Principal's Message

Dear Families,

Please don’t forget our student free Professional Practice Day on Monday 9th December. Teachers will meet in teams to discuss and compare writing, numeracy and reading teacher observations, assessment data and student work to identify benchmarks against the Victorian Curriculum in preparation for end of year reports. 

Also, don’t forget that the Colour Run has now been moved to 2:30pm on Friday 13th December. Hatice will be reaching out to ask for parent volunteers early next week. 

Report writing involves considerable time both during planning time and outside of school reflecting on formal assessment data and records from classroom observations, discussing and comparing work samples with colleagues with frequent reference to the Victorian Curriculum Standards.  This is to ensure that as much as possible, all assessments and comments are consistent, accurate and professionally presented.  In the meantime, teachers continue to maintain a comprehensive classroom program with observations and assessments right up until the last week of the term.  It is an incredibly demanding and intensive time for teachers, so please be very mindful of their workload and if you have any pressing concerns, please raise them with Mary or myself, as a first port of call. 

Next week is Planning Week when our usual weekly timetable is adjusted to allow teams of teachers to be released for the day to plan together for term 1 2025.  Specialist teachers have planned an exciting program of inquiry for each learning team. 

As mentioned in our last newsletter we plan to continue the tradition of having a whole school end of year celebration. We are very excited to announce that we have been able to secure the use of Windy Hill and the main grandstand so that the students, along with their parents can see all the performances, as well as hear the announcements of the 2025 House and School Captains and the Finn McMullen award. Fortunately, Windy Hill has reduced the cost to the school for the hire of the grandstand from $1,500 to $1,000. As this is a last-minute arrangement and hasn’t be budgeted for, we have decided to ask families for a gold coin donation as they enter the grandstand.  

We will have access to the Grandstand from 1:30 to 3:00pm on Monday 16th December and hope everyone is able to make it. Students, already in costume will be seated in class groups in the bank of seats on the west side of the grandstand. Parents will be directed to the 2 banks of seats on the east side of the main grandstand. At the end of the concert, students will be taken back to school by their teachers to collect their bags before being dismissed at 3:30pm. Due to our child safety practices, we will not be able to release students to their parents care until students have returned to school and have been signed out.

In readiness for the 2025 House Captain applications and speeches, during our final Student Represented Council meeting, we asked our current House and School Captains to give us some feedback on their experience and how they have grown in the role. They were happy for me to share their reflections in this newsletter.

Ira (Nicholson Captain): I feel ineffable describing my time being in the SRC. I have felt honoured to be a part of Essendon Primary School’s SRC over the course of the past 2 years. I loved helping conduct the House Games and lead Nicholson to victory (I couldn’t have done it without my amazing team. Maybe I could have…). I’ve learned that instead of trying to do great things, helping others do great things is a huge aspect of being a leader. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned overall is that being a leader isn’t a title or position, it's an action and example. 

Leila (Nicholson Captain): This year in SRC I felt that I have made a difference in the school when I have spoken in the assembly’s I felt confident about me being speaking in a public area because when I started speaking at assemblies, I was very nervous but now I feel like a confident person who can speak in public places. I have love SRC

Sarah(Raleigh Captain): Being an SRC member has made my public speaking skills and confidence grow. Speaking at assemblies has helped me grow my public speaking skills. I now really enjoy public speaking and speaking in front of people. I felt like I have made a big impact on the school. Helping with the house competition, the prep tours and everything we have done has been super fun, and I have really enjoyed it.

Gyan (Raleigh Captain): Being house captain of Raleigh has made my public speaking top notch and knowing that all my favourite celebrities can speak to a crowd so why can’t I? I’ve also had a better way of expressing my ideas and having a better idea of what it takes to be a leader. I have made an impact on the school by sharing ideas to improve inclusion and respect towards others at E.P.S. I know that I have spent time working on making this school environment a better place. I’m also known for being a house captain and that girl on the office wall or that girl who was in the production. It makes me so happy that people acknowledge and know me for what I do best. I have had the privilege to experience such amazing things and have opportunities. I will miss all my friends and lovely SRC friends.

Max (Shaftesbury Captain): being in the SRC has been one of the most fun and challenging things I have ever participated in. The reason I say challenging is because when I was first on the SRC I was very nervous and wasn’t as confident when speaking in front of crowds. The whole reason I am on the SRC is thanks to my parents. I didn't want to apply but they pushed me to be the best and help my self-confidence. My favourite experience on the SRC was at the start of the year when we all went to the leadership conference. This gave me the skills and knowledge I needed to be a leader and member of the SRC. So overall I have enjoyed every minute and would recommend the experience to anyone even if they aren’t as comfortable with public speaking. now a quote that I think reflects on my time in the SRC

Zoe (Shaftesbury Captain): Being in the SRC has made a big change to my public speaking. Now that I have been talking in front of people I don’t know, it has changed life. It has also been exciting being a leader at Essendon Primary School being one of the older students and being the example for the younger ones to look up to. I have had some amazing chats and been able to do things I thought I would never achieve. I think i have made some amazing changes in the school. This memory will be printed in me forever and will never forget.

Miley (Brewster Captain): This year in SRC I was proud of being able to help and contribute to make a change within our school community, I definitely believe this opportunity has helped me become more vocal and confident in situations where I would’ve been a lot quieter. S.R.C gave me the opportunity to help and encourage my peers. I have learnt many lessons from S.R.C and I will remember this experience forever.

Hannah (Brewster Captain): This year in SRC was lots of fun. It helped me with my public speaking and helped me grow in confidence. It also helped me to get more organised. I loved contributing to trying to improve our school community. At the start of the year we got to go to the Grip Leadership Conference where I learnt more about what being a leader is. We got to make differences like starting a house sports competition for the 5/6s which helped stop people being as rough on the oval. Being in the SRC was a great experience that I will not forget.

Beth (School Captain): Being a part of the SRC has been such an amazing experience and I am so proud of all the changes and impacts we have made in the school community. I have loved getting to improve my public speaking skills by talking at assemblies and getting to make announcements to classes across the school. I am so glad that I got to be an older role model to the younger students. I have learned the impact that making changes to our school can have. Being in the SRC has been the best way possible to spend my last year at primary school and I have become so much more confident speaking in front of others. The lessons I have learned and the memories I have made will stay with me forever.

Raed (School Captain): Making an impact at this school alongside all the other SRC members has been a thing I have enjoyed doing especially since in the beginning of the year we learnt what it meant to be a leader, but mainly spending time with the SRC to  this a better EPS. Assemblies have been a big part of this role and I have enjoyed doing them over the past year.  Another thing to add is that many kids will go up to you and ask questions about this role. Overall being in SRC has been a great experience and I will miss it.

Christine Nash

Principal