Caulfield Primary School Newsletter

Principal's News

It is such a beautiful time of the year with the weather warming up and the days getting longer. We have enjoyed some wonderful weather and some real energy around the school over the last fortnight as we gear up for our school production on Tuesday evening. 

 

We have plenty happening around the school with some of these details highlighted below. 

 

Around The School

They do say a picture tells 1000 words and some images from the last fortnight celebrate a very busy set of educational events and fun experiences for our students. We were lucky enough to have two author visits as a part of our Book Week celebration and a great book fair with Avenue Bookshop. We also enjoyed a wonderful day at our CPS athletics carnival with some great individual achievements, my thanks to Miss Molloy for putting on such a great event and a wonderful set of parent volunteers who supported the event on the day. 

 

We had a visit from Victoria Police – Proactive Policing Unit on Thursday working with our Year ½ students on a Cybersafety session. This was a great opportunity for our students to ask questions and build their understanding around safe and responsible online activity. These programs continue next week for our Year 3-6 students. 

 

We have also enjoyed a wonderful dress rehearsal for our school production with the finishing touches put in place. We are very excited about Tuesday evening and cannot wait to share our production with you. 

 

Naplan

Naplan data was recently updated with growth data reflected in results, growth data is an important data set as it tracks performance measures as the growth a student undertakes from Year 3 to Year 5 to 7 and Year 9. In essence, it is the value add that is occurring in teaching and learning that is continuing to challenge students when they are already performing at a high level. The data graphics below are generated for an oversight of Naplan data, noting growth percentages from year 3 to 5. 

 

The Child Safe Standards

 

At our staff briefing on Thursday afternoon, we spent some time providing a child safety briefing and update to staff. This forms a really important element of our work as educators and principals. We looked at a case study of child sexual abuse and provided an oversight to staff on the reportable conduct scheme and our duty of care as educators. Staff were briefed on the non-delegable duty of care to report conduct of concern by an adult employee, contractor, volunteer (including parents), allied health staff, casual relief staff and pre-service teachers.

 

We continue to place this item on the agenda for our staff as an important element of our work and this is further supported by regular updates in our principal network meetings with an expectation that we are building collective oversight and understanding.    

 

The topics can be uncomfortable but like it or not the incidences of child abuse are still concerningly high around the state and nationally. There are 11 child safety standards which have been in place since the Royal Commission into Child Abuse. Schools play a very important role in the child safety standards as we provide a safe and secure place for children and our staff get to know their students well who also see them as a trusted adult. If students have any concerns a teacher might be considered a safe person to talk to or seek support from. At Caulfield Primary School, we are very committed to adhering to the expectation of the Child Safe standards. 

 

Sun Smart

 

A reminder that all students must have a hat, this must be worn everyday at recess, lunchtime, physical education lessons and any outdoor activities. We ask that families provide their child with a hat to avoid the disappointment of them having to sit in the shade at recess or lunchtime. 

 

Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey

 

Schoolstream invitations were sent out inviting all families with the opportunity to contribute to our parent/carer/guardian opinion survey. 

 

This survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education and Training.  It is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of parents’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour and student engagement.  Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies. 

 

This year the Parent Opinion Survey will be conducted from Monday 18th August to Friday 19th September 2025. The survey will be conducted online, only takes 15-20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones.  The online survey will be available in a range of languages other than English.  These include: Arabic, Greek, Hakha Chin, Hindi, Japanese, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Turkish, and Vietnamese. 

 

2026 Enrolments

 

We have reached the final day of accepting prep enrolments for 2026 and as a great piece of validation for the school, have received a strong number of in zone and sibling enrolments and out of zone applications for 2026. We are nearing capacity for our prep classrooms which is a great celebration for the school and a wonderful testament to the hard work of our staff. 

 

 

Maintenance

 

  • Retaining Wall: Final work on our retaining wall on Cedar Street is due to completed over the next fortnight, at the completion of this, we will also see the removal our site compound providing full access for our students to the basketball court once again. 
  • Carpet Replacement: We are scheduled to have our carpets replaced in the Common Room and Library next Tuesday and Wednesday. If there are any parents that would be able to assist with moving library shelves and books on Monday afternoon to prepare for this that would be greatly appreciated. 
  • Thank you: A big thank you to Ken F (Father of Ewan) and Sam B (Father of Mika and Naoki) for some maintenance work undertaken around the school last weekend.
  • Playground Upgrade: We have had an opportunity to further meet with our landscaper designer and work with a team of parent support including (Joel – Father of Imani, Colin – Father of Baxter, Sam and Ken). We are awaiting a updated design brief for our junior playground.

 

Professional Learning

Over the last week, I have had the chance to work with emerging leaders from schools within the Bayside Peninsula area to support their participation in the Inspire professional development offered by the Academy of Teaching and Leadership, a big congratulations to Mrs Curlewis and Miss Guzman who are nearing completion of this course and will present their work at our final session together in a few weeks’ time. 

 

On Tuesday afternoon, I worked with a group of educators facilitating their involvement in the Inclusive Classrooms: Learning Difficulties Including Dyslexia course, this course had attendees including assistant principals, secondary and primary teachers and education support staff. I was really proud of two of our education support staff (Payal and Aparna) who have committed to completing this course over the next 9 weeks. 

 

Website

 

We have begun upgrading our website and continue to work on this with some information and resources made available to support families. 

 

Schoolstream & Sentral

 

Over the coming weeks, we will begin transitioning to the Sentral parent app with a view to discontinuing schoolstream from the beginning of 2026. You will have further information provided to you via email from Jess and Therese in the office over coming weeks. 

 

Tree Climbing

 

A reminder that trees cannot be climbed at school, either before, during or after school. This rule is promoted to support the safety of all students and students are still under our duty of care even when parents are in attendance before or after school.

 

 

Enjoy a great weekend, I look forward to seeing you around the school over the week ahead.

 

Edward Strain

Principal