Principal's Report

Josh Sheffield

Image: It was wonderful to welcome students and families for Storytime recently

Financial Contributions

Yesterday via Compass all families will have received the Financial Contributions for 2026. Whilst it does seem early, we are required to provide substantial notice to allow for payment, and we acknowledge that for some it is helpful to be able to plan for this now ahead of the Christmas rush (aka credit card rush!). We work hard, alongside School Council to keep these fees to an absolute minimum, and I'm proud that when compared to other schools in the area, they are at the lower end of the spectrum. These contributions (a mere 1% of the annual fees some of our neighbouring schools charge!), are invaluable in allowing us to provide critical support and programs to students, such as learning support and enrichment, as well as properly resourced specialist programs and classrooms. We thank you for your commitment to supporting our programs, and in turn, your child's educational outcomes.

Class Placement

At this time each year, we will outline the class placement process, consistent with our Class Placement Policy. The placement of students into classes for next year is a complex and important one.

The process works as follows:

Data Collection from Teachers

Our teachers make a balanced judgement on each student in their class within the following areas;

Academic ability
Learning behaviours
Additional needs
English as an additional language (EAL).

‘Who do you work well with?’

During week 4 of this term, our students will be asked to nominate five (5) other students who they ‘work well with’ in their year level. Note a couple of things:

You can see we aren’t using the word friends here. We don’t always necessarily work well with some of our closest friends. That doesn’t mean we won’t be in the same class together; what we’re focusing on here is our educational relationships, more so than friendships.
Your child will be in a class with at least one of the 5 students they nominate. We do not account for whether that child was listed first or fifth on the list, if they are a boy or a girl, or if they were in another class this year.
On very rare occasions, your child may not be able to be paired with someone from their list. We will contact you and discuss this with you further if this is the case.

It may be beneficial to talk with your child prior to this about how they best identify other students who they work well with. Our teachers will also have this discussion with their class before the students complete this part of the process.

Parent Requests

No requests will be taken into account regarding teachers.
In an extremely limited number of cases, there may be an educational, health or wellbeing reason for your child to be separated or paired with another child. This may include:
- A child with additional needs who will be supported by positive ongoing relationships with their peers.
- A child who has been involved in ongoing and targeted incidents where another child has negatively targeted and / or impacted their learning and / or wellbeing.
Requests from parents must be:
- Sent to the Hampton Primary School email address (hampton.ps@education.vic.gov.au), addressed to myself and with the subject line ‘Class Placement’.
- Received no later than close of business next Friday 7th November. No late submissions will be considered, including during or post-transition sessions* which begin in late November (*transition groups are not indicative of final classes).

To be clear, I expect very few, if any, requests from our families. Our teachers know our students in great depth and I trust them and the knowledge they have to make considered judgments regarding class placement.

2026 Classes

Our classes for next year will be formed with the following priorities:

Students with at least one peer from their nominated ‘who you work well with’ list.
Classes with a balance of:
- Students working above, at and ‘working towards’ academic level.
- Gender.

Our classes for next year, including teachers, will be announced on the Statewide Transition Day, Thursday 11th December. All students will have an opportunity to spend time with their new class and teacher on this day.

In my experience, this process is comprehensive, considerate and best prepares our students for a positive start to the following school year. Of course, on occasion, there might be some disappointment for a few of our students. They might miss a particular friend or be anxious about leaving a favourite teacher. As the adults, it is our responsibility to support them through this., which we will do in conjunction with you at home.

Students Leaving in 2026

We understand, for a variety of reasons, that some students leave at the end of the year. If your child will not be at HPS in 2026 (non-Grade 6 students!), please contact the office to let them know. This information is critical in planning for next year, particularly when working out classes as pairings can sometimes be significantly affected if a students doesn't return we thought would.

School-Wide Behaviour Expectations: Year 1 Celebrations

Off the back of the School-Wide Expected Behaviours, which I shared last week and we have been working on throughout the school this term, it has been wonderful to see many grades positively affirming the demonstration of these behaviours. One such example is our Year 1s who have been hosting weekly assemblies to acknowledge specific examples of these behaviours. Congratulations to all students who have received an award, both those last week (some photos below) as well as today. We look forward to continuing to celebrate these as a school in a multitude of ways.

Staff Car Park

A reminder that the staff car park is for staff only. Under no circumstances should it be used to drop off and pick up students as it creates a large safety issue in what is often a pedestrian space, as well as right near the crossing.

BYOD Changes

As per the Compass post last week, please be patient as we work through the implications of the Department of Education’s cost-of-living changes to schools’ BYOD arrangements from 2027 onwards. To reiterate, we will not be asking Grade 3s to purchase a device for 2026, as it would only be able to be brought to school for one year.. Therefore, there will not be an information session that was scheduled.

The ‘please don’t buy’ approach means we have time to work through the new mandate, which will result in changes, with patience and intent rather than making rash decisions.

Year 3 Murals

These murals, worked through in conjunction with Posca, are looking incredible and will add so much colour, student voice and fun to our Kitchen Garden. Thanks to the Grade 3 team for making it happen, and Roxy from Posca for her incredible expertise and talent.