Welcome to 2026

On behalf of our staff, I would like to extend a warm welcome to everyone in our school community for 2026. Special welcome to all new families joining us for the first time, we hope you are enjoying being in our wonderful school community so far. A special welcome to our new staff, Mrs (Jill) Griffin, Mrs (Mandy) Millar, Sophie Notman and Mrs (Jess) Hankinson and welcome back to Kurokawa (Hiroki) sensei and Tomomi Coster.

Our students have made a terrific start to this school year, and as I walked around the school this week, I was pleased to see how settled our classrooms are. There is a sense of calm across our school and that’s a great start to the year. Caulfield Primary School is a wonderful school with a great staff, great students and a terrific and supportive school community, so we have all we need to flourish in 2026.

Get to Know You Interviews

We have set aside time for our very important Term 1 ‘Parent Teacher Interviews’ in Week 6 (2-6th March). These meetings provide a timely opportunity for our teaching staff to form an effective partnership with each child’s family. Working in partnership and having consistent expectations between home and school leads to better outcomes for our students. The Interviews are strictly 10 minutes. If families need longer than 10 minutes, then follow-up times should be organized. The bookings for interviews will be shared shortly with the opportunity to book a time to meet with both co-teachers to strengthen our home-school relationship early in the school year. This is supported by weekly learning updates that will be shared via Sentral to support your child and keep you informed of what is happening in the week ahead.

Parent Contributions 2026

We are now accepting parental/carer voluntary contributions for 2026 with the hope that our community will see the benefit of investing a modest amount to support their child’s education. Comparatively, our requested contribution is very reasonable, and I know for a fact that many schools are asking for much more. This money is used to fund our curriculum programs so they are a much better standard than we could achieve otherwise. Payments can be made via Sentral so it’s quick and easy. Many thanks to those families who have already made their contribution/s, it’s greatly appreciated.

Developing Partnerships

Our teaching and support staff are looking forward to a productive partnership with you to ensure all students can achieve their best. We recognise that to be successful in school, our children need support from both home and school. We know a strong partnership with you will make a great difference in your child’s education. As partners, we share the responsibility for our students’ success and want you to know that we will do our very best to carry out our responsibilities.

We ask that you guide and support your child’s learning by ensuring that they:

1) Attends school daily and arrive on time ready for the day’s learning program

2) Completes all homework given by teachers

3) Read daily to develop a love for reading and to improve literacy skills

4) Share school experiences with you so that you are aware of their school life.

This partnership is one of the very important components to a successful and happy school life.

Foundation 2026

A Special welcome to our new prep students who commenced school with their orientation day today before beginning their first official day on Monday. We have 3 prep classes this year and we are all looking forward to getting to know our new students and their families. Welcome also to the students and families who have joined us in other year levels, we hope you are all settling in well and enjoying making new friends. Our enrolment is very stable with moderate growth of 320 students.

Student Insurance – Reminder from DE

Parents are reminded that the Department of Education (DE) does not offer any form of ‘student accident insurance'. If families are concerned about this, they are advised to make their own arrangements. Ambulance cover could be one consideration as the school will not hesitate to call an ambulance if we are concerned about a child’s wellbeing.

Personal Goods brought to school at the ‘Owners’ risk

The Department of Education (DE) does not hold insurance for personal property brought to schools. All schools are requested to remind students and parents/guardians of this at the beginning of each academic year and to discourage parents/students from bringing any unnecessary or particularly valuable items to school. Please avoid bringing these items as it can be most upsetting for all concerned if items go missing or are damaged.

Your Principal Class Team

A strong feature of Caulfield Primary School is our highly effective team structures and processes designed to work collaboratively. This works in all levels of leadership including the principal class team. As a team we invite you to contact us if you have any questions or concerns. Often you will see us out in the school yard but if you would prefer to discuss a matter at length then please contact to the general office to make an appointment. We look forward to continuing to work with staff, students, parents and carers in 2026.

Maintenance

We used the school holiday break to complete some maintenance around the school, using the time to improve facilities for our students to begin the school year. We have had three rooms painted including our Common Room, Library and additional 1/2E classroom. These look fantastic and have really freshened up those learning environments. We have had our electrician and United Energy work in partnership to increase the electrical load capacity in the Prep building and we have had an arborist complete a full report and scope of work attending to all trees in the school, pruning them where necessary and ensuring they are safe and secure.

