Principal’s message – Term 4, 2026

Welcome back to Term 4 at Chelsea Primary School. I hope all of our students, staff and families enjoyed a relaxing holiday break and had the opportunity to recharge after a particularly busy Term 3. Our final term promises plenty of learning, exciting experiences and opportunities to celebrate our students’ achievements.

Before looking ahead, I would like to acknowledge the enormous effort that went into our Whole School Production at Robert Blackwood Hall, Monash University, at the end of last term. Bringing the entire school together for a performance of this size takes considerable planning, patience and teamwork.

Congratulations to our students for their commitment throughout rehearsals and their participation on the night. A huge thank you to Tanya Whiteside, our production team, Kinet2Dance and all of our staff for the many hours spent preparing and supporting our students. Thank you also to our families for supporting the rehearsals, costumes and evening performance. The production provided a wonderful opportunity for our students to perform together and share their hard work with our school community.

We finished Term 3 with Footy Colours Day and our Staff versus Year 6 football match—one of my favourite events on the school calendar. Of course, I don’t take the game seriously at all. I’m simply there to participate, encourage the students and appeal the occasional umpiring decision! Thank you to our Year 6 students and staff for getting involved and providing plenty of entertainment to finish the term.

Following my time as Acting Principal at Yarraman Oaks Primary School last term, I am pleased to be back at Chelsea for the final term of the year. I would again like to thank Tanya Whiteside, Sarah Ebbott and our broader leadership team and staff for their work during my absence.

This week, we welcome educators from Summerland Primary School in New Zealand on Tuesday 6 October (20 staff), along with a group of visiting teachers on Thursday 8 October from Rochester PS. Both groups will visit our classrooms to see our teaching and learning in action. We look forward to sharing our practices and connecting with colleagues from other school communities. We also welcome our Monash University pre-service teachers, who will be working alongside their mentor teachers over the coming weeks.

Our students will continue to represent Chelsea through a range of sporting opportunities. We wish our students competing at the Division Athletics Championships on Thursday 8 October the very best, following their achievements at District Athletics last term. Students will also participate in District Hot Shots Tennis on Friday 9 October.

There is plenty to look forward to throughout October. Dyslexia Awareness Day on Wednesday 14 October will provide an opportunity to strengthen understanding and reinforce the importance of supporting every learner. Later in the month, our Year 4 students will attend camp from Wednesday 28 to Friday 30 October, while our Year 3 students will enjoy their day camp on Friday 30 October. These experiences provide valuable opportunities for students to develop independence, build friendships and try new activities.

Term 4 is also an important time for transition. Our Year 6 students will begin preparing for secondary school through transition activities and connections with their future schools. We will also welcome our 2027 Foundation students and their families through our Prep Step Up sessions later in the term.

Alongside these events, our core focus remains teaching and learning. We will continue to prioritise explicit teaching, consistent classroom practice and high expectations for every student. Maintaining strong routines and regular attendance throughout this busy term will help our students make the most of their learning right through to the end of the year.

As we begin Term 4, thank you to our staff for their continued commitment and to our families for their ongoing support. I look forward to working together through a productive and enjoyable final term and celebrating all that our students achieve.

Kind regards,
Taylor

Taylor Irish | Principal
Chelsea Primary School

“Every Child Matters Every Day”

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Important dates to remember:

Friday 9th October
District Hot Shots Tennis at St Louis - Yr 5/6

Monday 12th October
Kingston Open Streets 8-9am and 3-4pm
Whole School Assembly

Tuesday 13th October
Yr 4 Camp Information Night 4:45pm
School Council 5:30pm

Wednesday 14th October
Wear It Red for Dyslexia Awareness Day
Kingston Youth Services Yr 6 Transition Support 11:30am
Whole School Dyslexia Awareness Assembly 2:30pm

Thursday 15th October
Drill - Shelter In Place 1pm

Friday 16th October
Yr 5/6 Elite Athlete Incursion 9am

Monday 19th October
Yr 3-6 Assembly

Wednesday 21st October
SMR Athletics at Casey Fields
Kingston Youth Services Yr 6 Transition Support 11:30am

Friday 23rd October
ISS v Seaford (Home)

Monday 26th October
Yr F-2 Assembly

Wednesday 28th October
Yr 4 Portsea Camp
Kingston Youth Services Yr 6 Transition Support 11:30am

