From the Principal
Child Safe Standards
Camelot Rise Primary School is committed to the health, safety and wellbeing of all children and young people. This will be the primary focus of our care and decision-making. Camelot Rise Primary School has zero tolerance for child abuse.
Our school is committed to providing a child safe environment where children and young
people are safe and feel safe, and their voices are heard about decisions that affect their lives. Particular attention is paid to the cultural safety of children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, as well as the safety of children with a disability.
Every person involved at Camelot Rise Primary School has a responsibility to understand the important and specific role they play to ensure that the safety and wellbeing of our students is at the forefront of every decision they make.
To create and maintain a child safe organisation, we maintain ongoing compliance with the Eleven Child Safe Standards. For registered schools, Ministerial Order No. 1359 sets out the specific actions to meet these requirements.
https://ccyp.vic.gov.au/child-safe-standards/the-11-child-safe-standards/
The following policies can be accessed via our school website (Camelot Rise Primary | Glen Waverley | Policies):
Child Safety Code of Conduct
Child Safety Responding and Reporting Obligations
Mandatory Reporting
Student Wellbeing and Engagement
NAPLAN 2026
The NAPLAN test window starts on Wednesday 11th March 2025 and finishes on Monday 23rd March 2026.
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. It has been part of the school calendar since 2008. NAPLAN tests the skills that are essential for every child to progress
through school and life, such as reading, writing, spelling/grammar/punctuation and numeracy. The assessments are undertaken nationwide, every year, in mid-March (previously May).
NAPLAN is made up of tests in the four areas (or ‘domains’) of:
• reading
• writing
• language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation)
• numeracy.
At Camelot Rise Primary School, we take great pride and care in ensuring that our students are not overwhelmed by the suite of assessments in the NAPLAN schedule. Whilst NAPLAN tests are an important system-level component of the Department of Education, at Camelot Rise Primary School they are viewed as just another form of assessment in our ongoing process of monitoring student achievement.
To alleviate any pressure or anxiety associated with the tests, a special timetable has been formulated to assist teachers and students in the implementation of the tests. The timetable provides ample time both before and after testing for students to prepare and relax. In addition, students will also have an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the types of questions, layout and expected timeframes within which they are required to work for each of the test domains.
We are confident that our well-considered preparatory procedures will enable your children to complete the NAPLAN assessment suite with minimal concern. For more information about NAPLAN please click on the link: https://www.nap.edu.au/
Curriculum Day - Pupil Free Day - Tuesday 24th February
Tuesday, 24th February is a Curriculum Day – Pupil Free Day at Camelot Rise Primary School. Students are not required to attend school on this day. Camp Australia will be providing a service for those who are registered and booked in. If you require this service, please contact Camp Australia directly.
On this day our teaching staff will be working with Mardi Gorman – Educational Consultant.
During this professional learning our staff will:
Understand the critical role of engagement and motivation in fostering life-long readers and discuss the important role the classroom library.
Explore the cognitive demands of reading and distinguishing between surface and deep level components of reading.
Understand what explicit instruction looks like, and the connection to the gradual release model.
Delve into reading conferences to get to know our students as readers.
Clarify the similarities and differences between guided reading and strategy lessons.
Consider what formative assessment is and how it can be collated to inform small group instruction.
Tutor Learning
Camelot Rise Primary School continues to achieve outstanding academic results, and we are incredibly proud of the learning growth our students demonstrate each year. As a result of this strong performance, our funding allocation for the Tutor Program has been significantly reduced—almost to the point where we would no longer qualify for a tutor.
Despite this, we believe that maintaining this additional layer of support is essential to
ensuring every student has the opportunity to reach their full potential. For this reason, we have chosen to continue investing in the program.
We are delighted to share that Mrs Sarah Martin will continue in her role as our Tutor Learning Teacher. Sarah’s work has had a clear and measurable impact on student learning, and the success of the Tutor Program over the past few years made this decision an easy one.
Sarah will keep working with students who require some additional support, both individually and in small groups. She collaborates closely with classroom teachers to plan and deliver learning that aligns with classroom programs and targets each student’s specific needs.
Families of students participating in Tutor Learning Sessions will receive direct communication from Sarah. The program focuses on Maths, Reading, and Writing, with many additional benefits such as increased confidence, independence, self‑esteem, and persistence.
