Principal's Item 

Dear parents, carers and friends of EEPS,

Welcome to week 2. Those of you who were able to attend assembly on Monday were witness to a really special performance by two of our EEPS Strings ensembles. Well done to everyone involved!

Recognition and Understanding

Over the year there are many special days that highlight different aspects of life within our community. Some of these days are more widely known, such as World Environment Day, whilst many others are not. This Monday, 28th April was KIF1A Day—a day to celebrate and raise urgent awareness for KIF1A-Associated Neurological Disorder (KAND). Many people would not have heard of this before. KIF1A is a gene that codes for a protein found in brain cells, playing a crucial role in transporting essential substances within nerve cells. Mutations in the KIF1A gene can lead to KIF1A-Associated Neurological Disorder (KAND), a progressive, neurodegenerative disorder. KAND can cause various symptoms, including intellectual disability, developmental delays, muscle problems, seizures, and vision impairments. Whilst rare, I highlight it this week, because as a school community we do have a student with this condition. Knowledge and awareness can go a long way in helping.

Achievements

Every year we do have a number of extra opportunities across the board for students to take advantage of. ICAS and the Science Talent Search are just two of these opportunities. As a result of some great achievement in the ICAS assessments last year we do have several students who are participating in the ICAS all-stars state championships coming up shortly. This is a fantastic achievement. Well done to all. 

Democracy Sausage Sizzle!

This week, as part of the election on Saturday EEPS will be hosting a sausage sizzle to continue to raise valuable funds for continued grounds improvements and for continually replenishing resources for students. It is also a fun, community event…but we do need your help. Now that we are closer to the day, and families are probably aware of weekend sporting commitments, please have a look at the sign-up roster and see if there is a spot where you could assist. A massive thank you to the parents who have already volunteered and have helped in different ways.

Special Assembly Next Monday

As I mentioned last week, on Monday 5th May, we are hosting a traditional Wurundjeri Welcome to Country, smoking ceremony, complete with a didgeridoo performance. This has been in the planning for quite some time and should be both engaging and meaningful. Weather permitting, we will hold this assembly outside on the oval. As there will be a smoking ceremony involved, we are mindful of children who may have asthma or smoke allergies. However, we also know that many children have different triggers. If you believe that your asthmatic child may be triggered by smoke then please let you child’s classroom teacher know. 

Colour Run - Save the Date

Coming up in a few weeks’ time, we will be holding our inaugural EEPS Colour Run. This will be on Thursday 22nd May in the afternoon. More details will come next week, but in the meantime please mark it on your calendar.

Everyday Counts

The central message from the Department, and from EEPS is that ‘everyday counts’ when it comes to attending school. As a school, our student absence data is a slightly higher than ‘similar schools’. ‘Similar schools’ are those who have similar parent occupations and level of advantage / disadvantage. We completely reinforce that school is not the place for sick children, and I understand that sometimes special trips and family reunions don’t always happen in the holidays. However, please be really mindful of the importance of regular and consistent attendance. It is very true that everyday does count!

TeamKids Vacation Program

The partnership with TeamKids is moving ahead in preparation for the July holiday vacation program. TeamKids are organising a webinar in late May and a “Coffee Morning” at EEPS to assist our EEPS families with details about their program.  Please check the newsfeed sent out on Monday which provides information about how to register with TeamKids. Booking for particular days does not open until closer to the program commencing.

Lastly, a couple of reminders:

- School jumpers have already gone missing! Please help to name ALL school clothing options and to remind your child/ren to check lost property for jumpers now the weather is getting cooler.

- Thank you for helping ensure that children do not arrive onsite before 8.30am in the mornings- this has been a positive start to the term

- Road / traffic / pedestrian safety - thank you to parents who have made some alterations to drop-off, pick-up, in response to my newsfeed last term regarding serious safety concerns

- Nude Food Friday begins this week and there are going to be some great prizes along the way, to hopefully encourage as many students as possible to bring rubbish free lunches

Have a great week and thank you for your continued support of Eltham East.

Kind regards

Warren Lloyd

Principal