Dear Essex Heights Community,

Welcome back to the new school year and I believe that it will provide many great opportunities for children and families to join in a wide range of learning and fun experiences. As I walked around the school last week, I was so pleased to see the children settled, happy and working so well. They were sharing so many great stories about their holidays, trips overseas and interstate, their many adventures as well as all the other things they had done since leaving school in December.

Yesterday we welcomed our new Prep children for 2026. 77 children and their families were all very excited about starting school at Essex Heights. Photos were taken and all the children had a very happy and engaging time with their teachers.

We have also welcomed 10 children across Years 1 to 6 to Essex Heights. We hope that their time with us will be enjoyable, productive and worthwhile. If you see new faces in the school yard please make sure that we live up to the Essex Heights values of ‘Kindness and Inclusiveness’ and make them feel welcome and part of our great community.

In the week before returning to school it was fantastic to see so many children accessing the Outside School Hours Care Vacation program. The children were having so much fun with their activities. A big thanks to Paul Davis and his staff for once again running an outstanding holiday experience for our children.

The PFC have organised a Welcome Event on Friday 27 February. All EHPS families are encouraged to participate in this opportunity to welcome our new families into the EHPS Community. I look forward to seeing you there.

Staff

This year we welcome a few new staff to our great team at Essex Heights – Sarah Medland (Prep Year Level Coordinator) and Meg Walker (Year 6). We also welcome back from leave Goretti Cheuk (Year 4 Year Level Coordinator) and Alexandra O’Connor (Year 2). We are so fortunate to have such high calibre staff in our school. We wish all our new staff well in their various roles at Essex Heights and look forward to their contribution to the children’s learning and enjoyment in 2026.

School Values, Learning and Student Wellbeing

The Essex Heights values of Kindness, Respect, Resilience, Curiosity, and Inclusiveness are at the heart of everything we do.

We’re encouraging and celebrating the students’ efforts and the demonstration of values through our House and Playground Points system. It’s a fantastic way to recognise and reward the positive contributions each student makes.

Staff have started the year with their classes by focusing on our ‘Starting up and Starting Out' program which incorporates School Wide Positive Behaviours, a number of wellbeing activities and school procedures in order to develop a positive working environment in each classroom and throughout the school.

Ensuring the wellbeing of all children is a high priority at Essex Heights. We know that children must first feel secure and happy at school, so that they can fully engage in learning activities. This focus will be a continued priority in 2026 and staff spent time on Monday evening exploring the revised resources from The Resilience Project at each level.

Parent – School Partnership

At Essex Heights we believe that an effective partnership with families is a very important ingredient to enable all children to reach their highest potential. To be successful at school, our children need support from both home and school.

I encourage all families to support the school and assist your child’s learning by ensuring that he / she:

Attends school every day and arrives on time (8.50am), ready for the day’s learning.
Completes all homework activities given by teachers.
Reads daily to develop a love for reading and to improve literacy skills.
Share school experiences, ‘what went well today’, with you so that you are aware of the many good things in their school life.

A key step in developing this partnership is to have an excellent rapport with your child’s teacher(s).

Next week, our Meet and Greet Parent / Teacher discussions are an opportunity for families to share their knowledge of their child with the teacher and it is also an important step for classroom teachers to get to know your child.

Bookings for these discussions are open on the Compass portal. Each teacher has sufficient bookings available for each family in their class to have a conversation about their child. Please note that the discussions are scheduled for 10 minutes duration. If a longer conversation is required, we ask that you arrange an alternative date and time with your child’s teacher.

I strongly encourage all families to take this opportunity to meet your child's classroom teacher.

Class Parent Representatives

An expression of interest for the important role of Class Parent Representative, either individually or jointly for your child’s class, has been published in your Compass News Feed this week, including the link to the online form to register your nomination. Responses are due next Monday. More information about this important role is on the Class Parent Representatives page in this newsletter.

School Council Elections 2026

All government schools in Victoria have a school council. They are legally constituted bodies that are given powers to set the key directions of a school within state-wide guidelines. School Council in collaboration with the school leadership sets the strategic direction for the school.

Parents on school councils provide important viewpoints and have valuable skills that can help shape the direction of the school. Those parents who become active on a school council find their involvement satisfying and may also find that their children feel a greater sense of belonging.

This year nominations for parent and DE representatives on school council will open on Monday 23 February 2026. Nomination forms will be available from the office or from the school website. Nominations for the four (4) available parent positions and two (2) School employee positions will close at 4pm on Monday 2 March 2026.

Later in the newsletter, please refer to the School Council page for the Notice of Election, School Council Election Timeline as well as School Council Information for Parents.

I would like to thank our retiring parent representatives Jennifer Bittner, Pia Ahmet, Andrew Cain and Carolyn Mott, as well as Kristi Lloyd and Paul Davis, our School Employee representatives, for their commitment to our school, their guidance, advice and particularly for the support they have shown to me and our EHPS community over the past two years. I would like to especially thank Jennifer Bittner for her leadership of school council and for her unwavering support for the betterment of our school.