We feel very fortunate to have Sarah continuing in this role. Her strong partnerships with classroom teachers and her commitment to student growth make a significant difference to the learning of every child she supports.
Christmas Concert 2026 - Wednesday 16th December 9:15am
Yes, this does seem weird to be writing about this now, but we wanted to give parents as much warning as possible that after the success of our Christmas Concert in the morning (9.15am – 10.30am) last year, we will once again be holding our Christmas Concert on Wednesday, 16th December between 9.15am and 10.30am.
The rationale behind this decision is that we eliminate any risk of extreme heat that we could have at that time of year. Our School Policy states that when the temperature is above 35 degrees the students remain inside. It is highly unlikely that the temperature will be above 35 degrees at 9am so by making this decision early we hope parents can arrange their work schedules to attend this very popular school event.
Thanks to the many parents that provided their feedback in relation to the success of last year’s concert being held in the morning.
School Leadership positions 2026
On Friday, 6th February our 2026 Student Leaders were presented with their badges by Mr John Mullahy (State Member of Parliament for Glen Waverley). We look forward to these students having a wonderful year ahead and developing their leadership skills and improving our school community.
School Captains Callum H, Olivia H, Isaac H and Erneet S
Sport Hayden M and Deep K
Performing Art Olivia Z and Alexander Z
Visual Art Elsa T and Vivienne N
Wellbeing Marissa L and Asha H
French Riya M and Cynthia Y
STEM Shuling X and Riyaan I
Environment Thomas L and Abaan H
House Captains
Galahad Damon S and Yasmin V
King Arthur Ojas P and Audrey N
Chivalry Arun G and Nandana D
Avalon Ethan Z and Anushka B
Victorian High Abilities Program
This year, the Student Excellence Program continues to offer various initiatives aimed at supporting government schools in creating a dynamic learning environment and enhancing teacher capacity to nurture and challenge high-ability students. At Camelot Rise Primary School we are dedicated to fostering the growth of our students academically and socially.
Throughout the year, selected students will have the opportunity to participate in the Victorian High-Ability Program, an initiative coordinated by the Department. This program caters to high-ability students in Years 5 to 8, providing them with access to 10-week online extension and enrichment courses in English and Mathematics. Delivered by Virtual School Victoria, the virtual program aims to expand and enhance students' skills in these key subjects.
The selection process for the Victorian High-Ability Program is overseen by the Department, focusing on students' academic performance. Parents of selected students will receive further details about the program from the school.
Congratulations to the following students who have been selected to participate in the Victorian High-Ability program this term:
Maths - Aran R (5YT).
English - Jasmine L (5YT).
Year 6 Camp to Lorne
On Monday, 16th March to Friday, 20th March our Year Six students and staff will be
attending the Lorne Surf Camp. This is a wonderful camp, where the students learn how to surf as well as how to be safe near water, and how to read a rip in the ocean. These are essential skills for all children and adults.
I will also be attending this camp and Ben Heys will be Acting Principal while I am away on this camp.
Annual Report to the School Council
The Annual Report to the school community will be presented on Thursday, 26th March at 6.30pm (in the Conference Room) just prior to our School Council meeting that commences at 7.00pm.
All community members are invited to attend the Annual Report to the School Community.
Ben Heys, our Assistant Principal, and I will be presenting the Annual Report.
The Annual Report is designed to add value in a number of ways:
Keeping the school community informed:
The annual report provides a means for the school council to inform the community of what has been achieved and how the school is performing. Providing information about schools helps the community hold schools, the system and government accountable for improving student outcomes.
Contributing to system accountability and meeting legislative requirements:
Public accountability for improving student outcomes and for the use of public money is mandated in the Education and Training Reform Act (2006), where school councils are required to prepare and publish an annual report.
Relationship between the planning and annual reporting processes:
The development of the annual report is an opportunity to reflect on the school’s achievements and use this as a basis for future planning.
It is great to reflect on the results we have achieved as a school and celebrate our successes whilst carefully planning to ensure our results continue to improve.
Our first meeting of the 2026 School Council will be on Thursday, 26th March at 7.00pm.
Addressing Racism
All schools are expected to address any instances of racism in a timely and comprehensive manner. Learning to be respectful of each other is a fundamental life skill for children and the role that schools play in this area seems to be increasing each year. Racism is not OK at any time and should not be ignored.
