Acting Principal's Report

  Ben Ridge

Assistant Principal - Jacob Johnson

End of Term - Thanks

I would like to thank the school community for their support and guidance during my time as Acting Principal. I have loved connecting with you all.

Some of the observations that I have made are:

• Staff make positive and meaningful connections with students
• The school involves the community in special events including Harmony Day, Ride to school and Easter
• I love seeing staff engaged in their roles, participating in breakfast club, doing yard duty and completing jobs as they arise and being active on yard duty
• Staff are well organised, teachers are collaborating and looking for opportunities to engage the students in their learning
• The Wellbeing team are committed to planning and implementing usable, well thought out plans that support the students

I would like to thank all of you for your chats, check ins and professional conversations.

I would like to thank Jacob for his dedication, care and commitment to ETRPS. 

Continue to connect, work hard and celebrate the successes. Good luck for Term 2 and beyond.

Acting Principal position update

I write to advise that Julie's leave has been extended into Term 2.

I will be returning to my assistant principal role at Echuca Twin Rivers Special School at the beginning of Term 2 and take the opportunity to thank staff, students and parents for your support during my period as acting principal.

Jacob Johnson will be the acting principal at Echuca Twin Rivers PS in week 1 Term 2 and Paul Hon will be the acting principal from Monday 27 April (week 2 Term 2) whilst Julie is on leave. 

Paul is a highly experienced school leader and looks forward to working with you all.  

School Council Annual General Meeting

Last week was the school council AGM,

The office bearers for 2026 are as follows:

President – Jayde Douglas

Vice President – Sarah Peake

Treasure – Becky Holland

Minutes Secretary – Tara Horkings

We currently have two parent representative vacancies, if you are interested in this please make contact with Jacob through the office.

We would like to recognise the outgoing president - Deb Flett for her dedication and commitment to school council throughout her tenure. 

SunSmart Policy: Hats On 

 All students are required to wear their broad brimmed hats, even when playing or participating in activities under any shelters. 

Our SunSmart Policy is based upon the Cancer Council guidelines that hats should be worn when UV levels are above 3 on the index (usually around the beginning of September in each year). We source this information from the following website:  www.bom.gov.au/products/UV/Bendigo_VIC.shtml

Please remember that only our school hats may be worn. These can be purchased from the office for $12.

1st September… Hats Remember.

1st May… Hats Away.

Easter Hat Parade

The Easter Hat parade was held yesterday; it was a great celebration. Well done to the staff and students for making the easter hats, they looked amazing. It was fantastic to see so many parents and friends attend the ceremony. A big thankyou to Ms Mitchell for all of her hard work behind the scenes!

Communication

As parents and carers, you will at times need to meet with classroom teachers to clarify classroom programs and sometimes discuss problems that may have arisen. The teachers and Leadership Team will endeavour to meet and discuss any range of school issues as soon as possible, however, please be aware staff meetings occur each Tuesday and Wednesday nights straight after school. There is an assumption all teachers will attend meetings on time. No teacher will dismiss your question or concerns, so calling to organise a time to meet will ensure the question or issue can be addressed with plenty of time and no interruptions. Don’t forget you can always message on ClassDojo, email or call the school on 54 107 700. 

Important Information: Sentral App at Echuca Twin Rivers PS 🎉📱 Part 1: Please ensure you have downloaded Sentral and set up your profile- All camps, excursions and school events will now be managed through the Sentral app — nice and easy, all in one place!- This means we’ll be saying goodbye to paper permission slips and will no longer be sending hard copies home.- To get started, please check out the attached letter which shows you how to download and set up the Sentral app. Need a hand? No worries at all! 😊Sue in the school office is more than happy to help with installing or setting up Sentral — just pop in or give us a call.✍️ Part 2: Signing Permission Slips- Once you’re set up, permission slips can be viewed and signed directly in the Sentral app.- The attached screenshots will walk you through how to sign a permission slip step by step.- If you get stuck, please don’t hesitate to call or come into the office — we’re here to help!💳 Coming Soon – Payments via Sentral! We’re excited to let families know that payments will soon be able to be made directly through the Sentral app, making things even more convenient. We will communicate with you all once this is set up.📌 Please Note:- Families who do not wish to use the Sentral app will need to visit the school office to sign permission slips at the front desk. Thanks so much for your understanding and support as we make this positive change at Echuca Twin Rivers Primary School.

Inclusion, Respect, Responsibility, Resilience, (Academic Excellence)  

Ben Ridge  

Acting Principal