • Secretary: Christine Chung 
  • Treasurer: Sebastian Hancock

You can read more about what is happening from our Parents and Friends via their newsletter contribution. 

 

Research Publication: 

Over the last 12 months, I have had the opportunity to work with some colleagues on a recently released research publication, this piece explored the complexities of leading schools and communities during the pandemic years and is viewable here. 

 

End of Term:

A reminder that our school term finishes next Friday afternoon at 2:30pm, Yard Duty and supervision by staff is provided until 2:45pm, all students need to be picked up or booked in to Team Kids, students cannot be left unattended on school grounds beyond 2:45pm. Term 2 resumes on Tuesday 22nd April.   

 

Assembly: 

A Monday morning assembly will be held next week at the usual starting time of 9:05am, it is a special assembly with a performance from our Dance Club and the presentation of our Junior School Council Badges to our 2025 Junior School Council leaders. A very short end of term assembly will be held on Friday afternoon beginning at approximately 2:10pm. 

 

ANZAC DAY Service – Thursday, 24th April:

We will have a special ANZAC DAY ceremony on Thursday, 24th April. These are always very important events and provides a great way to teach our children about the importance and significance of ANZAC Day. 

 

 

Planning Week:

This week our teaching staff have had their planning week. Planning week is where staff reflect, in year level teams, about student progress and consider student data to ascertain the next learning pathway and begin planning for the term ahead. This is a critical part of our work, so that we might teach students at their point of need – that sweet spot where the learning is not too hard and not too easy. This reflection and planning helps guide next term’s foci and provides the team with time to build plans and resources to skilfully scaffold this learning. 

 

Welcome: 

A warm welcome to Branka Zarac who has joined the school in the last two weeks, Branka joins our Education Support team, working in the Year 3/4 area. She is highly experienced and a great addition to our school, welcome Branka! 

 

Wellbeing: 

The school has spent the last few weeks exploring a relationship with child psychologist, Kate Rooney. We are mindful of waiting lists for specialised services and wanted to look to offer families the opportunity to have easier access to this service. Where needed, the school would host Kate as a regular service and allow appointments to occur onsite. Please see our 'Wellbeing Subheading' for further details. 

 

Naplan:

Finally, I’d like to acknowledge that Naplan has come and gone for another year. While we certainly value the insights these assessments provide, I also recognise that they represent just one piece of the broader picture when it comes to student learning. Our priority remains the ongoing academic and personal growth of every child, ensuring that each student receives the support they need to thrive in all areas of their education. We eagerly anticipate reviewing the results and using them to inform our teaching focus, but most importantly, we remain committed to fostering a love of learning and a growth mindset in every student.

 

Enjoy a great weekend ahead, I look forward to catching up with you over the final week of term. 

 

Thanks as always,

Edward Strain

Principal