Hello everyone and welcome to the latest newsletter.

School fees

Thank-you to those parents whom have now paid their 2025 school fees and we are so grateful for this support to allow us to continue offering the breadth and depth of programming here at MEPS. To those still pending, we do appreciate your consideration in supporting the school and our amazing students! Statements will be coming home next week. Please reach out to the office with any questions or required supports.

Local Member – Chris Crewther

This week I enjoyed a visit from our local member, Chris Crewther. This was a great opportunity to talk with Chris about state education, the MEPS journey and future opportunities for our school and ways in which the government can support our initiatives.

What a Book Week it has been….

Thanks to everyone who has participated and embraced the book week celebrations.

A special thank-you to Katherine for all her hard work, dedication and commitment to supporting the week. Also, to the staff for their commitment in supporting the literacy activities across the school. The book week dress up and parade was a great display and wonderful way to promote reading as well as fostering a love of literacy amongst our students. Thank you to all the families who supported the dress up day and the many activities across the week.

We enjoyed a visit from a professional illustrator, the book fair, book cover design competition….WOW what a week! The positive energy and excitement right throughout the school has been wonderful to experience. As we know the love of reading is an ongoing focus and I urge all families to continue to read at home as much as possible. Reading to your child, reading with your child and modelling reading are great ways to ensure your child develops their capacity to be an avid reader and in turn avid learners!!!

Curriculum Day - Friday 22nd August

A reminder that tomorrow is our Curriculum Day and students are not required at school on this day. Staff will be working hard on developing our curriculum and programming, further developing our shared professional learning in the science of learning and related approaches. This will provide an enhanced focus and a shared approach across the school.

Assembly

Please note that the Friday afternoon assembly time will change slightly, now commencing at 2.30pm. This will provide enough time to value the assembly and allow students to return to their classrooms prior to dismissal at 3.15pm.

Thank you to all of the families across our school for supporting the recent timetable changes. We are seeing many positives from this shift; understanding that it will take some time for everyone to fully embrace the change in sessions and break times.

School Start

I recognise that the ‘morning rush’ can provide some challenges in making life work in getting to school. However, I need to stress the importance of having all students at school and ready for learning in their class at 8.45am. The morning routine and structure of the school day is outlined at 8:45am each day. This time is crucial in preparing students for a successful day. The first session of our day at MEPS provides an outline of the day ahead, sets the learning program and parameters, reduces cognitive load for students, establishes further connections in the class through our welcome circles. These are designed to focus on the social and emotional needs of students prior to setting the learning intentions for the session and the day ahead.

Late arrivals can create a distraction to learning momentum and often doesn’t support students accessing the learning content in a timely and consistent way. Instructions often need to be re-explained and can have an adverse effect on the learning progress.

We do have a number of students who are arriving later to school. I recognise that for some students the 8:45am start can create some concern. In this situation I ask you to please reach out to your child’s teacher as the first port of call with any issues.

In the event that your child arrives late to school, please note that parents/carers/guardians are responsible and required to sign your children in through the office. Students are not to be signing themselves in to school after 8:45am (as per the process prior to 3:15pm).

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Year 4-6 Athletics

A wonderful day on Wednesday for our year 4-6 students whom all participated in the athletics carnival. Representing their houses, the students did an amazing job at competing across the various track and field events. A BIG thanks to Tracy McLaughlin for all her fantastic work in organising and co-ordinating the day. Also, to Nic, the broader staff team and most importantly our awesome parent volunteers who gave their time and contributed to making the day such a success.

Father’s Day

A big thank-you to the PTA for their organisation and co-ordination of our upcoming Father’s Day celebrations. The PTA will be offering a breakfast (further details to come) and our annual Father’s Day Stall. This will provide a great opportunity for all students to purchase something from the stall to celebrate the dad’s in our community.

Stall schedule:

Wednesday 3rd Sep

Year 5, Year 3, Year 1, Year 2, Prep C & F

Thursday 4th Sep

Year 4, Year 6, Prep B & D & H

Important reminders:

Items priced from $2 - $10 each
Purchases on the day will be cash sales only and we ask that students/parents provide smaller notes and gold coins where possible.

Mobile Phones

A reminder that the Department of Education has in place a mobile phone policy that requires students who bring mobile phones to school to have them switched off and handed in to staff at the start of the school day. These will be returned at the end of the day. They will be securely stored during school hours. Smart devices such as an iWatch are to be treated the same way. The Department is requiring all schools to ensure this policy is in place and enforced. This applies equally to all government schools across the state.

This helps to ensure that school is a learning environment free from unnecessary distractions and disruptions. By ensuring mobile phones are kept away at recess and lunch times, students can interact with each other face-to-face, without the distractions and social pressures that mobile phones can cause.

I ask for the support of all our families, staff and students in continuing to support the implementation of this policy in our school.

In the event of an emergency or if you need to immediately contact your child, please contact the school office who will pass on a message as required. If you have further questions, please contact me.

