Courage/Codes and Crowns- Wellbeing session for students and parents

This is a wonderful opportunity for our school community so if your child is in Grades Three to Six, please sign up for the evening session. If you registered for this event previously, you do not need to re-register. We are aiming to have 100% attendance on the night so please ensure that you capitalise on this opportunity.

The school is paying to have this program run and we would love to have as much as of our community attend this as possible. The date for the parent session is Wednesday the 25^th of February from 6PM.

For females, Please ensure your seats are saved for the evening session by RSVP email to Megan on: https://courageandcrowns.com/eppalock-primary-school-crowns

For the males, Please save this date in your calendars and rsvp via this link: https://courageandcrowns.com/eppalock-primary-school-codes

AFL Tipping Competition

We are running our annual footy tipping competition through the AFL tipping interface. Below is the competition code for all those interested in joining. I was away on Long Service Leave last year so I am unsure of who won the tipping, if you happen to know, please get in touch!

Regardless, we look forward to having people involved in the tipping competition for a bit of fun and friendly banter! Go Pies!

Comp Code: GJSP29OA

School Council Positions

This year, there are three positions to be nominated on our wonderful School Council, all of which are parent positions. Once School Council approves the timeline, 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.

 If you are at all interested, please contact Andrew. Nomination forms can be found at the front office with Nikki.

Crazy Bingo

After chatting with Tan, it sounds like Crazy Bingo was another hit! Thank you to the families who came along and made the night so enjoyable. I have been told of a bit of a follow up tradition of basketball seems to be in development and was another fun aspect of the evening. We hope all who came along enjoyed the evening, shared a laugh and connected with our wider community.

Hobbies and Clubs

Tan is spearheading our Friday afternoon Hobbies and clubs program and has emailed out some communication for all families. If you are at all interested in volunteering, please let Tan know as soon as possible. We look forward to having as many parents come in for this great opportunity.

OSHC Adventures

All families should enrol your child into OSHC Adventures as a precautionary measure in case of emergency as staff duty of care finishes at 3:45PM. Students are not able to be accepted into the OSHC Adventures program without relevant paperwork being completed prior to a child attending. OSHC Adventures operates 5 days a week from 3:15 to 6PM. If families are unable to collect children by 3:30, students will be sent to the OHSC program. More information can be found on their website:

https://oshcadventures.com.au/enrol-now

NAPLAN

The NAPLAN test window starts on Wednesday 11th March 2026 and finishes on Monday 23rd March 2026. Over the coming weeks, students will become familiar with the testing platform and features. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Andrew directly.

Visitors and Volunteers- Working with Children Check and Red Lanyard

All visitors (except when at assembly) and volunteers MUST have a current Working With Children Check. This is in line with our Visitors and Volunteers policies. All visitors and volunteers must have the check and be signed in at the front office, once this is complete, visitors and volunteers will receive a red lanyard. We would encourage all family members to have an up to date Working With Children’s check.

Updating Student’s Medical History

We would like all families to update their child’s medical records to ensure that we have all relevant and updated information to begin 2026. This form has been sent home and we are asking that families complete it and send it back as soon as possible.

Many thanks,
Andrew

P/1- Cloe.F - Cloe has consistently demonstarated our class expectations and takes initiative to help others. Cloe has had an excellent start to Grade One.

2/3/4- Sarah.H - For showing resilience at the start of the new school year and for being a great assistant by kindly helping others.

4/5/6- lachlan -  Lachlan has had a great start to Grade Six, showcasing his skills as a leader and role model. He has been consistently demonstrating our school values and trying his best.  He should be proud of himself. 
             

                       Watjarang  

                                  Yuliwil    

                                               Bunjil   

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.

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