From the Principal...

Hello everyone,

I hope you’ve had a great week at MEPS.

We have enjoyed a wonderful week of learning and fun across the school.

Our year 4, 5 and 6 students have endured some interesting weather this week but have enjoyed their beach program.

Year 1 students had a great time enjoying their Dr Suess day.

As the doctor says.. "Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!"

Year 4 students are also enjoying their OzHarvest program as they cook up a storm.

Year 5 & 6 Bowls program is continuing and our students are honing their skills on the greens.

Our year 6 students are excited about their ‘1000 steps’ excursion as they explore the concept of challenge through the Endeavour program.

Industrial action

On Tuesday March 24, staff have the option to support this industrial action by a full day of Stop Work.

We will have some disruptions to our program with a number of teachers away from MEPS on this day. Please note that the instruction and class groups will vary across the school as we make every attempt to keep things ‘as normal as possible’ for our students.

To support these adaptations and the functioning of our programs, we are employing some casual relief teachers (CRT) and ensuring supervision of the learning with support of Education Support staff (ES).

All students are welcomed and encouraged to attend school on this day however, with this disruption parents can make their own arrangements as necessary.

Please note that March 24 was originally scheduled as our School Photo Day. Our School Photo date has now been re-scheduled to Tuesday May 5.

Any photo orders and payments already submitted will be securely held and applied to the new photo day with all orders now due by May 3.

Signing Out

Thanks to the parents who have supported our school processes around collecting your children early from school.

Please be reminded to come to the office to sign your children out of the school.

We also ask that wherever possible you refrain from collecting your children during our break times (10.45 - 11.15am and 1.30 - 2.15pm) this will help with our processes.

Allied health support at MEPS

Thank you to our community for their patience in allowing us to do a comprehensive review of allied health services and access arrangements across our school moving forward. We have been able to further consider our ability to provide safe and suitable spaces and supervision to ensure child safety, critically examined the effects of support services on our ability to deliver high quality educational programs and considered the impacts on students and families utilising onsite allied health professionals.

Whilst acknowledging that some students benefit from external supports, we have made the decision to cease onsite allied health therapies from term three of 2026. To support a transition and to allow parents to arrange sessions offsite, our current approved therapies and visitations can continue for term 2 but will conclude from the start of term 3 and no new onsite therapies will be approved.

Year 3-6 concert

Hot off the press…We are excited to share the news that as a complement and extension of our Arts program the year 3-6 students will enjoy an end of semester concert.

Further details will be shared next week including sharing this information with all of our year 3-6 students and our processes for auditions and casting for the acting elements of the show. At this stage the students aren’t aware of this exciting addition to our curriculum programs.

Our concert is scheduled for June 17 at the Frankston Arts Centre – please block this evening in your diaries.

We are proposing a similar experience for our Prep – 2 students in the second semester.

A Night at the Museum – June 17 @ Frankston Arts Centre

"A Night at the Museum," follows a group of students on an exciting school excursion to a magical museum where exhibits come to life. Led by their lively teacher, Ms Snortlebottom, the group of four students including the mischievous Henry, embarks on an unexpected adventure through history and imagination.

As they explore exhibits from the Roman Empire to the Dinosaur and Australian Outback. The students encounter lively characters like Octavius the Gladiator and Neil Armstrong, each brought to life with engaging dance numbers. Along the way, the students learn valuable lessons about history, culture and teamwork.

The heart of the story is Henry's personal journey. Initially the troublemaker, Henry’s experiences teach him about responsibility, redemption and the importance of being true to oneself. Through the challenges he faces, Henry learns that growth and understanding come from making amends and embracing his potential for good.

The show blends humour, history and dance. It highlights the value of teamwork, curiosity and personal growth, making it perfect for audiences of all ages.

Stay tuned for more details soon...

PTA dissolution

After consultation and deliberations with the PTA, we are reviewing the model in which we can maximise community participation and support.

A proposed change in model would mean that the function of the PTA would work within the parameters of the school council. In effect the PTA would continue to function in exactly the same format, with a focus on community connection and fundraising whilst enjoying the connected support of school council.

We are proposing a PTA dissolution meeting to be held on Tuesday, March 31 at 6pm at the school.

Any interested parents are asked to please RSVP your attendance to Michael.kent@education.vic.gov.au

Arrival at school

Can I please remind all families that the school gates are open from 8.15am but please don’t send your children earlier than this or if they are riding/scooting to school, please don’t arrive earlier than this time. If there is a need to arrive earlier, please access the OHSC program.

