Principal’s report – October 2024

I am pleased to share the latest developments and achievements at Chelsea Primary School, reflecting our commitment to fostering a vibrant learning environment and promoting student success across all areas.

Staff and Student Survey 2024

The results from our 2024 staff and student surveys show great progress, with 100% of teachers rating actively seeking to improve their practice. Our whole-school use of an explicit pedagogical model has garnered unanimous endorsement, demonstrating our educators’ dedication to delivering high-quality, consistent instruction. Additionally, school leadership received a 93% positive rating, a testament to our collective focus on guiding and supporting both students and staff.

Focused Improvement in Math Instruction

Our Annual Implementation Plan is steering targeted efforts to strengthen math instruction at every grade level. Through weekly collaboration in Professional Learning Communities, teachers exchange ideas, analyse data, and apply teaching strategies to address each student’s needs.

Enhanced Professional Development Opportunities

From November 18-22, 3 staff members will participate in the Yoshimoto Basic Literacy Training to enrich our literacy practices. Looking ahead, Chelsea Primary will be a part of the Momentum Project with La Trobe University in 2025, being selected as a host school and showcasing up to 20 schools per year. This initiative aims to document and share best practices related to the Science of Learning, positioning Chelsea as a leader in educational research and pedagogy.

Showcasing Excellence in Education

This term, we are proud to host a range of schools eager to observe our effective approaches in literacy, numeracy, behaviour management, and reading. Schools from the Kingston Network, including Parkdale, Edithvale, Chelsea Heights, and Southmoor Primary Schools, as well as Frankston, Seaford, Aspendale, Le Page, and Mahogany Rise Primary Schools, have visited to observe our Science of Learning teaching practice. Additionally, we welcomed visitors from the South Australian Education Department, keen to see our practices in behaviour management and English instruction. Recently, we also hosted Gulf Harbour School from New Zealand. These visits allow us to share insights and continue learning from each other, enriching our educational practices.

Facilities and Infrastructure Improvements

Ongoing capital works projects are enhancing our school environment, including the addition of a new bike shed, with works beginning this week. These facility updates are essential to creating a safe and inviting environment for our students and community.

School Savings Bonus

Families with a child enrolled in a Victorian Government School in 2025 will soon be receiving an email from the Department of Education regarding the School Savings Bonus (SSB). Children must be enrolled before 15 November 2024 to be eligible for the SSB. We will provide more information when it comes to hand.

Thank you

A big thank you to our School Council, community volunteers and school staff who helped make our twilight event a great success, your unwavering support, which fuels our ongoing progress. Together, we are building a school where every child truly matters every day.

Warm regards,
Taylor Irish
Principal

Twilight on the Turf

What a wonderful night we had last Friday 25^th October at our ‘Twilight on the Turf’ event. The weather really turned it on for us, with clear skies and sunshine, just as Charlie SillyPants hit the stage to entertain us all. He was followed by more fantastic entertainment including our very own Senior Band, and our staff jam made up of Mr Rundell, Mr Hewet and Bronte.

The BBQ was busy all night selling tasty burgers and sausages, pies and sausages rolls were in demand, choc tops were thoroughly enjoyed, the cake stall was full of delicious sweet treats and the curly potatoes and pizza were gobbled up. Down the far end, Sipters and Natutee kept the adults happy, while Lob-A-Choc entertained everyone. The lucky jars were a hit, as was our grade six students face painting their younger peers, what a delight to see! Our family-run business Curbside Coaching offered lessons on the night, while the Fire Brigade and the Girl Guides are always welcomed additions.

Our silent auction proved to be very popular with a large array of amazing items up for grabs sourced by our staff fundraising team. The live auction was equally popular, with our year level art works flying off the turf, the 5/6 one priced at a phenomenal $750! Principal for the Day was sought after too, fetching $360, and we can’t wait to have Luca and Freddie up at the office for the day really soon!

Our Art Show, ‘By the Water’ was absolutely beautiful and an absolute highlight of the night. Our students work was showcased throughout our gym, with the soft sounds of the sea playing in the background, with photos of the students in action on our big screen. The artworks featured paper mache, paint, clay, sewing, as well as other mediums. A huge thank you to Ms Ostrom and Ms Woodyard, our art teachers, for their commitment to this as the organisation for this started much earlier in the year! A big thanks to Chelsea Heights Primary School for the loan of the partitions.