Meetings

Our teaching staff will continue to make themselves available afterschool throughout the week, however I would please ask that they are supported to attend whole school professional meeting obligations on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon. These begin promptly at 3:45pm. Teaching staff are available for a discussion and will be out in the school on Monday, Tuesday and Friday afternoon where meetings are not held afterschool.

Assembly

Our first assembly for the year will be on Monday afternoon beginning at 2:45pm, please note this is a one-off to support our prep students will begin their first day on Monday. All remaining assemblies throughout the year will begin at 9:05am on every second Monday. The end of term assembly will occur at the end of the school day on the final day of term.

2026 Student Free Days

A reminder that the 2026 Student Free Days are as follows:

Day 1 - Jan 27th (Admin)
Day 2 – Tuesday 10th March – Positive Classroom Management Strategies
Day 3 – Wednesday 22nd July – Parent Teacher Interviews
Day 4 – Mon 2nd Nov (Assessment & Reporting) – Professional Practice Day
Day 5 – Mon 7th Dec – 2027 Planning Day

Labour Day Public Holiday

Parents are reminded that there is a Labour Day holiday on Monday 9th March. There will be no school on this day.

School Uniform

School uniforms are available via PSW in North Road, Ormond. All students should be attending school in full uniform. A small sample of second hand uniform is available from the office. The school has a uniform policy that is available via the school website.

Kiss and Go Parking

A reminder to families that cars cannot be left unattended if you are using the Kiss and Go drop off and pick up zone on Olive Street. I understand the tendency to think that a quick trip to the office won’t hurt but traffic flow (or lack thereof) and congestion in that area in the morning and afternoon can be dangerous for our students.

Lunch Orders

We will continue to offer lunch orders on Wednesday and Friday in 2026. We will continue to offer this via an outsourced provider Classroom Cuisine. These are popular throughout all year levels and can provide families with an alternative to a packed lunch from home.

Communication

The school would like to bring our families along with us on the journey that is the 2026 school year and would like to encourage and promote really positive and valuable partnerships between home and school. We share the email addresses of our teaching teams with the following expectations:

Please allow 48 hours for an email response to be provided
Urgent messages are still to be sent to the office
During the day, teachers are teaching, there is limited availability to respond to emails between 8:45am – 4pm.
We encourage face to face communication to resolve complex matters
Responses will not be provided over the weekend
Please be respectful and polite in communication with staff
Absences are still to be communicated to the office and not with the teacher(s)
Given every child spends considerable time with co-teachers, please ensure both teachers are included in communication
The nature of flexible working hours means that you may be sending an email at a time of convenience for you, please note, our staff will reply at a time that is convenient and available for them
Communication about a particular issue may be reflected upon by the whole area team to discuss an appropriate action/response

Prep A: Olivia Gibson – Olivia.gibson@education.vic.gov.au
Prep B: Mari Murray (Area Leader) - mari.murray@education.vic.gov.au
Prep C: Sally Curlewis and Aya Hughes - sally.curlewis@education.vic.gov.au aya.hughes@education.vic.gov.au
1/2A: Krystal Ryan – krystal.ryan@education.vic.gov.au
1/2B: Asami Onda - asami.onda@education.vic.gov.au
1/2C: Rosemary Watts (Area Leader) – rosemary.watts@education.vic.gov.au
1/2D: Ayaka Kato - Ayaka.kato@education.vic.gov.au
1/2E: Aoi Sakamoto and Jill Griffin – aoi.sakamoto@education.vic.gov.au and jillian.griffin@education.vic.gov.au
3/4A: Carolina Guzman - Carolina.GuzmanRamirez@education.vic.gov.au
3/4B: Takako Morita - Takako.morita@education.vic.gov.au
3/4C: Jess Matthews – jess.matthews@education.vic.gov.au
3/4D: Noriko Kurata (Area Leader) – noriko.kurata@education.vic.gov.au
5/6A: Kylie Newman (Area Leader) - kylie.newman@education.vic.gov.au
5/6B: Hiroki Kurokawa – hiroki.kurokawa@education.vic.gov.au
5/6C: Rika Klein and Jess Hankinson – rika.klein@education.vic.gov.au, jess.hankinson@education.vic.gov.au
Visual Art: Miho Suzuki-Bevan - Miho.Suzuki-Bevan@education.vic.gov.au
Performing Arts: Miho Okano miho.okano@education.vic.gov.au
Phys Ed: Niamh Molloy - Niamh.Molloy@education.vic.gov.au
STEM: Zhimin Zhao – zhimin.zhao@education.vic.gov.au
Intervention Teacher: Mandy Millar – mandy.millar@education.vic.gov.au
Office Manager: Jess Walmsley - caulfield.ps@education.vic.gov.au
Business Manager: Therese Meiers - caulfield.ps@education.vic.gov.au
Assistant Principal: Miharu Morioka - Miharu.morioka@education.vic.gov.au
Principal: Edward Strain – Edward.strain@education.vic.gov.au
Wellbeing and Inclusion: Joanne Weston – joanne.weston@education.vic.gov.au
Japanese Assistant: Miki Takebayashi
Japanese Assistant: Tomomi Coster
Education Support: Aparna Alagaraman
Education Support: Noa Sharabi
Education Support: Sophie Notman
Education Support: Theo Wong
Education Support: Payal Sharma
Speech Pathologist: Georgie Labb

