Dear HPS Community,

Our final week of the year started with fabulous Summer Nights and Christmas Lights performances from our Foundation, Year 1 and 2 students at assembly.

A very big thank you to Laura Ghiotti and Ewen Soo for their work with students to create, rehearse and perform over the last number of weeks. It was just wonderful to see the performers really accept the opportunity to perform with such gratitude and fun!

Thanks also needs to go to our parents, carers and community members for supporting these performances through attendance at the assemblies. It brought a lot of cheer and festive spirit.

On Wednesday we celebrated our whole school achievement of the Dojo points reward by having a sporty adventure at Warringal Park for the morning. Congratulation to our Year 5 students and staff for providing an array of different activities and opportunities. It was such a fun time that was a worthy celebration as a whole school. Many thanks to Leigh Barry for her tremendous leadership, organisation and coordination. It was a huge success!

Then in the afternoon our Year 6 students led Respectful Relationships activities with each class. Again, it was an amazing celebration and display of leadership. Well done to the Year 6 students and staff, and to Simon Lovett for his tremendous leadership, organisation and coordination. Another huge success!

As we come to the end of another school year, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on what has been a truly fabulous year at Heidelberg Primary School.

Throughout the year, our students have been involved in a wide range of enriching and memorable experiences. From excursions and incursions that brought learning to life, to camps that built independence and friendships, our students have embraced every opportunity with enthusiasm. Our enrichment clubs, movie nights, discos and learning showcases have created joyful moments and strengthened our sense of community, while our many sporting events have highlighted teamwork, perseverance and school spirit.

In the classroom, 2025 has been a year of continued growth and refinement in our learning and teaching practices. We have been intentionally embedding the elements of the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model across the school, ensuring clarity in learning intentions, high expectations, student voice and feedback. Importantly, we have balanced this strong focus on learning with a deep commitment to student wellbeing, recognising that children thrive when they feel safe, supported and connected.

None of this would be possible without the incredible people who make up our school community. I would like to sincerely thank our dedicated staff for their professionalism, care and tireless work on behalf of our students. Thank you to our students for their curiosity, kindness and willingness to challenge themselves each day. To our volunteers and families, thank you for your ongoing support, partnership and trust—you play a vital role in the success of our school.

As we look ahead, we do so with pride in what we have achieved together and excitement for what is to come. What a wonderful year it has been at Heidelberg Primary School. I wish all our families a safe, restful and happy break, and I look forward to another great year ahead.

This year’s successes would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of many individuals. We extend our heartfelt thanks to:

Staff, for their ongoing commitment to creating a positive and enriching learning environment.
School Aged Care (SAC), for caring for our students and seamlessly supporting the transition between home and school.
School Council, for their guidance and support in shaping our educational vision.
Parent helpers and Volunteers, for their contributions, whether big or small, which have made an incredible difference in the lives of our students and the success of our programs. Whether you’ve been in the classroom, assisting at events, or supporting various activities behind the scenes, your dedication helps create a positive, enriching environment for everyone. Thank you for being such an important part of our school. We appreciate all that you do, and we are truly grateful for your continued involvement and generosity.
Cleaners and Crossing Supervisors, for ensuring the safety, cleanliness, and smooth functioning of our school day.
Extracurricular Staff, to our drum, guitar, keyboard and recorder teachers and to Kelly Sports staff, thank you for providing our students with wonderful opportunities to engage in additional activities in such a welcoming and supporting environment.
School leadership team, whose vision and leadership continue to guide us towards excellence and who have worked cohesively to bring our vision for improvement to life.
HPS Students, for your enthusiasm, curiosity, and dedication to learning! You make our community truly special. Keep shining and striving for greatness whilst living by our school values of Respect, Responsibility, Resilience and Compassion!

Farewells and Well Wishes: As we reflect on the past year, we also bid farewell to several valued members of our community:

Staff members, Adam Salemme, Sarah Santaera, Ellie Taylor, Joy Sun, Hannah Bafas, Leo McCloskey, whose contributions have made a lasting impact on our school.
We thank you for your contributions and wish you well in the next part of your journey.
Students and families moving on—to those in F-5 cohort- good luck as you embark on the next adventure and thank you for being such a special part of our HPS community. And to the Year 6 students—who are taking the next step in their educational journey- we wish you well and thank you for all you have given and contributed to HPS over your time here. We look forward to seeing the heights you gain and the things you achieve as you move into the next chapter of your life.
Departing Year 6 families, that have been with us for many years, whose support and involvement have shaped our school community and contributed to who we are as a school today...thank you. We hope you always hold a piece of Heidelberg in your hearts and we thank you for your partnership.

While we say goodbye to these familiar faces, we look forward to the continued growth and success of those remaining, and to the new opportunities and challenges that the next year will bring.

2026 House Captains

After a thorough process involving many student candidates, we congratulate and thank nominees for putting themselves forward with courage and confidence. What a fabulous cohort of leaders you are going to make as Year 6s next year.