Parents and carers can help in this space by having a conversation with their children about what racism is, why it’s not OK and how they can be careful not to use racist remarks. From time-to-time children will make racist remarks, often in a careless way, without understanding the hurt that can be caused. Addressing this would be not only helpful at school but it’s a socially expected norm that everyone needs to know and understand.
If anyone has any concerns about their child being subjected to racist remarks, please contact us.
Working With Children Checks (WWCC)
We encourage and value parental and community support at Camelot Rise Primary School. There are many ways that parents, grandparents and friends can assist at our
school. We encourage all parents to obtain a Working with Children’s Check that will allow you to be very involved in your child’s education. These checks are free for volunteers and will allow you to be involved in as many school events as you would like. Once you have your WWCC, please come to the office so we can photocopy this, and we will add your name to our list of parents who have a current WWCC check.
Parental Communication Policy
At Camelot Rise PS we are committed to effective communication and ensuring that appropriate opportunities exist for parents to raise any concerns and ask questions related to their child's education, wellbeing and progress.
Typically, parents will need to make an appointment to meet with their child’s teacher, especially if the matter needs an in-depth discussion. A meeting such as this is best done at a mutually convenient time, where there is enough time to have a proper discussion. Please contact the office if you wish to make an appointment with one of our teaching staff. You can also contact the teacher via Compass or email.
Before school is usually not convenient to contact teachers as they are usually making final preparations for teaching. A brief message is usually Ok before school, so long as a long discussion is not required. After school is the best time and our teachers will endeavour to fit this in around our regular meetings, which are held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Mathletics
This year all students at Camelot Rise PS will be registered to access Mathletics, which is
an online Maths Program that the children can use both at school and at home. In the next few weeks all students will receive a password and login from their class teacher.
Some of the many benefits of Mathletics are:
Mathletics captivates and challenges students in a stimulating, interactive environment
Used by millions of students each month
Used by more than 250,000 students each day
Students are motivated and engaged
Students are able to work through the curriculum at their own pace
Students are assisted by an online support centre
Live Mathletics fosters a stimulating and exciting online learning community
Students are engaged and motivated to learn
Easy to use
Students have access to Mathletics 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Provides the perfect link between home and school, where results flow seamlessly
Hall of Fame and certificates recognise and reward participation and achievement.
Please have a look at the website link below to find out more information about Mathletics
Teachers may use Mathletics to set learning activities and set specific homework for the students to complete as part of their Mathematics program.
School Council 2026 Membership
Thank You to Our School Council
Our dedicated School Council meets each month during the school year to undertake their important role in the governance of Camelot Rise PS. The work of our School Council focuses on oversight of important areas such as the school finances, buildings and grounds, school policy, strategic planning, fundraising and out of school hours care provision.
We had an outstanding school council in 2025 with excellent representation provided by parents and carers and members of our teaching staff. Working in partnership our school council maintains a strong focus on continuous improvement and making sure that our students receive a high-quality education.
What I really enjoy is the sense of unified purpose and mutual respect all members bring to this work as it enables us to make a real difference for our wonderful students and school community.
On behalf of everyone in our community I want to sincerely thank our school councillors for 2025.
2025 School Council
School Council President – Sandeep Khyalia
School Council Vice President – Angela Gray
School Council Treasurers – Linda Dascal, Kim Doan, Terry Lung
Parent Members – Paramdeep Singh, Chris Eryurek, Shyam Gomatam & Fiona Mackenzie
Department of Education Members – Matthew Coney, Ben Heys, Michelle Cohen Beavis, Aggie Kurzak-Reeves and Mary Katsigiannis
Our 2026 School Council members (to date) :
- Paramdeep Singh
- Mithilesh Pathak
- Kim Doan
- Terry Lung
- Fiona Mackenzie
- Angela Gray
- Sandeep Khyalia
- Linda Dascal
- Himja Parekh
Vacancy
Staff
- Ben Heys
- Mary Katsigiannis
- Michelle Cohen Beavis
- Aggie Kurzak Reeves
- Matthew Coney
We still have one vacancy for our 2026 School Council please contact me if you would like to join our School Council.
Our first meeting of the 2026 School Council will be on Thursday, 26th March at 7.00pm.
Matthew Coney and Ben Heys