Mobile phones

Most returning families would be aware of the of the state-wide policy on Mobile Phones in Victorian Government Schools. All students are required to turn off and hand in mobile phones to prevent usage during school hours. Devices will be placed in a locked cabinet/cupboard at the start of the day and handed back at the end of the day. Our Mobile Phone policy is aligned to Department of Education directives. A copy of this policy is available on our website. SMART watches are required to be programmed not to be message or phone service devices during school hours. Please discuss this with your child/ren to assist us in following this policy. We thank you for your support in this area.

Hats

A reminder that hats must be worn each day. Sunscreen and sunglasses are also highly recommended. The school will provide a spare hat for a child to support their engagement in outside teaching and learning opportunities. No spare hats are provided for recess and lunch breaks, students without a hat will be asked to remain in the shade which may impact on their usual choice of play and activities. Hats can be purchased from the office.

Afterschool Opportunities:

A range of before and afterschool activities are offered throughout the school week. These include Digimaker coding classes, tennis coaching and soccer clinics. We also continue to partner with Team Kids for before school, afterschool and holiday care. If you have any questions or interest in these programs, you are encouraged to speak to our office or directly with these programs.

Year 6 Legacy Project

Thank you to Megumi Ion (Mother of Noah – 2025 Year 6) who kindly led a collaborative gift to the school from our departing 2025 families, this gift is now erected outside the library. Thank you to Sam B (father of Naoki and Mika) who built this and put it up towards the end of the year.

Looking Ahead

It’s a real privilege to lead such a wonderful school and we are looking forward to supporting all our students in their learning and development in 2026. I really love my job and I feel incredibly fortunate to work with such talented and dedicated students and staff. I invite parents and carers to seek help if you have concerns for your child’s learning and development. You can make contact by calling or emailing Miharu or myself. As your school leadership team, we are here to help everyone in our school community. We pride ourselves on making sure that we lead Caulfield Primary School in a way that is fair, supportive and welcoming.

The Importance of Being at School

Every day at school counts! Coming to school not only helps you learn new skills and knowledge, but it also helps you build friendships, take part in fun activities, and develop routines that set you up for success.

Missing school can mean missing out on important lessons, class discussions, and learning opportunities that are hard to catch up on. Even a few days can make it harder to understand new concepts and stay on track with your classmates.

Let’s all do our best to be at school every day, on time, ready to learn, and make the most of every opportunity. Every day you’re here, you’re one step closer to reaching your goals!

School Council Elections

Information regarding the 2026 School Council election process will be shared next week. I would encourage any interested parent to read over this or contact the school office for more information. School council is an vital part of the school, and it is from council that we take our direction for the general management of the school. Council approves external contracts, provides advice and consent on a range of areas and oversees school finance. Information will include a timeline and summary of the role of School Council. Our final school council meeting from our 2025 members will be on the 10th February.

Welcome back and enjoy a great weekend.

Edward Strain

Principal

Caulfield Primary School Newsletter

Excellence, Respect, Diversity, Responsibility, Kindness, Honesty

Issue 1 · 30 Jan 2026

In this issue