Week 8
Welcome to week 8. This term is getting away from us quickly. They say time flies when you are having fun and this term has been just that. But plenty more fun to come!

Basketball
Our school basketball team headed off to the Bendigo Basketball tournament last Friday and played incredibly well, showing great teamwork and determination. Even though we didn’t come away with the win, the students never gave up and did our school proud! Thank you to Jen T and Alicia M who volunteered their time to score each game for us!

Book week

Book Week was full of colour and creativity with students dressing up as their favourite book characters. A big thank you to Sue for organising such fun activities and making the event so special for everyone! And well done to all the parents for doing such a great job organising the amazing costumes.

Father’s day
We hope everyone enjoyed Father’s Day over the weekend, we acknowledge the fathers and father figures who play such an important role in the lives of our children.

Tree Planting Day Reminder
Don’t forget, our Tree Planting Day is this Friday, 12th September! We’re looking forward to getting our hands dirty.

HDFNL clean up
We are looking for as many volunteers as possible to help clean up after the HDFNL Grand Final this Sunday, 14th October. This is a fantastic fundraiser for our school, and with more helpers, it will only take 1–2 hours. The clean-up kicks off at 8:00am, the more hands, the quicker it’s done!

RU OKAY DAY
This Thursday is R U OK? Day, a reminder to check in with the people around us and start conversations that can make a big difference. At school, we’ll be encouraging students and staff to look out for one another, ask “Are you okay?” and really listen, because a simple chat can mean so much. Students can come dressed in Yellow on this day. 

Emergency evacuation
This week, staff and students will be practising an emergency management drill to ensure everyone knows what to do and stays safe in the unlikely (hopefully) event of an emergency.

Parent opinion survey
Reminder to please complete the parent opinion survey. Currently we have 9% completion. We would love to increase that to at least 30%. If you could please spare 15-20 minutes to complete this is would amazing. Link and pin to access the survey was sent via ueducateus.

Have Your Say – Languages in 2026
As we begin planning for 2026, we’d love to hear your thoughts on our school’s Language Program. Your feedback will help us shape a program that best supports our students.

You can share your ideas by scanning the QR code below. Staff and students will also be completing a similar survey, so we can gather a wide range of perspectives.

All feedback is warmly welcomed, thank you for helping us plan ahead!

Mr Barri’s riddle of the week

P/1- Savvy.W - This week, Savvy has been working really hard while creating a detailed plan for her elephant habitat diorama. Savvy is always kind and willing to help others in our classroom.

 
2/3/4-  Scott.T - He is always showing the school values and is very insightful when sharing his thoughts. Scotty has been thriving this term with all of the information report writing and reading of non-fiction texts. 

             
4/5/6- Charle.M - Charlie has been working hard in Maths the past few weeks, applying his prior knowledge to tackle challenging maths tasks with determination and explaining the strategies he has used.

                       Watjarang  396

                                  Yuliwil    420

                                               Bunjil   416

Permission Notes



All payments are to be made on My School Connect unless you plan on using SSB or CSEF. 
Please contact Nikki via email if you would like to use SSB or CSEF 


PIE WARMER WEDNESDAY's is back this Term


2026 Curriculum Contributions and Voluntry Contributions can be pd via MSC.  Thankyou to those that have already paid.  These contributions help to go towards the cost of implementing the programs the students use every day.   
                           

HATS 

Hats are required in TERM 1 and can be purchased via MSC anytime.  We now also have a larger size hat that can be purchased through the MSC site.  
Hats and Beanies will still be required to buy through MY SCHOOL CONNECT until we have no stock on site then we will have hats and beanies available on the new EDUTHREADS uniform store. 


NEW ONLINE UNIFORM STORE

You can now order the new uniforms through here

 https://eduthreads.com.au/collections/eppalock-primary-school 






 
                                                                     

I hope you all had a fabulous holiday and are excited to be back at school. 2026 is a year of change for me as I go part time, sharing the role with Karen Rees. We have lots of new books for the van and are looking forward to getting back to our wonderful schools.

On my off days I’m going to be spending lots of time with my granddaughter Nora. This is a photo of my first day off for 2026… can you see where we went? After many years away I’ll be back at Toddler Reading Time each week at the library and I can’t wait!

