Principals Report

Dear SEPS Families, 

As I write this newsletter, we are eagerly preparing for our Twilight Sports Welcome Picnic that starts at 4:30pm this evening. We hope as many of you as possible can join us for this event. See you at the Sausage Sizzle stand if you happen to swing by for a bite to eat. Don’t forget your runners… the parent race will be a highlight, I’m sure! I would like to thank Free Agency for providing their BBQ and the Lions Club volunteers for offering to cook over 500 sausages for us. We are grateful for their kindness and support

Communities

We are delighted that our students will be participating in their House colours along with their ‘Communities’ buddies. Communities is an important part of our wellbeing program and is a whole school buddy system. It is just one example of the value we place on building positive relationships across our school. Our Preps have met their Year 5 buddies a few times already and our Year 1 & 6 buddies have also been touching base. Communities usually run on alternate Fridays after lunch. Today was our first session for 2025 and the picnic this evening will be a great way to launch our program for the year. 

Feedback

We had great feedback from parents attending our Meet the Teacher sessions last week. Many parents commented that we got the balance right for those just wanting general information from the Level team and those wanting to spend 10 minutes to meet their child’s teacher 1:1. We still have the issue of timing for those parents with children in multiple year levels however for the most part it seemed to work well. Any feedback is always welcome and appreciated and we will continue to strive to support the needs of our community. 

Uniform

Last week we had a professional photographer in to take some photos for our new website and promotional literature. They commented on how lucky we are to have so much green space. I have had a look at the proofs and the school looks lovely. While we have only photographed children with media consent, we will be contacting parents of any children who are in photos that we would like to use on any promotional material. 

One issue that was raised by the photographer was the school uniform. She found it challenging due to the number of students who were wearing chunky jewelry and incorrect uniform items. School council discussed this and will be reviewing the uniform policy at our next meeting. In the meantime, I ask that students who wear earrings only wear small studs or sleepers. Necklaces should not be worn. This is an OH&S concern. From experience, these items can cause nasty injuries, particularly during sport or on the playground. A colleague at another school had a student nearly sever a finger when their ring got caught on a branch. We definitely do not want an incident at SEPS. Your support with this matter will be greatly appreciated. 

School Tours 

It is hard to believe that we are starting our tours for 2026 next Wednesday. If you have friends or neighbours who have little ones starting Foundation next year, please let them know that our tour bookings are open. Story time will begin next term. More information is available from the office.  

School Council 

It is that time of year where we need to begin the election process for School Council. We have two vacancies on School Council for 2025, one parent and one DE staff position. Nomination forms can be collected from the office. We strongly encourage anyone interested in school council to nominate. Please do not hesitate to reach out to one of the school council members or contact the office if you would like more information. Nominations must be received by the office by 4pm next Friday 28 February. 

Have a great fortnight ahead! 

Jane Briffa