Another highlight of our night was clearly the much anticipated ‘Teacher Race’ where we saw the soccer ball, sumo ballerina, shark, frog, cow, rooster, dinosaur, unicorn, upside-down clown and gorilla run, fall, push, and jump through and over obstacles to reach the finish line. It was Mr Irish who took out this race, albeit controversial, but he was definitely always out to win! This event was incredibly well supported from our community, with the videos in the build up inspiring generous donations from far and wide. The limited edition badges sold on the night were a wonderful keepsake for all. This entire event was sponsored by TCH Electrical Services, for which we are so grateful.

This event would not have been possible without our amazing fundraising team made up of staff which are also parents of CPS students, or have been parents of one!

Thank you for the endless hours of organising, collecting donations, working through logistics, mapping out the event…EVERYTHING…our Staff Fundraising Team:

Rebecca Cole – mother of Catherine (past student)

Jess Hedley – mother of Molly-Rose

Marie Lancaster – mother of Max and Izzy

Sarina McCarthy  - mother of Kaden, Liam and Cooper

Nikki Morecroft – mother of Bobby

Revere Beynon – mother of Harris

Ledam Nguyen – mother of Sasha (past student)

Tanya Whiteside – mother of Poppy

In addition to staff, thank you so much to;

Todd Hedley, father of Molly-Rose, for your absolute dedication to the lighting on the night, with countless trips to the school at night to fix/make sure everything would be perfect on the night. Todd also picked up the partitions for the art show. Todd’s business TCH Electrics also sponsored our ‘Teacher Race’, purchasing all of the costumes to make this such a success.

Donna Hansen, mother of Sophie, Jeremy and Riley, for your support with setting up ‘Shout for Good’ to take purchases prior and on the night, and for your help from the morning onwards of the event

Mel Gabrys, mother of Hugo and Addie, for your support with our online advertising

Matt Downie, step-father of Poppy, for being our DJ on the night and for your beautiful donation of the art work mural on our brick walls in the lead up to this event, which Gaynor Downie also contributed to

Steven Cole, father of past student Catherine, for the generous donation of one of our major prizes, as well as all of the pies and sausage rolls

Further to this, thank you to all staff who supported the event on the night or in the lead up. There was much to do and many hands made light work! In particular, thank you to the teachers who took on the challenge of the ‘Teacher Race’; Maddie Culshaw, Bre Di, Pamela Bardis, Sarah Ebbott, Matt Pepi, David Hewet, Liv Anderiesson, Nick Munday, Tanya Whiteside and Taylor Irish. Thank you to Bronte, Lachlan Rundell and David Hewet for their musical talents live on our stage, and Lachlan Rundell for your musical/technical set up for the night to ensure we could hear everything. Thank you Jan Smith for your dedication to our students artwork, single handedly putting together the live auction pieces which were so sought after, as well as your support on the day. Thank you to our Admin staff, Tess Stokes, Tania Alford and Kate Atkins for looking after the very important cash on the night!

Thank you to all family and community members who attended the night and supported us by helping at one or multiple stalls, or by contributing a cake to our popular Cake Stall, or for donating chocolate and lucky jars.

Without donations and sponsors the event wouldn’t have been possible. We had all sorts of items donated from the bread, sausages, pies and sausage rolls eaten, to sales from Nautee, to lucky jars, chocolate bars, silent auction items, donations of major prizes, sponsorship of the ‘Teacher Race’, the Trailor (thanks Neville family) we borrowed; it was all so greatly appreciated.

Thank you to the following supporters of our event;

AcroKids

Anna Johnson – CPS school family

Alba Thermal Springs & Spa

Ashcombe Maze

Big 4 Holiday Parks

Bo Gurks

Chelsea Life Saving Club

Butcher Club Southland – CPS school family

Chelsea Meats

Curbside Coaching – CPS school family

Dingley Mini Golf  - Wetlands Mini Golf

Edithvale General Store

Garden World Keysborough

Holey Moley

Melbourne Cable Park

Mystery Rooms

PARC Frankston

Sakara Collective

Summer Salt Body & Performance Co – CPS school family

Temptation Bakeries

The Bonbeach Tuck Shop

The Little French Deli

Tim Richardson

Peninsula Vinehop

YoMG

Ray White Real Estate Chelsea

SMEG and E&S Trading – CPS school family

St Kilda Football Club

Mamma Gill Cakes – CPS school family

Jet Ocean Sport

Tina Rattle Photography – CPS school family

Extra Foods – Foodservice Wholesalers – CPS staff family

Family Fresh – Wholesale Meats

Casa Dolce – CPS school family

TCH Electrical Services – CPS school family

Cue It Solutions – CPS staff family

Simon Maddock

Bonbeach Cricket Club

Edithvale Fire Brigade

Chelsea Girl Guides

Dalwhinnie Winery coordinated by Gary Daly

Bigibila Wines coordinated by Gary Daly

Thank you to our vendors on the night, offering a selection of food, drink and entertainment;

