Castlefield

Back to Brighton

We recently farewelled our graduating class of Year 12 from Brighton. As a School and for each member of staff, it is with tremendous pride that we contribute to the growth and development of our students, their achievements, successes and accomplishments. A special assembly and time on campus gave the students the opportunity to reminisce about all they had discovered, learnt and experienced at Castlefield. It is wonderful to be able to celebrate the graduates’ lives at Haileybury, at the campus where they began.

Up Day

Please note that the 2025 Orientation Day (Up Day) is scheduled for Tuesday, 19 November for our current Prep through to Year 6 students. The attire for the day is casual sports clothes with runners. Our students spend the day in their 2025 year level, meeting teachers, visiting homerooms and being introduced to their new classmates in preparation for next year. Further information will be sent home via myHaileybury.

Castlefield Celebration of Excellence (Speech Night)

Speech Night is very much a celebration of the year, the students and our campus; as such Celebration of Excellence is the new name for this fabulous night. The date is Tuesday, 3 December and all students in Years 5–8 attend. It was lovely to be involved in the first rehearsal of the massed singing item that will be performed by all students on the evening.

Early Learning Centre

Reading is the gift that keeps on giving.

By dedicating time to read with your child, you are not only fostering their literacy skills but also enriching your relationship and preparing them for a successful future. This exposure is critical in the early years when their brains are rapidly developing language skills. Let’s work together to instil a passion for reading in our children, ensuring they have the tools they need to thrive.

In the ELC foyer and Pre-Prep entrance there is a collection of story books available for you to read to your child before the doors open at 8.45am.

We have displayed a list of recommended books for three- and four-year-olds but we would love to hear about your child’s favourite story book to add to our library.

Embrace the messiness of MUD.

The children’s imagination and creativity has been sparked with the development of a new mud kitchen in the Pre-Prep playground. Incorporating mud play into early childhood programs and home environments provides invaluable opportunities and helps nurture well rounded, confident and curious learners. Engaging with nature and getting messy can be incredibly calming and engaging. Resilience is being noticed as the children have been navigating challenges like dealing with messiness and unexpected outcomes. So much fun!

Junior School

Visiting artist

Junior School students worked collaboratively with indigenous artist, Bayley Mifsud. Bayley is a proud Peek Whurrong woman of the Maar nation. Students learnt that indigenous art from this area is drawn from a bird’s eye perspective as the Wurundjeri people believe an ancestral wedge-tailed eagle called Bunjil created the land. Together, students and artist created two large canvasses filled with symbols that connect them to the land we care, learn and play on.

Reminders

• Yard duty teachers are active from 8.10 am each morning. Students are not permitted in the yard without a parent before this time. If you require before school care, please contact Camp Australia.

• There are only three places a Junior School student may be picked up from at the end the of the day: their classroom; The Meeting Place outside the Year 1 classrooms; or the roundabout. This ensures your child is supervised at all times. If they are waiting for a Middle School sibling, they can do this at The Meeting Place or roundabout.

• Term 4 reinstates the ‘No hat, no play’ rule. Please ensure your child has a named sunhat for recess, lunch and PE lessons.

Middle School

Term 4 sporting opportunities

Term 4 offers up a variety of sporting opportunities and events for our students to be active in. As Term 4 begins and the weather warms up, our Year 5-6 students commence their fourth sport of the year, to try, practice and continue to master the skills of! Our Year 5-6 students have loved competing in the APS competition on a Wednesday afternoon and they are to be commended on, not only their ability, but the competitive and respectful manner in which they participate.

Our Year 7-8 students have finished their Spring Sport season and now have opportunities to try a range of sports, with House activities aplenty. Everything from netball, AFL, Swimming, Aerobics, and games. House Spirit is booming with House Chants and student leadership ever present throughout our House events.

We look forward to our House Gala days at the end of term where our students can further showcase their passion for their House!

Middle School uniform

We place great importance on our learning community within the Middle School. This includes how we are kind to each other, how we learn, how we behave and how we best represent ourselves. One of the ways we do this is by wearing the uniform correctly and with pride. We are placing great emphasis on uniform this term as the students have recently transitioned from the winter uniform to the summer uniform. Our students are aware of what to wear and when, and we kindly ask our parent community to please help in supporting our uniform standards and expectations of your child.

This includes:

• Wearing the blazer to and from school each day, unless otherwise noted by the Heads of School (pertaining to weather). When wearing Sport uniform, students are required to wear their slicker in place of the blazer.
• Sport uniform is black shorts / trackpants, magenta top and slicker. Students who have a specific training uniform may change into these once having arrived at their designated sport and must change prior to returning to campus.
• Summer dress length must be sitting at the knees or lower.
• Hats are required for recess and lunch every day. No hat, no play. We are a sun smart school and strongly encourage students to wear sunscreen.

Thank you for supporting our students —your children — in achieving this expectation.

It is an exciting term ahead. A term of change, events such as Up Day and our Castlefield Celebration of Excellence, and preparation for the next year that awaits. We wish all our Middle School students a positive term ahead.

Traffic and parking reminder

We have a fabulous roundabout system within our gates and encourage parents to utilise the South Road entrance for drop off and pick up. Some congestion is created when families are attempting to pick up along South Road, rather than at the roundabout within the School.

I remind families to avoid blocking both lanes on South Road when attempting to join the queue entering the School property and to please avoid double parking along South Road waiting for your child/ren to appear. There is a bike lane that is being blocked when this happens.

We thank our families for being considerate of the parking signs in our surrounding streets and respectful of our neighbours’ properties. The safety of our students is paramount and when they are unable to be picked up at the curb, as cars are parked, it can be dangerous.

The front of the School on South Road is a two-minute ‘kiss and go’ zone, hence parents should not be leaving their cars unattended.

Katrina Manson
Head of Castlefield (Brighton)

Monique Chapman
 President, Haileybury Parents & Friends Castlefield