From the Principal...
Hello everyone and welcome to our final newsletter for 2025.
What an amazing year we have had at MEPS. Firstly, I congratulate all of the students on their wonderful efforts and achievements over the course of the year. There has been so many highlights throughout the year and our students have been inspiring in their positive approach and in the varied accomplishments over 2025.
I’d also like to extend a huge thank-you to YOU, our amazing parents and carers for all that you have done this year in not only supporting your children but also in supporting the school to provide a rich and diverse learning experience for all of our students. At MEPS we highly value the relationship between home and school as this levers the opportunities for all students to succeed. Your support in building confidence and building capacity at home helps us to maximise the learning experience at school.
I also gratefully thank and acknowledge the extraordinary work of our staff team. We are blessed to have such a dedicated team of people who work hard each and every day in providing a culture that supports each individual to be recognised, valued and supported to realise their potential.
Our school values are pivotal in formulating a place where students feel heard, valued, understood and appreciated for all that they are and all that they do. Together we continue to develop each person to recognise their capacity in strengthening their academic, social and emotional growth.
I would also like to acknowledge and thank the 2025 School Council for their governance and support over the course of the year. School Council has been unwavering in their support of the MEPS community.
Thank-you also to the PTA for their continued hard work and support of the school community. There have been many hours committed to provide opportunities for the broader MEPS team. From fund raising, to social activities, and all things in between the PTA have been a constant support.
Thank you to Dee in the canteen for all her hard work over 2025, thousands of lunch orders filled and daily service to our 450 students! Also, to Zoe in our uniform shop! Again, supporting and servicing the uniform needs across the whole school this year has been amazing!
To our many, many volunteers, I also extend a HUGE thank you. We are unable to maintain our collective impact without your ongoing support. Whether it be in the community events, on excursion, at camps, incursions, swimming, supporting our curriculum program, in the library, in the classroom, at sporting events, etc… Thank you.
I would also like to personally thank everyone for the warm welcome you have shown me over the past 6 months. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know everyone and building my knowledge of MEPS. I am very grateful to work in a community of great people; staff, students, parents and carers whom genuinely value education and the importance of building positive relationships across our school. As always, my door (and email and phone) is always open for any feedback, ideas and creative suggestions.
I am excited about the opportunities that lay ahead in 2026. Thank you once again!!
Graduation
WOW…what a great night of celebration on Tuesday evening at the Mornington Golf Club. This time of year provides the chance to reminisce and share in the culmination of seven years of primary school. The graduation ceremony provided the opportunity to look back, reflect and celebrate the journey and also look ahead with great anticipation as our year 6 students prepare to embark on an exciting venture into secondary school life. They are an amazing group of young people who are well equipped for the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead.
Thanks to the parents, staff and peers who have contributed to the journey and development of our amazing year 6 group. A special thank you to the families of our year 6 students for their longstanding support of their children and the school. MEPS values highly the relationship between home and school and it’s wonderful to be able to come together to celebrate such a milestone and achievement.
Congratulations to all our Graduating students; we wish them well for 2026 and beyond and we hope to maintain a connection to their pathways. I know that MEPS has served them well in preparing them for the next part of the journey.
I would also like to congratulate our Prep students on completing their first year of schooling! To the Prep team and the parents who have supported our youngest students to enjoy a successful first year; thank you!
2026 Timetable
In last week’s newsletter I shared the breakdown of our learning sessions and can now share the actual timings of those sessions. We have received a range of feedback regarding our break times in 2025 and have responded by moving our lunch break to later in the day for 2026. As always with change, we will review the impacts and ensure our priority remains on our students.
8.45am - 10.45am Session 1 & 2
10.45am - 11.15am - recess play
11.15am -1.15pm Session 3 & 4
1.15pm - 1.30pm - supervised lunch eating
1.30pm - 2.15pm - lunch play
2.15pm - 3.15pm Session 5
From next year our school gates will be opened from 8.15am. Staff will commence active supervision (yard duties) from 8.30am - 8.45am however families are welcome to come on to school grounds from 8.15am. Prior to 8.15am families can access our OHSC program as this will support our collective duty of care.
2026 start dates
Our new school year commences on Thursday January 29 for our year 1- 6 students and then on Friday January 30 (9-1pm) for our new Prep students.