Communication

Good communication between home and school is very important so that we all know what is happening in our school community. It also ensures that students benefit the most from all opportunities offered at Essex Heights. All EHPS families are reminded that we will communicate with you using:

Compass; and
Contact, our online school newsletter.

All families have been provided with their own unique login to access Compass. If your Compass access is no longer working, please contact Jo in our School Office to reset your password.

Compass will be the main avenue for communication between home and school. All important messages for parents and carers will be sent through our Compass News Feed. It is essential that you check Compass regularly for information from school.

When you receive a notification requiring your response, please ensure that you action this not later than the specified due date. If you access Compass on a smart device, ensure that you have turned your notifications on so that you receive an alert when information is published.

At Essex Heights we value the communication between parents and the school, however a few things must be kept in mind so that we have a common understanding of the procedures and expectations:

Staff are in class and teaching throughout the school day, as well as attending meetings after school. Therefore, sending an email or Compass message during the day is not the most effective way to communicate with a classroom teacher, especially if the matter is urgent.
For matters requiring a rapid response, families should ring the School Office (9807 4944) and a message will be passed to the teacher.
We encourage our staff to have a healthy work life balance and we have agreed that their workday should be between 8.30am and 5pm. I have therefore asked staff to only reply to written correspondence during those hours. It would therefore be fair to expect a reply to a written communication within two business days.
All too often, staff receive texts or messages late into the evening. Staff will not reply to such correspondence until they are able. Please refrain from messaging at these times and please be assured that staff will respond to your message in due course.

Road Safety & Courtesy

I would like to again 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.

Children’s safety is the highest importance so please ensure that:
1. You use the supervised School Crossing to cross Essex Road. Also, wait for our crossing supervisor to give you the go ahead before commencing to cross.
2. Children only get out of cars on the footpath side.
3. You do not walk through the Staff & Permit Carpark as an entry or exit point. As signed, it is not a pedestrian area.
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:
1. Do not park across our neighbours’ driveways.
2. 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.
3. Do not U turn across the solid white line in Essex Road in front of the school.
4. Follow speed limits in the streets surrounding our school. A permanent 40 km/hour speed limit applies in Essex Road.
5. Park only in the designated parking bays in the City of Monash Essex Heights Reserve carpark adjacent to the school while waiting for your child.
Parking:
1. The Kiss & Go zone at the front of the school operates at the beginning of the school day from 8.30am to 9.30am and end of the school day from 3pm to 4pm. During these times cars enter the zone for a maximum two minutes to drop off/pick up students and the driver cannot park and leave their vehicle. If waiting to enter the Kiss & Go zone be mindful to not obstruct the supervised crossing or neighbour’s driveways.
2. The Staff & Permit car park (entry on Essex Road) may not be used by parents/carers at any time during the school day.
3. Essex Road (front of school) and surrounding streets, Essex Heights Reserve car park, Outlook Drive (back of school), Ashwood Sports Club/Ashwood Cricket Club/Essex Heights Playgroup car park (entry off Outlook Road), and surrounding streets – in marked parking spaces or as signed.

I urge everyone to take collective responsibility for this matter. We are responsible for the safety of the children as well as being role models for our children. Road safety is a responsibility we all share.

Let's work together to keep our children safe and be respectful of our neighbours.

SunSmart – wear a hat

In accordance with our SunSmart Policy, I would like to remind all families that the children are required to wear hats throughout Term 1. These should be in the school uniform dark green, legionnaire style or wide brimmed for maximum sun protection. I would ask parents to ensure that children are bringing the appropriate headwear to school each day. On hot days we also suggest that students seek shade and drink plenty of water.

School Times, Late or Absent?

I would like to remind all families that children are expected to be in class by 8.50am when the school day begins. This will allow for brief chats and important organisational matters to be completed so that all classes are able to start their learning promptly at 9am. Good communication between school and home is so important, therefore if an in-depth discussion with the classroom teacher is needed then please arrange a suitable time with them.

As mentioned above, our Compass portal is the school’s communication tool between school and home and is to be used to send emails to a teacher, enter attendance notes for any absence from school, and pay/consent for activities/events. Please make sure that you regularly log into the Compass portal. If you need any assistance, please check the Parent Guide on our website or speak to the staff at the School Office.

If your child will be absent on any particular day, please enter an attendance note on Compass, or contact the school by 9am to report the absence verbally or in writing.

Please note that students arriving at school at or after 9am must be signed in to school at the Office, preferably by a parent or guardian.

Ideally, all arrangements for the school day should be made and communicated clearly to your child before the start of the day. Our Office staff are not expected to pass on reminders to your child. However, if there are changed plans for the end of the school day or pick up arrangements for your children, please advise the school as soon as you know about it. Our Office staff will always pass on messages to students; however, this requires time and lack of interruptions. Please ensure that messages relating to that same day are communicated by phoning the Office; do not email.

End of day pick up time

The school day concludes at 3.30pm, unless otherwise communicated and at end of term. Parents are expected to be onsite to meet their children at 3.30pm, unless other arrangements are in place and communicated with your child and their class teacher.

If you will be delayed, please make arrangements to book your child into After School Care, or for friends/family to collect your child by 3.45pm. Phone the Office so your child can be informed of the changed arrangements.

