From the Principal...
Hi everyone and welcome to the latest newsletter. With the term approaching the half way mark MEPS is in full swing. Please note the date on next Friday 27 February for our MEPS Community Welcome Picnic from 3.30 - 5.30pm. Hopefully you can join us in connecting with students, staff and parents across this afternoon. Jumping castles, BBQ, BYO food and drink, face painting and other activities have been organised. We look forward to seeing you all there.
Bunnings BBQ
Thank you to the PTA and all the parents who helped at the recent Bunnings BBQ fundraiser. An amazing effort we raised $2,356.90 net profit for the school. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.
Thanks to the parents who attended the parent session that was focussed on our P-2 reading strategies. I hope you found this to be informative and insightful. As shared by Ms Waterworth and Ms Breen our focus at MEPS in the early years is to ensure we are balancing our literacy program to build students’ skills and application of their reading. We have a structured synthetic phonics based approach to learning the code (sounds, letter patterns in reading, writing and spelling) but also provide rich opportunities for students to enjoy and foster a love of literacy and reading. Our take home readers are expected to be easily and readily achievable for students at their decoding level but we also want to compliment this with interest based books that foster engagement and connection to books. As parents you play a pivotal role in supporting this approach. Thank you for all you do in supporting your children to build their literacy skills. Reading is the window to learning!
This week you will have also received the oversight of the homework processes at MEPS. You will have seen that a consistent approach to reading at home is the cornerstone of our approach.
Building on this over time as students progress through the school and age appropriate in the senior years of primary school we encourage students to progressively build their work habits in homework to foster a smooth transition into secondary school expectations. As always, your child’s teacher is a great reference to discuss any further homework requirements.
Road Works
Please note the recent information that we have received notifying of road works to Wooralla Drive from Monday 23 to Saturday 28 February.
There will be traffic management in place and we have been informed that access to the parking drop zone will still be functional during their period. Apologies for any delays and please know this is something beyond the school’s control. I do appreciate your pending patience!
Cyber Safety
Throughout 2026, we will be providing a robust cyber safety program for all students.
Whilst technology has a place in our curriculum and is a useful and engaging learning tool at times; we are focussed on developing safe cyber habits and a balanced approach to screen time. At MEPS, technology is used as a learning tool but only at appropriate moments and managed by our amazing staff team.
To further enhance this classroom learning, we are excited to offer families a chance to learn from digital safety experts through our community webinar focused on Raising Kids in a Digital World. This online community event is scheduled for Wednesday 4 March at 7:30pm and will cover a range of topics including social media, gaming, cyberbullying and more. A video introduction from the presenters about the event can be found below:
Below is the event poster which will is also displayed around our school. You can register for this event by using the QR code on the poster or following the link provided:
I am looking forward to seeing many of you online as we explore some of the unique challenges and supports we provide to our young people in an ever changing online world.
Excursions and Events in 2026
As we approach the mid way point of the term we have a range of events, excursions and activities that are scheduled for our students. Please be aware of the processes for this so as to ensure that your child does not miss out on the broad scope of opportunities across this year.
Our processes are:
- Communicating to parents about upcoming activities via Compass
- Requesting permission and payment (if required) for activities
- Posting reminders about due dates as they approach
- Publishing a final end date for payments and permissions
- Facilitating logistics for successful event management
In order for this to function effectively, parents are asked to note the end dates and recognise that these final dates are vitally important to the next stage of planning activities. This includes securing our bookings and invoicing with providers, arranging travel and first aid logistics for the activity; etc…
Therefore, please be aware that our dates are necessary and that permissions and payments after the published dates will not be possible. We want all students to attend all opportunities and will ensure our communications are timely enough to allow appropriate lead time in supporting permissions, payments and planning to occur. Thank-you for understanding and supporting these processes.
We value greatly the support and participation of the many parents who support in volunteering at our planned activities. A reminder that any parents who are able to help must obtain a valid working with children check and present this to the office. Additionally, all volunteers are asked to read and sign off on our Code of Conduct documentation via the school office. Please note that we encourage parent participation wherever appropriate and these measures are to ensure the safe and positive processes for all MEPS stakeholders. Thank you for your support.
Please follow these steps:
- Provide your valid Working With Children Card
- Review the Child Safety Induction Pack
- Sign the Volunteer Confidentiality Form
School Fees
Throughout a busy start to the year we have held off in communicating our 2026 school fee documentation. We will send this out next week in the hope that all families can support the resourcing of our school and our learning programs. These payments are crucial in MEPS being able to adequately sustain and maintain our high level learning programs across the school. I thank-you in advance for recognising this contribution as being wonderfully supportive.
