Principal's Report

Dear Parents and Carers,

The last two weeks have continued to be great opportunities for learning and fun for the children. Across the school there have been activities that have seen the children come together to celebrate their learning as well be open to new experiences.

Fairy Tales Dress Up

Year 1 celebrated the end of their Fairy Tales unit by coming dressed in their favourite fairy tale character. They were also part of a marvellous parade and story time at the Monday assembly. The children were very proud of their costumes and loved parading around the stadium. Their sit down morning tea in the Hall was very special too!

Swimming and Water Safety

All Prep and Year 2 student participated in the swimming program at Huntingtower. The children really had fun and their water safety skills improved significantly. They all made very good progress and that reinforces the importance of this annual program.

CERES

Year 3 students went to CERES this week, where they learnt so much about indigenous culture, sustainability, and the environment. These important concepts are very relevant in our every changing world and will serve the students well as they grow into thoughtful young adults.

Living Wax Museum

Year 5 students completed their learning about the Gold Rush by completing a substantial project about important individuals of the era. The demonstrated their knowledge this week by dressing up and presenting their characters at an exhibition in the Hall. Many classes visited their ‘Living Museum’ of their gold rush people and the Year 5s portrayed their person very well. They knew the relevant information about their person and were able to answer questions about them. It was very pleasing to see so many parents at the event.

Footy Colours Day and Hot Dog Lunch

Yesterday was Footy Colours Day and it was again another opportunity to come together as a whole school community. The children really enjoyed dressing up in their favourite team colours, parade around the stadium and sing their team’s theme song. 

A donation was requested to support Fight Cancer Foundation raising funds for kids with cancer. I am pleased to advise that we raised $666.85.

The Hot Dog Lunch was a bonus, and the children loved the opportunity to have a different lunch. A special thanks must go to the Parents & Friends Club that coordinated and ran the Hot Dog Lunch. This is another marvellous example of the important work that our PFC does to build the community spirit and the sense of belonging at Essex Heights.

Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey

A completely random sample of Essex Heights families were invited to participate in this year’s annual Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion survey. Thank you to those who took the time to respond. The survey closed last Friday and I look forward to sharing some of those results with you once they are available. Your feedback is used to inform our planning, to continuously improve our school for the benefit of the children.

Leaving EHPS

Our planning and preparation for the next school year is well underway, and it is very important that we know as soon as possible if your child is leaving EHPS this year. Please email me at the school email address if your child is leaving EHPS and please include the following details:

• Child's name and 2023 class
• Date of last day at EHPS (the last day of the 2023 school year is Wednesday 20 December)
• Name of the school your child is enrolled at 
• Commencement date at new school (Term 1 2024 commences on Monday 29 January)
• The reason for leaving EHPS  
• New contact details, e.g. address, phone number, email

Nesting Birds

It's Spring, and over the last few years we have had a pair of birds who choose to create their nest and raise their chicks in one of the Magnolias next to the path into the Office. Please be aware of this if coming into the School Office, as they sometimes swoop in defence of their nest. We also encourage you to have a conversation with your child about this, and the importance of keeping away from the tree with the nest while they are raising their chicks. 

Prep 2024

We are exited to have over 80 children enrolled to commence primary school in Foundation/Prep at EHPS next year. Their transition program commences next term with the first transition session on Thursday 5 October that will focus on maths.

Parents Victoria 2023 Conference

 Parents Victoria (PV) is a statewide non-profit organisation that supports and represents parents of students in Victorian government schools. Parents Victoria provides parents with a voice, presenting an organised parent perspective to State and Federal Governments, educational bureaucracies and institutions, community organisations and the media.

Annual Conference is one of the major events on the Parents Victoria calendar. State Education: The Road Ahead is the theme of the 2023 Conference to be held on Saturday 7 October at Pullman Melbourne on the Park. 

Big issues

• Conference allows parents to explore some of the ‘big issues’ confronting education across the state and the nation.
• Each year the Conference theme reflects one or more of the major challenges facing education generally or Parent Clubs in particular.
• The issues are covered in a variety of ways including keynote speakers and workshops.

Networking opportunity

• Conference is a unique opportunity for parents to meet and share experiences and ideas
• Listening to and participating in debate of policy items with parents from around the state.

Who comes to conference?

• Anyone can attend the Annual Conference.
• Conference costs are determined by the PV Board annually.

Compass enhancements

Compass is our web based parent portal, and is our primary form of communication with you. It is essential that you check Compass regularly to stay up to date with school communication. If you also use the Compass app, ensuring your notifications are on in your settings ensures that you are alerted when there is something new is posted. 

We have recently begun including details about events/activities in the Compass calendar as a quick reference for you. Hover over the entry and details will pop up. 

Social Media

We've recently advised an update to our social media presence. EHPS now has two Facebook pages (the Essex Heights Primary School Community page is a private group for current members of the EHPS community, and the public Essex Heights Primary School page) and Instagram. Refer to the Compass News Feed message for the links. 

Staffing

We're looking forward to welcoming our Assistant Principals, Ina Kuehlich and Elisha Cotterell, back next term after their adventures on long service leave .

Alexandra O'Connor will be on long service leave in Term 4. We welcome Tara Greenall who will be the 4O classroom teacher next term. Tara is well known to our students as a regular casual relief teacher.

End of Term 3 & Start of Term 4

Term 3 ended today, Friday 15 September, and students were dismissed, as usual at the end of this term, at 2.30pm. 

Enjoy the Spring school holiday break, and I look forward to seeing our whole school community return refreshed for Term 4 on Monday 2 October. Don't forget that Daylight Saving Time commences at 2am on Sunday 1 October (the day before the new term starts), and clocks go forward one hour. 

Please remember that if your child will be away on a holiday at the start of next term, that the Department of Education student attendance guidelines require my permission for absence on a holiday during school term. Please email me using the EHPS email address - essex.heights.ps@education.vic.gov.au - to advise the details of your family plans and when your child will be absent. On receipt of my acknowldgement, enter an attendance note in Compass before you leave on holidays, and notify the classroom teacher (use the link in Compass). 

Farewell

We farewell the following students and their family from the EHPS community:

• Mengyun (Maggie) W (PS)
• Mengqi (Ella) W (3Z)
• Yike (Echo) M (3L)

I wish all families a restful and fun filled holiday period. If your team is still in the finals then I wish them all the best of luck for continued success.

I look forward to seeing all families back at school on Monday 2 October. 

Go Dees!!! 

Kindest regards,

George Perini

Principal