Principal's Report
Dear Essex Heights Community,
Stop Work Action by members of the Australian Education Union
As reported in the media in recent days, the Australian Education Union (AEU) has called on its members to take strike action on Tuesday 24 March 2026, due to lack of progress in their log of claims with the government.
Based upon the most recent information provided to me, we are expecting many of our teaching staff will be taking part in the strike action.
As a result, we will make changes to our normal school program. The modified Strike Day program will include, many year levels not being required to attend school on that day, different teachers taking merged classes of the children left at school.
On Tuesday, families were asked to respond to the Pre-planning AEU Stop Work Action Day 24/3/26 notice in Compass to assist with our planning for next Tuesday:
- ACCEPT if your child will be at school next Tuesday even if they are in a year level that is not required to attend school because you are a critical worker or you have no other means of supervising your child.
- DECLINE if your child will remain at home next Tuesday.
Your response is due by end of day TODAY, Friday 20 March.
An update of confirmed final arrangements for Tuesday 24 March will be communicated to all families on Monday 23 March.
Several parents have requested extra information about the background to the strike action. For further information please follow the links below:
Harmony Day
On Monday we celebrated Harmony Day. This special day celebrates the cultural diversity of our school and our nation. It is an opportunity to become more aware of the more that 47 different nationalities represented at Essex Heights. Many children wore cultural dress or orange, the colour of Harmony Day. Each class chose a different country, and they learnt a few key features of that nation e.g. location, population, language and their flag. The day culminated in a parade as part of our assembly. Congratulations to all concerned.
In recognition of the many cultures represented at EHPS, the following cultural celebrations are occuring in the coming weeks, and we hope they are special occasions for members of our community who will be participating:
19-20 March Eid al Fitr
The Islamic month of fasting, Ramadan, ends with the festival of Eid al Fitr. A celebratory meal breaks the fast, and good deeds have special significance during this time. Eid is also a time of forgiveness and making amends. The observance is subject to the sighting of the moon.
21 March Nowruz New Year
Nowruz means ‘new day’ in Farsi. It is a traditional festival of spring that has been celebrated for more than 3000 years. The ancient celebration of Nowruz is shared by many peoples from Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, and others in the Black Sea basin, the Balkans, the Caucasus and Western, Central and Southern Asia. This festival has a number of different spellings.
29 March Palm Sunday
The final Sunday before Easter Sunday marks the beginning of Christian Holy Week and commemorates the story of Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem before his crucifixion.
Parent Payments - we need your support!
Our School Council is proud of the quality of the facilities and resources available for our students to enjoy. At Essex Heights Primary School, the continuous improvement of student learning and the children’s continued health and wellbeing is central to everything we do. In 2026, we look forward to another great year of teaching and learning. With this in mind, we would like to advise you of the EHPS voluntary financial contributions for 2026, which we are pleased to confirm remain unchanged from the 2025 school year.
Schools provide students with free instruction to fulfil the standard Victorian Curriculum, and we want to assure you that all contributions are voluntary. Nevertheless, the ongoing support of our families ensures that our school can provide classroom bulk supplies, as well as offer rich and extensive programs outside of the traditional teaching and learning structure. These financial contributions assist us with the purchasing of the resources for our exemplary specialist programs of Art/ArtSEL, Music, Science, Indonesian and Health & Physical Education, as well as the maintenance and upgrade of our facilities and grounds, e.g. classrooms, playgrounds, student play spaces and our school oval.
Other programs that we can offer because of your contributions include the provision and upkeep of our computer devices e.g. purchase of new laptops, maintenance of extensive sets of books for reading, provision of mathematical resources in every classroom, year level choirs and effective first aid for all students.
We want to thank you for your support, whether that is through fundraising or volunteering your time. This has made a huge difference to our school and the programs we can offer.
Parent Payments for 2026 are now payable in your Compass parent portal. Please log in to Compass (a web browser is recommended) and click the blue Click here for more information link in the green Payments Centre box to process your payment.
More information can be found on our website by following the link: EHPS Parent Payments.
