2026 TERM DATES

Term 1

First Day Term 1 - Thursday January 29th 2026 - 8.30am

2026 Prep Students - Full weeks begin Monday 2nd March

Monday March 9th - Labour Day Public Holiday

Wednesday March 11th - NAPLAN Grades 3 & 5

Thursday March 12th - NAPLAN Grades 3 & 5

Wednesday March 18th - NAPLAN Grades 3 & 5

Thursday March 19th - NAPLAN Grades 3 & 5

(see previous page for more information)

Thursday March 19th - Level 4 Wonderbox Showcase - Families are invited to come and see the showcase between 2.25- 3.15

Thursday April 2nd - Last Day of Term1 - 1.25pm dismissal

Friday April 3rd - Good Friday Public Holiday

Term 2

Monday April 20th - First day of term 2

Thursday April 23rd - SCHOOL PHOTO DAY - MSP Photography

Annual privacy reminder for our school community

Our school collects and uses student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ privacy policy and the Schools’ privacy collection notice.

Our Photographing, Filming and Recording Students policy, describes how we collect and use photographs, video and recordings of students. The policy also explains when parent consent is required and how it can be provided and withdrawn.

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ privacy policy: information for parents.

Reminder About Social Media Use

We remind families that TikTok and other social media platforms currently have a minimum age requirement of 13 years, meaning none of our students should be using them. From December 10, new Government regulations will increase this age requirement to 16.

Students are not permitted to use the school’s name or logo when creating or posting on social media accounts.

Students must also not share the names, photos, or identities of other students online without their permission and the consent of their families.

We appreciate your support in helping our students use technology and social media safely, respectfully and responsibly.

BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL SUPERVISION

Student safety at Echuca East Primary School is our highest priority and the safe and appropriate supervision of students is an important element of our duty of care to students. Part of this duty is ensuring parents and students are aware of our student supervision arrangements before and after school.

Before school: School grounds are supervised from 8.30am. Students must remain on the hard surface area (basketball courts and asphalt area). Playground use is not permitted before school.

After school: School grounds are supervised until 3.25pm

Students on school grounds outside these times will not be supervised (unless they are attending a before or after school care program or supervised extracurricular activity).

Parents/carers are requested to ensure that students do not attend school outside of these supervised times unless they are attending a pre-arranged supervised activity (i.e. sports practice).

For a copy of our school’s Yard Duty and Supervision Policy please contact the office. This policy includes Echuca East Primary School's student supervision arrangements across the school day.

STUDENT MESSAGES

If you have any last-minute messages for your child please call before 2:25 to ensure your messages can be passed on. The end of the school day is often very busy and we are not always able to answer the phone. Thank you for your cooperation!

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

Student use of mobile phones at school policy

From Term 4, 2025 there is a new mobile phone policy for all government schools. The policy means phones brought to school must be switched off and stored securely during the school day. (Delivered to the office at Echuca East)

The aim of this policy is to provide:

a safe environment to learn without inappropriate mobile phone use (including cyberbullying) or distractions
greater opportunities for social interaction and physical activity during recess and lunchtimes.

The use of technology is important, but the risks and benefits from its use need to be managed, refer to our summary of research articles.

2026 iPad Program

Our iPad program was revamped in 2024 after changes to DET policy meant we were no longer able to “on sell” to our families and therefore offer payment plan options. All students from grades 1 to 6 will be assigned a school iPad that will stay with the student for three years, at which time the device will be replaced. They are only for school use and will stay at school permanently.

Child safety and wellbeing at Echuca East Primary School: Information for families and the school community.

The Victorian Government has announced new Child Safe Standards to further strengthen child safety across organisations, including schools. The new standards recognise the critical importance of families and the broader school community in maintaining and promoting child safety and wellbeing.

Echuca East Primary School has reviewed and updated our child safety policies and procedures to ensure they meet the requirements of the new standards. These are available to view on our school’s website, on Sentral parent app, and at the school’s front office on request.

We are committed to continuous improvement in our approach to child safety and wellbeing and welcome feedback from families and members of our school community on ways we can further strengthen our child safety policies, procedures and practices.

If you have any suggestions, comments or questions, please contact Echuca East Primary School at echuca.east.ps@education.vic.gov.au or by phone on 03 5482 2588.

Annual privacy reminder for our school community

Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy.

OUR FACEBOOK PAGE

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088879415793&mibextid=LQQJ4d

SCHOOL HOURS

ARRIVAL

Doors open at 8:30 am and students go directly to their classrooms.