Thursday 29th October
Yr 4 Portsea Camp
Yr 5/6 Girls Footy Day St Kilda FC

Friday 30th October
World Teacher Day
Yr 4 Portsea Camp
Yr 3 Camp Day Out
ISS v Aspendale Gardens (Away)

Monday 2nd November
CURRICULUM DAY - No students at school

Tuesday 3rd November
MELBOURNE CUP PUBLIC HOLIDAY - No students at school

Wednesday 4th November
5D Kinder Visit 11:40am

Thursday 5th November
5A Kinder Visit 11:40am

Friday 6th November
Yr 5/6 Swimming at Aquastar
ISS v Aspendale Gardens (Home)
4H Kinder Visit 11:40am

Monday 9th November
Yr 3-6 Assembly
Yr 4 It's OK To Not Be OK Workshop
Yr 5/6 Swimming at Aquastar

Tuesday 10th November
Yr 5 It's OK To Not Be OK Workshop
School Council 5:30pm
2027 Prep Information Night 6pm

Wednesday 11th November
Yr 5/6 Swimming at Aquastar

Thursday 12th November
Yr 6 It's OK To Not Be OK Workshop
Yr 5/6 Swimming at Aquastar

Friday 13th November
School Disco
Yr 5/6 Swimming at Aquastar
ISS v St Joseph's (Home)

Monday 16th November
Yr F-2 Assembly
Yr 6 Grad Dance 12:30pm

Tuesday 17th November
Yr 6 Courage to Care Upstander Program 11:30am

Wednesday 18th November
6M Parliament House Visit

Thursday 19th November
6S Parliament House Visit

Friday 20th November
Step Into Prep session 1 9:30-10:40am
ISS v Chelsea Heights (Away)

Monday 23rd November
Yr 3-6 Assembly
Yr 6 Grad Dance 12:30pm

Tuesday 24th November
2M Visit to Lifeview Aged Care

Wednesday 25th November
Sex Ed - Whole School

Thursday 26th November
Korean Day

Friday 27th November
Step Into Prep session 2 9:30-10:40am
ISS v Bonbeach (Home)

Saturday 28th November
Election BBQ at CPS

Monday 30th November
Yr F-2 Assembly
5A Kinder Visit 11:40am
Yr 6 Grad Dance 12:30pm

Tuesday 1st December
Crazy Hair and Sock Day
1C Visit to Lifeview Aged Care 2:30pm
School Council 5:30pm

Wednesday 2nd December
Sex Ed - Whole School
5D Kinder Visit 11:40am

Thursday 3rd December
iSee iCare Dolphin Swim
4M Kinder Visit 11:40am

Friday 4th December
Step Into Prep session 3 9:30-10:40am

Monday 7th December
Yr 3-6 Assembly
Yr 6 Grad Dance 12:30pm

Tuesday 8th December
Statewide Transition Day (Yr 6 at Secondary Schools)
2027 Prep Final Transition Day 9:30-10:40am

Wednesday 9th December
Sex Ed - Whole School

Thursday 10th December
School Christmas Carols

Monday 14th December
Whole School Assembly
Yr 6 Grad Dance
Yr 6 Graduation at Patterson River Golf Club

Tuesday 15th December
Yr 6 Big Day Out at Luna Park

Wednesday 16th December
Students Last Day
Yr 6 Picnic on Turf with Families 11:30am-12:30pm
Final Assembly & Yr 6 Farewell 12:30-1:15pm
Early Dismissal 1:30pm

Thursday 17th December
CURRICULUM DAY - No students at school

Friday 18th December
CURRICULUM DAY - No students at school

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Exciting News: Kingston Council Open Streets Event

We’re excited to announce that Chelsea Primary School is hosting a one-day Open Streets Event in collaboration with the City of Kingston.

This special event celebrates Chelsea Primary School being the first school in Victoria to participate in the Council-run Open Streets Program, as well as the development of the Open Streets Guide and Toolkit, which was created from the experience and learnings of the program.

Monday, 12 October 2026
Fowler Street, between Argyle Avenue and Glenola Road, will be transformed into a safe, traffic-free space during the following times:
• Morning: 8.00am – 9.00am
• Afternoon: 3.00pm – 4.00pm
Please note that Fowler Street will not be closed for the full day. The closure will only apply during the times listed above.