Happy Reading, Mrs G ?

LODDON CHILD HEALTH AND WELLBEING LOCAL

INFORMATION SESSIONS BLURB

ADHD What is it and how do I help?

The ADHD brain is different to other brains.  Using video material this session will show you what ADHD is like for your child and provide lots of strategies to help you support their development.  We can also answer questions you have about your child and their behaviour.

Managing Big Feelings

Big feelings include anger, sadness, worry, and distress of any kind are hard to navigate. This session introduces you to the feelings thermometer and will help you understand your own feelings better so that you can help your child with their big feelings.

ASD, What is it and how do I help?

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a condition that affect the social skills, communication and behaviour of a person.  Each person on the spectrum has a different range of issues.  This session will help you to understand the complexity of Autism and how you can pivot your parenting to support your child.

All about anger

Anger is common in children.  This session provides information on what happens in the body and brain when your child is angry.  We also cover triggers for anger and ideas on how to firstly ride out angry feelings, but also how to reduce angry outbursts by using settling strategies through-out the day.

Sleep issues

Sleep is so important for you and your child.  This session gives lots of information about the biology of sleep and ways to support your body as you go into sleep at nighttime.  This includes a sleep routine, exposure to light and technology and setting up a supportive space for sleep.  Ways to help your child settle and get to sleep including strategies for a child who is resisting bedtime is discussed.  It is aimed at children who are in the 2-10 age group rather than babies.

Sensory Processing

Our senses are part of how we engage with the world.  Some people are very sensitive and easily triggered by the world around them.  We can also use our senses to help ourselves calm and settle.  This session introduces you to understanding sensory triggers and using the senses to settle your feelings.

Anxiety and worry in Kids

Anxiety is very common in children.  Understanding what anxiety is and what happens in the body when your child is anxious will help you to support your child to soothe and calm when they are anxious.  This session provides strategies and involved practicing some of these strategies so you can try them at home.

Stop the tech

What happens when your child is on technology a lot of the time?  What affect is this having on their brain?  Technology use is changing our brains as devices are addictive.  This is causing problems for lots of families and children.  There are no simple answers but lots of ideas about what you can try in your household to reduce tech use and offer other ways to engage in life.

Family Rules and consequences

Setting up rules and having consequences can be very hard.  There are lots of reasons why we don’t do this.  Children need to know the rules and have consequences to help them learn to cope with life.  This session will help you to get started or add to your kit bag of rules and consequences.  Having these helps households to enjoy life more.

Parent Mental Health

Parenting is a challenging job.  It is often hard to take care of yourself and your family.  This session explores the challenges of parenting and day to day ways to support yourself in this role.  Having good mental health is really important meeting the demands of parenting.

Supporting Self Esteem

Liking yourself isn’t easy in the world today.  Children and parents are flooded with messages about what they need to be.  This session will help you to understand how you can support your own and your child’s positive feeling about themselves. 

Building Social Skills

The social world and the rules about how it works are hard for some children to understand.  This session will support you to have conversations with your child about healthy relationships, social contact and how to engage with other children.  You will get a chance to try some of the ideas for building up social skills with your child.

Being There

This is a simple session focussing on connecting and relationship with your child as well as helping with their mental health.

PARENT SUPPORT AND EDUCATION SESSIONS
TERM 2, 2026

The Loddon Children’s Health & Wellbeing Local offers free weekly education sessions that address mental health and wellbeing. The sessions are run by a mental health or allied health clinician at the Local.

Sessions are open to any parents or carers of children aged 0-11.   

Why join in?   

• Talk to Local staff about your child.    
• Ask any practical questions you have about parenting now.   
• Gain support for yourself as a parent.   

Where: The Loddon Child and Health Wellbeing Local, 19 Helm St KANGAROO FLAT 3555. Enter via the green porch at the back of the site. 

Dates and topics:  Wednesdays (Face to face) 

If you have any Questions, please contact Annette Clemments on 1800 433 977 Book in via email icfhwlocals@bchs.com.au. Please state your name, your child’s name and the session you wish to attend.

• make more local purchases
• are more invested in our community’s future
• create jobs in your town
• donate more per sales dollar to local nonprofits, events, and teams

• eppalock.ps@education.vic.gov.au
• 5439 6366