Year 5/6 Endeavour Program

Our year 5/6 students have been enjoying their Endeavour program over the course of this week and next week the students are engaging with the outdoor education program that brings together some life skills, interpersonal and collaborative challenges whilst engaging with the local environment. This current experience has students enjoying the surrounds of Camp Manyung while extending their skills and having loads of fun along the way.

Uniform

A reminder of our uniform policy at MEPS. All students are required to wear their uniform each day. I have noticed some students wearing some non-approved items and differing jumpers. Please also be aware that any students with longer than shoulder length hair are required to have their hair tied up at all times. Thank-you for supporting the policy and processes.

Please also be aware that we have a range of approved uniform items that can be purchased from our uniform shop.

We are pleased to add a new item to our uniform. School beanies will be made available shortly. Further information will be coming home soon.

Any families who require any assistance with their uniform needs are asked to please reach out to myself or the school office.

Planning for 2026

Please let the office know if you have not submitted your enrolment form for Prep 2026 and/or you are planning on departing MEPS in 2026. This information is so important for effective planning. The information will support planning of curriculum programs, formation of classes and staffing.

Your assistance here is greatly appreciated.

Parent opinion survey

This week I sent home information via Compass offering the opportunity to all families to contribute to our Parent Opinion Survey.

Please see the post below:

Our school is conducting the annual Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey offered by the Department of Education and is seeking your feedback. The survey is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families perceptions of school climate, student behaviour and student engagement. The survey is optional, but we encourage and appreciate your participation.

Our school will use the survey results to assist in identifying areas for improvement and professional development needs in the school, to target school planning and improvement strategies.

The Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey is open from Monday 18 August to Friday 19 September 2025.

All families are invited to participate in the survey.

The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones.

The online survey will be available in English and 10 other languages including Arabic, Greek, Hakha Chin, Hindi, Japanese, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Turkish, and Vietnamese. Resources are also available in additional languages to assist parents / caregivers / guardians who speak a language other than English at home. Please reach out to your child’s teacher or the school directly for survey guides in your language.

Thank-you for taking the time to consider and complete the 2025 survey.

To complete the survey, simply:

Click on the link below or copy and paste the text into your browser. This link will take you directly to the survey.

https://research.orima.com/parent

Select the School and Campus name below.

School Name: Mount Eliza Primary School

Campus Name: Mount Eliza Primary School

Enter the School PIN below. PIN: 991671

When complete, please click on the ‘Submit’ button at the end of the survey to submit your answers. Please note that the survey will time out after 60 minutes of inactivity.

Thank-you for taking the time to provide your feedback.

Child Safe

Please be aware of our commitment to the Child Safe Standards.

CHILD SAFE STANDARD - STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT TO CHILD SAFETY

Mt Eliza Primary School is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people. This will be the primary focus of our care and decision-making.

MEPS has zero tolerance for child abuse and is committed to providing a child safe environment where children and young people are safe and feel safe, and their voices are heard about decisions that affect their lives. Particular attention will be paid to the cultural safety of Aboriginal children and children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, as well as the safety of children with a disability.

Every person involved in Mt Eliza Primary School has a responsibility to understand the important and specific role they play individually and collectively to ensure that the wellbeing and safety of all children and young people is at the forefront of all they do and every decision they make.

In its planning, decision-making and operations MEPS will:

1. Take a preventative, proactive and participatory approach to child safety

2. Value and empower children to participate in decisions which affect their lives

3. Foster a culture of openness that supports all persons to safely disclose risks of harm to children

4. Respect diversity in cultures and child rearing practices while keeping child safety paramount

5. Provide written guidance on appropriate conduct and behaviour towards children

6. Engage only the most suitable people to work with children and have high quality staff and volunteer supervision and professional development

7. Ensure children know who to talk with if they are worried or are feeling unsafe, and that they are comfortable and encouraged to raise such issues

8. Report suspected abuse, neglect or mistreatment promptly to the appropriate authorities

9. Share information appropriately and lawfully with other organisations where the safety and wellbeing of children is at risk

10. Value the input of and communicate regularly with families and carers

Wakakirri

Congratulations to all of our Year 3 and Year 4 performers who lit up the stage last Tuesday night at Wakakirri.

Have a wonderful weekend ahead!

Michael Kent

Principal

Respect, Resilience, Responsibility, Connectedness and Challenge

Positive psychology

Understanding the interplay between avoidance and anxiety is crucial in supporting students facing challenges. Of course, we feel for them when things are tough, and that's natural. But sometimes, if we get too caught up in their feelings, we might accidentally let them off the hook from things that make them uncomfortable.

Now, here's the thing: when a student says "no way" and then gets to avoid that tricky situation, they might feel a little wave of relief right then and there. But that little bit of relief actually tells their brain, "Yep, avoiding that worked!" And that can make their anxiety even stronger down the road.

So, the next time that situation pops up again, that little feeling of "ah, I avoided it last time" kicks in, and they really want to avoid it again. This can even manifest as some challenging behaviours, and we can end up in those same old back-and-forths, which ends with them avoiding it again.

I say this carefully: if you can get your students to face their fears without force, and if they respond well to exposure, it's worth pushing through the challenges.

Justin Coulson – Happy Families