Principal's Report
Dear EHPS Community,
I would like to take a moment to express my thanks again to everyone for the successful few weeks we've experienced here at Essex Heights. It has truly been a wonderful term so far, and none of it would be possible without your continued support and enthusiasm.
Thank You Parents & Friends Club
A special thank you goes out to the Parents and Friends Club for organising the lovely welcome picnic. Despite the very warm summer night Mount Waverley put on for us, the energy was high, and it was such a joy to see the children dancing away to the music from the DJ. The ice cream stand was a huge hit, and along with the lovely new turf area and shade on The Heights, I know it made the evening even more enjoyable for everyone involved.
I look forward to the many more events and moments we will share together this year. Thank you for making this a memorable start to the school year!
Everybody Welcome - PFC AGM
I strongly encourage families to consider contributing to the life of the school and your child’s positive experience in the Essex Heights community, through getting involved in the Parents and Friends Club (PFC). The Parents and Friends Club work together to bring joy and excitement through organising events and raising funds. Special experiences for your children, such as the Disco, Mother’s and Father’s Day stalls and the secondhand uniform stalls can only exist thanks to the time and energy of volunteers in this group. Please come along to the AGM in the Staff Room this Wednesday evening to learn more about this group and how you could get involved in any way. I look forward to meeting you there!
Term 1 Principal Forum
Last week Felicity O'Flynn and I attended the Term 1 Inner East Principal Forum, where Karen Money, our Regional Director, provided a government school’s statewide update. She spoke with pride and confidence about Victoria’s strengths and direction in student learning growth and wellbeing across the state. A large proportion of the day was dedicated to unpacking the implementation of the new Victorian Teaching and Learning Model 2.0 (VTLM 2.0). The work on this day was followed up with a Network Learning Day, attended by our Numeracy Learning Specialist and Term 1 Assistant Principal, Kelvin Tang, this week. Led by our School Improvement Team, and together with Leadership and the whole staff, we look forward to embedding this model at Essex Heights over the next three years.
Year 6 Camp
On Wednesday this week it was a privilege to visit the Year 6 students, staff and parent volunteers at Forest Lodge Farm Camp. Although not much sleep had occurred on night one, there was still great energy and excitement as the students made the most of making memories in every moment. The students pushed themselves beyond their comfort zones, with the support and encouragement of each other to take on the various challenges and opportunities. I was able to join groups on the giant swing, canoeing and yabbying. The famous mud run eluded me, however I spent some time, at a distance, observing the camp farm animals, including Gilbert the resident pig, who was very much enjoying cooling off in the mud. A huge thank you goes out to Camp coordinators, Alicia Boles and Renée Dare, supported by our team of dedicated staff, Olivia Rose, Isabella Boyd, Aubrey Hudson and Eric Zhang. The Camp could not have gone ahead without the contribution of parent volunteers Rif Ahmet, Andre Bonfrer, Arun Radhakrishnan and Minyi Li. Thank you for making this experience possible for our Year 6 students. We know they will treasure the memories made for a lifetime.
School Tours
This morning I hosted the first school tour of the new school year. Our school continues to be a school of choice with interest from in and out of zone families. Tours are held in groups every Wednesday and Friday and are already booked out for this term. We are taking bookings for Term 2. If you, or someone you know is looking for a 2026 Prep enrolment, I strongly encourage you to contact the school and make a booking for this valuable experience. Please note that tours for enrolment in Year 1 to 6 are currently only offered for in zone families.
NAPLAN
Next week our Year 3 and 5 students will take part in the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). It is the only national assessment all Australian students can undertake.
Why do NAPLAN?
NAPLAN assesses the literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through the school curriculum and allows parents/carers to see how their child is progressing against national proficiency standards.
NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process. It does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance, but it can provide teachers with additional information about students’ educational progress.
NAPLAN also provides schools, education authorities and governments with information about how education programs are working and whether young Australians are achieving important educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy.
Your child will do the NAPLAN tests online
Online NAPLAN tests are designed to provide precise results and are engaging for students. The tests are tailored (or adaptive) which means that each test presents questions that may be more or less difficult depending on a student’s responses. This helps students remain engaged with the assessment.
Tailored testing allows a wider range of student abilities to be assessed and measures student achievement more precisely. A student’s overall NAPLAN result is based on both the number and complexity of questions they answer correctly. Your child should not be concerned if they find questions challenging; they may be taking a more complex test pathway.
All Year 3 students will continue to complete the writing assessment on paper.
What can I do to support my child?
Students are not expected to study for NAPLAN. You can support your child by reassuring them that NAPLAN is a part of their school program and reminding them to simply do their best. Some explanation of NAPLAN is useful to help students understand and be comfortable with the format of the tests; however, it is not necessary for parents/carers to do this. Teachers will ensure students are familiar with the types of questions in the tests and will provide appropriate support and guidance.
ACARA does not recommend excessive preparation for NAPLAN or the use of services by coaching providers.
School Council Elections 2025
Following the close of nominations at 4pm on Monday 3rd March, two nominations were received for the four parent member vacancies and one staff nomination for the one employee membership category. These nominations were accepted and all were duly elected. A second call for the remaining vacancies was publicised, closing at 4pm on Thursday 6th March. At this time, one further nomination was received and duly elected. Subsequently, there is no need to conduct a ballot. I thank all nominees for their willingness to contribute to our community and the progression of our school through membership on School Council. Our first meeting will be held on Thursday 27th March. At this time, Council will decide if there is an opportunity to co-opt a member into the remaining parent vacancy. I would like to again thank the retiring parent members Betty Ciorciari and Michelle Mehta for their dedication and contributions to our school.
