Principal's Item 

Dear parents, carers and friends of EEPS,

As a school we do work hard on hoping to instil a sense of gratitude for what we have, be that small or large. It was hard to describe the magic of listening to the EEPS Choir perform as part of the Boite School Chorus last Thursday at the Melbourne Town Hall. I was very grateful to be able to attend, and I know the children were grateful for the opportunity. A sincere thank you to everyone involved and especially to Mr Day. We are all looking forward, with great anticipation, to our next major showcase, the Concert on Tuesday 3rd September. 

Assembly

It was a delight to hear Ryan play his 100-year-old Tar, a traditional Iranian long necked lute, at Assembly on Monday. This instrument was given to him by his grandfather, so it was lovely to hear Ryan both playing and singing a traditional tune as well. A moment of gratitude that we have such great talents and a rich diversity of cultural performances. Thank you, Ryan, you should be very proud of your performance.

New Furniture

I forgot to mention our new office foyer furniture this term! If you haven’t seen it, you are certainly in for a surprise when you do.

Student Achievements

A big congratulations to Ella W, in Year 6, and Evie R in Year 5 for achieving ‘Highly Commended’ awards in the 2024 Parliament Prize competition. This competition, based on Member’s addresses, was used as a highly engaging writing stimulus for the Year 5 and 6 student’s last term. Students wrote short speeches based on an area of passion in which they would like to see change or modified in the world. Ella wrote about a world where autism was accepted and embraced. Evie wrote on the topic of deforestation and the impacts on us all. The ‘Highly Commended’ certificate was awarded to students whose speeches were graded in the top 10% in each category. Well done, Ella and Evie!

School Council

It was wonderful to have Ronan and Zara, two of our Student Leaders, present a report to the EEPS School Council last week. It is easy to take many things for granted, but not all schools have students who can so confidently present in front of adults let alone to a School Council, many of whom they don’t know. It was a very positive night, School Council discussions were around the new School Strategic Plan, a presentation of EEPS NAPLAN data and an endorsement of our new school values framework, which will be launched next week.

Reconciliation Action Plan Working Group

This week we had another meeting of the Reconciliation Action Plan Working Group. We have been working on a vision to help channel our focus and energy in this space and hope to submit it to the Narrangawali Reconciliation Body shortly.

Mobile Phones…Again

I did remind all families about the requirement for all mobile phones, and smart watches to be off, in school mode, and locked away (in the case of phones) during the day. Unfortunately, we have had several instances where children have taken it upon themselves to make phone calls to parents through their watches. The policy is clear and will be enforced. Students who use their watches to make calls will need to collect the device from the office at the end of the day and a call made home. I ask for your full support with this Departmental policy, thank you.

Traffic Safety Around the School

Last week I did include a letter from the Nillumbik safety team to remind all families about the need for safety for both cars and pedestrians. Unfortunately, the very next day we received an email from an ex-parent and local resident:

 I want to flag the fact that there have been several mornings and afternoons over the last month where I've seen shockingly dangerous manoeuvres by parents dropping off their kids around the curve of Grove Street, mostly people attempting U-turns across the double lines or backing out from parking illegally (sometimes two cars at once) in the slipway in front of the closed gate to the school drop off car park.  

I'm sure the crossing peeps and the school are aware of this happening, and I know you post regular messages about it, but it really is bonkers at the moment.  Some of the high-speed U-turns I have witnessed I would be happy also to report to the police. 

We live in Fairdale Court and are completely fine with EEPS parents using our street as a safer option to park and walk.

Sadly, I am not making this up and I would once again plea to parents to prioritise safety over any other consideration. No one in the school community wants a casualty or serious injury.

National Day Against Bullying and Violence

This Friday is National Day Against Bullying and Violence, with the entire week having a strong focus around getting along, having empathy and solving problems together. Students will have discussions around this theme and look to identify strategies that they can take individually. I did talk about this at Monday’s Assembly and I posed the question of ‘Why’?, hoping that classes could reflect on ‘why’ someone may bully someone. There are a number of different reasons. Thankfully, we overwhelmingly, have a very strong culture of support and friendship. When I do new enrolment tours and am asked about ‘bullying at Eltham East’, I do respond by saying that the incidences of bullying are low, largely due to the fact that the vast majority of students come from families who share the same values as we have at school, and this can’t be underestimated. We obviously harness this by ensuring that our weekly CORE lessons are purposeful, relevant and targeted.

Have a good week, and don’t forget that next Thursday 22nd August, is our Book Week dress up day and fundraiser for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.