Thank you for your cooperation and support in these matters.

Student Illness and Accidents

Early in the school year is a good time to remind all families of the necessity to keep the school updated with changed phone numbers and emergency contact details. If your child is ill at school, or suffers an accident, then staff will give immediate care and appropriate first aid. However, it is necessary on occasions to contact parents and we are often frustrated by out-of-date information that delays this process.

Please make sure you notify the Office of any changes to your personal or your emergency contacts details. Obviously in extreme cases we may also deem it necessary to call an Ambulance before consulting parents and you need to be aware of this. Please also keep the Office informed of any change in medical issues faced by your children as this helps us to make the best choices for their welfare.

Parents and guardians should also be aware that they are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including any ambulance transport costs. Most medical costs are refundable by Medicare. If you are a member of an ambulance or health insurance fund, you may also be able to claim transport or other expenses from the fund. The Department of Education does not hold accident insurance for school students.

Is other Insurance available? Yes.

There are commercial providers of insurance for students and they can be found online or through your Insurance Broker.

Students, Parents & Staff Personal Property

On a similar topic, students, staff and visitors often bring personal property to school. This can include mobile phones, calculators, toys, sporting equipment and cars parked on school premises.

Please note the Department of Education does not hold insurance for personal property brought to schools and it will generally not pay for any loss or damage to such property.

The Department of Education mobile phone ban also in effect. Mobile phones are not to be used at school. Any device brought to school must be handed into the school office or class teacher before school starts and can be collected at the end of the day.

Please refer to the mobile phone policy on the EHPS website: www.essex.heightsps.edu.au

On a final note please refer to the Privacy statement below for information related to data collection.

Annual privacy reminder for our school community

Our school collects and uses student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy and the Schools’ Privacy Collection Notice.

Our Photographing, Filming and Recording Students Policy: EHPS Photographing, Filming and Recording Students Policy describes how we collect and use photographs, video and recordings of students. The policy also explains when parent consent is required and how it can be provided and withdrawn.

We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use digital technologies safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information.

Digital Learning Policy

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages.

School Assembly

Our first School Assembly was held last Monday. It was fantastic to see so many families in attendance. Details of the assembly are always provided through a Compass News Feed on a weekly basis.

Parents/guardians are always welcome and encouraged to attend. Join us in the Stadium from 2.30pm on Monday afternoons.

Please note that our Foundation (Prep) students won't attend Assembly until later this term; the Prep Team will advise when they will attend their first Assembly.

Our Student Leaders for 2026 will be presented with their badge and certificate by Matt Fregon MP, the State Member for Ashwood, at the assembly on Monday 23 February.

Our Multicultural Community

Every newsletter we will try to highlight the many significant dates/events for our communities. Please feel free to let me know if there are important dates for your community that we should be celebrating.

Happy Year of the Horse

Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year or Spring Festival, is a major festival celebrated at the beginning of the Chinese lunisolar calendar. Thought to have originated in ancient China around 3,500 years ago, it is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture, marking the end of winter and the beginning of the new year.

Lunar New Year 2026 is on Tuesday 17 February, and celebrations culminate with the Lantern Festival on 3 March. The Year of the Horse in 2026 is expected to be dynamic, encouraging bold moves, new opportunities, and transformative breakthroughs, though it might also stir restlessness and dramatic changes.

Apology to the Stolen Generation

13 February will be the anniversary of the formal apology made by the Australian Parliament to the members of the Stolen Generation. This National Apology officially recognised that past laws and policies had forced Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, causing profound pain and loss. It also on small step toward healing this trauma for individuals and communities.

Nirvana Day (15 February)

Nirvana Day is an annual Buddhist festival that remembers the death of the Buddha when he reached Nirvana, the death of his physical body and the attainment of perfect peace and happiness, at the age of 80. It is also called Parinirvana Day. Buddhist families remember and reflect upon their friends and relations who have recently passed.

Maha Shivaratri (15 & 16 February)

Maha Shivaratri is a festival honouring the Hindu god, Lord Shiva. This sacred festival honours Lord Shiva’s marriage and cosmic dance, symbolising creation and destruction. It brings spiritual growth, liberation, and self-transformation.

Ramadan (16 February – 18 March)

Ramadan is the most auspicious month in the Islamic Calendar. It is the month the first verses of the Qur’an were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. During Ramadan, Muslims around the world fast from sunrise to sunset.

Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) 17 February

Tet is considered the first day of Vietnam’s spring, a time marked by new beginnings. Tet includes ancestor worship, family gatherings, special foods and gift exchanges.

Seollal (Korean Lunar New Year – Year of the Horse) 17 February

Known in the Koreas as Seollal, Lunar New Year typically lasts three days (the day before and after the New Year). Centred on charye – paying respect to elders – the new year is a time to remember a shared heritage and look forward to the future.

Ash Wednesday (18 February)

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent in the Christian calendar. Lent involves 40 days of fasting and reflection that concludes with Easter.

It has been a great start to the 2026 school year and I look forward to seeing you around the school.

Kindest regards,

George Perini

Principal

Junior School Council