Principal's Item 

Dear parents and carers,

It was great to present Science Talent Search certificates to a large number of students on Monday at Assembly. It was also delightful to have Year 5 and 6 musicians and performers as part of the final instalment of ‘EEPS of Talent’ for 2024. Thank you to the parents, carers and friends of the school for attending.

R-mazing!

Last Thursday our R-mazing Race was a fantastic community event for the school. Whilst our focus was on the new school values, the day was very engaging with students working in small teams to complete different challenges. Thank you to the large group of parent helpers, and to Mrs Vescio and the JSC, for organising this fabulous day. 

Continuing on the theme of ‘working together’, our Year 6 student leaders are conducting their annual ‘Giving Back’ initiative this week by offering different games at lunchtime on the oval.   

Attendance at the Eltham-Montmorency RSL Service

As I previously mentioned some of our senior students participated in the local Remembrance Day service last week. This is an email we received from the RSL:

I would like to thank you for once again being a part of our commemorative service for Remembrance Day this Monday gone. Since changing how we conduct our Remembrance Day services we have seen a steady growth in the involvement by the community and attendance from schools and the general public. This year’s service, was particularly special as it was a prelude to the unveiling of the Conway Cross that now sits within our RSL. This cross sat as a substitute till a granite headstone was created for the grave of PTE Conway who died in Europe during the First World War. The cross is in excellent condition and even smattered with the dirt that was placed upon PTE Conway's final resting place. It is only one of three crosses left in this country and to our knowledge in existence.

The service that your school was a part of was also more comprehensive and showed great involvement, dedication and intelligence from all students involved. Poems and addresses were written by the students themselves, and those parts of the service where the material was provided was sung or spoken with such eloquence and beauty as befitting the occasion. To quote one of the pieces of feedback I have received "We thought that last year was the best service we had ever seen at Monty, but this year just surpassed it, everything was perfect even the children laying the poppies did an excellent job for something so simple".

We look forward to having your school attend again next year. And please remember that we encourage as many from your community to come who are able. Help us to continue to build this day and continue the level of excellence that your school has enabled us to achieve.

EEPS PBA - Positive Behaviour Acknowledgements

Next week we are starting to trial what we are calling, ‘EEPS Positive Behaviour Acknowledgements’. By using Compass Chronicles, similar to the first aid Chronicles, teachers will be able to send PBAs home to parents and carers highlighting a student’s exemplary application of one of the new values of being Respectful, Responsible and Resilient. We are just trialling a couple a week for the remainder of this year with a view to expanding the initiative if it is successful. This initiative will complement the other existing practices throughout the school to acknowledge and reward positive behaviour and effort. 

Mascot Challenge

It is wonderful that our Prep-Year 2 classes are once again involved in the Melbourne Renegades Mascot Challenge this year. Mascot Challenge is a free 4-week program that can be completed at home or in the classroom. Students spend 10 minutes a day developing fundamental motor skills, which help lay the foundation for them to lead a healthy and active life. Thank you to Mr Bain for signing us up again.

Staff Update

It was lovely to have Mrs Peters visit this week for a short while. As some of you may know, she sustained a serious knee injury whilst walking her two big dogs. She is on the mend and we hope to have her back soon. Thank you to the parents for the messages of support to her.

School Saving Bonus

As we have communicated to families previously the Government’s one-off School Saving Bonus of $400 per child will be available next week. A couple of points to note:

1 - parents and carers will receive the personalised access codes over a period of three days, Tuesday 26th November - Thursday 28th November. There will be one code per child and they won’t all necessarily come at the same time.

2 - A parent user guide will be sent next week

3 - There are a lot of small administrative details still to be worked through so please be patient with the office staff, especially as we actually don’t have access to the portal.

Lastly, I would also suggest that parents wait a little while, before rushing to allocate the money, as there is no way to reverse an allocation if you change your mind. Our 2025, Year 5 and 6 parents may also like to consider waiting until we have the Term 1 camp costings, which will be available in the next week or so. 

Fire Danger Period

Just a reminder, in case you are not aware that the CFA has announced the start of the Fire Danger Period in both Nillumbik and Banyule on Monday 25 November.  

Wildlife Onsite

Last Friday we had a visit from an Eastern Grey Kangaroo. This animal originally came up Luck Street from Bible Street before school. Later in the morning it did return to parts of the school grounds. Our response was to ensure that children stayed inside, or ventured back inside if playing outside, and we called the relevant authorities to take care of the animal’s welfare. Occurrences such as these are planned for in our Emergency Management Plan. 

School Property Damage

Over the weekend there was a lot of broken glass left in the Level 2 playground area. If any members of the school community have any knowledge or this, or any leads, then please let the school know. Fortunately, the overwhelming majority of after-hours school users do treat our lovely facilities with respect.

Lost Property ‘Mountain’

I mentioned in Assembly on Monday the increasingly large pile of lost property that was mounting up in the Level 2 lost property cupboards. The school is very grateful to some wonderful parent helpers who have kindly sorted through the growing pile. To help this large pile from developing again, please remember to have everything named for ease of return.

Run Down to the End of the Year

Whilst we still have 4 ½ weeks to go before the end of the school year I would like to please remind all members of the school community of the need to remember to have considered and respectful conversations and interactions with each other. We understand that everyone is a getting a little tired, and patience and tolerance can be strained, however, we do have many exciting events and activities still to go in the 2024 calendar year, and we want to finish off on a very positive note.

Have a great week or ‘Learning and Growing Together’.