Come Along, Stay, Play!
All families are warmly invited to make the most of the open street during morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up. Come along, stay for a while, play and enjoy the space together.
In the morning, a coffee van will be available for parents and carers to enjoy.
In the afternoon, there will be a range of fun activities for children and families to enjoy.
We encourage everyone to walk, ride, scoot or “park and stride” to school and experience the benefits of a safe, welcoming and people-friendly street environment. We look forward to seeing our Chelsea Primary School community come together and enjoy this exciting event.

More Information or Questions/Concerns
If you have any queries about the street closure or traffic arrangements, please contact the City of Kingston at traffic@kingston.vic.gov.au

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What a big term 3 it was for our Foundation students!

Our Foundation students have been making excellent progress across all learning areas and had lot’s of amazing school events last term.

In Phonics, students are beginning to explore more complex letter sounds, while continuing to practise spelling rules and dictation sentences to show their ability to apply their knowledge.

In English, we have been developing our Narrative writing, focusing on creating characters, describing settings, creating problems and writing their solutions to end our stories. Our Grammar lessons have supported this as we have learnt about alliterations, adjectives and adverbs and how they can help us make our writing more interesting. To help us build our knowledge and make connections we have been reading fairytales, and learning about wolves, bears, bridges, and houses. All resulting in some amazing writing pieces.

In Mathematics, we have been strengthening our place value knowledge and strengthening our understandings around how numbers can be representing in different ways. We have learnt about money and how to add coins. And how to compare objects by understanding size and weight. A highlight of our math lessons is when we practise our addition fluency, racing to see how many sums we can complete in just 1 minute!

We had lots of fun events happen in term 3 including celebrating our 100 Days of Prep milestone, book week, spending time with dad’s or the special people in lives with an afternoon full of construction activities, and footy day just to name a few.

A highlight of the term was practicing for our first school production. We spent time as a year level, learning our two dances and enjoying spending time together. We had dress rehearsals and a photo day and then came the big day where we shone on stage!

The year is going by so fast as we cannot wait to see all the growth and excitement that Term 4 brings!

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Middle School Newsletter

Year 3

Last term, our Grade 3 students have been exploring Australia and its neighbouring countries, discovering the people, places, cultures and environments that make each country unique. Through engaging texts, discussions and activities, students have compared Australia with countries including Indonesia and New Zealand, while developing their understanding and appreciation of different cultures and ways of life. They were also building their geographical knowledge through maps and exploring the connections between Australia and its neighbours. To bring their learning together, students developed on their informative writing skills, with a particular focus on sharing interesting facts about New Zealand.

We also began our new Humanities unit on Ancient Rome, and it was wonderful to see just how engaged and curious the students were! They have been fascinated by Roman life, culture and achievements and are already enjoying discovering what life was like thousands of years ago.

Year 4

This term, our Grade 4 students have been travelling back in time as they explore the fascinating Maya, Aztec and Inca civilisations. They have been learning about the people, cultures, achievements and daily lives of these ancient civilisations, with our weaving project proving to be a particular highlight! The students enjoyed it so much that we even spotted them continuing their weaving creations during lunchtime, a wonderful sign of how much they have enjoyed bringing their learning to life.

Production

A huge congratulations to our Year 3 and 4s on such a successful production!
It was fantastic to see the enthusiasm, energy and commitment the students brought to rehearsals each week. They all gave it their absolute best and should be incredibly proud of themselves, it was a fantastic night, and we are all so proud of them!

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Term 3 was a big and exciting term, filled with so many memorable moments and a huge focus on our fabulous Production, Night at the Museum!

We started Term 3 with our amazingly talented students performing at Chelsea’s Got Talent! It was incredible to see the wonderful variety of talents across all age groups, from dancing and singing to hilarious joke-telling that had the audience laughing. It was fantastic to see our students getting up on stage, sharing their talents and confidently entertaining the crowd.

We also kicked off our Production rehearsals with our cohort dance practice every Wednesday, working alongside the wonderful team from Kinet2Dance. They did an amazing job teaching our students two fantastic dances, and it was wonderful for teachers to watch the students' confidence and skills grow each week. The students showed real commitment to their rehearsals, putting in the effort to learn their routines, practise their movements and work together as a cohort. Their hard work and enthusiasm certainly paid off!

