Out and about with 

Mr Walsh

We all can't believe the 2024 school year has come to an end. Week 10 gave us the opportunity to celebrate so many achievements and milestones throughout the year - year 6 graduation, so many award winners, maths competition achievements, sporting achievements, new leaders, past leaders, new staff, staff taking new journeys, students moving on up, release of reports and celebrating student growth and so much more...

It also allows us the time to reflect as a school and the continued growth that students, staff and the Surfside community have experienced - academically, socially and emotionally. There is so much to be proud of as a school and community and we are excited about the opportunities and experiences that 2025 will bring as we continue to focus on our school wide goals. School is a busy place and everyone works really hard but most of all  we love the amount of smiles and fun that our community provides!

There is so much that goes into the planning at Surfside Primary School to allow our students to achieve academically and engage in many opportunities around the school and within the community. The thought, care and dedication that goes into every day at Surfside is remarkable and on behalf of Surfside we would like to thank:

• My biggest thank you goes to every student who walks through the doors of Surfside. We wish you all a safe break and hope that 2025 will continue to be a year that provides you with the opportunity to thrive.
• Our parents, carers and extended school community who are always there to lend a helping hand, to provide a smile and support the amazing young people of our school.
• Mrs Giggins and Mrs Patterson for their continued support of our students, staff and community. We wish Mrs Giggins all the best for her retirment and our school has been so privileged to have been supported by you over the past 26 years. We congratulate Mrs Patterson on her appointment as Assistant Principal and we look forward to the baton being passed on to allow Mrs Patterson the opportunity to lead and support an amazing school community.
• Our extended leadership team throughout 2025 of  Mrs Charleston, Mr Chapman, Gill and Kellie and all of our year level PLC facilitators for your guidance and dedication to our teaching, learning, engagement and wellbeing program at Surfside. It has been a busy but rewarding year and they are already looking forward to continuing the amazing support in 2025.
• Our administration team of Ebony, Vicki and Kerry for their helping hands and positive vibe. They are always there to lend a helping hand to our school community.
• To our classroom teachers, specialists, tutors, education support staff, kitchen and garden specialists, CRT's and all who have walked through our doors to support each and every student each and every day we are so thankful for your dedication and professionalism toward allowing each member of our community the opportunity to be the best they can be.
• To Kathy our Surfside crossing guard and our community crossing guards for protecting our students and keeping them safe.
• To Terry for his maintenance and his speed during Terry Tag on a Wednesday and the number of local services that work around our school.
• Sarah and the team from Camp Australia for providing support and care for our families.
• Emily our IT support technician for keeping our school connected on and off site.
• Our pre service teachers, Deakin program supporters, Deakin OT students and all of our Student Support Services for their continued support of our students to allow for an inclusive environment for all.
• To Logical Cleaning Services for keeping our school fresh and clean.
• A big thank you to our school council members throughout 2024 who support our parent community and provide a voice - Eloise Cann as school council president and as Orlando completes his schooling at Surfside and transitions to secondary school we thank the Cann family for their contributions to Surfside over the past 9 years. We thank Sabrina Lunn, Melissa Lonergan, Stephanie Henderson, Kate Reed, Adam Kavanagh and Ebony Anderson for their contribution over the past 12 months.  We continue to remember Erik Wirtz and his amazing contribution to school council and our school community. Our thoughts continue to go to Siena and Bec in what will be a challenging time for their family.

At the end of every school year it is a sad time to farewell our year 6 families who are ending their primary school journeys (some for 12 months and some for 18 years - what a journey). We also farewell some families who are relocating and staff who are undertaking new ventures. We wish the following staff all the best on their new journey and thank them for their contributions to the 2024 school year:

• Mr Michael Murphy is looking forward to joining the team at South Geelong PS and he will be a great addition to their music program fro 2025
• Ms Laura Repusic will take some great experience and skills to the team and kids at Miropoa PS and we thank her for her drive and leadership at Surfside
• Fleur Kilpatrick and her family are heading to a remote community in the Northern Territory to teach and support the young people of the community. They gain someone with amazing skills and we look forward to seeing Fleur back in 2026
• We thank Mrs Karen Lister for filling a vacancy that arose in our Foundation team part way through the year. She has been a great support for the team and students and we wish her all the best
• We also thank Mrs Ash Milburn and Mrs Taryn Andrews for also filling a vacancy in year 2 part way through the year. They have brought amazing skills and passion to the classroom and both supported the students and staff. Mrs Milburn will return in a CRT capacity in term 1 before extending her family and we are sure to see Mrs Andrews back to support coverage across our school
• Larissa Groch has done a fantastic job in the Art Room on Friday and working with our senior school. Mrs Groch will continue in her part time at Rollins PS and we hope to see her covering some days or short term positions in 2025
• Laura Myers will return in 2025 but only for a short period as she is expecting the arrival of a new baby following week 5. Mr Baker and Mr Marchbank will also take some short term paternity leave at the start of 2025 as they welcome their new arrivals. Mrs Hudgell will also extend her maternity leave in 2025 as she welcomes her 2nd baby.
• And of course we could not forget the AMAZING Linda Giggins who had her last day on Wednesday. The last fortnight has enabled us all to celebrate the massive impact that Mrs Giggins had on the Surfside community over 26 years and we wish her all the best as she joins her husband Frank in a well earned retirement.

