We acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Nations and Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land and waterways on which we live and work. We pay our respects to the Wurundjeri people, as well as Elders past, present, and emerging from all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

February – Principal’s Report

Firstly, what an outstanding month we have had at Sherbourne Primary School!

We are finishing February with 73 students enrolled, an increase of 22 students since 2025 — a significant achievement for our school. This is testament to the staff and culture we are building with the community and all of this is based on our school values. We currently have a Prep class, a Grade 1/2 class, a Grade 3/4 class, and a Grade 5/6 class. This steady growth gives us great confidence in the strength of our teaching and learning programs as our reputation within the community continues to build. I liken us to a country school in the suburbs, something that certainly provides our students with positivity and growth. 

I would like to sincerely thank our parent community for such a positive start to the year. Your involvement in all things Sherbourne is valued and greatly appreciated. The number of parent volunteers we have already welcomed into our school has been extraordinary. We look forward to continuing to work alongside you in classrooms and at upcoming events. Your support not only enriches learning opportunities but also strengthens the sense of safety and community within our school. Thank you to all that attended the Volunteer Inductions throughout Feb. It was important to complete this and I enjoyed catching up with a number of parents. 

I would also like to officially welcome Ursula Vanderzee to our Grade 1/2 class. Ursula has already made a significant and positive impact — not only with her students, but also with our staff and the wider school community. We are thrilled to have her as part of our team.

It has certainly been a busy month. Students have enjoyed camp, swimming events, discos and many other experiences — alongside our core focus of high-quality teaching and learning in every classroom.

Looking ahead to March, our classroom teachers will be participating in four days of Orton Gillingham professional development. This training will strengthen and streamline our phonics approach across the school, ensuring consistency and excellence in early reading instruction. While we are fortunate to have highly skilled teachers who know and understand your children, this professional learning will further enhance our whole-school approach and continue to build strong foundations in literacy.

I also look forward to welcoming our 2026 School Council team in the coming weeks. Thank you to everyone who nominated — your willingness to contribute to the governance and future direction of our school is deeply appreciated. Further information will be shared via Compass. To our outgoing members, Hayely Smith, Glen Coleman, Lucette Morris and Amanda Hirst. Thank you for your time and commitment to Sherbourne Primary School's School Coucil team. You certainly have had a positive impact.

Congratulations to our entire Sherbourne community on a fantastic start to 2026. We have achieved so much already, and I look forward to seeing this momentum continue throughout the year.

Mr Hayes

Principal

Please regularly check Compass for any updates and events

Also view the compass calendar to keep updated

Please mark all these dates below on your calendars 

We are pleased to let families know that Compass Connect has now been activated within our Compass app. This feature allows parents and carers to message their child’s classroom teacher directly as a convenient means of communication.

As with email, messages will be responded to during business hours only. For classroom-related questions or concerns, your child’s teacher is the first point of contact. If you require an urgent conversation or would like to arrange a meeting with the Principal, please contact the school office to organise this. We kindly ask that parents do not contact the Principal directly.

We appreciate your support in following these communication processes to ensure clear and efficient communication across our school community.

Lunch Clubs Are Back at Sherbourne!

We are excited to share that our lunch clubs have officially started again for 2026, offering students a wonderful range of opportunities during playtimes.

We are very fortunate to have Indie School joining us on Wednesdays to run a series of engaging lunch clubs. To begin the year, students can participate in Art Club, Sport Club and Lego Club. A special highlight is that creations from Art Club will contribute to our school garden — a fantastic way for students to leave a lasting and visible contribution to our outdoor spaces.

Our Rock Painting Club has also been a great success, with students enjoying the opportunity to be creative and add colour and personality to our school grounds. It has been wonderful to see their artistic talents on display and the pride they take in their work.

Mr Hayes has reintroduced his popular Walk and Talk Club, giving students the opportunity to enjoy a relaxed walk to the local playground, have a chat and build positive social connections in a supportive environment.

Our Choir, run by BFSM, has started up again, and we are thrilled to see so many students involved. Students participating in the Victorian State Schools Spectacular will also begin rehearsals very soon. An exciting opportunity to be part of a state-wide performance event.

In the coming weeks, we are hoping to open the library during one Friday playtime, providing students with the option of quiet reading or colouring during recess or lunch. This will offer a calm and creative alternative during playtime for those who prefer a quieter space.

We are incredibly fortunate to offer such a diverse range of lunch clubs at Sherbourne. These opportunities provide students with choice, connection and creativity, ensuring there is something for everyone during their break times.