Last term, the Senior School also had the opportunity to take part in some fantastic incursions. Students participated in a First Aid incursion with St John Ambulance, focusing on the critical life skill of DRSABCD and learning what to do in an emergency situation. Everyone had the opportunity to get hands on and put their learning into practice, including developing an understanding of the correct pace and technique for CPR. We were also very lucky to welcome Twisted Science to our school. Students took part in some exciting experiments as part of Chemical Chaos, exploring the fascinating world of science through hands-on activities and plenty of fun.

Our Year 5 students also had the wonderful opportunity to continue to connect with the children at Chelsea Kindergarten throughout the term. These visits have allowed our students to develop their leadership skills while spending time with our younger community members through play, conversation and shared activities. It has been lovely to see the Year 5 students building genuine connections, demonstrating kindness and taking such pride in being positive role models. These experiences are helping to create strong foundations for the special buddy relationships we hope to see develop when our Year 5 students become buddies in 2027.

During term in English, the Grade 5s and Grade 6s continued their Novel Studies, using their class novels to develop their reading, writing and comprehension skills. The Grade 5s have been focusing on ‘Convict Boy’, using the novel as a springboard for developing their Narrative and Informative writing skills. Through their learning, students have explored what life was like for convicts and developed a deeper understanding of life in England and Australia during the 1800s. They have had opportunities to put themselves in the shoes of the characters, considering the challenges, experiences and perspectives of people living during this time. The Grade 6s have also continued to develop their Informative writing skills while studying their novel, ‘Once’. To finish the term, students created their own Historical Narratives, drawing on their understanding of the novel and the historical context surrounding it. This provided students with an opportunity to combine their knowledge of history with their creative writing skills, while developing a deeper understanding of the experiences and perspectives of people living through significant historical events during World War II.

Mathematics has continued to follow the same successful structure as previous terms, with lessons beginning with Mental Maths and fact fluency reviews, with a particular focus on developing multiplication skills. The Grade 5s began the term with a focus on decimals, developing their understanding through adding and subtracting decimal numbers. They then moved into percentages and money, applying their mathematical skills to real-world contexts. The term finished with a focus on probability and chance, where students explored the likelihood of different events and developed their ability to describe and compare probabilities. The Grade 6s began the term exploring area, with a particular focus on finding the area of triangles and parallelograms. They then extended their understanding of 3D objects by investigating cross-sections, before moving into volume and capacity. The term concluded with a focus on percentages and data, giving students opportunities to interpret, analyse and work with data in a range of contexts.

Term 3 Humanities was all about History, with students exploring significant events and developments that have shaped Australia. The Year 5 students have been learning about Australian History, with a particular focus on the establishment of British colonies and the early colonisation of Australia during the 1800s. This learning linked beautifully with their English Novel Study of ‘Convict Boy’, allowing students to make connections between what they were learning in History and the experiences of the characters in their novel. For Year 6, their History learning continued to connect with their English Novel Study of ‘Once’. Students explored Australia during the 1900s, with a particular focus on World War I and World War II. This provided opportunities for students to develop their understanding of Australia's involvement in these significant global events and the impact they had on Australian society. Across the Senior School, students have been encouraged to consider different perspectives, make connections between subjects and understand how events from the past have helped shape the Australia we know today.

Finally, the entire Senior School Education Team hopes all our Year 5 and Year 6 students and families enjoyed a wonderfully well-deserved break!
We look forward to a fantastic Term 4 – the final term of primary school for our Grade 6s and the final term before our Grade 5s step into their new roles as school leaders!

Kindest regards,

Miss D, Miss A, Mrs Jakon, Mr Maddock, Mr Munday and the amazing Senior School ES team.

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Wellbeing News

Most of this term’s Wellbeing sessions have been around the topic of self-regulation, and we have explored this in many ways.

Students have learned how important emotional self-regulation can be, and how the different colours of the Zones of Regulation are suited to different environments. They have learned strategies to cheer up and calm down to help them match their energy levels to their current needs.

We have explored the ideas of being ‘Upstanders’ rather than ‘Bystanders’, and how to do so in a safe and tactful way. Students also identified how to help, including how to get help when you yourself can’t directly be of help. Older students considered how to deal with situations where being an ‘Upstander’ may involve confronting a friend.

The term is ending with self-regulation lessons around the use of devices and staying safe on the internet. Younger students have been discussing rules around when, where and how to use devices, and how their usage can affect your moods. Some classes have explored these ideas through the book ‘Swoosh, Glide and Rule Number 5’ (https://vimeo.com/508687813). Older students have investigated online conduct, online safety and the importance of protecting personal information.