Charlie SillyPants

Sipsters

Nautee – CPS school family

Lucky Shot Mini Golf

Primo Pizza

Twista Bros

Selma Bakery – CPS staff family

The event was aimed at being a fun-filled community night, to showcase our beautiful new building and involve our local community. In the midst of this, we have managed to raise around $13, 000 which will go towards improving our school yard.

What an awesome start to Term 4 Foundation has had! We’ve hit the ground running, and our students are brimming with enthusiasm as we dive into new concepts and activities.

In our phonics lessons, we’ve been exploring the suffix “-ed,” which helps us understand how to form past tense verbs. We’re also focusing on long vowel sounds, particularly “oa” and “ow.” It’s been exciting to see how quickly the children are picking up these new sounds and applying them in their reading and writing.

In Math, we’ve been learning about sharing. The students particularly loved our recent activity where they had to share smarties with their classmates. We have also been refining our skills with place value and students enjoyed creating a number over 100 with numicon and MAB. 

In Integrated Studies, we’ve been delving into the world of farm animals. The children have shown great curiosity, learning about different animals, their habitats, and what they provide us. To deepen our understanding, we are super excited for our excursion to the Big Goose on Friday, December 6th. This trip will offer a fantastic opportunity for students to see farm animals up close and learn more about life on the farm. We encourage all families to mark this date on their calendars!

Last but not least a BIG THANK YOU to all families who helped contribute to Twilight on the Turf. It was such an amazing event and without all of you we would not be able to run such a big event. We are super grateful and we hoped you all had a fantastic night. We are also super proud of Miss Culshaw who represented the foundation team in the teacher race! You raced like a true champion, GO THE FROG! 

As we continue through Term 4, we look forward to more exciting learning experiences and appreciate your support. Let’s make this a memorable term for our Foundation students! 

Warm Regards, 

Foundation Team

Junior School News

The Junior School have had a wonderful start to Term 4! We have settled into this terms learning and revised our School Values and Good Learning Behaviours. There has been lots of hype around the school in the lead up to Twilight on the Turf and we have had special visits from teachers participating in the Teacher Race.

We acknowledged Dyslexia Awareness month in Week 1, by proudly participating in Wear It Red Day to raise awareness. While dyslexia can pose certain challenges for students, it's important to recognize the many positive characteristics associated with dyslexic thinking. Throughout this day we celebrated key strengths of dyslexic thinking and had a special assembly. Hopefully moving forward we can embrace these differences and support each other in our learning journeys!

In Week 2 we had an incursion led by Sam from the Cyber Safety Project. Sam was incredibly engaging and kept everyone entertained! We learned about recognising good feelings and bad feelings, and how important it is to "think about the way you feel" when online. If we ever feel overwhelmed or have a heavy feeling, we can use the S.T.O.P strategy: Silent, Tell an adult, Out, and Play something else. After our session, the students created posters in class to share with their family at home. It was a practical and important lesson that emphasized the significance of staying safe online.

We also want to celebrate the success of our recent Twilight on the Turf event! It was wonderful to see so many students and their families attending together. The sense of community and togetherness was truly special, and we hope everyone had a great time connecting with each other. Thank you for making it a memorable evening!

Another term is well underway as we head to toward the end of another great year in year 4.

The Year 4 teachers are thoroughly looking forward to the upcoming final assessments and celebrating the students’ growth across the curriculum.

In English we are reading the classic Australian novel, “Storm Boy”, and are learning about the Coorong and the importance of preserving our natural ecosystems as an integrated geography unit. In Maths we have tackled Fractions and Decimals, Time and Chance and Data. Our daily reviews have consolidated the children’s confidence and competencies across the domain of Number and Algebra.

We had an awesome Cyber safety incursion, with follow-up class content that introduced important safety elements that web. We’d love to see these safe practises continued at home.

It was awesome to see the grade 4 kids engage in the Twilight On The Turf, making posters, supporting their teachers and participating in the evening event. Likewise, their support and appreciation for their teachers was most evident on World Teachers Day. We really do appreciate the lovely cards, messages and gifts.

