Essex Heights Primary School

22-30 Essex Road, Mount Waverley VIC 3149

Phone: 9807 4944

Email: essex.heights.ps@education.vic.gov.au

Website: https://www.essexheightsps.vic.edu.au

Acting Principal (Term 4): Mrs Elisha Cotterell

School No. 4903

Office Hours: 8.30am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday during school terms.

Acknowledgement of Country

Womin Jeka.

We stand here today on Wurundjeri Woiwurrung land and acknowledge elders past, present and aspiring. We also recognise that the beautiful grounds of Essex Heights Primary School were once the grassy woodlands cared for by the Wurundjeri people. We show gratitude for every culture and the values that we all share.

This Acknowledgement of Country is recited at each School Assembly.

Our Acknowledgement of Country was developed in 2024 in association with Mark Lumley, our Koorie Education Support Officer at that time, and a number of Year 6 leaders and Year 5 JSC representatives.

School Values

Kindness
Respect
Resilience
Curiosity
Inclusiveness

School Council endorsed these new school values in 2024, to come into effect in the 2025 school year.

Parent Portal on Compass

https://essexheightsps-vic.compass.education

Compass is the primary method of communication with our school community. Each family has a unique login to access Compass. If you cannot access Compass or you've forgotten your password, please contact Jo in our School Office who will reset your password.

Contact Newsletter

Published on Friday each fortnight during school terms.

Previous issues are accessible in School Documentation in Compass, or on our school website.

Term Dates

2025

Term 1: Tuesday 28 January* to Friday 4 April

Term 2: Tuesday 22 April to Friday 4 July

Term 3: Monday 21 July to Friday 19 September

Term 4: Monday 6 October to Friday 19 December

2026

Term 1: Tuesday 27 January* to Thursday 2 April

Term 2: Monday 20 April to Friday 26 June

Term 3: Monday 13 July to Friday 18 September

Term 4: Monday 5 October to Friday 18 December

* Statewide student-free day in all Victorian government schools.

Students are dismissed at 2.30pm at the end of Terms 1, 2 and 3, and at 1.30pm at the end of Term 4.

For dates of future school terms - click here.

Student Free Days

2025 School Year:

Tuesday 28 January
Wednesday 29 January
Monday 30 June
Friday 31 October (Professional Practice Day for teaching staff)
Monday 3 November

2026 School Year:

Tuesday 27 January
Wednesday 28 January
plus 2 additional Student-free Days and 1 Professional Practice Day for teaching staff to be confirmed by School Council

Care provided by OSHC program from 7am to 6pm for students enrolled in the OSHC

program.

Public Holidays during school terms

Students do not attend school on the following public holidays that occur during school terms in 2025:

Monday 10 March - Labour Day

Friday 25 April - ANZAC Day

Monday 9 June - King's Birthday

Tuesday 4 November - Melbourne Cup

Click here for dates of all public holidays in Victoria.

School Hours

8.30am	Office open
8.45am	Yard duty supervision commences Students should not arrive before teacher supervision commences. Students who need to be at school prior to 8.45am should be booked into the OSHC Before School Care program.
8.50am	First bell Students admitted to their classroom. Prepare for the day - bags away, change reader, hand in notices/information to teacher. Roll marked at 9am.
9.00am	Learning Session
11.00am - 11.30am	Recess/Morning play
11.30am - 1.30pm	Learning Session
1.30pm - 1.40pm	Lunch Students eat their lunch in the classroom supervised by teaching staff
1.40pm - 2.30pm	Lunch Play
2.30pm - 3.30pm	Learning Session Arrangements must be made by parents to book their child into the OSHC After School Care program or arrange for other friends/family to collect their child if delayed.
3.45pm	Yard duty supervision concludes
4.30pm	Office closes

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 communicate with you regularly using:

Compass;
Contact, our online school newsletter; and
Year level and Classroom posts

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

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.

When you receive a notification requiring your response, please ensure that you action this no 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 post during the day is not the most effective way to communicate with a classroom teacher if the matter is urgent or relates to the current school day.
For matters requiring a rapid response, families should ring the School Office on 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.

School Council

School Employee Representatives: George Perini, Elisha Cotterell, Paul Davis, Kristi Lloyd.

Parent Representatives: Nadeeka Arambewela-Colley, Jennifer Bittner, Carolyn Mott, Susan Phu, Andrew Cain, Pia Ahmet.

Community Representative: Anthony Netkow.

School Council Election is held annually in Term 1.

Annual Reporting Meeting is held in Term 2.

School Policies

Our school policies are accessible on our school website - click here.

Uniform

Our uniform supplier is Spartan School World.

New uniform can be purchased from their Mount Waverley retail outlet at 66 Essex Road (corner Essex & Surrey Roads), Mount Waverley, or online.

Ensure all items brought to school are clearly named so they can be returned if lost; we recommend a permanent/laundry marker or consider stick on labels e.g. Stuck On You, My Name Label, Cash's, or Officeworks.

Secondhand uniform is managed by our Parents & Friends Club. Contact the Office if required.

Secondhand Uniform Donation Days & Stalls
Term 1 2025
Secondhand Uniform Stall & Donation	Friday 14 February - 3pm to 3.45pm
Secondhand Uniform Stall & Donation	Friday 28 March - 3pm to 3.30pm
Term 2 2025
Secondhand Uniform Stall & Donation	Friday 2 May - 3pm to 3.45pm
Uniform Donation	Friday 27 June - 3pm to 3.30pm
Term 3 2025
Secondhand Uniform Stall & Donation	Friday 8 August - 3pm to 3.45pm
Uniform Donation	Friday 12 September - 3pm to 3.30pm
Term 4 2025
Secondhand Uniform Stall & Donation	Friday 17 October - 3pm to 3.45pm
Uniform Donation	Friday 12 December - 3pm to 3.30pm

Donations of good quality, clean items with the current EHPS logo are welcomed as a fundraiser for our school on the scheduled dates each term. Please cross out or remove names before donating.

