Principals Report

Dear SEPS Families, 

Aloha! It was lovely to be welcomed back this week by so many happy faces. Unfortunately, the weather was a bit of a brutal return to reality, but I am very grateful to the wonderful team here at SEPS for keeping things rolling along during my absence. A special thank you to Trudy Gau and Sean Daley for stepping into their Acting Principal roles. I continue to thank my lucky stars for working with such an outstanding team of professionals. 

Parent Opinion Survey 

This year, everyone received login details to complete the 2024 Parent, Carers and Guardians Opinion Survey for 2024. Previously this survey was open to a small percentage of randomly selected parents & carers. This year we invited all students' parents / caregivers / guardians to complete the survey, as we know that high participation rates enhance reporting detail and accuracy. Responses are confidential and cannot be linked to any individual.

This survey is an opportunity to actively engage with our families, and provides an important indicator of how well our school community is meeting the needs of our students. The survey data assists in the identification of areas that we are working well and also where for we need to focus our efforts for improvement. We use this data to inform our school planning and the development of programs and initiatives. 

At this stage we only have an 18% response rate. This, in itself, is used as a measure of community engagement at our school. The survey closes on August 10. It would be wonderful if we could aim for at least 50% of our families to participate. Can we do it? YES we can!    

Book Week 

The Book Week Parade is one of my favourite events of the year and this year did not fail to delight. A huge congratulations to everyone for the effort that went into the costumes. A big part of the fun is in the planning and so many students were chatting excitedly about their costumes and the book characters that they wanted to be when I returned on Tuesday. A special mention goes to the Year 5 teachers for their surprise entry halfway through the parade. You can find a clip on our Instagram page if you missed it! A big thank you also to Mr Scherpenhuizen for being our entertaining MC as always. These are the memories school is made of.  

We look forward to seeing many of you at our Father’s Day Breakfast, the Grandparents and Special friends’ afternoon tea or the Book Fair. Best wishes to our Grade 4 students and teachers on camp. Hoping the Grade 4 parents enjoy some quiet that always seems to happen when there is one less person in the house! 

Have a great fortnight ahead! 

Jane Briffa