We are now pleased to announce the 2026 House Captains.

Congratulations to House Captains:

Yarra- Remy Barker & Archer Mundy

Warringal- Daisy Penrose & Coco Tait

Darebin- Levi Chan & Maya Ennis

Carter- Brendan Lei & Mia Higgins

2026 Staffing

Principal- Naomi Ivers

Assistant Principals- Monique Rankin and Helen Thomas

Learning Specialists- Stef Galvin, Tegan Griffiths and Nicola Colgate-Jones

Disability Inclusion coordinator- Tegan Griffiths

Mental Health Wellbeing Leader- Nicola Colgate-Jones

Tutor Learning Initiative- Nicola Colgate-Jones

Foundation- Faye Philips and Katelyn Tino

Year 1- Gemma Lindsay-Knape, Libby Langlands and Carla Daniele/ Sheri Booth

Year 2- Stef Galvin/Sally Morgan, Yana Li, Tom Grisdale

Year 3- Heather Gordon, Brad Kendall and Tahnee Pape/ Tegan Griffiths

Year 4- Leigh Barry, Liam Szczepanski and Chris Roberts

Year 5- Halbeen Kobani, Dani Durando and Rebecca Paterson/ Fiona Welsh

Year 6- Simon Lovett, Taniya Senanayake and Jonathan Wilisoni

Library- Denise Pilinis and Alexandrea Ferguson

Science- Peter Ruff and Fiona Greville

PE- Ethan Griffiths

The Arts- Laura Ghiotti and Ewen Soo

Japanese- Ryoko DeCunto and Satoko Kuhlmann

Education Support

Kristy Thews, Thuy Farmer, Mel Katz, Kelly Spratt, Renne Daaboul, Amy Fredricksen, Matthew Aldridge, Ghada Al Den and Kris Sebalj

First Aid- Sue Zerna

Admin- Vickie Bird

Business Manager- Sam Thornton

Facilities Manager- Jack Thornton

SAC coordinator- Vimmy Abraham

ICT technician- Isuru Rathnayaka

In 2026, Charlie Hughes will take a year of leave and will return to HPS in 2027.

Helen Thomas will take some well deserved long service leave at the beginning of next year and will return to HPS from March in her role as assistant principal.

HPS camping program from 2026

Earlier this year we conducted a survey regarding our current camps to gather data and perspectives from parents, staff and students about what the needs, strengths and challenges of the current program.

Our aim was to ensure that our whole school program from Foundation to Year 6 meets the expected purpose and current needs of our students, school and community.

Overwhelmingly, each category of those surveyed understand and agree with the many benefits to students through attendance on overnight camps in primary school.

Important life skills such as developing independence, confidence, cooperation and social skills, resilience building as well as considered and age appropriate risk-tasking all being

things that are often developed and strengthened by most students who attend.

Challenges and barriers that are often represented as the greatest considerations from students, staff and families usually relate to student wellbeing such as homesickness, safety and behaviour etc.

After much discussion, analysis of data and consideration from all perspectives, we have decided to make a change to the Year 3 component of our whole school camping program beginning in 2026.

Foundation Breakfast at school

Year 1 Activities and dinner at school extending beyond school hours

Year 2 Little Explorers' day moving from school to local community

Year 3 King Lake Day Camp moving beyond local community and providing opportunity to experience a camp location and its facilities and features extending beyond school hours

Year 4 Lady Northcote Camp providing a two night experience

Year 5 Alexandra Adventure Resort Camp building upon overnight experience and providing opportunity to consolidate adventure aspect

Year 6 Kangaroobi Camp extending length of time away to 3 nights and providing a different experience to the previous adventure camps

Whilst we understand there will be some disappointment around this decision, particularly as we move through this change in 2026 with Year 3 expectations, we also strongly believe that in the overall whole school program, the opportunities provided are developmentally built upon from year to year to support transition for students to overnight camps and to provide positive and successful experiences to all.

We thank everyone who completed the survey, and our 2025 school council, for providing your perspectives and considerations.

Upcoming Dates
Friday 19th Dec	Farewell Year 6 Assembly @ 9.10am
Friday 19th Dec	End of Year- Finish time 1.30pm
Tuesday 27th January 2026	Staff resume. No students today
Wednesday 28th January 2026	Staff Professional Learning. No students today
Thursday 29th January 2026	Students resume

2026 School Term Dates

Term 1: Thursday 29th Jan- Thursday 2nd April

Term 2: Monday 20th April- Friday 26th June

Term 3: Monday 13th July- Friday 18th September

Term 4: Monday 5th October- Friday 18th December

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and fun summer holiday break!

Naomi Ivers

Principal

Heidelberg Primary School

Heidelberg PS - Capers

Respect | Responsibility | Resilience | Compassion

Term 4 - Issue 11 · 19 Dec 2025

In this issue