Dear parents, carers and friends of EEPS,

This week is proving to be full of extracurricular activities, with swimming, a Musica Viva incursion, a RACV safety incursion for Year 1, choir performing at Assembly on Monday and the next round of our 2024 Prep transition.

Fantastic parent support

Whilst, from time to time, I do ask for extra parent support for things like road safety or with hats or uniforms, the school is constantly grateful for the overwhelmingly positive support that we receive across the board. We had lots of parents helping with swimming, really strong attendance at the Year 5/6 Expo and a great group of parents helping on the Referendum sausage sizzle. The stall raised nearly $3,500, all of which will be going towards the new resources for our Prep and Year 1 students. As I wrote in my direct newsfeed on Monday, this was a great opportunity for ‘funraising’ and ‘friendraising’ as well as ‘fundraising’. Thank you one and all.

Staff news

I am pleased to let the school community that Mrs Amy Stubberfield has given birth to a healthy little boy, Beau. Beau came a couple of weeks early but all is well. We wish her, Tom and Bonnie all the best with their extended family and look forward to having Amy visit at some stage.

Student input

On Monday some of our Year 6 Peer Support Leaders presented a new slogan to the students to help remind them about playing safely on the oval and other school areas. The slogan that they came up with is, ‘Don’t be mean on the green’. They explained to the younger students what this meant and have made some posters. Teachers will continue to work with the students to reinforce this message, as you can do at home. Whilst there is no widespread issue, we have found, that some groups of students are requiring additional supports with problem solving in the yard.

Safety concern

Early in the week there was a safety concern in the playground before school. I did communicate to the parents of the year level involved and spoke to the children about this. For everyone else, please remember that safety is always our number one priority at EEPS, we have a comprehensive Emergency Management Plan, and that from time to time things happen and we always respond with appropriate actions and supports.

2024 Class Planning Process

It is the time of year when we start the process of planning for 2024 classes. Our process places at its core the best learning outcomes for EEPS students, not just academic but social and emotional growth. Teachers will soon be commencing the task of allocating students to classes and we would like you to understand the process we follow when making these decisions.

Prior to allocating students to classes, they are given an opportunity to record five students from their year level who they would believe they would learn well with and like to be with next year. Teachers encourage students to think beyond their own class and to name students with whom they work well, rather than just their friends. It is not a priority listing so it does not matter which name is written on the hand first. Class teachers explain to students at least one of those named will be in their class for the following year. This form is going home today with all Prep-Year 5. We ask that you help your child return their hand to their classroom teacher before Tuesday 24th October.

Teachers follow a process and consider the following when allocating students.

In priority order:

· There is a fair distribution of personalities and abilities.

· There is a fair distribution of boys and girls.

· Students placed with at least one of their five (5) named friends from their year level.

· There is a fair distribution of students with specific needs.

· At times teachers believe some students would benefit from being separated.

We will make the classes as balanced as we can, considering all the above factors however this is a very complex process. Teachers use their knowledge and judgement to make the best decisions for the children that they can. Over the next two weeks please let your child’s classroom teacher know if there is anything pertinent about your child’s friendships or relationships, that you think they may not know. We do not accept requests regarding teachers. Please trust us; we know your children and their learning styles. Please also remember that there is no such thing as the ‘perfect’ grade, and that learning to work with different students in a supported community of learners is important for their development.

Whilst we are starting this process, and asking the students, for their learning friends, we do work at continuing to focus on the current school year as we have nearly 10 weeks still to go!

(Please see attachment below)

Child Safety policies

Eltham East Primary school remains deeply committed to the safety of all children in our school community. You may recall that all our Child Safe policies were updated last year, in line with the new Child Safe Standards. Just a reminder to families that any feedback is always welcome on any of these policies. For this purpose there is an embedded link on the Child Safe Compliance section on our school website.

Only a few days to go before our Year 4s head off to camp! Everyone in the Year 4 classrooms is eagerly counting down the sleeps until departure!

Lastly, well done to our EEPS athletes who competed at the Regional competition last week. 9 out of the 14 students are heading to the State Championships next month- an incredible achievement.

Have a great week.

Warren Lloyd

Principal

North East Link Colouring Competition