Classroom Parent Representatives
We recently invited the school community to nominate for the important role of Classroom Parent Representative. Thank you for the responses received and your willingness to be this important liaison and representative between your classroom teacher and parents; the representatives for all classes have been filled, with the exception of one class.
We look forward to welcoming this year’s CPRs to a meeting next Friday. The CPRs for 2025 are listed on the Class Parent Representatives page in this newsletter.
EHPS Financial Contributions in 2025
All families were recently advised of the annual parents payments that our School Council has endorsed for this school year.
All families are strongly encouraged to contribute the requested contributions to ensure that the quality of the facilities and resources available for our students continue to enjoy and few schools match the numerous programs that we offer to cater for student’s needs.
Please don’t hesitate to contact our Business Manager, Barbara McCann, if you’d like to discuss a payment plan.
More information can be found on our website by following the link: EHPS Parent Payments.
Parent/Teacher Meet and Greet Discussions
It was pleasing to hear that so many parents and guardians made the time to have meaningful discussions with their child’s teachers at the recent Meet & Greet discussions. These meetings were an opportunity for teachers to get to know more about your children, and to set the basis for an excellent partnership between home and school. If you were not able to attend a meeting, please contact your child’s classroom teacher to arrange a catch up.
Please remember that if there is any issue that impacts upon your child emotionally, physically or academically, it is best to inform your child’s classroom teacher. Teachers will always be pleased to make appointments for a meeting when required.
Assembly and Student Leaders presentation
We welcomed our State Member for Ashwood, Matt Fregon MP, to our School Assembly on Monday 17 February for the presentation of badges and certificates to our student leaders for 2025. Matt has always supported our school and is regularly a part of school events. Matt spoke to the children about leadership and presented badges and a special certificate to our Student Leaders for 2025. We were delighted to see so many proud parents of our leaders at the Assembly. Thank you for joining Assembly for this special occasion.
Our Prep students have now commenced attending our weekly Assembly and have quickly learnt the routine and expectation of this significant whole school meeting.
Our next Assembly will be on Monday 17 March (it’s the Labour Day public holiday next Monday so there won’t be an assembly because the school will be closed). The items to be presented are published for you in your Compass News Feed usually on the Friday prior, and we welcome parents/guardians to join us from 2.40pm each Monday in the Stadium gymnasium. There is no need to sign in at the office when attending Assembly.
New School Values
We continue to reinforce our new school values: Kindness, Respect, Resilience, Curiosity, and Inclusiveness! These values are displayed by students and recognised in all classrooms and play spaces across the school. Students who demonstrate our school values may be awarded a Student of the Week certificate at assembly, house points in class, and playground points in the yard. This week at school we have focussed our learning with students on the value ‘Resilience’. I encourage you to speak with your child about the school values and how they can show these at school and home.
Road Safety & Community Courtesy
Parking
The Staff & Permit car park on Essex Road is not available to any parent/guardian for drop off/pick up of students, or at any time during the school day. This car park, including the spaces marked for those with a disability permit, is for the use of staff and contractors only, and all parking spaces must be available for this purpose. If you or someone collecting your child holds a disability parking permit, I encourage you to use the Kiss and Go area on Essex Road, where you do not need to exit your vehicle, and children can be assisted by the yard duty teacher at the school gate. Parking for community members is available in Essex Road and neighbouring streets, including at the Outlook Road entry points to the school.
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:
- Do not park across or in our neighbours’ driveways.
- 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.
- Do not U turn across the solid white line in Essex Road in front of the school.
- 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.
- 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:
- You use the supervised School Crossing to cross Essex Road.
- Children get out of cars on the footpath side.
- 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 and thank those families who are doing the right thing and teaching our young people about safe road and pedestrian practices.
School Saving Bonus
All EHPS families are encouraged to access and allocate their $400 School Saving Bonus for each enrolled child provided by the Victorian Government. Locate your email from the Department of Education, and allocate the funds in the SSB portal. If you’re unable to locate the email, parents must submit an enquiry form; a case number will be allocated and, and if required, you can follow up on the dedicated phone number.
Please note that the allocation of SSB is an additional process for our Admin staff. If you have allocated some or all of your SSB to School Activities in the SSB portal, please allow for at least four working days for the funds to be available to our school to be allocated to an eligible events/activity. Please refer to the School Saving Bonus page in this newsletter for more information.
Grandparents and Special Friends Day
Grandparents and Special Friends Day will be held this year on Friday 4 April, the last day of Term 1. We invite all families to set the date aside and plan for this special day. On the day, a whole School Assembly with all our guests, will be conducted in the Stadium. At that time a series of fun activities will be held, followed by an opportunity to visit classrooms, and concluding with an opportunity for our special visitors to have lunch with their child/children. We hope that we have a Stadium full of special friends and Grandparents. More details will follow in coming weeks.
Whole School Dance Concert
Rehearsals have commenced across all year levels for our 2025 whole school dance program. We have welcomed back Jack and Amy who many of the children were excited to see again following a successful program in 2023. This year, our Dance Concert will be held on Monday 12th and Tuesday 13th May at Crossway in Burwood East. All students participate in this exciting whole school event, which includes dance lessons, costumes, location rehearsal and performance. Please keep a look out for communication regarding consent and payment on Compass, as well as details of which night your child will be performing. Audience tickets will go on sale in Term 2!
Public Holiday Reminder
Next Monday, 10 March, is the Labour Day public holiday and the school will be closed. We look forward to seeing students back at school on Tuesday. Enjoy your long weekend.
I look forward to seeing you around the school and at the Parent and Friends Club AGM at 7.30pm next Wednesday in the Staff Room.
Kindest regards,
Elisha Cotterell
Acting Principal