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Students have settled into STEM wonderfully this semester — their enthusiasm, curiosity and creativity continue to shine.

Preps

Prep students explored the world of materials through hands-on learning during STEM this term. They began by making their own "binoculars" to closely observe and describe everyday objects, then moved on to sorting items into natural and man-made categories, creating pictures from natural materials along the way. As the term progressed, students investigated why objects are made from particular materials, applying that thinking to their own toy-making project. They then tested different fabrics to determine which material would be best suited for a raincoat and finished the term by working in teams in the Three Little Pigs building challenge. Throughout, students did such a wonderful job of practising key science skills such as observing, predicting, and communicating their ideas.

Grade 4’s

Grade 4 kicked off the term with a LEGO coding unit, where they were challenged to create a series of "Crazy Carnival Games" builds. Students steadily built on their coding skills, learning to code hardware safely, follow sequential instructions, and work collaboratively.

In chemical science, students investigated the three states of matter through hands-on activities — classifying solids, liquids and gases. Students investigated Oobleck’s unusual properties and explored how heating and cooling change matter through a range of experiments. They went on to observe how gases expand and contract with temperature, reflecting on safe and unsafe practices in our STEM classroom. The unit wrapped up with students designing and producing their own toy, putting their understanding of material properties into practice.

Grade 5 and 6’s

This term, Grade 5 and 6 students explored chemical science by investigating the properties of solids, liquids and gases, modelling particles with marshmallows along the way. They got hands-on with experiments like dissolving sugar, comparing the viscosity of everyday liquids, and exploring the properties of gas with balloons and bicarb soda.

Students then turned to the water cycle, building their own models and investigating evaporation and transpiration through hands-on experiments. They finished by considering how humans are impacting the water cycle, connecting their evolving scientific understanding to real-world environmental issues.

Science Week

We had a fantastic time celebrating Science Week under the theme "Seeds of Science: Nurturing Knowledge for All." Senior students got hands-on with a Chemical Chaos incursion run by Twisted Science, while students and teachers across the school joined in daily trivia, story time, and a lunchtime club designing wind-travelling seeds. A huge thank you to our Grade 6 helpers, whose efforts kept the week running smoothly — we hope everyone had as much fun as we did!


iSea iCare Ambassadors

Our iSea iCare ambassadors — Sophie, Adelina, Hugo, Georgie and Tara — did a wonderful job presenting an educational workshop at a recent junior assembly, sharing their appreciation of the ocean and the ways we can protect it from rubbish. They also participated in a coastal workshop where they removed invasive weeds, planted native grasses and shrubs, and took part in a cultural session led by Living Culture, gaining insight into how Indigenous custodians respect land and the environment.

The team finished the term off with a bang, by becoming proud winners of the 2026 Golden Chook Trophy!

Competing against schools from across the municipality, the iSea iCare team was selected as this year's winner by the City of Kingston, in recognition of their amazing efforts to reduce rubbish and boost recycling across the school — including a whole-school foil recycling challenge, a lunchtime rubbish collection system, and a 'zero waste' Hotdog Day!

What an incredible effort from the iSea iCare crew and a great way to finish the term — leading the way in sustainability and inspiring the whole school community to get on board. Congratulations team!

STEM Extension

Our STEM extension students have had a busy couple of terms with highlights including a RoboCup Lego competition, testing students' engineering and coding skills, and a Biomedical incursion from Monash University giving students a taste of real-world science in action. Students also tackled a video game coding challenge, building their programming skills, and headed out on entomology and environmental science excursions with Twisted Science to explore the natural world up close. A big congratulations to our STEM extension students for their curiosity and enthusiasm!

Kitchen Lab

Kitchen Lab continued this term, giving students the chance to build new skills while whipping up simple, tasty snacks and meals. Working in teams, students have been taking turns with different tasks, growing in confidence and getting to know one another as they cook and taste their creations, swapping thoughts on their favourite foods along the way.

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It’s been a busy and successful term of sport at CPS. On top of all our regular activities, the students have had the opportunity to participate in we've had a SEDA AFL Incursion, District Athletics, Inter school sport, Broxham Soccer Academy Incursion & Footy Colours Day. It has been pleasing to see everyone enjoying the outdoors and developing their physical and social skills. Have a wonderful break, and I look forward to seeing you all again in term 4.

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