Hello everyone and welcome to the latest newsletter.

I was pleased to be back this week after a week of long service leave and it was so enjoyable to get around and re-connect with everyone. It was lovely to hear that our students, families and staff enjoyed the recent school holidays with lots of adventures to report.

The learning and extra curricular opportunities are well and truly back into full swing.

Across the school our students have enjoyed a range of experiences including:

Year 5/6 Bike Education
Prep – Athletics Carnival
Year 5/6 Girls cricket competition
Representative Volleyball
Oz Harvest Program
Nude Food Day
Prep – 2 Concert rehearsals

Our students have been amazing in their positive approach to their learning program. Well done!

Trivia Night

Thank-you to the families who recently attended the MEPS Trivia Night. This was a wonderful night for everyone involved. Lots of fun, laughter, dancing and socialising!!

A HUGE thank-you to the Community Links Team for their amazing efforts in bringing this event to life. Especially to Cara Pollard and Hayley McLachlan for making this evening so successful. Both Cara and Hayley spent many hours behind the scenes to ensure everything was considered and provided!! Well done to both of these awesome MEPS parents.

Hope to see you all there in 2027 for another great night out!

Prep – 2 Athletics

Well done to our Prep – 2 students for their wonderful efforts at the recent athletics day. It was great to see the students having such an amazing time as they explored the range of events and activities across the day. They were so excited to receive the ribbons acknowledging their performances and to congratulate their peers on their achievements!

Thank-you to the team of parent volunteers and our wonderful staff for supporting the day and helping to make it so successful.

Special thank-you to Mrs. Roberts for her wonderful preparation and co-ordination of the day. Also, to Mrs. McLaughlin for her support across the day.

2027

As we look ahead to 2027, MEPS will soon commence our transition processes and program. This will involve students moving into various groupings, with different teachers. This helps to build an understanding of change and that our classes and staffing may well be different in 2027. Please note that the staff member that teaches the various groups through our transition program in NOT necessarily the teacher for this group in 2027.

Next week students will be provided the opportunity to select 5 friends that they would like to have in next year’s class. As I’m sure you’re aware meeting these requests is not always possible and students are guaranteed to have at least one person from their list, in next year’s class.

Any parent requests are requested to be emailed to me by Friday November 6.

Michael.kent@education.vic.gov.au

If your child is not returning to MEPS in 2027 please send an email to the office mount.eliza.ps@education.vic.gov.au

Prep -2 concert

Rehearsals are in full swing and the students have been enjoying the opportunity to enjoy all things performing arts. This is a great complement to our MDD (Music, Dance and Drama) program that Mrs. Congiusta is teaching this term (after returning from some long service leave) welcome back Lynne!

Please note for your calendar that our Prep – 2 concert is scheduled for Monday December 14 at to be held at Peninsula Grammar.

More details regarding the concert will be shared across the term.

Riding bikes

It has been great to see so many of our students riding their bikes to school, this a lovely way to start the day. A reminder of couple of safety elements to our cyclists:

Please wear a helmet when riding your bike
Be aware and ride carefully around roads and walk your bike at crossings
NO riding of bikes in the school grounds
NO riding of bikes across the front of the school – bikes must be walked. Including across the front of the staff carpark

Thank-you for ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all MEPS community!

Curriculum Day

Please be reminded of the upcoming Melbourne Cup weekend. A curriculum day on Monday 2nd November and the Melbourne Cup public holiday on Tuesday 3rd November. Students will be required back at school on Wednesday 4th November.

Staff will be working on the curriculum day and focussing on our end of year assessment and reporting processes.

School times

Please be reminded that if you arrive late to school, sign your children in via the school office. Parents are required to personally sign children into school and to sign them out.

Please also be aware that yard supervision from staff is provided between the hours of 8.30-3.30pm.

If you are experiencing difficulties within this please reach out to myself or your child’s teacher.

Assembly

A reminder that for term 4 we will be conducting our assemblies fortnightly. Following today’s assembly (week 2) the assemblies will follow in weeks 4, 6, 8 and 10 of the term.

Student leadership 2027

At MEPS we value student voice very highly in all that we do. Valuing student input into their learning and leadership is something we promote each day at school. Throughout the school we also have opportunities for more formalised and structured leadership roles.

Each year we form our MEET team members and also our SRC (Student Representative Council) where representatives from each class come together to focus on varying elements of school improvement, sustainability, environmental development and connections within the local community. We congratulate our MEET team members and our SRC for their ongoing work throughout the year. We also look ahead to 2027 and hope we can continue to evolve the opportunities for more formalised student voice across the school. In addition to forming these groups again next year, over the next few weeks our current year 5 students will participate in a selection process for electing our 2027 school leaders. This includes school captains, house captains, learning leaders and wellbeing leaders. Good luck to all the year 5 students in their aspirations. We are fortunate to have a such great team of students with wonderful leadership capacity. Irrespective of these formal opportunities, all students are leaders and have the opportunity to lead their learning and impact on others every day.

Keep reading @ Home!

As you know, we work extremely hard to provide the highest quality learning for all students at our school. In order for us to maximise on student capabilities we require your help. As parents and guardians you have a crucial role to play within the learning framework. Your assistance at home in discussing school is an invaluable aspect of student learning. This provides opportunities for students to reflect and consolidate their understandings. As a minimum it would be fantastic to set aside some time each night to share a love of literacy. Reading to your child, reading with them, listening to them read to you and discussing the book (pictures, themes, characters, plot, setting, what might happen next etc..) are all helpful ways of engaging with your child around literacy. Reading each night forms a part of the homework for all students at MEPS.

