Principal's Report

Dear EHPS Parents and Carers,

As the school year draws to a close, students and families have been welcomed to school on several mornings in recent weeks with delightful instrumental Christmas music performed by our strings students and led by Alyssa Kennedy. There will be one more opportunity to enjoy and appreciate their playing on Monday afternoon at the end of the school day.

Carnival

What an incredible day it was! The School Carnival on Saturday 29 November was a huge success thanks to the wonderful committee, led by Sam Watson, the Carnival Committee and our whole community! The joy and excitement around the school was incredible and made it all very worth it. Thank you to our amazing Carnival Committee for their dedication, creativity, and tireless work in making this event such a memorable celebration for our community. The kids just loved it! The passion shone through in every part of the day, even when the sky didn’t, and we’re so grateful to everyone who worked together and made it possible.

Special thanks to the Carnival Crew:  Sam Watson, Sara Braid, Carly Gay, Natalie Gilbert, Eric Huang, Caz Mott, Alison Patchett, Ryan Phillips, Elima Pozenel, Beck Reeves, Jack Si, Ting Zhang and Borris Zhao.

McGrath Foundation donation

We celebrated our annual Pink Stumps Day on Wednesday 26 November. Our school community were invited to make a donation to the McGrath Foundation to help fund McGrath Cancer Care Nurses right across Australia and deliver world leading cancer nursing services to support people and their families through all cancers. I am delighted to advise that our donation this year is $950, well in excess of our target - thank you to everyone who contributed to help this important work.

Thank You 

I would like to thank all School Councillors for your support and contribution throughout the past 12 months, led by our President Jen Bittner. Thank you to our parent members Pia Ahmet, Nadeeka Arambewela-Colley, Andrew Cain, Carolyn Mott, Anthony Netkow and Susan Phu, as well as Department members Paul Davis, Kristi Lloyd, and during George Perini’s leave, Felicity O’Flynn. It has been a busy and rewarding year. Your positivity, commitment, and dedication to the school’s goals and priorities have been greatly appreciated. The final meeting of the current Council will be held and nominations for the new School Council will open in February.

Thank You Afternoon Tea

An afternoon tea for our volunteers and Class Parent Representatives was held yesterday afternoon, Thursday 11 December, in the Library. It was lovely to meet with those who could attend and pass on the appreciation of our staff and school. 

Kindergarten Graduation

Last week, we were delighted to host Inspire Early Learning Centre’s 4-Year-Old Graduation Ceremony. The Hall was filled with excited children, proud families, supportive educators and many familiar faces from our community, including Prep teacher Hannah Zagarn and her graduating daughter Charlotte. Events like this remind us of the important connections between our local early learning centres and school and the shared goal we have in helping children begin their educational journeys with confidence and curiosity. Thank you to the educators for choosing Essex Heights for this special milestone and wish all the graduating children every success as they begin their school journey.

Year 6 Graduation 2025

Our Year 6 students are looking forward to their final week at Essex Heights. They are experiencing mixed emotions leading up to their special day. The Year 6 team and the Graduation Committee are fine tuning all the final details leading up to Graduation next Tuesday. The children will have a very special day, beginning with their luncheon and later the Graduation Ceremony beginning at 6pm which will be followed by their disco.

I would like to acknowledge the excellent work of the Graduation Committee and the tireless contribution of the Year 6 staff. We are all looking forward to a memorable event for our Year 6 Class of 2025.

Parent Forum

The planned forum has been cancelled due to unexpected circumstances. The Community Engagement sub-committee of School Council will aim to plan for a parent forum in the new year and welcome your theme suggestions.

Smile Squad

The Link Health & Community team are onsite delivering the Smile Squad program at EHPS with those students who had been given consent by a parent/carer to receive a free dental check up, preventative services, and treatment at school.

Smile Squad is the Victorian Government free school dental program.

School Assembly

We held our last regular Monday afternoon Assembly this week on 8 December. 

In the last week of school for this term and school year, there will not be an Assembly on Monday 15 December. Our final assembly will be held on Friday 19 December in the Stadium starting at 12.15pm. This will be an opportunity to formally farewell our Graduating Class of 2025, staff and students that are leaving EHPS, as well as announcing the new School Captains. All welcome.

Transition & Preparation for 2026

Students have participated in a variety of transition sessions over the last few weeks in preparation for the 2026 school year, including our Walk Up session on Tuesday 9 December. 

The four transition sessions for our incoming 77 Foundation (Prep) students have been completed, concluding with their Orientation last Friday, 5 December. 

An orientation session, including participation in our Walk Up on Tuesday, has been held with eight of the new students joining EHPS in 2026. An additional four new students are expected to arrive prior to the start of the school year to start early in Term 1. 

As our planning and preparation for the 2026 school year is finalised, it is essential that we know if children are leaving EHPS and not returning next year. As has been requested in recent issues of Contact, if your child is leaving EHPS and not returning in 2026, it is essential that you advise me in writing as soon as possible to the school email address (essex.heights.ps@education.vic.gov.au) with the following details: 

• Child's name and 2025 class
• Date of last day at EHPS (2025 school year ends on Friday 19 December)
• Name of the school your child is enrolled at 
• Commencement date at new school (2026 school year & Term 1 commences on Tuesday 27 January)
• The reason for leaving EHPS  
• New contact details (if applicable), e.g. address, phone number, email

Please make sure we know if your child will be finishing school before the end of this term and school year – Friday 19 December – so that we can plan for any final assessments and end of year planning/activities for your child. Please also remember that it is a requirement of the Department of Education school attendance guidelines that parents/carers must request my approval to be absent during school term for:

• 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.