On Friday, 20th February, all students from Prep to Grade 6 enjoyed a fantastic whole-school event with DJ Dayna, including a special guest appearance from Mr Hayes — who certainly attracted plenty of social media attention over the weekend with the entrance!

Mr Hayes would like to share his appreciation for the positive posts and comments that were shared online after the event.

A huge thank you to our Parents and Friends Committee for organising such a successful event from 4:00–5:30pm. The decorations, lighting and atmosphere was electric! We are incredibly grateful to our volunteers who ran the barbecue and to those who stayed behind to help clean up, leaving the gym exactly as we found it. Your support is truly appreciated. 

As a small school, events like this remind us how important it is to work together. Seeing the enjoyment on our students’ faces made the afternoon a wonderful success.

Thanks again to Dayna and Bianca from BFSM for volunteering their time and equipment for maximum affect. 

While our Grade 3–6 students were away at camp, our Prep–2 students enjoyed a wonderful Teddy Bear Picnic Day filled with fun, creativity and connection.

The day began with a special Bear Share, where students proudly introduced their favourite teddy bears and shared why they are special to them. Classes then enjoyed reading We’re Going on a Bear Hunt and even headed out on their own imaginative “bear hunt” adventure around the school.

Mrs Hayes kindly joined us to provide teddy bear face painting, which was a huge hit with the students. Throughout the day, students also created teddy-themed crafts, including puppets and headbands, showing great creativity and enthusiasm.

We were also fortunate to have BFSM visit for music and sing-alongs, filling the day with joyful songs and lots of smiles.

It truly was a beary exciting day, full of laughter, imagination and special memories for our youngest learners.

Our recent camp to Billabong Ranch in Echuca was an incredible experience for our students. From the moment we arrived, there was a strong sense of excitement, courage and teamwork as students embraced new challenges and stepped outside their comfort zones.

The activities were age-appropriate and perfectly suited to our students. Horse grooming and horse riding were standout highlights for both students and staff. There was a noticeable sense of calm and focus during these sessions. While students may not have recognised it, the equine experience offered many of the benefits associated with equine-assisted learning and equine therapy programs — including increased confidence, emotional regulation, responsibility and connection.

Research highlights that equine-assisted programs can support:

• Emotional wellbeing and self-regulation

• Confidence and resilience

• Social skills and teamwork

• Leadership and responsibility

Students naturally demonstrated these qualities as they cared for and rode their horses, forming connections and showing a strong sense of responsibility.

The swimming activity was also a welcome addition, particularly given the warm weather, and students were outstanding in their activity groups. Their behaviour, teamwork and willingness to participate were a credit to themselves and our school.

We encourage families to take some time to reflect with your child about their camp highlights and the importance of building independence through opportunities like this. As staff, we consistently see significant growth in students during camp programs — socially, emotionally and personally — and we will continue to provide these valuable experiences.

The feedback from Billabong Ranch staff was extremely positive, and we look forward to returning in the future.

A sincere thank you to Sue Gavin for organising such a positive and well-run camp experience. We would also like to thank our staff back at school for continuing the teaching and learning program for our Prep–2 students during this time.

It has been a fantastic start to the year in Grade 5/6, with students already demonstrating strong engagement and growth in their learning. 

In English this term, students have been focusing on developing their persuasive writing skills. Together, we have explored how to structure a strong persuasive argument, beginning with engaging introductions and building three clear arguments using the TEEL structure (Topic sentence, Evidence, Explanation and Link).

Students have been learning how to craft effective topic sentences, support their ideas with relevant examples, and clearly explain their thinking. They have also been incorporating persuasive language features such as high-modality words, rhetorical questions and emotive language to strengthen their arguments and make their writing more convincing.

A key focus in our classroom has been building student capability and agency through peer-to-peer feedback. Students have been using structured feedback templates that include sentence stems, guiding questions and clear success criteria to help them identify strengths in each other’s writing and provide constructive suggestions for improvement. This process supports students to reflect on their own work while learning how to give respectful and purposeful feedback.

The Grade 5/6 students have approached this work with maturity, curiosity and collaboration. In just a few short weeks, we have already seen noticeable improvement in writing quality, particularly through students independently using sentence stems and classroom resources to strengthen their ideas. This demonstrates growing learner agency, as students are taking increasing ownership of their learning and actively working to improve their writing outcomes.

SPS Achievements are an opportunity to share fantastic things that your child has been doing outside of school!

If your child has made an outstanding achievement that you would like to share with the school community, please send a photo and a caption to:  

Jess - jessica.allen@education.vic.gov.au

It is important to celebrate and recognise such successes with the school community!