Dear parents, carers and friends of EEPS,

Yesterday there was a lot of buzz as the Year 5 and 6 students auditioned for the main speaking roles in our upcoming concert, ‘More Than Music’. Mrs Vescio was very impressed with the energy and professionalism of all the students, so well done!

Preps in Action- Prep Open Morning and 2027 Enrolments

This morning we had our annual ‘Preps in Action’ open morning for new and prospective parents. We had a really good turnout so thank you to those families who helped spread the word.

A reminder that 2027 prep enrolments are well and truly underway. Over the last couple of years, there has been the occasional family who have elected not to enrol a sibling at EEPS, in preference to a different school. Eltham East is a fantastic school; however, not all families are aware of some of the additional programs and opportunities we offer. I welcome the opportunity to have a discussion with any family in this situation to help in the decision-making process.

Feedback on the Updated Child Safety Policies

At Eltham East Primary School, we are committed to providing a safe, inclusive and supportive environment where every child is respected, valued and protected.

Every two years the Child Safety policies need to be updated and approved. Draft updates were discussed at School Council last week. The next step is to seek additional feedback from our school community before they are finalised. Families and community members are invited to review the draft policies and provide any feedback, suggestions or questions they may have.

https://www.elthameastps.vic.edu.au/child-safe-compliance

Feedback can be provided through the following Google Form:

https://forms.gle/uUBRLwBVuW2zDoVd8

Thank you for continuing to work in partnership with us to support the safety and wellbeing of all children at EEPS.

Feedback on Our Japanese program

It was lovely to host a visit to EEPS from a Monash University Languages expert. Her feedback to me afterwards was affirming and I include it here:

After meeting Simone and Amy, I felt very grateful that you have found teachers who are so passionate about language and culture teaching and learning. They are collaborative, innovative, and have deep knowledge of Japanese culture, which is an absolute asset to your school community. I trust that they will create meaningful and memorable learning experiences for your students.

OSHC Updates

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Signa (Seena) to replace Ros as our 2IC in the EEPS service. Signa will commence next week and be able to have a hand-over with Ros before she leaves us on Thursday. We are also still in the process of appointing an additional ongoing OSHC educator. Lastly, I would like to thank Miriam Pekolj for her many years working at our OSHC service, as she finished up at our school last week. Having a new team at OSHC is very positive and allows the service to embark on a new phase.

Interacting in the Community

Linear Reserve

This is a repeat from my direct Compass Newsfeed on Monday.

Last week the school received an email from a resident backing onto Linear Reserve. Please read an extract below:

"We are writing to complain about the behaviour of some of your younger students when walking through Linear Reserve. We recently called the school to complain about the young boys who are running up to our back fence on a daily basis and kicking it and screaming at our dogs. Our dogs are becoming very traumatized and stressed by the boys behaviour. Equally disturbing are the children's parents who walk ahead, ignoring their behaviour. Please remind children and families especially in years P-3 that the park backs on to neighbouring properties and that they should be respectful of the properties and those that live backing on to the reserve."

If this is relevant to you or your child, I would ask that you please reflect and ensure that local journeys to and from school are undertaken with thoughtful respect.

‘Stranger danger’ / ‘tricky people’

From time to time there are occasions when I need to send reminders to the school community about being vigilant when talking to unknown community members coming to and from school. This is one of those occasions.

The latest thinking around stranger danger is that, whilst it is important that children know how to keep themselves safe, you can’t prevent them from interacting with people they don’t know all the time. However, you can teach them to recognise when a situation might be dangerous and how to act accordingly.

It is recommended to teach children how to spot ‘tricky people’ rather than to be wary of all strangers. A tricky person can be someone you know or don’t know, but it is someone who breaks a safety rule or asks a child to do something that makes them feel uncomfortable.

It is important to teach your child the difference between friends, family and strangers and empower them to create boundaries when it comes to their body and safety.

Please remind your child that they should not be approaching, or be approached by, unknown members of the public, coming to or from school, or whilst walking in the community. It is also recommended that primary school aged children also do not walk around individually, but rather with a friend or group of friends.

Interacting with neighbours at drop off

Whilst I recognise that parking is tricky around the school, and that mornings can be busy, please be very conscious of not parking over neighbours’ driveways or encroaching onto private property.

Fast Food and Sugary Drinks

Can I please remind all families that the only liquid that should be brought to school is water, not soft drink or energy drinks. We are increasingly aware that some students purchase lollies and energy drinks before school which is not a practice that benefits them being ready for learning. Lastly please do not arrange delivery of fast food to school for lunch, as this is not a practice that is acceptable. We appreciate your support in reinforcing the making of healthy choices.

IDAHOBIT Day

On the weekend it was IDAHOBIT Day. Here is an extract from one of the Department’s Deputy Secretaries in a School Briefing last week:

‘This marks the anniversary of the World Health Organization’s removal of homosexuality from its International Classification of Diseases in 1990. This was a significant milestone in recognising the dignity and rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse, intersex, queer, questioning and asexual (LGBTIQA+) people.

IDAHOBIT also serves as a reminder of how recent many of these changes are. It affirms the importance of safety, dignity and equal participation at work, school and in the wider community.

Unfortunately, discrimination and exclusion still impact the LGBTIQA+ community, affecting how safe they feel in the community or how comfortable they are being themselves at school or work.

This is why it is so important that schools provide visible and consistent support to LGBTIQA+ students and staff, and model clear expectations about respectful behaviour across the school community.

At EEPS we like to actively promote, ‘be kind and respectful to everyone, everyday’.

Things coming up;

Monday 25th May - Assembly with the Stretto Strings performing

Wednesday 27th May - National Simultaneous Storytime

Monday 1st June - Assembly for Reconciliation Week

Friday 5th June - World Environment Day. Gold coin free dress day.

Thank you for your support of Eltham East.

Have a great week of Learning and Growing Together.

Kind regards

Warren Lloyd

Principal

Learning @ EEPS - Prep to Year 6