Principal's News
Annual General Meeting (AGM) Parents’ Committee 2021
The Annual General Meeting for the Parents’ Committee will be held on Tuesday the 7th of December at 7pm in the staff room at Cheltenham East PS. We would love to see as many parents as possible attend to find out what exciting fund-raising events are planned for 2022. Please come along and support the school’s fund-raising efforts for next year. The election of office bearers will take place at the meeting.
Fun Food Day Thankyou
Thankyou to Jodie Marsh, Krystal Evans, Sam May and Juanita Sprout for their outstanding work on getting out so many delicious lunches out to our starving children on Monday’s special Fun Food Day. The fact that the power in the canteen didn’t co-operate and a few other issues arising, the parents were amazing in getting the food out on time. I think the food was really appreciated by the children judging by the way they were tucking in!
Library
The library will return to the end of the BER building and be a stand alone area next year due to less classes across the school. The children will be able to visit regularly to return and borrow books and enjoy a library session as well as use the space to read fiction, non-fiction and picture story books and to do research for projects. They will also be able to relax and play games in there during some lunchtime breaks.
Attendance
Please make sure your children are attending school as much as they can. Many children have already missed out on important school work this year due to Covid 19 so it is important for them all to be here at school from 9am to 3.30pm each day. “It’s Not OK to be Away” is the Department and the School’s motto and if the children are not here they are missing out on valuable instruction and learning. Please try and limit the amount of times children are taken out of school as much as possible, this includes early pickups and late drop offs although I know appointments for many reasons are unavoidable.
Kids Hope
Thankyou to Rex and the members of Kids Hope who have been able to work with and support some of the children who find it hard to connect with school. They have certainly enjoyed having you come in and provide them with lots of great experiences. Unfortunately it could be the end of Kids Hope as we know it due to members being unavailable for a variety of reasons.
Thank you from Year 6
Our staff were treated to a delightful outdoor afternoon tea on Friday after school, prepared by our Year 6 children and some of their parents. The sharing of gratitude with the staff at CEPS from the Year 6 cohort each year, is a long standing tradition, which marks a show of respect for the impact the primary years have had on each young person. It was a fantastic occasion for all staff, who gratefully enjoyed separately prepared grazing boxes, which complied with current COVID safe practice. A big thank you goes out to the parents who helped with the arrangements and to Mrs Pendlebury, Ms Klooger, Mr Hughes and Mrs Chase for their additional organisation of the afternoon.
2022 Grades
The children will be meeting their new teacher for 2022 on Wednesday 15th December in a ‘Meet the Teacher’ session. They will spend some time getting to know their new teacher and new classmates before the end of the year. Your child will bring home a slip telling you who their teacher is and what grade they are in. The grade selection process has been long and detailed with children selected in specific grades based on the three following criteria: friendship groups, social and emotional needs and academic performance.
Volunteers - Thank you
Thank you to our many volunteers in the school for your help over the year. There are many organisations and individuals who give up their time to help our students and teachers. The opportunity to meet and hold our traditional thank you morning tea is not possible this year, however the sentiments remain. On behalf of the school I extend a warm thank you for your wonderful support during the year in many capacities. If you have helped in any way please understand we are most grateful for your support and look forward to our continued partnership for the benefit of our students.
The Parents and Friends committee have been affected by the lack of opportunities to raise much needed funds this year due to Covid but they have still managed to run some Fun Food days for our lucky children.
Our Parents and Friends' Committee has provided an opportunity for parents with a variety of skill sets to participate and contribute to our school community. I wish to offer my sincere thanks on behalf of the CEPS school and community for all of your hard work, support of functions and willingness to be involved over the past year.
Student Reports
You will be receiving your child’s report on Monday 13th December. These reports indicate the point of learning for each child as at the end of the 2021 school year in English and Maths. This data will be shared with each child’s 2022 teacher (along with other data and work samples) as the ‘starting point’ for learning next year. Students have received the results that they deserve and as is the case with all reports, there are results to celebrate and results that will be the focus of future learning and development throughout the next 12 months.
Transition Day
The last of our face-to-face Foundation transition sessions will occur next week. A year like no other has required an adaptive Transition program which has seen a variety of ways to introduce the school to new community members. The last session to be held next Tuesday December 7th is the ‘Meet the Teacher’ session where the 2022 Foundation children come along and experience a morning session of school with the teachers. It is always great to see them already dressed in full school uniform with their school bags.
Sensory Garden
The sensory garden project is finished as of today although the school is in the process of purchasing three new tables and seats to put in which were not included in the costs. I’m sure you will agree it has not only made the area safer for everyone to use, but also looks fantastic and will be a great spot for the children to play in. The children have enjoyed the entertainment provided by the workers during lunchtime and recess breaks.
Thought For the Week
Mr Wayne Bach
Principal