Principal's Report
Dear SEPS Families,
And it’s a wrap… well almost! With one week to go we still have so much to do.
Last night we held our Year 6 Graduation here at school. It is always such an emotional evening as we celebrate the many achievements of our graduates but also bid them farewell as they move on to their new adventures in Secondary school. Our Year 6 students all looked gorgeous, and our parent community did an outstanding job with the décor. We had mums pop in to help, though they don’t have children in Year 6. A huge thank you for the time and care that goes in to supporting our wonderful SEPS community!! I heard the after party was loud and late, but great fun. I was impressed to see so many energetic faces here at school this morning after a big night out.
Step Up Sessions
On Tuesday, we met in the gym to announce teachers and classes for 2026. We have quite a number of new students joining us next year across all grade levels, which is very exciting and we know that our community will warmly welcome them in the new year. A few new parents joined us in the gym as they settled their children into their new school setting. One dad commented that our teachers were like rock stars and that he had never witnessed such excitement at a step-up day before. I am so very proud of how everyone embraced the sessions. One little student shared with me at morning tea that while she did not have all of her friends in her class, she had already made a couple of new friends and was excited for the new year. Part of our role as educators is to build social and emotional intelligence and this little person made my heart sing with her positive outlook.
Class Reps
To assist with welcoming new families and preparing communication for 2026, we would like to organise for new Parent Reps to be in place before we go on holidays. Please find more information in the 3 pm message. We have created a Parent Rep information booklet in the event that you might be interested in the role but would like to know more about what it entails. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me via the office.
BYOD Progam
From 2027, the Victorian Government is introducing changes to the use of digital devices for students from Prep to Grade 6. Under the new guidelines, schools will no longer invite families to purchase or bring their own digital devices to use at school for Prep to Grade 6. We will also need to follow new recommended digital device times, including minimal device time for Prep to Grade 2; and a maximum of 90 minutes per day for Grades 3 to 6.
These changes are intended to support families by reducing cost-of-living pressures. They will also support students by reducing screen-time which can reduce the risk of eye strain, sedentary behaviour, and reduced peer interaction. These reforms complement Victoria’s nation-leading mobile phone restrictions, ensuring an integrated approach to addressing digital distraction and the inappropriate use of technology.
What this means for Sandringham East Primary School?
This means we will be ceasing our current BYOD program for Grades 3 – 6 from 2026 on. Instead, we will provide class sets of digital devices for use by students. Students who have been using BYO devices (Grades 3-6 2025) will be able to continue to bring their devices to school until they leave SEPS or the device needs replacing, but we will be following the new recommended device use times. Students with a disability who use a digital device as a reasonable adjustment are exempt from these changes.
You can read more about the changes on the department’s website: Digital Learning: Policy.
We hope to see you during the course of next week as we continue to celebrate another great year. Please note that our Final assembly will be held next Friday at 9 am and school will finish at 1:30 pm on that day.
I hope that the Holiday Season and Summer break are filled with happy days, lots of love and fun with family and friends. Stay safe and we will see you all in the New Year, ready for a super 2026!
Jane Briffa