Thunderstorm asthma - be prepared this pollen season

Grass pollen season, which typically runs from October to December each year in Victoria, brings an increase in asthma and hay fever symptoms. It also increases the risk of thunderstorm asthma. For people with asthma or hay fever, especially those who experience wheezing or coughing with their hay fever, thunderstorm asthma can be sudden, serious and even life threatening.

We will implement a range of measures to keep our school community safe as the risk of thunderstorm asthma increases.

Many of our staff are trained in asthma first aid and we will monitor the VicEmergency app to receive thunderstorm warnings where appropriate to keep students indoors when weather forecasts identify greater risk.

During the season, there are some things you can do to prepare and protect yourself and your family:

If your child has ever had asthma, talk to your doctor about what you can do to help protect them from the risk of thunderstorm asthma this pollen season, including updating your asthma action plan. Taking an asthma preventer properly and regularly is key to preventing asthma, including thunderstorm asthma.

If your child has hay fever, see your pharmacist or doctor for a hay fever treatment plan and check if you should have an asthma reliever puffer. These are available from a pharmacy without a prescription.

If your child has hay fever and experiences wheezing and coughing, it is important to make sure they don’t also have asthma. Speak to your doctor about an asthma action plan.

Where possible, avoid being outside during thunderstorms from October to December, especially during the wind gusts that come before the storm. Go inside and close your doors and windows. If you have your air conditioning on, turn it to ‘recirculate’.

Protect yourself this pollen season – managing asthma and allergies matters.

Find out more

For more information, speak to your doctor. You can also visit the Better Health Channel website.

MONTY THE MONSTAR COLOUR RUN 2026!

Mt Eliza Primary School – Colour, Community & Making a Difference!

We're excited to announce that the Monty the Monstar Colour Run is coming to Mt Eliza Primary School on Friday 27 November 2026!

This fun-filled, whole-school event is a wonderful opportunity to bring our school community together while raising funds to upgrade our school playgrounds and support some wonderful charitable causes.

Small Actions, Big Impact – Growing Changemakers at MEPS

At Mt Eliza Primary School, we believe that every child has the power to make a positive difference, regardless of their age. Building on our Senior School's Term 4 Changemaker unit, we're encouraging all students, from Prep to Year 6, to understand the importance of giving back, showing empathy and taking meaningful action to help others.

Through initiatives like the Colour Run, we hope to develop lifelong values of kindness, generosity, teamwork and social responsibility, helping students recognise that even small actions can have a big impact.

This year, our fundraising efforts will not only help improve our own school facilities but will also provide students with an opportunity to give back to the wider community by supporting a charity of their choice.

Fundraising for MEPS and Beyond!

Alongside raising funds for our playground upgrades, students can also choose to give back by directing a portion of their fundraising rewards towards one of five charities instead of selecting a personal prize, supporting a cause that is meaningful to them.

Students can select their preferred charity from the following:

Great Barrier Reef Foundation – Protecting coral reefs and marine life.
Carbon Neutral – Supporting tree planting and environmental restoration.
OzHarvest – Providing food to people experiencing hardship.
Starlight Children's Foundation – Bringing joy to seriously ill children.
Dolly's Dream – Promoting kindness and preventing bullying.

Giving students the opportunity to choose a cause they care about is another important part of developing our young Changemakers, encouraging them to think beyond themselves and recognise the positive impact their actions can have on others.

The Australian Fundraising team will co-contribute donations to your chosen charity alongside your fundraising for MEPS.

At the conclusion of the fundraiser, students are required to select a cause which they would like to support. If a prize is selected, it will be removed, and a cause will be selected to support instead.

How to Get Involved

Fundraising is simple and is completed online:

Visit www.myprofilepage.com.au.
Click Register to create a secure online fundraising profile for your child.
Share your child's fundraising link with family and friends to collect donations.

Please note: This is an online-only fundraiser. Any cash donations must be converted to online donations by Thursday 26 November 2026.

Event Details

Date: Friday 27 November 2026

Location: Mt Eliza Primary School Oval

What to Wear & Bring

We want every student to feel comfortable, included and able to enjoy the day!

White T-shirt: Students who are happy to be covered in colour are encouraged to wear white to make the colours stand out!
Navy or black T-shirt: Students who would prefer NOT to be covered in colour are asked to wear a dark T-shirt. This will help staff easily identify them so they can participate without being sprayed.
Enclosed shoes: All students must wear appropriate footwear.

All students will receive sunglasses and a headband to wear during the event.

The colour powder and slime used on the day will be non-toxic and biodegradable.

Together, We Can Make a Difference!

The Monty the Monstar Colour Run is about more than fundraising. It's about celebrating our school community, encouraging students to support one another and showing them the positive impact of working towards a shared goal.

Every contribution, big or small, is appreciated and we encourage families to get involved in whatever way they can.

We look forward to a fantastic day of colour, fun and community spirit!

Set up your child’s My Profile Page – it’s quick, easy and super fun.

The class with the most ‘sign ups’ at the end of next week will receive an icy pole afternoon next Friday.

Term 4 Dates

Please note some of these dates listed for your calendars at home.

October

19 - Year 3/4 Hooptime final

November

2 – Curriculum Day – no students at school

3 – Melbourne Cup

16 - 18 – Year 5 Camp @ Phillip Island Adventure Resort

16 – 20 – Prep Swimming

23 - 24 – Year 4 Camp @ The Ranch

27 – Colour Run

December

8 – Statewide transition day Year 6-7

8 – Up Day - internal transition at MEPS

11 – Curriculum Day – no students at school

14 – Prep – 2 Concert

18 – Final Day of 2026 – 1.15pm finish

Have wonderful weekend and see you next week!

Michael Kent

Principal

Respect, Resilience, Responsibility, Connectedness and Challenge

State Schools Relief - Prep (Foundation) Starter Pack