Dear parents, carers and friends of EEPS,

Thank you to the families who were able to attend Assembly on Monday to see the Percussion Ensemble perform the special arrangement of ‘Blackbird’. A special thank you to Bill, our Percussion teacher, for the original composition and for continuing the long history of our Percussion Ensemble.

Student Leadership and Commitment

I would like to pass on a special ‘thank you’ to Zoe K and her mum, Anna, who have started creating a special mural for the fairy garden. The first preparation actually happened under a tarpaulin on the very wet King’s Birthday weekend. Zoe, being one of our Year 6 student leaders, is really exemplifying the wonderful effort that our 2026 leaders are taking. It was also a highlight to have William and Scarlett speak at EEPS School Council last week.

Butterfly Reserve, Sanctuary and Landcare Grant

Last week Garry W and I had a meeting with a Nillumbik Council officer and Acacia Environmental Management. This was to plan some upcoming maintenance work in our reserve and sanctuary in the holiday break. We are very fortunate that a grant from Nillumbik Shire Council is allowing us to have Acacia Environmental Management continue its long association with the sanctuary. Basically, our special reserve needs a special management plan to optimise the habitat protection. We are grateful for this wonderful, ongoing partnership. In addition, the Landcare Grant which we have recently been awarded will help to establish long overdue educative signs in and around the reserve.

School Reports - Updates

Next Wednesday the first semester student reports will be completed and go live on Compass. Parents will receive a direct Newsfeed on the day when they are available. I would firstly like to thank the teachers for the massive effort that goes into the reports along with the teaching and assessment that sits behind them.

There are a couple of changes to the reports this year:

1.Changes to Mathematics and English Reporting in 2025

In 2025, all Victorian Government schools will be required to report against the revised Mathematics Curriculum 2.0 and English Curriculum 2.0, developed by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA).

These updates aim to improve teaching and learning by helping teachers create more meaningful connections within and across subject areas. The revised Mathematics curriculum includes some new and more challenging content at each year level, which means there may be a period of adjustment for students as they build the skills and understanding needed to meet the updated achievement standards.

Previously, Mathematics was reported across three strands: Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability. From 2025, teachers will report against the achievement standard as a whole, providing a single, aggregated score for Mathematics.

Because the achievement standards have changed and are not directly comparable to the previous version, the Semester 1 report in 2025 will show achievement only, not progress. From Semester 2 onwards, student progress will be shown against the new single achievement standard.

We understand that for some students, reports may show less visible progress from 2024 to this semester. This may reflect the shift in curriculum expectations, the move to a single aggregated score, or differences in how previous strand-based results are now represented.

2.Changes in the scale for effort and behaviour

For the first time, Compass has allowed a five-point scale for recording effort and behaviour. The scale is now; Needs Attention, Acceptable, Good, Very Good and Excellent. The new scale will give teachers greater flexibility to show how consistently students demonstrate positive learning behaviours and helping families identify strengths and areas for growth.

3.Inclusion of ratings A-E

Ratings for academic achievement have always been a requirement of government reports, however, recently it inadvertently was not visible to parents. This year you will now be able to see the achievement column using letters from E to A. In this scale, C means your child is at the age-expected standard, E means two standard points below, and A means two standard points above. This gives a quick summary of how your child’s achievement compares to the Victorian Curriculum standards.

I would like to thank all the teachers again, and Mrs Egan for coordinating the reporting function in the school. Overwhelmingly the students reports and reflections are incredibly uplifting and affirming to read.

Vacation Care

Don’t forget that bookings are now open for the upcoming Team Kids vacation care at EEPS. Please see the attached flyer for further information, including a contact telephone number. It certainly looks like an engaging first program for the students.

Expression of Interest - Afterschool Activity Provider

School Council, last week, approved an Expression of Interest to families for a proposal for establishing an additional lunch time activity and/or an afterschool program, to complement our existing OSHC service. This is attached in the Newsletter and is simply an Expression to gauge interest. Once the survey has been completed the results will be discussed at School Council to determine the next steps.

Lastly, please make every effort to read the selected Authors@EEPS poems in the newsletter this week. Well done to those students whose writing is included and thank you to Miss Lapadula for coordinating this important student enrichment activity.

We have one week to go before the break!

Kind regards

Warren Lloyd

Principal

Authors @ EEPS