Principals Report
Dear SEPS Families,
Moving Day
The office are very excited at the prospect of moving back into the newly refurbished administration building next Friday. All going well with the relocation of our network system and data racks, we should be open for business from Monday 11th November. We are looking forward to showing you around the new building. The new classrooms are on schedule to be completed by mid-December ready for the new year. Next Friday, our phone and computer systems will be down for part of the day. Please check Compass as we provide updates with contact numbers in case of an emergency.
Art Show
Congratulations to Ms Van Etten and Ms Hemmings on planning and delivering such a beautiful event. It was so wonderful to see so many families in attendance and the feedback we received was great. I am still amazed at the quality of work produced by our students and pay huge respect to our art teachers who can elicit such creativity and detail from children of all ages. Art is in the eye of the beholder, but I loved every piece and would happily have many of them framed on the wall.
School Disco
A huge thank you to our amazing parents who supported our SEPS Social event on the 18th October. The Halloween Disco was a huge success with many happy disco dancers looking awesome in their costumes. I suspect the parents had even more fun dressing up and the gym looked fabulous. We are so lucky to have so many parents invested in providing fun memories for our children. We look forward to more great events that SEPS Social have already planned. Please feel free to pop along anytime when we meet to discuss events and share ideas.
Weekly Challenges
Every Monday at assembly, I throw down a challenge to our students. It started as a one-off earlier in the year, but students regularly ask me what my next challenge will be, so I have now factored it into my weekly spot at assembly. Last week it was to use the bathrooms respectfully and to leave them clean. Sam, our cleaner, reported that it was the best week ever in terms of clean facilities and sensible use of soap and paper. We celebrated on Monday with an extra 10 minutes of play at morning tea.
As a school-wide positive behaviour school (SWPBS), we prioritise teaching positive behaviours and redirecting children when they occasionally make a poor choice. The focus for this week’s challenge was to line up in a calm and orderly way and in a timely manner when the bell goes. Lining up is important when it comes to student safety and it is also a physical signal that we are getting ready to learn. To ensure consistency across the school, we will be lining up in roll order. We look forward to sharing more strategies that facilitate routines that support learning and wellbeing for our students.
Classes for 2025
Please remember to email any concerns with your child’s friendships by FRIDAY 8 NOVEMBER via sandringham.east.ps@education.vic.gov.au. Please note that requests received after this date will not be considered. Once classes are finalised we cannot make changes. A reminder that requests for specific teachers will not be considered.
Homework
We were hoping to hold a parent forum on homework last term however thanks to illness we had to reschedule. Please look out for dates in our next newsletter. On Monday, we sent out the following link to a homework survey. We have had over 100 responses which is great. If you have not yet completed it, we would love to have your feedback so that we can understand how homework impacts your child and family. This will be valuable information for the parent forum.
Have a wonderful fortnight ahead.
Jane Briffa