Dear parents, carers and friends of EEPS,

Last week was a very busy week for our Year 4 students with Bike Ed. It was great to join the morning group for the out-of-school ride to Diamond Creek. Thank you to the parent volunteers we had helping and to all the Year 4 parents for helping the students prepare their bike safety checks, and for some of you arranging to get the bikes to and from school.

Science Talent Search

At Assembly on Monday the school was delighted to present awards and certificates to the students who achieved some great results in the 2023 Science Talent Search. A couple of our Year 6 students did joke with each other, and with me, that winning different external competitions this year was starting to be a money spinner for them! Well done, to ALL the students who participated as well as our award winners. Thank you to Miss Coney and Mr Arnold for their leadership and guidance to the students through this process.

Community acknowledgement

We regularly mention the ‘sense of service’ that we value at Eltham East. Below is a follow-up email I received from Eltham-Montmorency RSL;

On behalf of the Commemorations Team, and the RSL Committee and Staff, I would like to thank you for your participation in our Remembrance Day service. Ryder was possibly one of the best speakers we have had at one of our services, and at such a young age it makes that accolade even more significant. Multiple people post the service commented on how excellent his speech was and how well it was delivered. Ryder is definitely a keen individual and shows a great spirit in regard to respect around commemorating our service personnel.

This is lovely feedback. Ryder has, in fact, been invited, to be a flag bearer in the 2024 Anzac day service, which is a great honour.

Crossing Supervisors and accepting difference

I would like to welcome Liz to the lower Grove Street crossing and welcome back Bill, after having some time off. Hopefully, the school will have some stability with these two new or ‘newish’ supervisors. I am sure that all our community members will warmly interact with both Liz and Bill. There are always two sides to every story however, I think some of our community members may reflect on the need for a change in crossing supervisors, and our collective capacity to accept and appreciate difference.

Vandalism update

Thanks to the support of our families, the local Police, and high schools, we have been able to identify the community members who vandalised the oval, on two occasions. The Police have taken appropriate action and I am confident that the people concerned will be remorseful and learn from the experience.

Manners matter

I did speak to the students on Monday, at Assembly, and congratulated them on the widespread politeness that all the school staff experience from them. I do talk about kindness a lot and we came up with some additional examples of what that looks like. To our parents and carers, as we head into the busy end of the year, can I please ask that continue to remember to interact in a polite and respectful ways with school staff. As people get tired tempers can fray, but I feel confident, that together we can finish the school year in the normal polite and respectful way that is the ‘EEPS way’. Thank you.

Curriculum Day

Just a reminder that our last Curriculum Day is next Friday 1st December. This is the planning day for 2024, where teachers will plan for the 2024 school year. OSHC is available, once again, for those families who require it. Whilst this day, by necessity, is not at the start or end of a term, we have received really positive feedback on the placing of the Curriculum Day/ whole school professional practice days this year. If you recall, we have tried to use the day before long weekends or around Public Holidays, wherever possible to minimise disruptions to families. Once the 2024 dates have been set and approved by School Council, I will communicate these to you.

Save the Date!

Several important dates as we head towards the end of the year-

-Friday 1st December- Curriculum Day, as mentioned

-Monday 4th December- 2024 Student Leaders announced

-Wednesday 6th and Friday 8th December- Year 6 Market Days

-Thursday 7th December- Family Picnic 5.00-7.00 pm

-Monday 11th December- Presentation to the 2023 Student Leaders

-Friday 8th December- Year 6 Graduation

-Tuesday 12th December- Whole school transition day

-Wednesday 13th December- Student learning reports are available through Compass

-Wednesday 20th December- Passing of the Keys Ceremony and 1.00 pm finish

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

Warren Lloyd

Principal