Principal's Report

Dear EHPS Community,

Welcome back to the new school year! We are excited to embark on a year filled with wonderful opportunities for children and families to engage in a variety of fun and enriching learning experiences.

As shared previously, our Principal, George Perini, is on Long Service Leave this term. I will be stepping in as Acting Principal, with the support of our Assistant Principal, Felicity O’Flynn, as well as Acting Assistant Principals Renée Dare (Monday to Thursday) and Kelvin Tang (Friday).

It has been such a pleasure to walk around the school and see the children settled, happy, and engaged in their work and play. They shared so many wonderful stories about their holidays, travels, adventures, and everything else they had been up to since December.

On Thursday, we had the joy of welcoming our new Prep children for 2025. The first day of school is a time filled with excitement as the children and their families begin their journey at Essex Heights. Many photos captured beautiful moments, and the children had a delightful time interacting with their teachers and classmates.

Before the school term started, it was wonderful to see so many children enjoying the Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) Vacation program. The children were having a great time with a variety of activities. A big thank you to Paul Davis and his team for once again providing an exceptional holiday program for our children.

Staff & Professional Learning

This year we are fortunate to maintain our excellent team of staff here at Essex Heights. This consistency has made for a smooth and effective start to the year. Prior to students beginning, staff enjoyed two full curriculum days dedicated to Professional Learning and Planning. Again, we were inspired by renowned education consultant, Greg Mitchell. Greg collaborated with staff and set the tone and culture for a positive year ahead.

This term we welcome back Melanie Boyle from family leave, as well as Lauren Richardson (née Davies) and Grace Harding (née John) also returning from leave. Taking on new roles across the school and increased time fractions, we thank Cassie Cartwright, Jemma Graham, Rahni Hubery, Aashnoor Dhir, Andrew Russell and Isabella Boyd.

We are so fortunate to have such high calibre staff in our school. We wish all our staff well in their various roles at Essex Heights and look forward to their contribution to our school goals and the children’s learning and enjoyment in 2025.

Welcome

A number of new children and their families have also joined our community this year - 86 children in Prep and 18 children in Years 1 to 6. We hope that their time with us will be enjoyable, productive and worthwhile. If you see new faces in the school yard please make sure that we live up to the Essex Heights values of ‘Kindness and Inclusiveness’ and make them feel welcome and part of our great community.

The PFC have organised a Welcome Back to School Family Picnic on Friday 21 February. This will be a perfect opportunity to welcome our new families into the EHPS Community and I look forward to seeing you there.

Class Parent Representatives

We sent a notice home this week asking for expressions of interest for the important role of Class Parent Representative. Responses were due today. If you're thinking about offering to take on this role (individually or shared with a friend) for your child's class this year, please return your response to the School Office on Monday. A copy of the form was also shared this week in your Compass News Feed.

New School Values

As announced last year, School Council has officially ratified our exciting new school values: Kindness, Respect, Resilience, Curiosity, and Inclusiveness! These values will be at the heart of everything we do this year.

As part of our "Starting Up, Starting Out" program, we’re introducing these values in a fun and student led way. We can’t wait to see everyone embrace these principles and bring them to life in everyday actions.

We’re encouraging and celebrating the students’ efforts and demonstration of values through our House and Playground Points system. It’s a fantastic way to recognise and reward the positive contributions each student makes. In weeks 2 and 3, our whole school will particularly focus on the value of Kindness. We encourage you to connect with these values in your homes and are excited to see how these values will inspire our school community!

Learning & Wellbeing

Staff began the year focusing on our ‘Starting Up and Starting Out Program’ which incorporates School Wide Positive Behaviours, a number of wellbeing activities, and school procedures in order to develop a positive working environment in each classroom and throughout the school.

Ensuring the wellbeing of all children is a high priority at Essex Heights. We know that children must first feel secure and happy at school, so that they can fully engage in learning activities. This focus will be a continued priority in 2025 and staff spent time on Monday evening exploring the revised resources from The Resilience Project at each level.