Lost property - there are four boxes for lost items that are located outside the Eucalyptus, Violet and Banksia buildings and in the foyer of the Stadium. Students may check the boxes during school hours; parents/guardians are permitted to attend before (until 8.50am) or after school hours (from 3.30pm) to check the boxes.

School Hats

SunSmart compliant hat to be worn every day in Terms 1 and 4.

Whole School Assembly

Our whole school Assembly is held every Monday at 2.30pm in the gymnasium in the Stadium. All welcome.

Outside School Hours Care (OSHC)

Before School Care - 7am to 8.45am

After School Care - 3.30pm to 6pm

Student-free Day (four per year) & Professional Practice Day for staff - 7am to 6pm

Vacation Care (Monday to Friday during school holidays) - 7am to 6pm

Enquiries must be directed to the OSHC Coordinator, Paul Davis.

Email: Paul.Davis@education.vic.gov.au

Phone: 9807 2615 or 0417 941 986

Parents & Friends Club

PFC Committee 2025-2026
Executive/Office Bearers
President (Joint)	Vasudha Kher & Sam Watson
Secretary	Ruchi Kalia
Treasurer	Sweta Devle
Committee Members
Social Media	Vaman Purohit
Secondhand Uniform	Natalie Gilbert
General Committee	Carolyn (Caz) Mott, Borris Zhao, Kelly Lukies

AGM is held in March each year.

PFC meetings held twice each term; first meeting each term is in person at school, and the second meeting is online. All welcome.

PFC membership is free, and the whole school community is encouraged to participate.

Contact by email - pfc.ehps@gmail.com

Canteen

Order lunches on Monday, Wednesday and Friday during school terms.

Order online on Canteen dashboard in Compass by 8.30am on the day required. Orders for multiple days can be processed in one transaction.

Cancellation of orders must be applied not later than 8.30am on the day ordered.

Volunteering at School

We welcome and encourage assistance in the many volunteering opportunities at school.

As a Child Safe school all parent helpers/volunteers at EHPS must have a current Working with Children Check, and must acknowledge they have read and will adhere to our policies related to Child Safety and visitors and volunteers at school by signing the Child Safety Code of Conduct acknowledgement at the Office. The OH&S induction for volunteers must also be completed with Gabby in our School Office.

Before volunteering for the first time, present your WWCC card at the School Office to be copied for our register (or download a digital WWCC and email a screenshot to the EHPS email address), sign the Child Safety Code of Conduct Acknowledgement, and complete the OH&S induction. We will provide the acknowledgement form at the School Office.

Student Absence

Absent all day

Parents to enter an attendance note in Compass by 8.45am (this can also be done in advance) OR phone the school office on 9807 4944 by 8.45am.

Arriving late

Students arriving at school at 9am or later must be signed in to school at the Office prior to going to class. This cannot be done in advance or from the parent portal; an attendance note in explanation can be entered prior to arrival at school.

NOTE: Automated text messages are sent daily at 11am to both parents of all students who have been marked absent without an explanation, i.e. an attendance note has not been entered by 9am by parents/guardians when the roll is marked. If your child is absent and you have not notified the school, enter the relevant attendance note in Compass. If it is your understanding that your child is at school, please phone the Office on 9807 4944 and the staff will check with your child's teacher to confirm your child's presence and why the absence was recorded on the roll.

Leaving early

Parent/carer to enter an attendance note in Compass prior to arrival at school. If early departure is known prior to the start of the school day, it is recommended that an email be sent to the classroom teacher so that it can be arranged for the student to be ready and waiting at the Office. If your need to leave early occurs after the school day commences, phone the Office at least 10 to 15 minutes prior to arrival so that the student can be ready and waiting at the Office.

Parents/carers are asked not to go to classrooms during the school day.

Parent/carer must sign the student out of school at the Office; this is required in addition to the attendance note explaining the absence. This cannot be done in advance or from the parent portal.

NOTE: Students must be signed in or out by a parent or legal guardian over the age of 18 years. Students are not permitted to sign themselves in/out of school.

Leave during school term

In accordance with the Department of Education School Attendance Guidelines, the following absences during a school term require the permission from the Principal:

Family holiday.
Cultural observance.
Bereavement (such as a death of a family member, attendance at a funeral and/or related mourning activities).
Leisure or social activities.
School refusal.
Other – special event or participation in elite sporting event/training.

Write an email using the school email address - essex.heights.ps@education.vic.gov.au - for the attention of Mr Perini with the details of your child’s absence that is explained by one of the above categories. On receipt of his reply, enter an attendance note in Compass for period of absence under the relevant category, and email the classroom teacher.

The Resilience Project

Contact Details

Have your contact details changed? Has there been a change in family circumstances? If so, please inform the school in writing so we can update our records for your child. Send an email to the school email address - essex.heights.ps@education.vic.gov.au. This includes changes to emergency contacts and changes in work contact details/work hours during business hours.

School Tours

Tours have concluded this year.

Tours for 2026 & 2027 entry will commence from March next year. Bookings essential.

Enrolment Enquiries

For 2025 & 2026 entry - contact our Office between 9.30am and 2.30pm Monday to Friday during school terms.

Junior School Council

Holiday Donation Drive for Salvos