Welcome to 2024

We would like to welcome back all families and students back to EPS for the 2024 school year. We trust that everyone had a great holiday and spent some time recharging their batteries for this year. We have started the school year brilliantly and we are all very excited to be working with students and families across 2024.

School Captains 2024

At our Friday assembly, we were able to announce and present our school captains their badges and celebrate their appointment to the roles. A big congratulations to Frankie and Jordin! We all can agree, they both did an impeccable job leading their first assembly. We look forward to seeing Frankie and Jordin lead our school in 2024, well done!

Hats and Drink Bottles

It was great to see almost all students arriving to school with a broad brimmed, Eppalock Primary School hat to wear outdoors. Please ensure that your child’s hat is clearly named in case it does get misplaced. The warm weather is well and truly sticking around so also please make sure that your child/ren come to school with a clearly named drink bottle that is filled with water.

Thank You Helpers

As mentioned at assembly, a huge thank you to all the families who put their hands up to help out around the school over the summer holidays. The strong Eppalock community spirit is truly alive and well and we would like to thank all of you for helping weeding, feeding the chooks, watering or any other jobs.

Home Reading Program

Our home reading program begins today and all classroom teachers have discussed the routines for home reading. Although the programs and day-to-day operations may differ from room to room, the expectation of home reading is consistent across the school. If families would like any support with ways in which they can support their children with home reading, please feel free to contact the classroom teachers.

Start Up Interviews

We are having our start up interviews on Wednesday, February 14^th. Interviews can be booked via the uEducateus platform from Monday the 5^th at 5PM. We are running interviews from 12PM-6PM on the Wednesday so please ensure that you book a spot to have a chat with your child’s classroom teacher.

Community Night- Crazy Bingo

A quick plug for our first community gathering this Friday the 9^th in the Serentiy Garden. Bring your own dinner/drinks and chairs but be ready for a whirlwind of fun. Please check the Parent Club Page for more information.

Parent Club 2024

We would like to recognise Alicia Martin for all her hard work across 2023, we appreciate everything you did while steering the ship of Parent Club. We are very excited to announce that Jen Toose has volunteered for the position for 2024 and will be supported by Alicia and many other families who are familiar with the position.

School Council Positions

This year, there are six positions to be nominated on our wonderful School Council. There are four parent positions as well as two community positions. Once the timeline is approved by School Council, the dates will be posted in the newsletter. We would encourage family members who are interested to self-nominate when the forms are posted. Each member brings their own valuable life skills and knowledge to the role. However, councillors may need to develop skills and acquire knowledge in areas that are unfamiliar to them. It is important to have an interest in your child’s school and the desire to work in partnership with others to help shape the school’s future.

3-6 Urban Camp

The camp will be from Wednesday, June 5^th to Friday, June 7^th. A uEducateUs permission note has been created, if your child is intending on going, please give permission as soon as possible. We are requesting $100 initial payment be made between today and Friday the 16^th of February 2024 via the MySchoolConnect app.

Out of School Hours Care- OSHC Adventures

We are very fortunate to have received a grant to run OHSC program out of the old school building. Our wonderful OSHC teacher, Nadine, does a brilliant job with our after-school care program. We are encouraging all families to jump online and sign up, regardless of if you are planning on using it, just in case your child needs after school care. While the process does not take too long, it would ensure that if anything does pop up, your child can be place in after school care.

Please note that classroom teachers have duty of care until 3:30PM on school days and can not provide supervision for students after this time.

School Student Broadband Initiative

The Australian Government has established the School Student Broadband Initiative to provide free home internet for one year for up to 30,000 eligible families with school-aged students. The initiative aims to boost education opportunities. NBN Co is leading the rollout of this initiative across the country.

How the School Student Broadband Initiative can help your child

Children who can access online learning at home as part of their education are more likely to engage in classroom activities.

Access to fast internet at home can also support children to build their digital skills, learn how to safely use the internet and take part in a world that is more reliant on digital technology.

Eligibility

To be eligible, families must:

• have a child living at home enrolled in an Australian school in 2023
• not have an active National Broadband Network internet service at their home* (having a mobile internet service does not affect eligibility)
• live in a premises that can access the National Broadband Network through a standard connection. NBN Co will check this for you after you apply
• register interest with your school and complete a consent form to be assessed for eligibility.

*If an address has been disconnected within 14 days prior to an eligibility check – the address will be classified as ineligible. There may be cases where exceptions can be made, please contact the School Student Broadband Initiative team at SSBI@education.vic.gov.au to discuss further.

How the School Student Broadband Initiative works

If you are eligible, your home internet service will be provided at no cost for one year with a participating internet provider over the National Broadband Network. Each internet provider has its own step-by-step process to get you connected, which may involve you providing identification.

Once you sign up, the internet provider will help you set up your connection. The initiative does not include devices such as a computer or tablet. Other members of your household can use the internet service provided through this initiative.

The one-year period will start from the day your service is activated with your chosen provider. At the end of the one-year period, you will not be placed onto a paid service by your internet provider without your consent. The Australian Government is considering options beyond the one-year free period.

How to apply

• Ask your school for a copy of the School Student Broadband Initiative consent form.
• Complete the consent form and return to the school.
• NBN Co will use student address details on the consent form to confirm eligibility.
• If you are eligible, NBN Co will issue a voucher for your family to use to sign up with a participating internet provider. This will be provided to you by your school.

Please note: NBN Co will review the home address for eligibility. No personal information other than your main home address will be shared with NBN Co. Please see the consent form for details about how personal information will be used.

Find out more

For more information about the School Student Broadband Initiative, visit https://www.infrastructure.gov.au

It’s on again! Eppalock’s Annual Crazy Bingo Community Night.

FRIDAY 9th FEBRUARY 2024, 6pm for a 7pm start.

Its loads of fun for the whole family and a great way to meet new people in your community.

Bring along 2 small gifts per person who wishes to play (adults can get involved too).

The gifts can be as crazy as you like, inexpensive is best, wrap them up, newspaper is fine (eg ball, toilet roll,bubbles, key ring, zucchini, soup, can of beans etc or a small chocolate/lolly).

We play a huge outdoor game of bingo with a crazy twist.

Bring your own picnic tea, drinks and chairs.

See Alicia Martin 0439 691 767 or Nikki in the office for more detais.

Hope to see everyone there!