If your child will be absent from school for any of the above reasons, including finishing school before the end of Term 4, please write an email to the EHPS email address – essex.heights.ps@education.vic.gov.au – for my attention with the details of your child’s absence that is explained by one of the above categories and requesting approval to be absent. Also ensure that an attendance note is entered in Compass for period of absence under the relevant category, prior to departure. An email to the classroom teacher is also recommended.

Staffing Thanks and Update

As we move closer to the end of another busy and fulfilling year, I want to acknowledge the wonderful work of our staff and their contributions to our school in 2025. The dedication and care they bring to their roles every day have made a lasting impact on our students, families and one another as colleagues. 

As in most years, we will be saying farewell to some colleagues who are moving to new experiences and opportunities in the year ahead. Whether the move is short term or long, and with years or decades of service at Essex Heights, each one will be greatly missed by students, staff, and the broader community. 

Staff will be coming together next week, where we will thank the following staff sincerely for the energy and commitment they have given to our school and wish them every success in their next chapters:  Anita Dix, Victoria Gilbert-Morresi, Rahni Hubery, Shona Misso, Nikki Olsen, Carolyn Wilson and Emily Zajc. We also wish Con Papanicolaou well as he takes long service leave in Term 1.

At the same time, we look ahead with excitement to 2026 and the strong team we have built. In 2026 we welcome back Goretti Cheuk and Alexandra O’Connor. We are also pleased to have secured several continuing staff and welcome Sarah Medland (Prep Coordinator and Classroom Teacher) and Meghan (Meg) Walker (Year 6 Classroom Teacher) to our team. Our school is fortunate to have such high calibre staff and we look forward to continuing to progress our school together into the future.

Staffing Allocations 2026

Congratulations

Isaiah L (2F) and Nathanael L (2F) have passed a Judo practical and knowledge test called a grading. This is no easy task and requires a great deal of practice.  The grade is awarded by the presentation of a coloured Judo belt. Junior Judo belts are in varying colours signifying age and expertise.  Isaiah and Nathanael have both recently been awarded a Junior Yellow belt. Congratulations!

Finalising 2025 School Charges

Outstanding school charges are to be finalised not later than next Tuesday, 16 December, so that receipting and bank reconciliation can occur before the Office closes on the last day of term, Friday 19 December. Please note, payments cannot be accepted on the last day of term. 

Families who are yet to contribute their 2025 parent payment are requested to give consideration to making a payment to ensure that we can continue to provide resources to all EHPS students, including all books, stationery and computer resources used throughout the year, instead of introducing book/stationery lists for families to order and source. 

You can confirm the status of your 2025 parent payment in Compass:  Organisation menu – Activity Management – Events – Action Centre – Contributions for details of 2025 Family Contributions if these have not been actioned. All payments made throughout the year, including family contributions but excluding instrumental music program charges, are accessible under Organisation menu – Activity Management – Events – Payments. 

Bike Safety

Due to a number of bikes and scooters going missing from the Bike Shed recently, we remind families that personal property is the responsibility of the owner, and strongly recommend that your child uses a bike lock that they can independently manage to secure their bike/scooter at school. 

A concerned neighbour has also been in contact about inappropriate behaviour on footpaths by EHPS students riding their bikes. Please discuss safe and appropriate riding on footpaths with your child for the safety of all.

We have liaised with the local police regarding recent incidents, and are considering appropriate measures for the Bike Shed.

Volunteering at end of term

Past students often finish their school year earlier in Term 4 and offer to come back and volunteer at EHPS. We always love to see our former students and would welcome their assistance where appropriate. If your child would like to volunteer, they must sign in/out, hand in any phones and smart devices, remain on school grounds during their arranged time and be allocated to a particular teacher(s). If your child is considering offering to help at the end of term, they must put their request in writing to:  essex.heights.ps@education.vic.gov.au with their availability and interest. We will not be able to place students who arrive at school without prior consent. 

Semester 2 reports

Your child’s Semester 2 2025 report will be published next week. A message will be published on Compass when you can access the report.

Please take the time to review your child's achievements for the year, and any recommendations for the next steps in their growth.

Families are reminded to download a copy of your child’s report in the parent portal on Compass to an external source so that you have access to your child’s report after you leave EHPS; your access to the parent portal closes when your child leaves the school. This is especially important for our Year 6 students and those students not returning to EHPS next year.

End of term and school year reminder

EHPS families are reminded that Term 4 and the 2025 school year concludes next Friday, 19 December, and students will be dismissed early at 1.30pm. If you are unable to collect your child at 1.30pm, please make arrangements for a booking at After School Care, or organise for family or friends to pick your child up at 1.30pm. 

The Office will close at 2.30pm next Friday. 

I look forward to celebrating graduation with our Year 6 cohort next week and seeing you around school.

Kindest regards,

Elisha Cotterell

Acting Principal