Parent – School Partnership

At Essex Heights we believe that an effective partnership with families is a very important ingredient to enable all children to reach their highest potential. To be successful at school, our children need support from both home and school.

I encourage all families to support the school and assist your child’s learning by ensuring that your child:

Attends school every day and arrives on time (8.50am), ready for the day’s learning.
Arrives in uniform, including SunSmart compliant hat and clothing appropriate for forecast weather, with food (brain food, snack, lunch from home or ordered from the Canteen), and water bottle.
Completes all homework activities given by teachers.
Reads daily to develop a love for reading and to improve literacy skills.
Share school experiences, ‘what went well today’, with you so that you are aware of the many good things in their school life.

A key step in developing this partnership is to have an excellent rapport with your child’s teacher(s).

Next week, our Parent/Teacher Meet and Greet Discussions are an opportunity for families to share their knowledge of their child with the teacher; this is also an important step for classroom teachers to get to know your child.

Bookings for these discussions with classroom teachers are open on the Compass portal. Each teacher has sufficient bookings available for each family in their class to have a conversation about their child. Please note that the discussions are scheduled for 10 minutes duration. If a longer conversation is required, we ask that you arrange an alternative date and time with your child’s teacher after Wednesday next week.

Arrangements to meet with specialist teachers have been communicated separately through Compass. I thank those who have already made bookings and strongly encourage all families to take this opportunity to meet your child's classroom teacher.

School Council Elections 2025

All government schools in Victoria have a school council. They are legally constituted bodies that are given powers to set the key directions of a school within state-wide guidelines. School Council in collaboration with the school leadership sets the strategic direction for the school.

Parents on school councils provide important viewpoints and have valuable skills that help shape the direction of the school. Nominations for parent and Department of Education representatives on school council will open shortly. Please keep a look out for further information and important timeline dates. Once open and communicated, nomination forms will be available from the Office and from the school website.

Communication

Good communication between home and school is very important so that we all know what is happening in our school community. It also ensures that students benefit the most from all opportunities offered at Essex Heights. All EHPS families are reminded that we will communicate with you using:

Compass; and
Contact, our school newsletter.

All families have been provided with their own unique login to access Compass. If your Compass access is no longer working, please contact Jo in our School Office to reset your password and restore your access.

Compass will be the main avenue for communication between home and school. All important messages for parents and carers will be sent through our Compass News Feeds. It is essential that you check Compass regularly for information from school.

When you receive a notification requiring your response, please ensure that you respond not later than the specified due date. If you access Compass on a smart device, ensure that you have turned your notifications on so that you receive an alert when information is published.

At Essex Heights we value the communication between parents and the school, however a few things must be kept in mind so that we have a common understanding of the procedures and expectations:

Staff are in class and teaching throughout the school day, as well as attending meetings after school. Therefore, sending an email or compass message during the day is not the most effective way to communicate with a classroom teacher when the matter is urgent.
For matters requiring a rapid response, families should ring the School Office (98074944) and a message will be passed to the teacher.
We encourage our staff to have a healthy work life balance and we have agreed that their workday should be between 8.30am and 5pm. I have therefore asked staff to only reply to written correspondence during those hours. It would therefore be fair to expect a reply to a written communication within two business days.
Staff will not be expected to reply to correspondence until they are able. Please refrain from communicating outside of working hours and please be assured that staff will respond to your message in due course.

Road Safety & Courtesy

I would like to remind all families of ways to ensure that we respect our neighbours and ensure that children and families are safe on the roads around our school.

All road rules should be followed meticulously – speed limits apply in Essex Road, as do parking restrictions which City of Monash officers monitor and issue fines for infringement. Please:
1. Do not park across our neighbours’ driveways.
2. Do not park/leave your vehicle in the Kiss and Drop zone at the front of the school at the beginning and end of the school day.
3. Do not U turn across the solid white line in Essex Road in front of the school.
4. Follow speed limits in the streets surrounding our school. A permanent 40 km/hour speed limit applies in Essex Road in front of our school.
5. Park safely and courteously in the City of Monash Essex Heights Reserve carpark adjacent to the school while waiting for your child.
Children’s safety is the highest importance so please ensure that:
1. You use the supervised School Crossing to cross Essex Road.
2. Children get out of cars on the footpath side.
3. You do not walk through the Staff & Permit Carpark as an entry or exit point. It is not a pedestrian area.

