Hello everyone and welcome to our first fortnightly newsletter for term 4.

We have so many wonderful opportunities planned for our students and school across the term. Please be aware of the many events so that your children don’t miss any opportunities.

This week we commenced our Prep and Year 1 swimming program, which was a very positive and enjoyable start for everyone. Thank-you to the parents who have volunteered their time to support the students and the program.

We also look ahead to:

Year 3 camp coming up next week
Finals of the Hooptime competition- Congrats to the boys and girls teams who’ve made it through. Amazing!
Prep walking excursions to explore the Mt Eliza village
Year 5/6 bike education program
Division softball competition
Year 5/6 cooking program

Working Bee

Hope to see you there!! SUNDAY 10-2pm! All welcome.

Please bring along any gardening tools that you may have. In particular; wheel barrows!

If you are able, we would really appreciate your attendance on the day – please sign up via this link:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xH5GP_RDKybebhUETJsYAafqlLO1r63ZvgphWrEFElo/edit?usp=sharing

Donating funds to support the activities

Any financial support via this fundraising link would also be greatly appreciated.

https://myschoolconnect.com.au/mt-eliza-ps-fundraiser

Staffing

We have a recent staffing change in our office with Sharne Sleeth picking up a position in the medical administration sector. This has been a desire of Sharne’s to move into this field. Congratulations to Sharne on her appointment. I would like to take the opportunity to thank Sharne for all her great work in the office and supporting our school throughout this year. This change has come quickly and a little unexpectedly. Sharne will be with us next week prior to her final day on Thursday 23rd October.

Student leadership 2026

At MEPS we value student voice very highly in all that we do. Valuing student input into their learning and leadership is something we promote each day at school. Throughout the school we also have opportunities for more formalised and structured leadership roles.

Each year we form our MEET team members and also our SRC (Student Representative Council) where representatives from each class come together to focus on varying elements of school improvement, sustainability, environmental development and connections within the local community. We congratulate our MEET team members and our SRC for their ongoing work throughout the year. We also look ahead to 2026 and hope we can continue to evolve the opportunities for more formalised student voice across the school. In addition to forming these groups again next year, over the next few weeks our current year 5 students will participate in a selection process for electing our 2026 school leaders. This includes school captains, house captains, learning leaders and wellbeing leaders. Good luck to all the year 5 students in their aspirations. We are fortunate to have such great team of students with wonderful leadership capacity. Irrespective of these formal opportunities, all students are leaders and have the opportunity to lead their learning and impact on others every day. This can be through actions, behaviours and choices that exemplify our school values.

Keep reading @ Home!

As you know, we work extremely hard to provide the highest quality learning for all students at our school. In order for us to maximise on student capabilities we require your help. As parents and guardians you have a crucial role to play within the learning framework. Your assistance at home in discussing school is an invaluable aspect of student learning. This provides opportunities for students to reflect and consolidate their understandings. As a minimum it would be fantastic to set aside some time each night to share a love of literacy. Reading to your child, reading with them, listening to them read to you and discussing the book (pictures, themes, characters, plot, setting, what might happen next etc..) are all helpful ways of engaging with your child around literacy. Reading each night forms a part of the homework for all students at MEPS.

Curriculum Day

Please be reminded of the upcoming Melbourne Cup weekend. A curriculum day on Monday 3rd November (student free day) and the Melbourne Cup public holiday on Tuesday 4th November. Students will be required back at school on Wednesday 5th November.

Staff will be working on the curriculum day by focussing on our end of year assessment and reporting processes.

2026 Prep

We also started our 2026 Prep transition program this week in welcoming our newest students to enjoy some story time in the library. We will run another of these sessions next week prior to an Information Evening for 2026 Prep Parents on 28th October before launching into our more formalised orientation sessions.

Strategically we are only offering two classes of Prep next year and are pleased to share that Miss Harris and Mrs Ferguson will be teaching this group.

The planning for other year levels and programming for 2026 is well under way. I will send some further details around our grade selection processes and transition program next week.

Cleaners' Day

This week we acknowledged and celebrated our school cleaners. We are grateful for all they do in supporting our school each and every day.

3N took the time out to share a token of thanks to our cleaners.

Dyslexia and ADHD Awareness Month

October is Dyslexia Awareness Month and ADHD Awareness Month (https://www.adhdaustralia.org.au/what-is-adhd/). This provides a great opportunity for us to reflect on how we meet the needs and raise awareness of the diversity amongst our team of staff, students and parents. This also provides the opportunity to refresh our knowledge and skills in this area.

Diverse learners include students with characteristics associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and learning difficulties such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and developmental language disorder (DLD).

There are usually a number of diverse learners in every class in every school. These students need targeted support and intervention to ensure they can get the same learning opportunities as their peers.

With the right evidence-based instruction and intervention, all students can reach their potential and thrive at school. That’s why it’s important we have the knowledge and skills to support diverse learners. Evidence-based teaching instruction and support that’s essential for diverse learners will benefit all students.

At MEPS we work extremely hard to support all of our students and are always considerate of individual learning circumstances and maintain high expectations.

Have a wonderful weekend and hopefully we’ll see you Sunday!

Michael Kent

Principal

Respect, Resilience, Responsibility, Connectedness and Challenge

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