EHPS Contact

Principal's Report

Dear Parents and Carers,

 

I am very pleased to be able to announce that our new Year 1 & 2 Playground will be installed in October. Removal of the old playground and the installation of the new structure will commence on 17 October and is expected to take a week. Upon completion, rectification and groundworks will need to take place prior to access for the children.

 

This is a much awaited and exciting project. The children have had significant input on the equipment that makes up the playground and have prioritised their preferred colours. This is a very large project that involves rectification of the waterflow off the basketball courts, the old playground removal, the installation of the new playground and then the preparation of the site for the children. The total cost of the whole project is over $65,000. 

 

We are all so indebted to the school community, who through the PFC have contributed $50,000 so that this marvellous new playground can be provided for our children. A huge thank you to the PFC and the many parents that have helped to raise this money for the school. 

 

Below are a few images of the proposed playground:

Professional Practice Day in Term 4

Annually every teacher is granted two days to work on aspects of their teaching and learning practice. These days are called Professional Practice Days. In the past they were spread throughout the year and caused regular disruption across the school and different year levels. In addition, with the significant teacher shortage it is becoming increasingly difficult to find casual relief teachers to cover the continual teacher absences. For this reason, the Department of Education permits schools to release all teachers on one day so that classes do not need to covered and casual relief teachers do not have to be sought.

To minimise disruption in Term 4, School Council has endorsed a Professional Practice Day for all teaching staff on Friday 3 November.  This day adjoins the proposed Student-Free Day (Curriculum Day) on Monday 6 November, as well as Melbourne Cup Day public holiday on Tuesday 7 November. 

This approach provides a midterm break for the children in an 11.5 week term, minimises continual classroom / year level disruption across Term 4 and still provides the staff with the opportunity to develop their practice and focus on their curriculum planning and assessment across these days.

The OSHC program will be fully operational on Friday 3 November and Monday 6 November. Announcements regarding the program on these days will follow, in due course. 

Are your children getting enough sleep?

Some children are reporting that they do not get to sleep until quite late at night. 

Educational and scientific research tells us that a good night’s sleep is essential for learning. A good night’s sleep helps children concentrate, learn effectively, remember things, and behave well. Poor sleeping patterns or a lack of restful sleep has a significant impact upon a child’s development both educationally and socially. In summary, tired children do not learn well or behave well.

Effective learning at school requires children to be well rested and for their brains to be active and alert. Well rested children engage in learning activities better, are able to think clearly and then apply it to their learning. Also, children that have had the appropriate amount of sleep are happy at school and do not get tired as the day progresses.

Good sleep is critical in children’s growth and development. Research tells us that children who do not get enough sleep on a consistent basis are more likely to have problems at school and develop more slowly than others that are getting enough sleep.

Children between 3-5 years need about 12 hours sleep and from 5-12 year about 11 hours. Therefore, if your child in Prep needs to wake up at 7.30am to get ready for school, the child needs to be in bed by 7.30pm to get the right amount of sleep to help their development.

I know that we may all have different routines at home for our children, but I urge you to seriously consider the need for your children to have more sleep. Even if you believe that your children are doing well at school and they are managing even though they go to bed late, imagine how well they could be doing at school if they received the appropriate amount of sleep.

Here are some useful tips:

  • Have a bedtime routine
    • Have a light snack 
    • Take a bath. 
    • Put on pyjamas. 
    • Brush teeth. 
    • Read a story. 
    • Make sure the room is quiet and at a comfortable temperature. 
    • Put your child to bed.
    • Say goodnight and leave.
  • Make bedtime the same time every night. 
  • Make bedtime a positive and relaxing experience without TV or videos. According to one recent study, TV viewing prior to bed can lead to difficulty falling and staying asleep. Save your child’s favourite relaxing, non-stimulating activities until last and have them occur in the child’s bedroom.
  • Keep the bedtime environment (e.g. light, temperature) the same all night long.

For additional information please follow this link:  Sleep and Learning. 

Please note that there are options for languages other than English on this site.

Important Deadlines

As you are aware, you will regularly receive notifications for excursions or events, and they will have a deadline for acceptance, payment, or an expression of interest. These times and dates are made taking into account the steps and procedures that must take place within the school prior to the event. 

There have been occasions when the school has set a deadline and then parents have missed that time and then contacted the provider of the event directly to see if their child can participate. This is totally inappropriate because the provider is not aware of the limitations and reasons for the deadline that we have set. Their information will only create confusion and is inaccurate from the school’s perspective.

My advice to all families is to continue to regularly monitor Compass news feeds and to carefully note specific dates and then check for event updates so that you can confidently meet the set deadlines. In most cases we WILL NOT be able to extend the deadlines for an event and the children will sadly not be able to participate.

Leaving EHPS

Sadly, for a variety of reasons a few children and their families 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 - essex.heights.ps@education.vic.gov.au - 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.

Assembly

Next week our whole school Assembly will be on Tuesday 8 August as part of our Indonesian Day celebrations. There will not be an Assembly on Monday.

Welcome

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

  • Carter B (PL)
  • Van Minh Triet (Alex) G (PH)
  • Yike (Echo) M (3L)
  • Zeyu (Jason) Z (5RL)

I look forward to seeing you around school.

Kindest regards,

George Perini

Principal