From the Principal...

Hi everyone and welcome to the latest newsletter!

World Teachers Day

World Teachers’ Day is a wonderful opportunity to recognise and celebrate the dedicated teachers who make such a positive difference in the lives of our students every day.

At our school, we are incredibly grateful for the care, commitment and enthusiasm our teachers bring to the classroom. From inspiring curiosity and encouraging creativity to supporting individual learning journeys and celebrating every achievement, our teachers play a vital role in helping our students grow, learn and thrive.

Teaching is about so much more than sharing knowledge. It is about building relationships, nurturing confidence, fostering a love of learning and creating a safe and supportive environment where every child feels valued and encouraged to reach their full potential.

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our wonderful teaching team for the countless ways they support our students, families and wider school community. Their passion, patience and dedication help make our school such a special place to learn and grow.

To all our teachers, thank you for the difference you make each and every day. Happy World Teachers’ Day! We appreciate and celebrate you today and every day.

A special thank-you to the Community Links team and the wider school community for their donations towards some treats for staff and for sharing your appreciation to the MEPS staff.

I also thank the School Council for acknowledging and appreciating the staff today with a free coffee!

To our OHSC provider at Team Kids, thank-you for supporting with a lovely morning tea today! On behalf of the teachers, thank-you!

Victorian Government Schools Agreement

After much deliberation (and some disruption) across the year the new VGSA has now been officially endorsed by all parties. This agreement took effect on October 23.

I would like to bring to your attention that as a part of this agreement staff are entitled to a professional practice day each term. The professional practice days are student free days and are in addition to the scheduled curriculum days that schools function.

This means that for term 4, 2026 we will be running an additional student free day. In an attempt make this more manageable for our families, we have scheduled this student free day for Friday December 18.

Therefore, the final day for students this year will be Thursday December 17. 

We will have our final assembly at 9am on December 17 and students will be dismissed at 1.15pm.

Staff will action their professional practice day on December 18.

I do apologise for the late notice but we were unable to schedule anything until the new agreement was officially endorsed. I appreciate your flexibility and support of our end of year processes.

As we plan towards 2027, we will share all of our key 2027 calendar dates asap this year as to help with future planning and awareness for our community.

We appreciate your support of the staff and your understanding in the change of date for the end of this year.

Term 4 Key Dates:

November 

2: Curriculum Day, student free day

3: Melbourne Cup holiday

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

15 - Year 6 Graduation

17 - Final day for students, Assembly 9am, Dismissal at 1.15pm

18-  Staff professional Practice Day – student free 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 is NOT necessarily the teacher for this group in 2027.

Students have been 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 are 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

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 in focussing on our end of year assessment and reporting processes.

Assembly

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

Congratulations to the students who participated in the recent division athletics carnival. These students did an amazing job at representing themselves and the school in their various events. This is an amazing achievement in itself to make it through to this level of competition.

Jaxon – high jump and 100m; Vivienne – shot put ; Will – hurdles 

Special congratulations to Jaxon who broke the record in his age group in the high jump – a really HIGH JUMP!!

As a result Jaxon moved on to the State Championships at Olympic Park. Jaxon competed yesterday and did an outstanding job placing third and securing his place at the National Titles in November.

HoopTime – congratulation also to the girls who won the recent HoopTime championships and are bound for the state finals! Well done to: Imogen, Genevieve, Annabelle, Hazel, Ella, Olivia and Loa.

Congratulations to Toby C who recently competed in the division state Semi-final chess competition. He will be going through the State Finals next month!

Farewell Nurse Sarah

We sadly say goodbye to our school nurse Sarah. Sarah has been with MEPS for the past two and half years and we are so appreciative of all of her amazing work, kindness and care of the MEPS community. We wish Sarah and her husband well as they relocate to Melbourne. We are seeking a new nurse and hope to share this news with you asap.

Congratulations to Amy Wanless and her husband on the exciting news that they’re expecting their first child. Amy will continue at MEPS throughout the year and early into 2027 before celebrating and enjoying her maternity leave.

Bikes in school

It has been wonderful to see so many students riding to school recently. Our bike education programs have been a positive learning experience for those involved.

Can I please remind all students that there is no riding of bikes across the front of the school or in the school at any time. This helps to ensure the safety of everyone at MEPS.

Thunderstorm asthma – be prepared this pollen season 

Grass pollen season in Victoria usually runs from October to December. During this time, asthma and hay fever symptoms can get worse. There is also an increased risk of thunderstorm asthma.  Ten years ago, Melbourne experienced the largest thunderstorm asthma event in the world. Thunderstorm asthma can be sudden and serious. 

At MEPS we have measures to keep our school community safe. Most of our staff are trained in asthma first aid. We will monitor VicEmergency for thunderstorm asthma warnings. When needed, we will keep students indoors if the weather forecast shows a higher risk.   

Managing asthma and allergies matters. During this pollen season, there are some things you can do to protect yourself and your family: 

• If your child has ever had asthma, talk to your doctor about your Asthma Action Plan and to make sure symptoms are well controlled.  
• If your child has hay fever, talk to your pharmacist or doctor about a hay fever plan and check if you need an asthma reliever puffer.  
• If your child has cough or wheeze with hay fever, talk to your doctor to make sure they don’t also have asthma.  
• Take asthma medication as directed by your doctor, as the good control of symptoms can prevent thunderstorm asthma. 
• Follow the VicEmergency website or app. Where possible, avoid being outside during thunderstorms – especially during the winds that come before the storm. Go inside and close your doors and windows. If you have your air conditioning on, turn it to ‘recirculate’. 
• Know asthma first aid. If you are not sure if someone is having an asthma attack, you can still use a blue asthma reliever puffer.  

Find out more  

For more information, speak to your doctor. You can also: 

• speak with an asthma educator on 1800 ASTHMA (1800 278 462). This is a free service from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday 
• refer to Better Health Channel. This includes information in different languages. 

MONTY THE MONSTAR COLOUR RUN 2026!

Thanks to the community members who have supported the colour run thus far! Keep the fundraising coming as we prepare to have a fun day – and also slime some teacher!

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.

How to Get Involved

Fundraising is simple and is completed online:

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

Have wonderful long weekend and see you next week! 

Respect, Resilience, Responsibility, Connectedness and Challenge

Michael Kent

Hi everyone! Austin Meyles' mum here! 😊

I just wanted to share a fundraising challenge I'm undertaking on 6 December.

As I'm sure many of you are aware, mental health challenges among our young people are becoming increasingly concerning.

As a community psychiatric nurse and a mum, I'm incredibly passionate about finding ways to strengthen mental health and resilience. I believe the earlier we equip our young people with the tools to understand and manage their mental health, the better we can support their wellbeing throughout life.

On 6 December, I'll be sitting in silence for 20 hours in a 2-metre square to raise funds for 20Talk, a wonderful charity focused on youth mental health awareness, education, early intervention and prevention.

My 20 hours of silence will also be in honour of those we've lost to suicide and those who have struggled with their mental health. It's a reminder of why early support and prevention matter so much.

20Talk provides programs and resources through schools and online to help young people develop the skills to look after their mental health and wellbeing.

I'm hoping to raise at least $1,000 for this cause, but of course, the more I raise, the more young people these programs can potentially reach!

I've attached a flyer with more information and a QR code if you'd like to donate.

Any amount, no matter how small, makes a difference!

Thank you so much for your support!