Dear Parents and Caregivers,

View Principal Ethel’s Video Update

Today, we have a very special guest leading our school – Ethel from Year 2 is our Principal for the Day! Ethel earned this exciting opportunity through her parents’ successful bid at the live auction during our recent fete. So, this update is officially hers! You can watch Ethel in action in this week’s video update. It’s been a joy to see her confidently take on this role, and I hope you enjoy hearing her thoughts and insights.

End-of-Year Events and Celebrations

As we approach the end of the school year, there’s still plenty to look forward to. With upcoming excursions, holiday celebrations, and special events, this is a wonderful time to come together as a community and celebrate all we’ve achieved this year. I’m looking forward to connecting with many of you at these events and reflecting on the highlights of 2024.

Staffing for 2025 – Final Updates

We’ve now completed our staffing model for 2025, and I’m pleased to share that we are staffed and ready for the year ahead. Later this term, families will receive information about their child’s class placement and teacher for 2025.

I’d like to take a moment to explain that the class placement process is highly detailed and involves balancing a wide range of factors to achieve the best outcomes for all students. While we understand some families have unique circumstances, these were shared with us earlier in the process and carefully considered during allocations. As such, it won’t be possible to accommodate any new requests for changes now that allocations are finalised. Thank you for your understanding and trust in this process.

Farewell to Departing Staff

As previously communicated, a reduction in enrolments for 2025 and uncertainty around the future impact of Fisherman’s Bend Primary School in 2026 have required us to make some difficult staffing decisions. While we were unable to renew contracts for some of our fixed-term staff, I’m delighted to share that all of them have secured new roles at other schools or organisations for next year. These roles represent exciting next steps in their careers, and while we’ll miss them, we wish them all the best for the future:

• Miranda Fitzgerald from our Prep team has secured a role at Giant Steps next year
• Selene Frai from our Prep team is pursuing further study in 2025
• Bronte Caswell from our Prep team has secured a role at Beaumaris PS next year
• Rebecca Angell from our Year 3 has secured a role at St Kilda PS next year
• Alex Papadopoulos from our Year 3 team has secured a role at Glen Huntly PS next year
• Victoria Hampton from our Year 5 team has secured a role at Brighton PS next year
• Victoria Fear from our Year 6 team has secured a role at South Melbourne Park PS next year

Several staff members have also decided to pursue exciting new opportunities at other schools. While they will be greatly missed, we are delighted to see them take the next steps in their professional journeys. Many retain their ongoing status with PMPS, leaving the door open for a possible return in the future. We are deeply grateful for their contributions to our school community and wish them every success in their new roles.

• Steven Brewer from our PE team will take a year of leave without pay in 2025 and pursue teaching roles in Queensland
• Amy Midson from our Year 1 team has secured a role at Cheltenham PS
• Sasha Goss from our Year 1 team has secured a role at Ashburton PS
• Harrison Arnold from our Year 6 team has secured a role at North Melbourne PS
• Alex Mcleod, currently a Learning Specialist and member of our Year 3 team has secured a Learning Specialist role at Mount Waverly PS. In moving to this leadership role, Alex’s ongoing position with the Department shifts to her new school. I thank Alex for her contributions to our leadership team and to the school’s improvement journey during her time at PMPS.

Welcoming New Team Members

The departure of these staff has opened the door for us to recruit new fixed-term team members. I’m thrilled to welcome the following talented educators to PMPS for 2025. They bring fresh perspectives and expertise, and I’m confident they’ll be a great addition to our school community:

• Mr Dennis comes to us from the UK, where he has several years of teaching experience in Brighton. He also brings a background in competitive soccer as both a player and coach.
• Ms Chloe is returning to us after completing short-term contracts at PMPS in the past. Many of you will already know Chloe, and it’s great to have her back.
• Ms Annabelle is a graduate teacher who recently completed a pre-service teacher placement with Ms. Elara and Mr. Sam in Year 5. We’re excited to support her as she begins her teaching career.

Looking Ahead

Despite these changes, the vast majority of our team remains in their classroom teaching roles, and I’m excited about the incredible work they will continue to do moving forward. With enrolments at approximately 670 students for 2025, we will have four classes at each year level.

The recent reduction in our enrolments reflects the impact of new schools established in Docklands and South Melbourne, which have helped alleviate enrolment pressure on our school. Alongside the development of these new schools, the state government has supported PMPS with investments totalling more than $13 million since 2016 to upgrade and expand our facilities. These enhancements have enabled us to continue providing a high-quality learning environment while accommodating a growing student population.

Our 2025 enrolments place us at the lower end of our ideal school size range of 650–750 students and I look forward to focusing on delivering outstanding education and wellbeing programs for all our students. 

Thank you for your continued support and engagement as we prepare for another fantastic year at PMPS.

Warm regards,