The term isn’t over yet, and the biggest event on the calendar is coming up. The students are excited, the staff are excited, and we all can’t wait to ride Puffing Billy to kick off the year 4 camp.

Thanks for the all the support and positive communication.

Warm Regards,

The 3/4 team.

SENIOR SCHOOL NEWSLETTER 

There is nothing quite like the energy of commencing Term 4, especially in the senior school. It’s been a big start, with plenty to come! 

The Senior Team welcomed Mrs Cathy Macaskill into 6J to take over from Mrs Jakon who has commenced maternity leave. The highlight for the senior school, and no doubt the whole Chelsea Primary, was the recent Twilight on the Turf school fete. Thank you to all the Year 5 and 6 families and students who could generously donate their time, contributions, purchases and wonderful spirit in a powerhouse of positive community energy. We thought it was a magical event, and it was lovely to see you there.  

English & Maths 

In English, both Year 5 and Year 6 are reading and interacting with beautiful books that are deepening the students’ knowledge and empathy of our Indigenous Australian past and present. The Year 5s are reading Black Cockatoo and the Year 6s are reading Us Mob Walawurru. For writing, the Year 5s are learning about speech writing and will use these skills to develop their leadership speeches for 2025 roles and gain a deeper appreciation of their responsibilities heading into Year 6 next year. The Year 6s are using their text to learn and write biographies on an Indigenous Australian. We have so many amazing Australians!  

In Mathematics, both years have been reviewing and mastering the content learned throughout the year across all strands of maths – number, algebra, measurement, statistics and probability. We have now commenced a focused period of assessment to evaluate the students’ knowledge and identify any areas to support and prepare them as part of their transition to next year.  

Humanities  

The Year 5s are currently completing their Humanities unit on Australian Colonial History (1780s – 1850s) via a research project and presentation on impactful Australian events that shaped our nation’s history. They will then turn their focus to designing and delivering a Leading Learning lesson – where students chose a topic/skill they love and teach their classmates about it. The students become the teacher! The Year 6s are completing a unit on Civics and Citizenship and have been learning about Australia’s political system, levels of government, how elections happen, and have completed a role play on turning bills into laws. The highlight of the unit will be an upcoming trip to Parliament House on Spring Street for a tour and further role play opportunity.  

Health & Physical Education (HPE) / Sport 

Interschool Sport for the summer season is back into full swing. Basketball, volleyball, cricket and kickball are all being played and enjoyed between Chelsea and our local area primaries, with the aim for all students being to ‘have fun with your friends, while being active’. Miss Mac was back to her brilliant HPE best by organising an excellent lacrosse clinic in the first few sessions back into term, with numerous observers identifying that we may be unearthed some genuine lacrosse talent in the senior school. The senior school also benefited from some dedicated health education time, with the three-session Living and Growing Incursion from Sex Education Australia delivering supportive, matter of fact, age-appropriate and interesting knowledge on topics ranging from conception, reproductive anatomy, puberty and body safety rules. The students were highly engaged and provided consistently positive feedback about the program. 

Important Dates  

In addition to the Year 5 & 6 Term 4 Calendar posted on Dojo, the following events or details have been added: 

• Swimming lesson times are confirmed for 1:15 – 2:45 on 8^th, 11^th, 13^th-15^th November 

• 21^st November: Korean Day (more to follow from Miss Oh) 

• 27^th November: Grade 6 Metro Community Education (Rail Safety & Awareness) Incursion  

• 29^th November: Crazy Hairs and Socks Day 

• 6^th December: Year 5/6 Sailing Day at Cheslea Yacht Club 

• 13^th December 2:45pm: Grade 6 final assembly / Handover to 2025 captains  

Thank you! 

With some much going on in this term, and still to come, we wish to say a huge thank you to our senior school families for your continued support and involvement in our school community. 

Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions, concerns, or feedback. 

Your Senior School Team:  Miss. A, Mr. Munday, and Mrs. Macaskill.  

PE Newsletter

Lacrosse Clinics

Our students in Grades 3-6 were lucky enough to take part in the Quick Stix Lacrosse Program, funded by the Sporting Schools grants we gained in Term 3. Students learned the basic catching and throwing techniques, practised scooping and retrieving and even took part in mini matches that replicated the real game of Lacrosse. Since this is a sport majority of students had never heard of prior to the sessions, it was a wonderful opportunity to try something new and build a whole bunch of new skills with students quoting that they loved learning a ‘unique sport ‘and disappointed for it to conclude. The improvement from all was honestly incredible and feedback from the coaches was that our school was one of the friendliest, most well behaved and most talented groups they had taught. Go Chelsea!

