Principal's Views
From Mandy O'Mara
Principal's Views
From Mandy O'Mara
Dear Parents, Carers and Friends of Epping Views Primary School,
It’s been another busy and rewarding fortnight at Epping Views Primary School.
Last week we celebrated the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence.
The NDA theme for 2023 was 'growing connections'. This theme supported research findings that strong school community connections and social skills are protective factors in the prevention of bullying and help enable positive, help-seeking behaviours in students. Seeing all of our students dress in orange and make a commitment to prevent bullying was the highlight of the week. We raised $608.10 towards the purchase of a Buddy Bench! Well done everyone!
The whole school celebrated Book Week this week. This year’s theme was “Read, Grow, Inspire". It was wonderful to see the students and staff dress up in the most creative costumes.
Our Year 5 students attended camp and those who didn’t attend got to attend an exciting excursion and participate in camp activities. Attending camp provides a great opportunity for students to get out of the classroom and learn from a different perspective. It is a great way for the students to gain new interests, grow friendships and develop new skills.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff that took time away from their own families to provide this exciting opportunity for our students.
Planning for 2024: We are now well and truly in the planning phase for 2024 and as such it is important that we have an accurate indication of our student numbers for next year. If you are one of our existing families and plan on relocating at the end of the year or leaving us for other reasons, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can best support the transition of your child to another school setting.
Prep enrolments for 2024 are now closed. If you or someone you know has submitted an enrolment application you will have received an acceptance letter. We will be communicating the Prep transition process with you in the coming weeks.
Next week we will be hosting another Parent Helpers Program and encourage you to register to be involved. The Community Hub is a great place to meet new friends and become engaged with the school. Contact Lori at the office to join our planned walking groups.
Playground Update: I’d like to thank the families who responded to our survey about how to develop the area where the pink portables were located. We had already collected suggestions including constructing a quiet space, an environmental area with another chicken coop, vegie gardens and a place for hands on gardening, a stage, a pergola and an amphitheatre. The recent survey and discussions with students suggested the inclusion of a “Yarning Circle”, a dry river bed, a mud kitchen and raised garden beds. We have engaged a few companies to design the space with our suggestions - see attached plans.
WE WANT OUR PARENTS / CAREGIVERS / GUARDIANS TO TELL US WHAT THEY THINK!
Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents / caregivers / guardians think of our school. The Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education that is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, and student engagement.
The survey is optional, but we encourage all families to participate. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies.
All parents / caregivers / guardians have been selected to participate in this year’s survey. Please refer to the Compass Post for the link.
The Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey is open from Monday 7 August to Friday 8 September 2023.
The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time within the survey period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones.
The online survey will be available in English and 10 other languages including Arabic, Greek, Hakha Chin, Hindi, Japanese, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Turkish, and Vietnamese.
Please speak to your child’s teacher if you would like more information.
Save the Date:
Back by popular demand… we will be hosting a school Fair on Dec 7th. Please save the date in your calendar. More info will follow soon.
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Warm regards,
Mandy O’Mara
Principal