North Harrisdale Primary School

04/09/2026

💛 R U OK? DAY 💛

North Harrisdale Primary School will be recognising R U OK? Day on Thursday 10th September by inviting all students and staff to wear yellow! 🌻☀️💛

R U OK? Day is an important reminder that a simple conversation can make a real difference. It encourages everyone to notice the people around them, check in, listen and remind others that they are not alone.

Throughout the day, students will be reminded of the four simple steps:

💛 Ask R U OK?
👂 Listen
🌻 Encourage action
☀️ Check in

Students and staff are encouraged to add a splash of yellow to their day and help spread an important message of kindness, connection and looking out for one another.

Sometimes three little words can start a really important conversation. 💛

04/09/2026

What a magnificent display of Decorated Doors for Book Week celebrating books our students enjoy 🥰

04/09/2026

NEiTA CONGRATULATIONS
We are delighted to share that two of our staff, Kirstie Fitz and Kaye Henning, have been nominated for NEiTA Awards by members of our school community. The National Excellence in Teaching Awards are a little different from most. Nominations come from parents, students, and community members rather than from within the profession, which makes them a genuine reflection of the impact a teacher has beyond the classroom walls.

Kirstie has been nominated in Philosophy, recognising the depth she brings to Philosophy for students and the extension opportunities she creates for students through her wider work with the Association for Philosophy in Schools.

Kaye has been nominated in STEM, where her leadership has opened doors for our students that many primary schools simply don't offer.

Both nominations say something about the calibre of their teaching and leadership, and something equally lovely about a community that takes the time to notice it. Congratulations to you both.

01/09/2026

We are so proud!

💃🎮 THE FUSE CUP | YEAR 4 AUSTRALIAN JUST DANCE FINALS 2026 🇦🇺

What an awesome way to introduce our youngest competitors to esports!

Our Year 4 Australian Just Dance Finals have just wrapped up, bringing together primary school students from across Australia for a fun, energetic and incredibly positive competition.

The Year 4 competition is deliberately delivered online and in the safety of the school environment, designed to give younger gamers a safe, supportive and positive first experience of esports. I

t’s about building confidence, encouraging participation, celebrating movement and having a whole lot of fun along the way! 💙

👏 A huge congratulations to every school that took part:
🏫 Hillcrest Christian College
🏫 North Harrisdale Primary School
🏫 Pallara State School
🏫 Serpell Primary School
🏫 St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School
🏫 St Elizabeth’s Catholic Primary School
🏫 Yarra Valley Grammar
🏫 Wellard Village Primary School

🌟 And congratulations to our four finalists:
1st 🔥 Serpell Primary School
2nd🔥 St Elizabeth’s Catholic Primary School
3rd🔥 North Harrisdale Primary School
4th🔥 Pallara State School

Regardless of where you finished, every Year 4 student who stepped up, had a dance and represented their school should be incredibly proud. 👏

A massive thank you also goes to the teachers and school staff who make opportunities like this possible. Your support creates environments where young people can try something new, build confidence, connect with their classmates and experience gaming in a healthy and positive way.

This is exactly what junior school esports should look like. 💙🎮💃

01/09/2026

📚✨ BOOK WEEK 2026 – SYMPHONY OF STORIES! ✨📚

What an incredible Book Week we had at North Harrisdale Primary School! This year’s theme, Symphony of Stories, came to life with a wonderful week of books, creativity, imagination and four very special author visits.

🐾 Renee Treml joined us across two days, sharing her stories, illustrations and love of creating characters with our students. She also finished our week with a special comic-creating workshop for our Reading Olympics winning buddy classes!

🎨 Sean E. Avery had students laughing, drawing and completely engaged as he shared his journey as an author and illustrator and brought his wonderfully quirky characters to life.

🌟 Isobelle Carmody joined us virtually for a series of inspiring sessions, sharing stories about her life, her writing journey and the imagination behind her much-loved books.

💛 Julia Lawrinson shared her stories and experiences with our students, exploring themes of friendship, resilience and storytelling through lively, interactive sessions.

Alongside our author visits, we celebrated with our Book Week Parade, Reading on Rugs, our Reading Olympics, classroom activities and, of course, plenty of wonderful books!

A huge thank you to Renee, Sean, Isobelle and Julia for giving our students such memorable experiences, and to our staff, students and families for embracing Book Week with so much enthusiasm.

It was a very busy week, but seeing our students excited about authors, stories, characters and reading made every moment worthwhile. 📖✨

Until next year… keep reading, keep creating, and keep finding the stories that speak to you. 🎶📚

28/08/2026

Congratulations Atwell College

Great to be out at Atwell College this morning with Hannah Beazley MLA. Congratulations to Deputy Principal Brent Passchier and his wonderful team for taking out the coveted prize of Special Education School of the Year at the 2026 Australian Education Awards. It is inspiring to see local schools expanding support and resources to improve inclusivity and learning outcomes for all students 📚

27/08/2026

This term in Djiran 2, the class novel has been Black Cockatoo. Through the novel, our Year 5 students have explored important themes of family, culture, identity and connection to Country, while developing our comprehension skills through discussion, questioning and responding to the text.

In Writing, they have been creating suspense narratives, learning how authors build tension and keep their readers engaged. Students have been experimenting with a variety of suspense tools, including personification of the setting, making your character hear, see, touch, smell or sense something ominous, and finally suggest that something is about to happen.

In Maths, the major focus has been fractions! The Year 5s have been building their understanding of fractions by comparing and ordering fractions, locating fractions on number lines, finding equivalent fractions, and adding, subtracting and multiplying fractions. Students have also been applying their knowledge to increasingly challenging problems and explaining their mathematical thinking.

26/08/2026

Djiran 8 have had a busy and exciting start to Term 3!

The Year 1 students began the term with swimming lessons, where they showed wonderful resilience as they braved some very chilly mornings.

In Mathematics, Djiran 8 have been exploring place value and learning about the important role it plays when working with two and three-digit numbers.

In Talk for Reading, the class began their new novel, Fantastic Mr Fox. With scary moments, funny moments and plenty of excitement, each chapter has captured the students’ attention and kept them eager to find out what happens next.

Science Week brought plenty of excitement through a range of rotation activities. In Djiran 8, students explored paper engineering and were challenged to manipulate a single piece of paper so that it could hold at least one book. There was lots of creativity, problem-solving and ingenuity on display!

To help everyone stay grounded during such a busy term, it has also been wonderful to see the students engaging so positively in their Resilience Project lessons. Last week, they practised wall push-ups as a strategy for calming and regulating their bodies.