ISS Term 4

We are back to the four summer sports- Cricket, Basketball, Volleyball and Kickball. With our new turf area opened back up, we are excited to be able to host more home games this Term. Being the final term, our focus is on enjoying our Fridays mornings in the sunshine with friends and working together as a team. Coming away with a win or two is always just a bonus!

Prep - Grade 1 - Grade 2

The Junior students are currently in the middle of a Tennis unit and all doing a wonderful job. Tennis is not a easy sport to master but Miss Mac has been very impressed with the skill level and progress from all. Our new beautiful and bright rebound wall is proving very handy for practise as is the new turf area and I am happy to report we have had no racket throwing or Nick Kyrgios style antics!

Grade 3-5

These students are completing a Cricket unit to start this term, with some budding stars on show. We have a few talented local players who are proving very helpful in lessons and demonstrating great knowledge and leadership skills. We are practising individual skills each week, like batting, bowling and fielding and will put them all together in the final few lessons so we can get some matches under our belt!

Grade 6

We use Term 4 as a celebration of the last seven years of PE at CPS and the Grade 6 students get to take control of the lessons. Every week, we revisit a favourite game, sport or activity from the students Primary School years and remember the funny stories and memories attached to that. It is a great time to enjoy the company of classmates, many of whom will be going to different schools next year and to reflect on just far they have come. This cohort have always been very enthusiastic about PE and I will also be enjoying the last precious moments I have with them!

Things coming up this Term

Senior Swimming Program- Aquastar Haileybury

5/6 Sailing Experience

5/6 STOMP Dance

Whole School Lifesaving Program



Miss Mac

We are well into Term 4 and we’re getting excited for our Prep Step Up sessions coming up soon!

We are extremely excited to meet your little ones soon, and the Step-up sessions are an important first transition into school, as well as being a great way for us to get to know your child. We understand that this time can be both exhilarating and nerve-wracking as you prepare to send your child off to school. It's a significant milestone for both you and your child, and we want you to know that we are here to support you every step of the way.

After the Step-up sessions we begin to craft the 2025 Prep classes and on the 10th of December your child will meet their Prep teacher and their classmates. We create the classes with consideration and care and we take into account any requests from parents and guardians about friendships or any other additional information. If you have a friendship/other request for your child for 2025 please email me and let me know.

A reminder of the dates and times for Step-Up below:

Step into Prep Session 1: Friday 15th of November 9:30 - 10:40

Step into Prep Session 2: Friday 29th of November 9:30 - 10:40

Step into Prep Session 3: Tuesday 3rd of December 9:30 – 10:40

State-wide Transition Meet the Teacher 10th of December (Times to be confirmed)

The Parent Information Night is on the 12th November 6:00pm – 7:00pm. If you haven’t already, please sign up for our information night via the link previously provided.

Another reminder as well to come and pick up your Prep showbag if you haven’t already!

We are looking forward to meeting you all soon.

As Dyslexia Awareness Month comes to a close, we want to thank our staff, students, parent community, and partners, including Code Read Dyslexia Awareness and Phaseshift Productions, for their incredible support.

Week 1 saw our building lit up in red—symbolising empowerment and visibility,  a special thanks to Phaseshift's professional lighting services. Our “Light it Red” campaign transformed the colour into a symbol of strength and awareness. Special thanks to our Year 6 leaders and school captains for organizing an inspiring assembly that highlighted dyslexic thinking as an asset, not a limitation.

With roughly 1 in 5 people experiencing dyslexia, it was wonderful to see students and families engaging with our displays and showing their support. Thanks to your generosity, we also raised funds to provide age-appropriate literacy resources to our students.

Our main building also featured an informative display celebrating dyslexic achievements. We hope you had a chance to explore it and gain insights into how dyslexic thinking can truly shape the world.

Starting this Friday, December 20th, unwrap the ultimate last-minute Christmas miracle: Purchase a Single City Entertainment Membership, and we’ll upgrade you to a Multi City Membership – for FREE!

As an extra treat, you’ll also receive a $30 Prepaid Activ Visa Card (AU) or Woolworths eGift Card (NZ) – perfect for stocking fillers or a little indulgence for yourself.

? And the cherry on top? 20% of every Membership purchase directly supports our fundraising!
 
Hurry - This special deal is only running until: January 8^th, 11:59am AEDT.

Click here to make your purchase: https://subscribe.entertainment.com.au/fundraiser/1821w69