I urge everyone to take collective responsibility for this matter. We are responsible for the safety of the children as well as being role models for our children. Road safety is a responsibility we all share.

Let's work together to keep our children safe and be respectful of our neighbours.

SunSmart – wear a hat

In accordance with our SunSmart Policy, I would like to remind all families that the children are required to wear hats throughout Term 1. These should be in the school uniform dark green, legionnaire, wide brimmed or bucket hats for maximum sun protection. I would ask parents to ensure that children are bringing the appropriate headwear to school each day. On hot days we also suggest that students seek shade and drink plenty of water.

School Times, Late or Absent?

I would like to remind all families that children are expected to be in class by 8.50am when the school day begins. This will allow for brief chats and important organisational matters to be completed so that all classes are able to start their learning promptly at 9am. Good communication between school and home is so important, therefore if an in-depth discussion with the classroom teacher is needed then please arrange a suitable time with them.

As mentioned above, our Compass portal is the school’s communication tool between school and home and is to be used to send emails to a teacher and enter attendance notes for any absence from school. Please make sure that you regularly log into the Compass portal. If you need any assistance, please check the Parent Guide on our website or speak to the staff at the School Office.

If your child will be absent on any particular day, please enter an attendance note on Compass, or contact the school by 9am to report the absence verbally or in writing.

Please note that students arriving at school at or after 9am must be signed in to school at the Office, preferably by a parent or guardian.

Ideally, all arrangements should be made and communicated clearly to your child before the start of the school day. Our Office staff are not expected to pass on reminders to your child. However, if there are changed plans for the end of the school day or pick up arrangements for your children, please advise the school as soon as you know about it. Our Office staff will always pass on messages to students; however, this requires time and lack of interruptions. Please ensure that messages relating to that same day are communicated by phoning the Office; do not email.

End of day pick up time

The school day concludes at 3.30pm, unless otherwise communicated and at end of term. Parents are expected to be onsite to meet their children at 3.30pm, unless other arrangements are in place and communicated with your child and their class teacher.

Thank you for your cooperation and support in these matters.

Student Illness and Accidents

Early in the school year is a good time to remind all families of the necessity to keep the school updated with changed phone numbers and emergency contact details. If your child is ill at school, or suffers an accident, then staff will give immediate care and appropriate first aid. However, it is necessary on occasions to contact parents and we are often frustrated by out-of-date information that delays this process.

Please make sure you notify the Office of any changes to your or your Emergency Contact details. Obviously in extreme cases we may also deem it necessary to call an Ambulance before consulting parents and you need to be aware of this. Please also keep the Office informed of any change in medical issues faced by your children as this helps us to make the best choices for their welfare.

Parents and guardians should also be aware that they are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including any Ambulance transport costs. Most medical costs are refundable by Medicare. If you are a member of an ambulance or health insurance fund, you may also be able to claim transport or other expenses from the fund. The Department of Education does not hold accident insurance for school students.

Is other Insurance available? Yes.

There are commercial providers of insurance for students and they can be found online or through your Insurance Broker.

Students, Parents & Staff Personal Property

On a similar topic, students, staff and visitors often bring personal property to school. This can include mobile phones, calculators, toys, sporting equipment and cars parked on school premises.

Please note the Department of Education does not hold insurance for personal property brought to schools and it will generally not pay for any loss or damage to such property.

The Department of Education mobile phone ban is also in effect. Mobile phones are not to be used at school. Any device brought to school must be handed into the School Office or class teacher before the school day starts and can be collected at the end of the day.

Please refer to the mobile phone policy on the EHPS website.

