Mexican Feast

I would like to thank and acknowledge all the families that helped on Friday to create the amazing Mexican inspired feast for the students. The morning assembly certainly had all laughing with a great performance by Tan and Alicia to set the tone for what was a fantastic day. Whether you donated food, helped cook or were here on the day, dressed in sombreros, ponchos and wearing moustaches, thank you for providing the experience for our students.

Hobbies and Clubs

The first of our three Hobbies and Clubs programs kicked off on Friday with a bang! The activities that were on offer were marvellous, helping our students learn a new skill and enjoying learning many new skills. Thanks to all who have given up their time to support this program, it was fantastic!

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

This Wednesday, we have Megan and Matt coming to school for a wellbeing session during the day followed by a family session during the evening. 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

School Council Positions- Calling for Nominations

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.

• Monday 23rd February 2026 - Notice of election and call for nominations
• Friday 27th February 2026 - Closing date for nominations
• Monday 2nd March 2026 - The date by which the list of candidates and nominators will be posted (if a vote is needed)
• Tuesday 3^rd March 2026 - The date by which ballot papers will be prepared and distributed (if needed)
• Monday 23rd March 2026 - Close of ballot
• Tuesday 24th March 2026 – Vote Count & Declaration of poll
• Thursday, March 26th March 2026 – AGM (6PM) to elect office bearers (the Principal will preside). This is followed by the first council meeting (6:30PM)

5 Year Grounds Plan Meeting

This Friday, after assembly, Parents Club and School Council members are invited to meet in the Old School Building after assembly to discuss the 5-year grounds plan. This plan has been a collaborative effort, taking on board survey data from last years Google Survey. The plan is driven by this data, collected from students, staff and families about the school grounds. If anyone would like to attend the meeting, please stick around after assembly and we will meet around 9:20ish.

Changes in Student Pick Up After School

If there is a late change to how your child is to be collected, please call the school to ensure that this communication is received. This will ensure that we have received the message. The phone line does get busy in the afternoon so please call the school with any changes as early as possible.

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

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

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.

P/1- Hannah.H - Hannah has consistently shown respect and kindness, coming to school with a positive attitude and ready to try her best.


2/3/4- Levi.R - Levi has been thinking deeply in class and has written a wonderful story. 


 4/5/6- Houston.P -  Houston has been persisting during math sessions and has worked hard to confidently and independently solve subtraction equations that involve the renaming of hundreds, tens and ones. Houston has shown positive growth and should be very proud of himself.  

                       Watjarang  40

                                  Yuliwil  47  

                                               Bunjil   43

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

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