2026 Dates
Term 1:
27.1.25 – 2.4.25
Tuesday January 27 and Wednesday January 28 - Teachers resume – NO students
Thursday January 29 - Year 1-6 commence (8.45 – 3.15pm)
Friday January 30 - Preps commence 9am – 1pm
Monday February 2 – 9am -1pm (prep only)
Tuesday February 3 - 9am -1pm (prep only)
Wednesday 5 February – no school for Prep students
Thursday 6 February – 8.45 – 3.15pm for Preps (continued)
Term 2
April 20 – June 26
Term 3
July 13 – September 18
Term 4
October 5 – December 18
2026 Curriculum Programs
Further to the information that has been communicated around curriculum programming for 2026, I wanted to share some further details around how we will continue to value our specialist programs and enhance our broad curriculum offerings next year.
We will collaboratively plan learning sequences that integrate creative skills in our classroom curriculum programs to further support and extend on the Arts and Sciences (wherever the links occur). This fosters student engagement and provides a natural process for students to learn within. Routine integration of various curriculum elements is part of our ongoing planning as we know this is how embedded learning occurs, as a natural and fluid process. We also know as we connect elements of our curriculum, students learn best with clear structures, expectations, feedback and routines that supports explicit instruction. This approach will provide further opportunities for students to experience these disciplines additional to the specialist timetable.
We will also further establish and extend our offerings of lunchtime clubs that provides additional pathways for students with specific interests or passions in a particular area ie: art, choir, chess, mindfulness, social skills, dance, robotics, etc. Further confirmation of the ‘clubs timetable’ will be shared at the start of 2026.
In the upcoming year we are planning for added wellbeing supports across the school with proactive and strategic social groups for identified students.
We are also planning for a systematic intervention, support and extension program across the school for identified students whilst still ensuring that we can continue to provide personal supports for identified students who require additional assistance via department funding models.
School Booklist and Contributions
A reminder re our 2026 Booklist provided by Campion. These orders and payments are due by December 30 and will ensure all students have an individualised book pack supplied at the start of the 2026 school year. We are so very appreciative of your support that allows MEPS to continue to provide a well resourced and high performing school.
The second part of our school costs for 2026 will be sent home for payment in term 1, 2026. This will support the resourcing of all teaching and learning programs for the whole school year. As always, any families requiring financial support are asked to contact me via the office.
Student booklists are now live and ready to be ordered through our school resource supplier Campion. These packs have been designed to support the teaching and learning program at each year level at our school. All orders that are placed by the ‘order-by’ date will be delivered for free to MEPS and be ready for your child waiting in their classroom on the first day of term in 2026.
Please head to: https://order.campion.com.au/
Your school resource code: Q2D9
Your order-by date is Tuesday 30 December 2025
For more information, please access the attached ‘How to Order flyer personalised to MEPS’
The Campion Parent Hub includes How to Order video & How to Order PDFs in 11 languages https://campion.com.au/parents/how-to-order/
Family help:
FAQs: https://campion.com.au/support-help/support/
Email help@campion.com.au
Tel 1300 433 982
Hot Weather
As was the case yesterday, when the weather becomes extreme we will run alternate programs during our break times. Therefore, if the weather is inclement, stormy or excessively hot; students will remain indoors during the break times. These measures are deployed with the desire to provide outdoor play times wherever practicable as we realise the importance of physical activity to complement our learning programs.
OHSC
I once again acknowledge and thank Camp Australia for their long-standing support of MEPS and our OHSC program. Today will be the final day of their provision.
As you are aware TeamKids will be commencing their program from the 12th January for the school holiday program. The Before and After School Care will commence at the start of the 2026 school year. In order to use this program next year, families are asked to register their family via the following link:
https://www.teamkids.com.au/venues/mount-eliza-primary-oshc/
If you would like to access the holiday program, please follow the prompts to secure your place. Please note that there is also a program running on January 27 and January 28 during our curriculum days for interested families.
Thank-you again to everyone for a wonderful year at MEPS. Wishing you and your families a happy and healthy break over the school holidays and we look forward to seeing everyone in the new year.
Stay safe.
Kindest regards,
Michael
Respect, Resilience, Responsibility, Connectedness and Challenge