On a final note please refer to the Privacy statement below for information related to data collection.

Mobile Phones and Electronic Devices

I would like to bring to the attention of all families that Mobile phones and other Electronic Devices, e.g. smart watches, are to be switched off during school hours.

Please refer to the EHPS Mobile Phone - Student Use Policy

Our policy is in line with the Department of Education guidelines and policy on this matter.

In Summary:

A mobile phone is defined as a telephone with access to a cellular (telecommunication) system, with or without a physical connection to a network.

For the purpose of this policy, “mobile phone” refers to mobile phones and any device that may connect to or have a similar functionality to a mobile phone such as wearable devices (smart watches), cameras, iPads, and all other personal devices.

At Essex Heights Primary School:

Students who choose to bring mobile phones to school must have them switched off and securely stored during school hours.
Exceptions to this policy may be applied if certain conditions are met (see below for further information).
When emergencies occur, parents or carers should reach their child by calling the school’s office.

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: EHPS 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.

We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use digital technologies safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information.

Digital Learning Policy

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages.

Our EHPS 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. We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use Microsoft 365/Google Workspace for Education safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information. If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns regarding your child using Microsoft 365/Google Workspace for Education, please contact the school. For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages.

School Saving Bonus

Eligible EHPS families are encouraged to access and allocate their School Saving Bonus, following the two messages in your Compass News Feed. Please note that the allocation of SSB is an additional process for our Admin staff, so please follow the procedures outlined and contact the School Office if you have an issue. Please refer to the School Saving Bonus page in this newsletter for more information.

Families of new students who enrolled and commenced recently at EHPS, and have not transferred from another Victorian Government school, should be notified soon of your SSB code.

Food at School

It’s Nutrition Australia’s National Lunchbox Week from 9 to 15 February. Ensuring that your child comes to school every day with brain food (cut up fruit and/or vegetable), snack, lunch (from home or ordered from the Canteen), and a water bottle significantly sets your child up for success during their school day. EHPS families are reminded that food at school must be provided ready to eat, cutlery provided if required, does not require heating/cooling (there is no facility/provision to store or heat student food), and food choices take into account the allergy needs of a number of our students with life threatening allergies, and definitely no take away food (even if you’re running late and dropping food off; take away food should be for after school hours only). EHPS families are also reminded that your child must be able to manage their lunchbox/food containers independently; practising at home to make sure your child can access/open their food containers is really important for their self sufficiency. Nutrition Australia provide lots of amazing, creative resources/suggestions for providing food for your child at school. We’ve provided information, including the Lunchbox Week website, on the Food at School page in this newsletter to access some great suggestions/advice.

School Assembly

We're looking forward to our first School Assembly on Monday. Details have been published in your Compass News Feed. Parents/guardians are welcome and encouraged to attend. Join us in the Stadium from 2.30pm on Monday afternoons.

Please note that our Foundation (Prep) students won't attend Assembly until later this term; the Prep Team will advise when they will attend their first Assembly.

Our Student Leaders for 2025 will be presented with their badge and certificate by Matt Fregon MP, the State Member for Ashwood, at the Assembly on Monday 17 February.

Happy Year of the Snake

Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year or Spring Festival, is a major festival celebrated at the beginning of the Chinese lunisolar calendar. Thought to have originated in ancient China around 3,500 years ago, it is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture, marking the end of winter and the beginning of the new year.

Lunar New Year 2025 fell on Wednesday 29 January, and celebrations culminate with the Lantern Festival on February 12th. The Year of the Snake in 2025 is believed to bring wisdom, transformation, and strategic growth. It is a time for patience, planning, and making thoughtful decisions to achieve long-term success.

Thank you for supporting your child / children and their teachers to ensure the great start to the 2025 school year that we have all enjoyed.

I look forward to seeing you around the school and at the Welcome Event that our Parents & Friends Club are hosting on Friday 21 February.

Kindest regards,

Elisha Cotterell

Acting Principal