A message from Mr Steed

Class Formation 2026 Update

We will be forming our 2026 classes on Tuesday 10 February. By this time, we expect that the majority of our student will have returned to school or provided information on their return for 2026.

I thank you for your patience with this process. It has allowed us to ensure that our student enrolment numbers for the year are accurate and will ensure that we will not need to adjust our planned class structure later in the year.

Class formation will take place during the school day for all grades on Tuesday 10 February.

Meet the Teacher 2026 & Welcome Barbecue – Save the Date

Please note down the following dates for our 2026 Meet the Teacher sessions and the 2026 Welcome Barbecue.

Tuesday 24 February 2026

• Support Unit: 2:00pm (Art Show)
• Kindergarten:  5:00 – 5:45pm (In your child's classroom)
• Stage 3 (Year 5 & Year 6): 6:00 – 6:45pm (In your child's classroom)
• Our 2026 Welcome Barbecue will be happening throughout the afternoon for all new students from across the school and their family, including Kindergarten, OC and Support Unit students.

Wednesday 25 February 2026:

• Stage 1 (Year 1 & Year 2): 5:00 – 5:45pm (In your child's classroom)
• Stage 2 (Year 3 & Year 4): 6:00pm – 6:45pm (In your child's classroom)

Staffing Update – Term 1, 2026

At the conclusion of 2025, the school was informed that Mrs Jessica Maakaroun, one of our substantive Deputy Principals, had been successful via the merit selection employment process for the Principal role at Lakemba Public School. Mrs Maakaroun is an outstanding educator and a wonderful person and is so thoroughly deserving of this role. She will be missed incredibly by the Hurstville school community. I know you will join me in congratulating Mrs Maakaroun on this fantastic achievement. Mrs Maakaroun will be visiting Hurstville PS later in the term so the staff and students can acknowledge her incredible contribution to the Hurstville Public School community.

Mr Dave Renshaw has been successful via the expression of interest process and will relieve as Deputy Principal for Term 1. Mr Renshaw brings a wealth of experience to the role.

Miss Fatima Mansour will relieve as Assistant Principal for Term 1. Miss Mansour also brings an impressive depth of experience and practice to the role.

I thank them both for taking on these relieving roles at HPS throughout Term 1.

Hurstville P&C – 2026 Annual General Meeting & February Meeting 

Tuesday 24 February – Held in the school staffroom from 9:15am

Please save the date for our Hurstville Parents and Citizens Association (P&C) Annual General Meeting and February Meeting, which will be held on Tuesday 24 February from 9:15am in the school staffroom.

It would be great for parents and friends within our school community to come along and get involved with our P&C in 2026.

Hurstville Public School – 150 Year of Public Education (1876 – 2026)

2026 marks the sesquicentenary (150) celebration of Public Education on the Hurstville Public School site. We will have a series of wonderful events this year to mark this incredible milestone for the school community. 

Key dates and details to follow in the coming weeks. You will begin to see hallmarks of the 150 year anniversary appear around the school site throughout the year.

More amazing News for the Hurstville Public School community

On Thursday 5 February, the Premier of NSW and State Member for Kogarah, the Honourable Chris Minns visited the school with the NSW Roads Minister, the Honourable Jenny Aitchison, to announce the approval of the construction phase for the proposed pedestrian overpass over Forest Road.

I want to acknowledge the continuous effort over the past 6 years that members of our school community and staff have put into advocating for this overpass. It has been a long time coming but I am so very pleased that it will now come to fruition and keep our young people safe once competed and into the future.

I also want to thank the Premier of NSW for his continued advocacy and support of this pedestrian overpass.

During the school vacation period, I received a wonderful letter that I have included below from the Acting NSW Education Minister, the Honourable Courtney Houssos, and the Secretary of the NSW Department of Education, Murat Dizdar, congratulating our students and our whole school community on the outstanding achievements of our students in the NALPAN assessment 2025.

Hurstville PS had already been identified in the Sydney Morning Herald as one of the top 20 Highest Achieving school in 2025 NAPLAN assessment, however, the letter outlines that our school has the highest average proportion of students making above average progress across the three NAPLAN domains when compared with students of similar backgrounds. This improvement represents one of the most significant in the state.

What a wonderful letter to receive and such a fantastic acknowledgement of our incredible students, their achievements and the collaboration that exists across our school community between community members, teachers, support staff and our students.

Please find a copy of the letter below for your reference.