It has been great to see the many value added opportunities being provided to our students across the school over recent weeks (and upcoming). These include:
Oz Harvest
District Swimming
Year 3 Cyber Safety Program
Year 3-6 Children’s University Program
Year 5/6 Bowls Program
Year 3&5 NAPLAN Preparation
Upcoming Year 3 Police Victoria Incursion
School Review
On Tuesday 10 March and Thursday 12 March MEPS will be conducting our 4 year cyclical review.
On Tuesday 10 March we are asking for any available parents to join in a parent forum from 2.45 – 3.15pm. I will send a reminder prior to this date but please be aware that we would love to hear from you.
Parent Teacher Connect
Thank you for your attendance and support at the recent parent/teacher connect meetings. I hope you found these to be useful. Our staff have expressed their gratitude and value in meeting and hearing from you. Thank you for your support!
Mt Eliza School Council
Are you interested in joining our school council!! MEPS cannot operate without the governance of our school council. If you are interested in joining the council, we would be greatly appreciative. Please contact me at michael.kent@education.vic.gov.au or on 9787 1385 to discuss your interest. Thank you so much for your consideration!!
Nomination forms can be obtained from the Principal.
Following the closing of nominations a list of the nominations received will be posted at the school. The terms of office, membership categories and number of positions in each membership category open for election are as follows:
| Membership Category | Term of Office | Number of Positions |
| Parent member | From the date after the declaration of the poll in 2026 to and inclusive of the date of the declaration of the 2028 election. | 5 |
| DOE employee member | From the date after the declaration of the poll in 2026 to and inclusive of the date of the declaration of the 2028 election | 2 |
If the number of nominations is less than the number of vacancies, a notice to that effect and calling for further nominations will be posted. Should the number of nominations exceed the number of vacancies a ballot will be conducted.
If you are interested or require further information (including nomination forms) please contact the me directly. Nominations must received by 4pm on Friday 27 February, 2026. Thank you for your consideration.
Uniform
Please note that the Uniform Shop opening hours for 2026 will be as follows:
- Tuesday: 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
- Thursday: 8:30 am – 11:30 am
Sunsmart
Please note the school’s sunsmart policy requires all students to wear their school approved, sunsmart hats until 30 April.
Growth Mindset
At MEPS we are focused on developing positive psychology within our students and this involves fostering a positive mindset. Incorporated within this is the development of our learning culture around using the ‘Learning Pit’ to promote a positive attitude to learning.
The Learning Pit fosters positive psychology around learning something new. As is the case with all new learning, there is a resultant cognitive struggle to grapple with new concepts and the mindsets that lead/contribute to a positive outlook and the best mindset for learning.
If there isn’t a struggle, then we can presume that new learning isn’t evident but rather students are operating within their comfort zone of knowledge. We encourage children to embrace the learning struggle and find new ways, options, strategies and avenues to form new knowledge and understanding. This also promotes a culture of learning and exploration that is challenging but enjoyable for students as they find their way with ongoing opportunities to learn. This process culminates in students celebrating and sharing their new found insights in a positive and collaborative way that fosters an increased level of self esteem and a celebration of self and accomplishment.
The focus on the learning process and ‘Learning Pit’ promotes a growth mindset where we are focused on the effort rather than the performance or achievement level. This promotes an attitude to learning that students need to work to achieve their individual goals and by putting in the effort, all students can succeed! In 2026 we continue our work in ensuring that we are building a Growth Mindset in all our students.
Fixed Mindset
Students with a Fixed Mindset:
- believe they need to look smart at all times - particularly high achieving students
- believe intelligence is fixed; “You've either got it or you haven't"
- don’t take as many risks in their learning
- may hide/conceal deficiencies
Growth Mindset
Students with a Growth Mindset:
- believe that they can learn at all costs
- are engaged in a problem solving approach
- they believe in effort and push beyond their comfort zone
As a result they work harder, increase effort and view failure as an opportunity to increase learning.
The difference between the Fixed and Growth Mindsets
| Fixed Mindset | Growth Mindset | |
| Challenges | Avoid | Embrace |
| Obstacles | Give up easily | Persist in the face of set backs |
| Effort | See effort as fruitless | See effort as the path to mastery |
| Feedback | May see feedback as a negative | Learn from feedback |
| Success of others | Feel threatened by | Learn from others |
We place importance on praising our students for their efforts, not their intelligence.
For example, “I’m really proud of how hard you’ve been working on your times tables,” instead of “I’m really proud of you for getting all of your times tables correct.”
We must also recognise the power of the word ‘yet’. When our students want to give up easily we can use the word ‘yet’. Noting the difference in the following two sentences:
“I can't do it,” verses, “I can't do it ‘yet’.” The word 'yet' instils hope and helps to build an attitude of positivity and persistence.
Have a wonderful weekend and thank you again for your ongoing support of our great school!
Kind regards,
Michael
Respect, Resilience, Responsibility, Connectedness and Challenge