NAPLAN

Congratulations to our year 3 and 5 students for their hard work and effort during this NAPLAN testing window. In particular, our year 5 students did an amazing job navigating a disrupted experience on the first day of testing. All students are to be celebrated in their endeavours and positive attitude throughout these tests.

School Contributions

Thank you to the families who have already paid their 2026 school contributions. Please know the positive impact that your contribution makes to the school. We rely heavily on your support to continue resourcing our school with adequate and appropriate resources.

The 2026 Parent Contributions consist of two categories:

Curriculum Contributions - Curriculum items and activities which the school deems necessary for students to access the curriculum. $250
Other Contributions – Non-curriculum items and activities that relate to the school’s function and objectives. $100 or if you are in a position to support the school with any additional funds, we would be extremely appreciative.

Please note that the Curriculum Contributions are inclusive of all digital subscriptions for this year, meaning we are not asking for parents to pay separately for this educational access.

Easter Raffle

Thank-you to the many parents who have already contributed to our Easter raffle. We greatly and gratefully appreciate your support. If you would like to contribute please drop off any donations via the school office from now until Monday, 30 March at 12:00pm.

Purchase Tickets:

To buy tickets please scan the QR code on the attached flyer or click the link below:

https://myschoolconnect.com.au/mt-eliza-ps-raffle

Excursions and Events in 2026

A reminder to please be aware of the processes for this so as to ensure that your child does not miss out on the broad scope of opportunities across this year.

Our processes are:

Communicating to parents about upcoming activities via Compass
Requesting permission and payment for activities (if required)
Posting reminders about due dates as they approach
Publishing a final end date for payments and permissions
Facilitating logistics for successful event management

In order for this to function effectively parents are asked to note the end dates and recognise that these final dates are vitally important to the next stage of planning activities. This includes securing our bookings and invoicing with providers, arranging travel and first aid logistics for the activity; etc…

Therefore, please be aware that our dates are necessary and that permissions and payments after the published dates will not be possible. We want all students to attend all opportunities and will ensure our communications are timely enough to allow appropriate lead time in supporting permissions, payments and planning to occur. Thank you for understanding and supporting these processes.

Pre service teachers

As a school and system we are excited to welcome pre-service teachers to MEPS. Across this year we will have a number of pre-service teachers come to our school to learn, grow and evolve their teaching capacities under the exemplary guidance of our staff team. Currently we welcome Daisy into our year 3 team and Kate into our year 5 team. This is a great way that we can collectively support the system but also enhance the learning resources at MEPS!

Teacher connections

At MEPS we understand the importance of providing helpful and timely responses to common enquiries from parents and carers. We will do our best to respond to general queries as soon as practicable. The right to disconnect legislation makes explicit that all employees have the right to take space from their working responsibilities. We generally ask that you allow us 2 – 3 working days to provide you with a detailed response to general queries. We will endeavour to respond to urgent matters within 24 hours where possible. Please note that in an urgent scenario staff are unable to respond to emails during teaching time. Please phone the office to ensure your matter can be noted and actioned. We appreciate your support and the respect for the many roles that teachers fulfill in their working day.

Mt Eliza Secondary College in 2027

Hello families of MEPS. At Mount Eliza SC we are doing things a little differently this year in opening our college to you. We are encouraging families to come and see our college on a tour to enable an authentic experience into the day of the life of a student at MESC. There is still room for our OPEN DAY tours Monday 23rd March, but there will also be an opportunity to meet me and the rest of the Principal Team via WEBEX at 6pm. Please use the following link to join. If we haven’t seen you already, we look forward to meeting you and your student Monday! Regards, Danni Vaughan Mount Eliza SC Principal

Meeting link

https://eduvic.webex.com/eduvic/j.php?MTID=mef8f078b3ef8bac8de370c9991fd8e93

Harmony Day

It has been amazing to see the splash of orange across the school today and as we celebrate and acknowledge Harmony Day. I must thank the very Harmonious Office Team who’ve led the charge with their support in orange!

Sunsmart

Please note the school’s sunsmart policy requires all students to wear their school approved, sunsmart hats until April 30.

Students are encouraged to bring their own sunscreen and apply as required during the day. Staff will remind students at the start of our break times as a prompt to ensure we are all being sunsmart.

Kind regards,

Michael

Respect, Resilience, Responsibility, Connectedness and Challenge