Welcome School Captains 2025

We would like to congratulate and welcome our 2025 school captains. All of our applicants were of a high standard and we thank everyone who expressed an interest in undertaking this very important school leadership role and we look forward to working with all of our year 6 students in 2025. We would like to welcome:

Harriet Kavanagh, Alienna Veldhuis, Riley Lunn and Oliver Verhagen

We also look forward to meeting our new school leaders in 2025 and learning more about their roles and goals early in the new year. We hope they have an amazing break and are ready for a BIG 2025.

Farewell and Thank You - School Captains 2024

I would like to take this opportunity to thank and wish our outgoing school captains all the best on their transition into secondary school. You have done an amazing job in constantly displaying our school values and being a positive inspiration in and out of the classroom. We all appreciate your support, passion and inspiration. 

Thank you: Daisy Coates, Raff Smith, Arlen Anderson and Sophie Smith

It has been amazing to see your growth over the last 12 months and we know that you will have a positive impact on your secondary school. We also want to thank all of our student leaders for 2024 and our school has appreciated your voice and passion to continue to make the school a better place. All the best for your next journey!

2024 End of Year Assembly Celebration

We were able to celebrate many achievements, farewell and welcome staff and students and enjoy some musical talent from our academy, band and Glee Club throughout our end of year assembly. Please check out some amazing snapshots and thank you to our community for attending:

Year 6 Graduation and Awards

We  were excited to celebrate our year 6's graduation last Thursday and we wish them all the best with their next journey. A big thank you to the year 6 teachers, education support staff and all who have contributed to this year 6 cohort over the past 7 years. Whether you started your school journey at Surfside or joined us along the way we hope that you are now set up to take the steps toward secondary school and we look forward to seeing you within our community. 

On behalf of Surfside PS we want to wish our year 6 students all the best and thank them for their time with us. You have been a fantastic crew and we hope you continue to be the best version of you!

Below are some of the awards and achievements that were recognised at our graduation and end of year assembly:

• Lions Club Encouragement Award – Balin Evans and Mikayla Parker
• Alison Marchant School Values Award – Laura McCrae
• Bellarine Scholarship Award – Daniel Bigmore
• Libby Coker Award (Federal MP for Corrangamite) – Orlando Cann
• Cosmopolitan Lodge Award – Jett Cummins
• Rotary Transition Awards – Penny Carroll, Finn Napier and Emma Bennett
• Bellarine Psychology Wellbeing Award - Zoe Davis
• Sport Award – Sofia Urtone and Sam Katungwesi
• Art Award –  Kishi Inoue
• Music Award – Kami Wiseman and Hudson O'Toole
• Principal’s Award – Rafferty Smith and Sophie Smith

Carols in the Park

Surfside had a massive turnout at the 2024 Carols in the Park and did an amazing rendition of some Christmas Classics. A big thank you to Ms Griffiths, Mrs McCredden and Ms Moss for supporting the Glee Club to put on such an amazing show.

Prep- 6 Celebrations

Over the last 2 weeks our students have celebrated a long year with a range of different activities. We want to congratulate and thank our students for their hard work and dedication throughout the year and we look forward to what 2025 brings for all of our students, school staff and Surfside community members. Enjoy your break and take the time to spend it with the special people in your life.

Snack Shack Thank You

We would like to thank Clancey, Gill and all of our students who have been involved in our Snack Shack this year. This has been a great initiative that has built engagement, collaboration, financial literacy, kitchen skills, social skills and community involvement. It has been a resounding success and we look forward to further possibilities in 2025. Also a big thank you to all of the students for supporting the Snack Shack.

Food Scrap Friday Thank You

A massive thank you to the team who have supported our Food Scrap Friday sustainability initiative. Here is an amazing snapshot of what the crew has done to create a sustainable future for our community and remember the crew will still be collecting during the holidays:

School Holidays

• Volunteers will still collect your fruit and veg scraps through the summer break. They’ll be in the garden every Friday from 9-9:30.

We would like to thank the Food Scrap Crew for their passion and dedication throughout the year whether it was 5 degrees and raining or 30 degrees and full of sunshine - Kate O’Brien, Sabrinna Lunn, Cara Bullock, Courtney Rawson, Erin Parker, Chelsea Cripps and Jodi Ainley. We also want to acknowledge and thank our newest volunteer Kez Lester-Smith. The Food Scrap Crew are always looking for volunteers throughout the year. Any parents/family/friends who have around a half hour on Fridays at drop off, talk to one of the volunteers – many hands make light work.

The Food Scrap Friday team would like to acknowledge Laura McCrae who has been a sustainable superhero assisting the crew this year.

We would also like to thank our other students – Riley, Morgan, Kenzie and Kerry and Vicki would like to thank Xander who collects their buckets in the office each week.

By the end of December we will have collected scraps for all 52 weeks of the year! This is a massive achievement. 

Our biggest collection for the year was Friday 6th December, with 150kg and 63 individual buckets collected. 

Totals are:

2021 - 301 kg

2022 - 1,316 kg 

2023 - 2,482 kg

2024 so far with 2 more weeks of collections - 4,401kg! 

Our average weekly haul is 90kg and 40 buckets. Awesome work Surfside!!!