School News

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Guess what....

🌿We have been named as a finalist in the ResourceSmart Schools Awards!🌱

The Resource Smart Schools Awards celebrate the legendary efforts and impacts made by schools in sustainability. Our school has been chosen as a finalist in the Teacher of the Year (Primary) for work with student group the Green Magpies and sustainablity initiatives. We have a trio of teachers who are under this category- Mrs Davey, Miss Chamings and Ms Salm! 

We have been invited to attend the awards ceremony at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on the 4 June along with the other finalists. The theme this year is Legendary legacies – what will you leave behind?

Speaking of legendary legacies, since 2008, 1,600 ResourceSmart Schools (including us!) have work together to:

• save more than $60 million on bills
• plant more than 5.2 million trees
• save more than 74,000 tonnes CO2e greenhouse gas emissions
• divert 168,000 cubic metres of waste from landfill
• save 1.8 million kilolitres of water.

The ResourceSmart Schools Awards are a joyful and affirming celebration of schools and students and their sustainability triumphs. The awards are the state’s largest sustainability celebration for primary and secondary school students, teachers and school volunteers taking remarkable sustainability action. We are proud to be recognised among the schools doing sustainability work that benefits students, the planet and the wider community alike. 

Learn more about this year’s finalists: https://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/resourcesmart-schools-awards-2024-finalists

Term 2 message from The Hon. Ben Carroll MP

Please click on the link below:

https://vimeo.com/933088690/2bf575e8ee?share=copy

Student Attitudes to School Survey

Information about the Student Attitudes to School Survey has been posted on Compass. Please find the same message below if you have not seen it:

This information is to let you know about the Student Attitudes to School Survey (SS), which will be administered to all government school students in Years 4 to 12. 

About the survey

The AtoSS is a voluntary annual student survey offered by the Department of Education to assist schools and the department to gain an understanding of students' perceptions and experience of school. We value student voice as a means to improving student engagement, wellbeing and quality instruction and will be asking your child about their thoughts and feelings in relation to their school, their learning, peer relationships, resilience, bullying, health and wellbeing, physical activity, and life in general.

ORIMA Research Pty Ltd has been contracted by the department to administer the online survey and will provide support to schools throughout the survey period via a telephone hotline and email.

This year, the survey will be conducted at your school from 6th May until 14th June.

What are the benefits?

Young people enjoy having a say! This survey has been running for nearly 20 years and is invaluable in helping schools understand student views to plan programs and activities to improve your child's schooling experience. The survey responses also help the Department of Education understand how student’s learning experiences can be improved.

What are the risks?

While we do not anticipate many risks of participation, some students may find some of the survey questions personal and sensitive in nature. Should you agree for your child to participate, they are still free to skip questions or to withdraw at any stage if the survey makes them upset or uncomfortable. A teacher will be present during the survey to support students.

The questions are selected from validated survey instruments used in Australia and around the world, are strength-based, and tailored for each year level group.

What will my child be asked to do?

Your child will be invited to complete the survey online during class time using a purpose built secure online survey tool. It is important to note that we are not in any way “testing” your child. Please note:

• Student participation in the survey is voluntary and students may withdraw at any time.
• The survey is available in a variety of different versions to enable all students to participate.
• The survey will take around 20-45 minutes to complete.

How is my child’s confidentiality protected?

Your child will be provided with a unique login to complete the survey from their teacher. The student login is an assigned identifier that will be used by the department to link data for analysis and research purposes only. Identifiable information, such as student name or Victorian Student Number (VSN) is not used for linking datasets. Some student demographic data (i.e. year level, gender, age, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status) is derived from department-held administrative records and is linked to the individual student login ID during survey set up work to support survey administration.

ORIMA Research will only use student personal information for research purposes to facilitate the administration and data collection of the Attitudes to School Survey. To ensure the confidentiality of your child’s responses is protected at all times, personally identifiable data will not be recorded in the survey response file that ORIMA Research provides to the department. All data is stored on servers located in Australia and access is restricted to staff who are working on the project.

All information collected about your child will be handled in accordance with the Privacy Data and Protection Act 2014 (Vic), the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) and the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic), as well as the Department’s Schools’ Privacy Policy. Please note that consistent with the above legislation and our policy, there are instances where we may be required by law to share information provided by your child. For example, where there is a threat to your child’s health and safety.

How will results be reported?

Aggregated state-wide survey data will be used to report on initiatives and may also be used in public discussions of issues relating to student engagement and wellbeing. An example of how survey data has been previously used includes reporting levels of student engagement in the Performance Summary in the Annual Report to the School Community.

The survey results will also be reported back to the school in aggregate form throughout the survey period. Data or results about individual students will not be shared with schools. All survey data that is made available in reports are for groups of students only so that no individual student can be identified. Where there are low numbers of students, the data will be suppressed so that the school cannot view the results for that group.

Your school may share the results of the survey with parents and carers.

Options for Participation

Further information about this survey, including the questions your child will be asked to answer, please visit the department’s survey information page.

If you would like more information, please speak to your child’s teacher, or contact the department at school.surveys@education.vic.gov.au.

Cross Country

I would like to say a big thank you again to all staff and volunteers who helped to make our EPS cross-country event the successful afternoon that it was. It was wonderful to see students having a go and doing their best on the day. This success carried through to the next level where students had the opportunity to compete against other schools at the racecourse. Congratulations to the students who placed at this event and well done to those who were selected to participate.

School Website

As some of you will have realised, our school website was hacked at the end of last year. Although it is now back up online, we have a new site being developed to ensure that this cannot occur again. 

Uniform Reminder

Thank you for helping us to keep our students in uniform. Please ensure that items are clearly labelled - there is nothing worse than buying a new jacket that just 'disappears'. 

Bike pants or exercise tights are not a part of the daily uniform and should only be worn for athletics/EBT etc.

Welcome Beth Hughes to Epsom PS

You may have noticed the new smiling face behind the front office desk at Epsom PS. We welcomed Beth Hughes into the fold a few weeks ago and we hope that you will help her to feel welcomed to our school community.

Complaints Policy 

Please find the complaints policy attached below - it is important to know the process if you are unsure:

Volunteering

If you are keen to volunteer in any capacity at our school, you will require a Working with Children Check (WWCC). The primary purpose of a WWCC is to ensure the safety and protection of our students. The screening process helps to prevent individuals with a history of criminal offenses, particularly those involving children, from working with them. If you apply as a volunteer - this will not cost you anything. The link to apply: Working with Children Check (service.vic.gov.au) 

Surveys

Throughout the year we will be sending out various surveys to collect your feedback. It is important that we continue to strive to be the best educational setting that we can be for every child that walks through our gate. If you could take the time to fill out the questionnaires as they arrive, we will have a greater understanding of what we do successfully - as well as areas for improvement. We value our relationship with you as a partner in learning and look forward to your insight about our school.

Mother's Day

A big thank you to all of the families that have sent in donations for our Mother's Day stall - I cannot express the absolute joy that we witness each year as students flock to purchase 'the perfect gift'. 

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Kind regards,

Julie Ladd

Principal