Principal's Item 

Dear parents, carers and friends of EEPS,

Whilst we are now halfway through the week, I do hope that families had a restful and relaxing long weekend, even though the weather was, and continues to be, a little grey. 

Tree planting!

It was fantastic to see our Year 3 and 4 students busy planting out Level 2 last week in celebration of World Environment Day on Wednesday 5th June. Please help the plants grow by remembering to stay out of the garden beds and by reminding all community members of the same! Next term, for National Tree Day, we will be busy planting more trees and shrubs. It is wonderful to be able to continue to slowly but surely add to our biodiversity in the EEPS gardens.

Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness (GEM)

Whilst the school’s formal engagement with the Resilience Project has finished, we still take from the project important learnings and integrate them into classroom practice and to our approach. 

It certainly was great to see the EEPS students practicing gratitude as they moved throughout the school last week and showing genuine appreciation for their opportunities. It certainly makes all the hard work and planning of the teachers worthwhile when they are met with happy and appreciative faces. 

Cybersafety

Last week the school was contacted by Cybersafety Expert, Susan McLean, who happens to be an ex-EEPS student. This was the Facebook post:

‘Technology gives us amazing benefits, but it comes with responsibility'. A quote from well-known Cybersafety expert and ex EEPS student Susan McLean. Parents are encouraged to take a few minutes to look at this BTN (Behind The News) ABC clip with their children. 

The clip can be accessed here.

Reconciliation

I have written before about our commitment to an inclusive education for all Koori students and at the same time allowing for a greater awareness of the history and culture of indigenous Australians throughout the curriculum and in the school. Last week the Victorian Department of Education released a new report into Koori education in Victoria. The report was titled, ‘Strengthening Aboriginal Self-Determination in Education’ and is available here if you would like to read it.

Heroes

Next week we officially start the 2024 EEPS concert rehearsals. We normally don’t start until the beginning of Term 3 but as the concert date, set by the venue, is in Week 8, we need to make a head start this term. We have a completely different specialist timetable to make this work and I would like to thank Mrs Joseph for the time and dedication that has gone into creating a timetable that meets the increasingly complex needs of the school. The children will hopefully come home with snippets of rehearsal information!

Respect for All - Pride Month

As a primary school we do work hard to focus on the mantra of ‘respect for all’, regardless of beliefs, cultural backgrounds, abilities, gender identities and family structures. For those who may not know the month of June can sometimes be referred to as Pride month. This is from the UN Youth Australia site:

Every June, Pride Month celebrates the diversity of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community. It’s a time to reflect on just how far civil rights have progressed in half a century and an opportunity to protest discrimination and violence. Australia is at the forefront of the push towards true equality and inclusion for LGBTI people.  

As a primary school we do not have any special events or celebrations for this except to re-affirm our commitment of both modelling and teaching respect on all levels.

House Athletics Year 3-6

This Thursday is House Athletics and I look forward to greeting many parents and carers who support this event and are always so fantastic at helping out. 

Refugee Week

Next week is Refugee Week. If any EEPS families would like to share a story or anecdote that we could include in the Newsletter or at Assembly next week then please send that through to the school’s email address; eltham.east.ps@education.vic.gov.au

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