Year 6 Camp
Last Thursday I visited the Year 6 Camp at Alexandra Adventure Resort. At this great adventure camp, the children participated in team building activities, such as, the giant swing, flying fox, high and low ropes courses, raft building, canoeing and an excursion to Healesville Sanctuary on the last day. The children and staff had a wonderful time and now have great memories to share for many years to come.
National Ride2School Day
Today was National Ride2School Day. Students were encouraged to get physically active on their journey to school by walking, riding, scooting or skating to school. This day is Australia’s biggest celebration of active travel. Along with 3,000 other active schools, students, teachers and parents were encouraged to discover the joy of riding (or walking, skating or scooting) and kick-start healthy habits for the future. Students participating earned points for their House.
The Ride2School is a nationwide program delivered by Bicycle Network.
Assembly and JSC presentation
Next Monday 23 March, we will be presenting our newly elected Junior School Councillors (JSC) from Years 3 to 6 with their badges and certificates. The JSC is an important part of ensuring that our children have a voice within our school. We look forward to sharing this occasion with the family and friends of our JSC reps.
School Photos
Don’t forget that our annual school photos of each student, class and group, and ordered sibling photos, are being taken next week on Thursday and Friday. Sibling photos will only be taken if an order has been placed not later than next Tuesday, 24 March.
You may purchase an individual and/or class photo of your child. This is done online with The School Photographer. We strongly recommend placing your online order before the photo days, and essential by next Tuesday, 24 March, if you want a sibling photo of your children currently enrolled at EHPS.
Children not at school on the photo days will have their name be recorded on the class photo. A photo day for our Year 6 graduation photos is scheduled in Term 4, and any students absent next week will have their photo taken on this day.
More information is accessible in your Compass Newsfeed and on the School Photos page in this newsletter.
Parent Forum
The Essex Heights School Council invites our community to a parent forum on Tuesday 31 March. Emma Lechte, Social Worker & Counsellor, will present Helping children navigate change - practical strategies for anxiety and resilience.
Please register attendance using the QR Code on the flyer below or click here. Attendance restricted to those 18 years and over; children are not permitted to attend.
Pink Stumps Day
We will celebrate Pink Stumps Day this year on Wednesday 1 April in the last week of term. This highly anticipated match between staff and students is a highlight of the school year. This day also is a fundraising event for the McGrath Foundation, now raising funds in support of all cancers. Donations can be made online. Please refer to the Pink Stumps Day page in this newsletter for more details.
Grandparents and Special Friends Day
I'm looking forward to Grandparents and Special Friends Day on the last day of term, Thursday 2 April. This is a special day in the EHPS calendar, and a lovely way to end the term. We invite all families to plan for this special day. On the day, a whole school assembly with all our guests, will be conducted in the Stadium beginning at 11:30am. At that time a diverse program of music, songs and fun activities will be held. This will be followed by classroom visitations and will conclude with an opportunity for our special visitors to have lunch with their child/children. We hope that we have a Stadium full of special friends and Grandparents.
Refer to the Grandparents & Special Friends Day page in this newsletter for more information.
Canteen
We have become aware that orders are being placed for multiple items such as Quelch sticks through the Canteen lunch order system for students to share with friends.
At EHPS there is to be no sharing of food due to the high number of students with food allergies, some life threatening. Also, parent/carer consent for those children receiving a Quelch stick has not been sought.
DO NOT place orders for multiple items to be shared with others.
End of term reminder
As mentioned above, Term 1 comes to an end on Thursday 2 April. Families are reminded that students will be dismissed early on this day at 2:30pm. Please remember that if your child is leaving earlier than 2:30pm with their grandparent or special friend, to please give that permission by completing the Early Dismissal on Grandparents and Special Friends Day event notice in Compass when published next week and sign out with the class teacher in the classroom prior to departure on the day.
Term 2 commences on Monday 20 April.
A reminder that if your child will be absent at the end of term or beginning of next term on a holiday, you must request my approval for your child's absence during a school term. Send an email to essex.heights.ps@education.vic.gov.au for my attention with your child's name, class, reason for absence, and first and last dates they'll be away from school. On receipt of the response email, enter an attendance note in Compass before the first day of absence, and liaise with your child's teacher/s as required.
I look forward to seeing you around the school and celebrating the last few weeks and special events of this school term.
Kindest regards,
George Perini
Principal