Principal's 

Report

Spoil the Staff Day

Last Wednesday our fabulous Parent’s Association showed the school community’s appreciation of all the staff, by supplying a delicious lunch.  It was a ‘foodie delight’ and such a fabulous gesture that was greatly appreciated by all. It was perfect timing after the musical. I unfortunately was unable to be present at the celebrations but on returning to school in the afternoon I was presented with a plate, a rather large plate of delicious goodies. A huge thank to all the wonderful helpers who made this day such a huge success. 

Swimming

It has been a treat to witness this week all our students in Foundation to Year 2 heading off to their swimming lessons at Huntingtower each afternoon. A huge thanks to all our parent helpers who assist with the program, without this support we would find it difficult to run the program. As we are all aware, being safe around the water is incredibly important in Australia. The program gives the students the opportunity to become water confident and to improve their swimming skills and it also gives the younger students an opportunity to strengthen their independence in self-care.

Class Planning for 2026 

It is rapidly approaching the time of year when teachers start the formal process of student placement for the following year. However, in reality student placement decisions are shaped during the entire year as teachers observe and listen to students and parents/carers in relation to their wellbeing and learning needs.

Student placement decisions are not made lightly, as we recognise the importance of creating an optimum learning environment.  It is an extremely complex process to ensure that we have a balance and appropriate spread of ability, gender and social dynamics to promote learning and support all our students. 

Classroom teachers and specialist teachers are very well-aware of friendship groups and the dynamics within the classes which either enhance or impede the classroom climate. Teachers will use their extensive knowledge of how students interact and relate to each other when placing students.

We want to reassure all families that the teachers will be ensuring each student is placed in a class with other students with whom they are familiar (but perhaps not best friends with) and are able to build positive relationships to assist with their continued learning. All students either tomorrow or early next week will be given the opportunity to nominate five friends that they would be happy to be with next year, the nominations are not viewed in any order. You might like to discuss this with your child tonight. This process reinforces our values of building relationships and resilience in our students.

We will be retaining our practice of accepting written information from parents regarding any specific learning needs which need to be taken into consideration when placing their child. However, we cannot take requests for students to be placed together based on friendships or to request a teacher.

Some issues for parents to consider when thinking about making a request include:

• Younger children have fluctuating friendship groups. This is a perfectly normal developmental stage so a request for a particular ‘friend’ may become less important over time - especially over the Christmas holidays.

• How will a request support our shared work on building resilience in our students?

Teachers are sensitive to students with friendship concerns, and we ask that you trust your child’s teacher along with past teachers and specialists to make the correct decision on their behalf.

Should you wish to alert us to other learning related concerns, please put this in an email to myself helen.freeman@education.vic.gov.au by Friday 28th November 2025. Emails received after this date cannot be accepted due to the commencement of our process. Please remember and accept that, whilst parent concerns are noted, there is no guarantee that these concerns can be accommodated through the class placement process.

The SSPS staff would like to thank you in advance for your trust in our professionalism and our ability to create the best learning environment for your child and all our students.

Congratulations

I have some exciting news to share from Carina Garland’s Office that Isabella from Year 3 has been awarded a runner up award for her entry in the 2025 Christmas Art Competition. Carina commented ‘that she had received hundreds of wonderful entries from many schools in the Chisholm electorate. It was very hard to select a winner and runners-up, as so many drawings truly captured the magic of Christmas.’ Congratulations to Isabelle for her success and congratulations to all the students who entered the competition. 

Science Talent Search

Congratulations to the Science Talent Search Bursary entrants who received their medals, monetary prizes and certificates at assembly.

There were several different sections that the students could enter. The overarching theme for this year was ‘Decoding the Universe’. All the students worked extremely hard over several months to prepare their projects. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Evans for encouraging and supporting students with the Science Talent Search. I am looking forward to more students participating in this opportunity next year.

Junior House Athletics Day

On Friday, our Foundation to Year 2 students enjoyed a very active afternoon competing in the Junior House Athletics. The highlight for me was the shear resilience shown by all of the competitors as they took on new challenges which included managing the hurdles and mastering the high jump. They all did an amazing job. Thank you to the Year 6 House Captains who helped supervise the events with the teachers. It was wonderful to see parents and grandparents cheering and encouraging the students.

A huge thank to Mr Riley for organising this popular annual event.

John Monash Science School Little Scientist, Big Science Program

This Monday night we have a team of students presenting at the Australian Science Fair Exhibition at John Monash Science School. Ved, Sid, Edward and Chiyun have been working together to complete a scientific investigation and on Monday night they will present their findings. We wish them all the very best.

Finally a reminder that the Green Team and the Parent’s Association have their ‘Book Sale’ on next Friday.

Enjoy your fortnight ahead.

Helen

Principal