All students will have hands sanitised as they arrive.

Keep up the great work of getting to school on time. Parents, remember this is your responsibility!

DISMISSAL

All students will be dismissed at 3.15pm, please remember that the back of the oval is currently a construction site so please park in another place and make use of crossings situated in Sutton and Eyre Street.

When parking in residential streets please be mindful of residential driveways we have had a few residents contact us to advise that their driveway/vision have been cut off making it dangerous for them to leave and enter their property.

CONTACT US

21-31 Eyre St, Echuca VIC 3564

Ph (03) 5482 2588

Email echuca.east.ps@education.vic.gov.au

Website https://echucaeastps.vic.edu.au/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/EchucaEastPrimarySchool

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Echuca East would like to acknowledge and pay our respects to the people whose land we learn and journey on.

We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

CHILD SAFE

Echuca East Primary School is committed to Child safety. The safety and well-being of our students is a primary concern.

We want children to be safe, happy and empowered. We support and respect all children, as well as our staff and volunteers. We have zero tolerance of child abuse, and all

allegations and safety concerns will be treated very seriously and consistently with our robust policies and procedures. To ensure the safety and best interests of all students, we take into account the needs of those with an Aboriginal or Torres strait Islander heritage and those from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds.

UNIFORMS

Please be reminded that uniform is compulsory at school. If you need support to get your child back into uniform, please contact the office and we will assist you. On the odd occasion your child is out of uniform, please provide a note.

School Council Elections

Each year parents / carers are asked to consider joining our School Council for a two year term. School Council Meetings are held 8 times per year, on the third Wednesday of the month via Webex. The 2025 election timeline and further information below. If you have any queries at all, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Event	DATE
Notice of election and call for nominations	Friday 20 February 2026
Closing date for nominations	Friday 27 February 2026
Date by which the list of candidates and nominators will be posted	Friday 6 March 2026
Date by which ballot papers will be prepared and distributed	Friday 6 March 2026
Close of ballot	Friday 13 March 2026
Vote count	Friday 13 March 2026
Declaration of poll	Friday 13 March 2026
First council meeting to elect office bearers (the principal will preside)	Wednesday 18 March 2026

School council elections – information for parents

What is a school council and what does it do?

All government schools in Victoria have a school council. They are legally constituted bodies that are given powers to set the broad direction of a school, in accordance with Ministerial Order 1280 Constitution of Government School Councils, and the Education and Training Reform Act 2006. In doing this, a school council may directly influence the quality of education for students.

Who is on the school council?

For most primary school councils, there are several possible categories of membership:

A mandated elected parent member category –members of this category generally comprise more than one third of the council’s total membership. Department employees can be parent members at their child’s school providing that they are not engaged in work at the school.
A mandated elected school employee member category – members of this category make up no more than one-third of membership. The principal of the school is automatically one of these members.
An optional community member category – members are co-opted by a decision of the council because of their special skills, interests or experience. Department employees are not eligible to be community members.
A small number of school councils have nominee members.

For all schools with a Year 7 and above cohort, there is an additional category of membership:

A mandated elected student member category, two positions.

Generally, the term of office for all members is two years. The term of office of half the members expires each year, creating vacancies for the annual school council elections.

Why is parent membership so important?

Parents on school councils provide important viewpoints and have valuable skills and a range of experiences and knowledge that can help inform and shape the direction of the school.

Those parents who become active on a school council find their involvement satisfying and may also find that their children feel a greater sense of belonging.

Do I need special experience to be on school council?

Each member brings their own valuable skills and knowledge to the role, however, in order to successfully perform their duties, councillors may need to gain some new skills and knowledge.

It is important to have an interest in your child’s school and the desire to work in partnership with others to help shape the school’s future.

Form 2: notice of election and call for nominations

An election is to be conducted for members of the school council of (school name below)
Echuca East Primary School

Nomination forms may be obtained from the school and must be lodged by 4.00pm on

Friday 27th February 2026.

The ballot will close at 4.00pm on Friday 13th March 2026

Following the closing of nominations, a list of the nominations received will be posted at the school.

The terms of office, membership categories and number of positions in each membership category open for election are as follows:

Membership category
Parent member

Term of office	Year
From the day after the date of the declaration of the poll in 20	26
to and inclusive of the date of the declaration of the poll in 20	28

Number of positions:	2

Membership category
School employee member

HEALTH & WELLBEING PROGRAMS