Courage and Crowns- Wellbeing session for students and parents

This term, we are partnering up with Courage and Crowns to bring a student and parent wellbeing session to EPS. Below is some information about the program.

Through practical tools and real conversations, students build emotional awareness, boost confidence, and strengthen friendships—all while improving focus and wellbeing in a fast-paced world. By nurturing self-compassion and healthy ways of thinking, young people are better equipped to handle life’s ups and downs – at school, at home, and with their peers

Our daytime session for the girls has a focus on kindness to others, and is your schools kickstarter for creating change for your girls in the school yard. Think: less conflict, less bickering, more kindness, connection and celebrating differences.

Our Courage & Codes program helps young men in Australia develop a strong sense of self-worth and respect. It teaches them to honor themselves, their mates, women, and the world around them.

Our evening sessions provides parents and students with wonderful connecting moments, and empowers them to be young people who know what to do with their feelings and therefore know what to do in the challenges that life brings. The evening sessions hold powerful learnings in emotional intelligence, the foundation for a successful and connected life.

The date for the parent session will be Wednesday the 10^th of December at 6PM with more information to come. We would love to see as many families as possible attend this session so please mark your calendars now.

Please see the flyers at the end of this report

Swimming Week

Just a reminder that our swimming program is this week. Students will need:

• appropriate swimming attire
• towel
• drink bottle
• goggles/swim caps if required
• underwear
• bag for wet clothes

 Please ensure students have underwear packed to change into. Also, please send along a bag to put wet clothes into after swimming. On Thursday, please pack spare t-shirt/shorts for the swimming program as they will wear these in the water. Please note, due to time constraints, students are not permitted to shower afterwards as we have limited time in the change rooms.

Family Survey

We have had 11 families respond to the survey and we would love to get more input. The survey will remain open for one more week only. We would love to know about various aspects at our school, specifically volunteering, the physical school grounds and student reports. We are asking all families to complete the survey as this will help inform decision making and support the development of a plan to improve our grounds.

https://forms.gle/eY4i6D9fkWRHMU9NA

Movember

Thanks to the families who have donated for this cause already, it is appreciated. Together we can make a difference for men's health – in prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention. Help me stop men dying too young. Although my wife and children are not overly enthused by the new moustache, it is a wonderful opportunity to raise funds for a great cause. If you can donate, please use the QR code to donate to this cause.

OSHC Adventures 2026

We are pleased to announce that we were successful in an application for funding for our OSHC program to continue running for 2026. We encourage all families to register for OSHC Adventures through their website in case of emergency as there is information needed prior to a student attending.

Student Pick Up- Duty of Care

If parents are requesting their child be taken home by another family, the school must be informed of this. Please ensure that you have rung the school and informed us of any changes of student pick up.

Rabbits in Sand Pit

The rabbits have moved out of our sandpit for the time being. This area will remain out of bounds until we can be 100% positive that there are no rabbits there. We are asking that students and families do not go digging in this area until further notice.

Report Writing Day- Monday 1^st

In two weeks, we are having a student free day for report writing.

Lost Property

Our lost property tub is very full. Can all families please look through this tub as there are lots of items without names that may be your child’s.

2026 Student Leadership Process

Student leadership speeches will take place on Friday, December 5th. This event is designed as an internal school gathering, so we will not be able to host families on this occasion.

P/1- Zave.A - He has been trying his best while finding the difference between numbers during Maths. He has been working hard, concerntrating and perservering when something is challenging. 

2/3/4-  Cooper.H -  For his improved effort across all subjects. He has shown a noticable increase in dedication and focus, especially during Writing lessons. It's been wonderful to see him working with a growth mindset and positive attitude. 

4/5/6- Izaak.W -  He has confidently and proudly presented his work to the class twice over the past week.

             

                       Watjarang  547

                                  Yuliwil    513

                                               Bunjil   573

Permission Notes
Athletics - uEducateUs - Whole school 
Cross Country - uEducateUs - 3-6 students

Both 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 



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 






 
                                                                     

Make sure to Follow our dedicated Eppalock Mango Fundraiser Facebook Page for more information and to stay up to date! 

Please call the school on 5439 6366 if you need assistance.

Hi All,

The kids are well and truly settled in and ready for an exciting final term for 2025!

In wellbeing, the classrooms are diving back into Respectful Relationships, and are focusing on Positive Coping, where students develop language around coping, critically reflect on their coping and strategies and extend their repertoire of positive coping strategies.

While we have moved on from Friendology this term, we will revisit some components throughout the term, and when the need arises. We encourage families to do the same! A great one to know and to talk about is Friendship Fires: those little disagreements that can be normal in a healthy friendship (even as adults!). Grades 2-6 have explored this, and use this language often to talk about conflicts that happen in the yard.

You can read a great blog post about it here:

https://urstrong.com/resource/friendship-fire-or-mean-on-purpose/

There is also a fantastic visual that explains some strategies for Friendship Fires and Mean on Purpose:

Until next time!

Kellie

• 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