Principal's Item 

Dear parents, carers and friends of EEPS,

The school has settled incredibly smoothly into a new year, and I extremely proud of the way in which everyone has played a part in this. Congratulations!

Staff update

We wish Miss Harriman all the best as she leaves this Friday for family leave. We look forward to Alex visiting later in the year with her new baby. 

Open afternoon and meet the teacher

It was lovely to see lots of parents, carers and grandparents visit yesterday afternoon for our first open afternoon and meet the teacher. Partnerships in learning are incredibly important and I know that teachers appreciated connecting with many of you. Please remember that if you weren’t able to attend you can always pass on important information to your child’s teacher on the phone or by making another appointment.

Accessibility project

As a school we are very pleased to be embarking on an accessibility upgrade throughout the entire site. This will mean the construction of several, gradient compliant, access ramps. This will start in a week or two and will continue until early into Term 2. Please be aware that this will create some inconvenience across the board but will we work closely with the builders and the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) to minimise this as much as possible. I would also like to let our community know that there will be several trees that will need to be removed because of this. However, as always, please have confidence, that we only do this when absolutely necessary and for every tree removed, two additional trees will be planted. I have also worked with the architects and designers to reduce the need for tree removal where possible. Lastly, on this topic, some of the ramps and pathways might initially look very ‘dominating’ however, please know that additional landscaping will be done, over time, to ‘soften’ the ramp structures, where needed.

Social media groups

Please look out for the Compass parent Newsfeed that I sent last Friday regarding the establishment of class or year level social media groups. Thank you to our parent community for the incredible support that we receive through all areas, including respectfully making use of these groups.

Prep Information Night

Next Tuesday 13th February, at 7.00 pm we are holding our Prep Information Night. We are looking forward to welcoming our prep parents and I encourage you to make every effort for at least one parent per family to attend.

Emergency Management procedures

As we start the year it is reassuring to know that we always make sure that all staff are aware of emergency procedures, if required. We have three main evacuation needs- shelter in place or a lockdown, onsite evacuation and offsite evacuation. Each term we conduct emergency practice drills to ensure that all students can practice. Safety, is always our number one priority.

Staff wanted at OSHC

We are on the lookout again for additional staff for our school run Outside School Hours Care service. To work at OSHC you need to be at least 18 years old and either hold, or be working towards some sort of certificate or qualification in childcare. If you know of anyone who would be interested, then please contact Jess or Kathryn at OSHC on 9431 2228 or email at oshc.eltham.east.ps@education.vic.gov.au   

Student achievements

The school is always very keen to hear about students achievements outside of school. Congratulations to Archie B in Year 6 for his achievements in BMX. The following is part of a lovely email from his parents;

On the 28th January, Archie competed at The Victorian State Championships for Freestyle BMX.  This event was held at Rampfest which is an indoor, purpose built, BMX facility. Archie was competing in the U13 age group and finished the competition ranked 3rd in Victoria.  He is very proud of himself as he trains exceptionally hard and absolutely loves his sport.  Archie will compete at The National Championships for Freestyle this weekend. Archie also races BMX and is currently ranked 4th in Victoria for his age group (12 Boys).  Arch has raced BMX competitively for 8 years, starting when he was just 4 years old.  He is on the Australian RIFT Development Squad.

A couple of additional reminders

Walking to and from school - please help to remind the students to have respectful interactions with the school neighbours, and other community members, when walking to and from school - this just makes for a positive and pleasant experience for everyone!

Arrival to school in the morning - please remember that we do not have staff on Yard Duty in the mornings until 8.45 am. No child should be arriving at school, at the absolute earliest before 8.30. Please ensure that you have care arrangements in place in the mornings. Children who regularly arrive early may be sent to OSHC.

Interacting with the school staff - as we start the school year please continue to remember to maintain polite and respectful interactions with all members of staff. It is certainly reassuring to know that school enjoys a proud history of the overwhelming majority of parents who do this and our strong advocates for all that we do. It can’t be underestimated how much we appreciate and value this.

Voluntary parent payment contributions - please remember that the voluntary parent contributions for curriculum contributions are on Compass for those families who are able to support. The estimated costs for the 2024 Extra Curricular contributions will be available later in the term. To arrange any payments please make contact with the office. 

Lastly, a new semi-regular section;

Principal’s wisdom!

As a parent and experienced educator, time and experience has taught me many things. The one for this week is - as a parent, always be very careful that your own personal experiences, history or trauma are not consciously or unconsciously projected onto your children. Frequently I have conversations with parents when issues arise, and nine times out of ten the stress, anxiety and emotional ‘charge’ around the issue, is actually stemming from a projection of experiences of their own childhood. Easier said than done, I know, but certainly something to reflect on. 

Good luck to our EEPS Year 3-6 students who have elected to attend the school swimming sports this Friday!

Warren Lloyd

Principal