Principal's Report

Dear SEPS Families, 

I am writing this newsletter from Ballarat this week. Mrs Gau and I have been at our Beachside Network Principals Conference and are knee deep in planning for 2026. We have been monitoring our Annual Implementation Plan and are very pleased to announce that we met all of our strategic targets. A particularly impressive Naplan target shows that we were able to reduce students requiring additional support in reading and writing to almost 0% (according to national standardsata). While this is primarily Yr 3 & 5 data, it is definitely whole school data and we know the input the teachers from all year levels contributes to our Naplan results.   

Book Fair 

Last week, the school hosted our annual Book Fair. A huge thank you to all the volunteers who helped with sales across the course of the week and a very special thank you to Katie Tukker for organising the roster. Special thanks also to our office staff for all their assistance during this busy week.

As a result of all your help and those who came along to purchase a book from the fair the library has earned  $1300 in commission to spend on books. What a fantastic achievement! I'm sure the children will enjoy reading the many new books that will be on the shelves in no time. We are very lucky indeed. 

School Production 

We are so excited that the time has almost arrived. We cannot wait to present our production next Tuesday. This is a culmination of a huge amount of work that has gone into our Performing Arts curriculum this term. Thank you so much to everyone for providing the base costumes and thanks also to the parents who volunteered their time to support the dress rehearsal today. We are so excited that we have a full house for the evening performance and that the matinee is also being well attended.  

It is disheartening to hear from number of students, particularly in the senior grades, that they will not be attending the evening performance. It is a school expectation that all students attend both performances, unless of course there is illness or extenuating circumstances. We have seen the direct impact on our students when their partners have been missing from rehearsals and there are gaps in the staging. The look of worry and confusion on their faces really tugs at the heart strings. Part of the learning focus throughout the term has been on developing some of our learner attitudes. We have been modelling a ‘can do’ attitude by encouraging resilience and courage to have a go. Collaboration has also been an important component of the arts this term.

Should you need some support in getting your child to the venue on Tuesday evening, please do not hesitate to speak to your child’s teacher or your Class Rep. In the event that we find that a large number of students are not in attendance, we will have to review our delivery of a live school production in 2027. We thank you for your understanding and support in this matter.  

Have a wonderful Spring break when it arrives. Stay safe and get some rest before we return for a very busy final term.     

Jane Briffa