Principal's News

The weather conditions are truly reflective of Melbourne at the moment with blazing hot sunshine one minute then followed by hail and rain. The children continue to rediscover routines long forgotten and are back working as hard as they can to improve themselves. It was great to see the excitement amongst the year 2 students after their Aquarium excursion. They saw a huge crocodile, lots of sea creatures and stingrays seem to be a very popular talking point. I loved their dioramas of the trip. Thankyou to the year 2 teachers for organising and taking the children. 

The number of students arriving at school without their school approved hats is a concern. The other big issue is the sheer volume of lost property arriving each day as children take off jackets and tops and leave them as they return to class. Next week we will display all items during a lunchtime so the children can collect them.

Afternoon Assembly

Part of the school’s direction for the future is to ensure minimum disruption to the Literacy and Numeracy blocks of work in the mornings for the children. We feel that their attention should be directed toward improving their writing, reading, spelling and numeracy work when they are fresh and focused in the mornings. As part of this direction we are shifting the Monday morning assembly to a Friday afternoon assembly starting at around 3pm where students will gather at the front stage and attend our weekly assembly. Parents are most welcome as long as they maintain social distancing.

Covid Update

Significant changes have been made to how cases of COVID-19 and contacts of cases are managed in schools.  Please see the COVID-19 update page. 

Vandalism

We have had an issue with some vandalism over the past two weeks. We had a break in to the main building a week ago where thieves stole four chrome books and a camera. Police arrived on the scene and are currently investigating. If anyone notices any suspicious occurrences in school grounds in their passing please notify the Cheltenham Police station so they can respond immediately.

School Planning

The Education and Training Reform Regulations 2017 require the Minister for Education to determine the days on which a government school is required to be open for attendance by students. 

The Minister for Education has set the term dates for 2026-2030.

Setting school dates well in advance assists with school planning and ensures the school community knows the days Victorian government schools are open for student instruction.

The 2026-2030 term dates are based on these criteria:

• there are four school terms  
• the school year is 200 days
• the Australia Day holiday occurs before students return to school
• the first term vacation is to coincide with Easter
• that, as far as possible, a consistent pattern be maintained from one five-year block to the next.

More information is on the Department’s website: School term dates and holidays in Victoria (education.vic.gov.au)

School Council Thank You

The last School Council meeting will be held for 2021 next Wednesday evening. Throughout this year the School Council has continued to meet under very different conditions remotely. My thanks go to all participants for holding true to the intention and work of this most integral governing body over this time. Having the support of school council has been a strength in taking feedback and reflecting upon our community’s needs throughout this time of the pandemic. Being a councillor is not easy; leaving the family for a night each month and connecting with school to complete the business of ensuring the school is running well. The council’s flexibility in adjusting to new methods of completing responsibilities, providing continued input and holding the willingness to listen, discuss and come resolutions has been most appreciated. To our executive, thank you for your work in particular to Sue Chase and Robyn Kimpton (retired) for taking Minutes and Angela Berry, outgoing School Council President for running meetings. I also wish all councillors a very enjoyable well-earned break, where they will enjoy the company of those who mean the most to them.

A special thank you goes out to Ange Berry who has been involved with School Council for the past 8 years. She has taken on the presidency for the last two years and done a terrific job. She is always putting the school first and ensuring the families are looked after. She has had two children, Maddie and Georgia come through the school.

It is also Nick Howes last meeting. Nick has been a School Councillor for the past 5 years, with Eloise and Cameron attending school. 2021 sees the end of Nick’s term on council and we thank him for his significant contributions to CEPS over the years. He is certainly the champion sausage cooker during fetes, elections and Bunnings barbecues are held.

Student Reports

From Foundation to Year 10, student achievement is reported against the Victorian Curriculum F-10 achievement standards. Reports provide you with a clear picture of your child’s progress at the end of a specified period of schooling showing the following:

• where your child is on the learning continuum 
• how well they are progressing towards expected levels of achievement and individual learning goals and targets 
• where they need to improve and what the next steps in their learning will be 

As you will appreciate, reporting in 2021 has required an adjusted process, reflecting the teaching and learning cycle. For English and Mathematics your child’s progress will be shown in relation to their learning growth over the past 12 months. Student reports will be available via Sentral on Monday 13th December.

Foundation 2022 Information Night 

Last night we had the Parent Information night for our 2022 Foundation parents take place in the classrooms. It was a good turnout and gave the new parents for 2022 in particular an opportunity to find out about the programs we run in the Foundation area. A big thank you to one of our School Captains, Angelina for coming along and speaking about their learning journeys. Thank you to Melanie from Camp Australia who spoke about the before and after care program. Mrs Ward spoke about Student Welfare and well-being of the students. Thank you to our Foundation teachers for their wonderful organisation. We are looking forward to the children coming for “I’m Ready for School Now”.

Sensory Garden Works

Work has started on the Sensory Garden in the eating area. They are removing everything including asphalt before starting the renovations in the area. Some of the children taking an interest in the works are pictured below. The tree roots are being protected as much as possible as we do not want to lose those trees. Once finished it should be a really nice spot for lunch and playing for the children.

School Values

Don’t forget to keep reminding your children of our four core values at CEPS not only at school but also when they are out and about on the weekends. Courtesy, Co-operation, Respect and Responsibility are the key areas that our children should be remembering at all times.