We acknowledge the traditional Aboriginal custodians of the lands, waterways and skies of the Bunurong Peoples of the Kulin Nation where we gather, learn and grow at Aspendale Primary School.

We pay our respects to past and present Traditional Custodians and Elders of all nations,  and their ongoing cultural, spiritual and educational practices.  


We extend this respect to all Torres Strait Islanders and any First Nations peoples who learn or visit these grounds. We thank you for sharing and caring for the land we are learning on.

New version of the Acknowedgement of Country
Above is an updated Acknowledgment of Country that has been written in consultation with staff, students and members of our community. We recieved positive feedback and approval from our friends at the Bunurong Land Council in 2023. 

Dear parents and carers,

This week students have been rounding out their teaching and learning units whilst spending time reflecting on their achievements across the year.

It’s also been a week of transitions across the school.

• On Monday our staff spent the day reflecting on our teaching and learning programs across 2025 and mapping out 2026 in their teaching teams.
• Tuesday was the state-wide Government secondary school transition day. It has been great to hear from our Year Six students about their adventures at their new schools.
• Tuesday was also the final day in our kindergarten-school transition program with our 2026 Foundation students spending the morning in their future classrooms with their future teacher. The morning concluded with them meeting their 2026 Year Six buddy and enjoying a Teddy Bear’s picnic with their families.
• Whilst this was happening, students across our school spent time in their next year level, learning the routines, similarities and differences of the new space. It was a great opportunity for them to familiarise themselves and ask any questions they may have.
• On Friday morning, students will spend the morning with their 2026 teacher in their new class. This is another opportunity for our students to manage their transition to the next year. Thanks to our staff who have again shown care and consideration of the needs of all of our students in creating our 2026 classes.

2026 Staffing Update

We have finalised our staffing for 2026. I would like to thank Michelle Thompson, Megan Thomas and Nelly Rosli for their contributions at our school. Michelle has worked in Year Two and as our Learning Enhancement teacher over the last two and a half years. She will move to Lyndhurst PS next year. Megan has worked as our STEM teacher in 2024 and in Year Six this year and will return to Chelsea Heights PS in 2026. Nelly has joined us as an Education Support staff member and will work closer to home in 2026.

Amy Gardiner commences family leave at the end of 2025. Thank you to Amy for your work in Year Five this year and we look forward to hearing of the safe arrival of your second child.

In 2026 we look forward to welcoming back Caitlin Beer who returns from a year teaching in the UK and Laura Pearce who will return from family leave at the beginning of Term Three.

We welcome Sammy Vella to a two-day classroom teacher position, who joins us from Flinders Christian College.

At the end of this report is our 2026 teaching team. We look forward to another successful year with them next year.

2026 Student Leaders

It was a privilege to be in the room as our 2026 student leaders shared their thoughts on leadership last week. It was clear from their reflections that we are well placed as we move into 2026. On Tuesday, we shared with the Year Five students their leadership positions for 2026. We look forward to our current captains passing on the school and house flags to our future leaders this Friday at our Festive Sing-Along. In 2026 we will hold our official badge assembly.

End of Semester Reporting

On Wednesday our second semester reports will be published via the Sentral Parent Portal. These reports contain your child’s progress over the semester against the curriculum, a personal learning comment from your child’s teacher and the final round of continuous reporting from both your child’s classroom and specialist teachers. I would like to thank our teaching staff for their thorough reporting practices across the year, throughout the seven rounds reporting they have delivered.

A reminder that at the end of the year we will move from Sentral to Compass. If you would like a copy of your child’s reports, it is timely to download them as pdf files.

Colour Run

It was wonderful to see the community atmosphere on Friday afternoon as we enjoyed our colour run together. Parents and carers, staff and students all ended up with some extra colour added to their clothing. Amelia Busuttil and I even added a decent amount of slime to ours. As a community we have raised $9,736 (we’re very close to our $10k target) which will go towards the installation of our new drink taps.

Thanks to our Student Representative Council and Ruby Clohesy for their organisation of the event.

Festive Sing-Along

Our festive sing-along takes place in the courtyard tomorrow. This is a casual opportunity for the community to join each year level as they bop along to a catchy tune. The sing-along begins at 2:30.

Before this our students have their learning journals available to show to their families in the classrooms. This begins at 2pm.

As a final thought, the Federal Government’s new age-restrictions for social media commenced this week. I’ve been reflecting on how I use social media and technology and the opportunities to engage face-to-face in real life with people over the Summer break. I’ve recently read ‘Stolen Focus’ by Johan Hari and ‘The Anxious Generation’ by Jonathan Haidt which have both added food for thought, including how we build our young people’s independence in the real world.

Enjoy the rest of the week,

Tom

Inclusive Educators

Molly Kitchen, Jo Lovett, Mel Beech, Sophie Conway, Jo Backstrom, Heidi Ellison, Kylie-Anne Freshwater, Dianna Baltas, Tessa Baird, Tenille Northam, Santhi Paramasivam, Imogen Ollie, Jayne Sarros, Marnie Elliott, Tia Roberts, Morven Begg, Chloe Osunbayo

Administration Team

Amelia Mastorakos, Jude Prosser, Amber Demmler, Sienna Koop (First Aid)

Leadership Team

Tom Pearce, Amelia Busuttil, Jess Johnston, Melissa Jacobs, Leanne Peterson

Last Thursday, 34 Year 5 students participated in the Building Language Leader Program. Mr Yang and Mr Linton from the Department of Education’s Victorian Challenge and Enrichment Project visited our school to run a two-hour session designed to help students develop language skills, build leadership, and use their abilities to enrich the learning of younger students.
 

During the session, Mr Yang taught the students basic greeting words through gestures and games, and also shared strategies and tips on how to be effective language leaders when supporting younger learners. Afterwards, the Year 5 students worked in small groups with their Year 2 buddies to teach them the new vocabulary and play a domino game together.

Both the Year 5 and Year 2 students were highly engaged in the activities, with the Year 5 students especially demonstrating strong leadership skills.