EHPS Contact

Principal's Report

Dear Parents and Carers,

 

I hope that all families are keeping healthy and that you have not been struck down by colds, the flu or COVID-19 that all seem to be circulating in our school and community. If you are or have been unwell, I hope you recover well and quickly. 

 

The Department of Health is still forecasting a higher than normal infection rate for colds and flu this year. This level of student sickness coupled with sick staff has a significant impact upon the school program. At all times we will try not to interrupt the Teaching and Learning Program of the children. Unfortunately, the availability of relief teachers, state-wide, is at an all-time low and this may impact class coverage in the future. 

 

Our strong advice to all families is that children who are unwell must stay at home and they should not return to school until they are fully recovered. If children are at school and unwell, families will be contacted to take them home. Even though this may be inconvenient for some families the health and of the whole school community is a very high priority. 

 

In line with Department of Education advice, we also recommend the following:

  • Use rapid antigen tests (RATs):
    • If your children/your child has symptoms of COVID-19 infection, no matter how mild.
    • If you or your child is a household or close contact of someone who has COVID-19.
    • If you or your child is a social contact of someone who has COVID-19.

The Department of Health recommends that all Victorians should report their positive RAT result to the Department of Health online, or by calling 1800 675 398.

  • Please note that Rapid Antigen Tests are available from your local Library.
  • Students with a positive result are recommended to isolate for a minimum of five days and not attend school until their symptoms have resolved.
  • Parents should also report a positive result to the school, either by phoning the Office on 9807 4944 or emailing through the Compass portal.

As a school we want to ensure that children are healthy and well so that they can be happy and learning while at school. It is therefore very important that we all work together to prevent the spread of colds, flu and COVID-19.

I seek your support and thank you for your cooperation so that we can keep our community healthy.

Personal Property

I would like to remind all families that personal property should not be brought to school e.g. phones, other valuable personal devices, or maybe even card sets etc. These items if brought to school are the responsibility of the owner.

 

The Department of Education’s guidelines are very clear:

  • “students and parents/carers are responsible for a student’s personal item/property, including if it is lost, stolen or damaged at school.
  • Claims for the reimbursement of the cost of a personal item/property brought to school will not be paid by the school and are not covered by school insurance.”

Many children ride bicycles or scooters to school. Therefore, we strongly recommend that a bike lock be used to secure the bicycle or scooter in the bike shed.

Monash Waverley Division Cross Country

On Wednesday, nine students represented the school in the Monash Waverley Division Cross Country finals. All the children performed so well and tried their best and we are so proud of them. Over the past few weeks, they have competed in the EHPS House Cross Country, the Mulgrave District Cross Country and now our Division Cross Country finals. What an effort!! I am so pleased to report that three students have now won their way into the Eastern Metropolitan Region Cross Country final at Yarra Glen Racecourse on 13 June. We wish Max O, Ryan W and Damon H the very best in the Region cross country event. A special thanks must go to the families for their support, and Ms Hocking for her organisation of the events and for her encouragement of the children.

 

Remember, the Years 3 to 6 House Athletics are on Tuesday at the Bill Sewart Athletics Track in Burwood East. Parents most welcome to attend. Volunteers also welcome!!!

Year 4 Camp

This week our Year 4 students attended their first school camp at Mount Evelyn. Yesterday I attended the camp and joined in many activities. The accommodation and facilities are excellent. The children were having such a marvellous time. They were involved in activities such as Flying Fox, candle making, Archery, Low Ropes, Laser Tag and the Reptile Experience. The children were all engaged and thoroughly enjoying being together and building their teamwork.

I am reliably informed that the children were very tired by the end of the day and far more sleep was enjoyed by all last night!!!!

Our happy campers returned this afternoon with great memories of a very exciting Year 4 Camp.

Thank you to the Year 4 team, Mrs Cotterell, and our four parent volunteers for making this experience possible for the children.

Semester 1 Reports

As mentioned above, many children are absent on a daily basis. This, coupled with such a busy and short term, has impacted the ability of staff to teach and assess all the required curriculum. At the end of Semester 1, we provide families with an accurate picture of your child’s progress through our written semester reports. It has been decided to allow a few extra weeks for the teachers to be able to teach and assess all children. This will result in a far more authentic and useful assessment of your child’s progress. Therefore, Semester 1 reports will be distributed in Week 3 of Term 3. This will be followed by in person parent teacher discussions in week 3. More details will follow shortly.

Leaving EHPS

Sadly, for a variety of reasons a few children and their families need to leave Essex Heights each year. If your child is leaving EHPS during this year or at the end of this school year and not returning in 2024, it is essential that you please notify the school as soon as possible. This is required for our planning and preparation for the 2024 school year. Please email me at the school email address with the following details:

  • Child's name and 2023 class
  • Date of last day at EHPS (the last day of the 2023 school year is Wednesday 20 December)
  • Name of the school your child is enrolled at 
  • Commencement date at new school (Term 1 2024 commences on Monday 29 January)
  • The reason for leaving EHPS  
  • New contact details, e.g. address, phone number, email

Public holiday reminder

Families are reminded that Monday 12 June is the King's Birthday public holiday. The school will be closed on this day. 

Welcome

We welcome the following students and their family to the EHPS community:

  • Sin Hang (Crystal) C (3L)
  • Hong Ching (Victor) C (1W)

 

I look forward to seeing you around the school. 

Kindest regards,

George Perini

Principal