Assistant Principal's report

Leanne Williams - Assistant Principal

Dear Parents/Carers,

I hope you are all keeping well and enjoying the crisp mornings. I wanted to take a moment to share an update on what’s been happening across our school and some of the thoughtful planning underway as we look ahead.

Parent/Carer Connection Session

Yesterday afternoon, we held our inaugural Parent/Carer Connection Session, marking a significant step in strengthening the partnership between home and school. This session not only reflects Elsternwick Primary School’s ongoing commitment to inclusion, but also aligns with our responsibilities under Child Safe Standard 4 – Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing.

A huge thank you to Anna Hoy for her engaging and informative presentation on the importance of sensory experiences. Anna shared practical strategies for understanding and responding to sensory sensitivities, along with valuable insights into how we can better support children facing associated challenges.

We look forward to building on this positive momentum and continuing to create spaces where our families feel connected, informed, and supported.

BYOD review

We were very pleased to provide an update to our community on the BYOD review and the action items that we decided by the Think Tank (a mix of EPS staff and parents/carers). Namely:

Managing devices at home / Carrying to and from school

EPS will explore the feasibility of allowing Year 2 and 3 devices to remain at school overnight, including safe storage and charging infrastructure.
Year 2 homework will remain paper-based, with devices stored at school. EPS will review the introduction of online homework via Google Classroom in Year 3, with a potential rollout from Term 3.
Families using this option will be asked to confirm adequate insurance coverage.

Misconceptions about device use

EPS will develop a digital technology and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) overview outlining how devices are used at each year level, linked to the curriculum. This will include clarification around the importance of handwriting and a review of the homework policy, particularly the timing of the introduction of Google Classroom.

Device setup support

EPS will explore partnering with an IT provider to support families with device setup.
A ‘cheat sheet’ will be created to provide practical tips (e.g. how to disable spellcheck) and troubleshooting advice.

IDAHOBIT Day

On Friday 16th May we celebrated International Day Against LGBTIQA+ Discrimination (IDAHOBIT) by wearing a splash of rainbow and participating in classroom activities related to diversity and inclusion.

Socialisation and Play sessions

Our Wellbeing Captains and Mr Kirby hosted our first Socialisation and Play session for 2025. These sessions provide prospective students and their families with an informal space to explore, play and get to know our school prior to commencing in Prep.

Take care,

Leanne Williams