EPS Newsletter Week 4 Term 3


FROM THE PRINCIPAL Term 3 Week 4

29/07/2022

Term 2 SWPBS Focus - Resilience

Kindness, Responsibility, Resilience.

School Vision:

Our school’s vision is to prepare young people to become active, engaged and responsible citizens of the local and global community. 

  • We will provide a safe, calm and welcoming learning environment where every child is treated as an individual.
  • We will develop children who have a strong relationship to school and their community. The children will have a sense of self & understand how they learn.
  • We will build and support an open, healthy and welcoming community that is visible in its practical support for the learning and wellbeing of each child. Children will be encouraged to embrace and celebrate difference and they will experience positive interactions with adults.
  • We aim to foster a love of and for our natural environment and nurture a strong sense of stewardship within our students.  Eppalock PS prioritises environmental sustainability.

Week 4 Term 3 2022

Last week we had some students head off to play in the Bendigo Primary School Football tournament.  Our students joined with Axedale PS for the event to enable us to play.  It was pleasing to see our students interacting socially with the Axedale PS students and making some connections.  These types of events are important as part of transition to secondary school as it enables our older students to meet some new people and possibly have a familiar face when moving into Year 7.  Later in the year we will have our Athletics Day with Axedale PS and Heathcote PS which is always a fun day.

Thanks to Mr C from Axedale PS for organising the day and supporting our students over the two days.

We have had Nathan and Megan at school the past couple of weeks working as Education Support staff across all classes.  They have done a great job working with students and getting to know them.  Megan is at school for Monday and Friday’s and Nathan is here Mon, Tues and Weds.  They will be here for most of Term 3 to complete their course.  Make them feel welcome if you see them around.

Sue was here on Wednesday for MARC and as part of that day the students participated in the Great Book Swap.  Students were able to purchase a second hand book for a gold coin donation.  This was a great idea and a great way to pass on old reading material to others who might enjoy them.  Thanks to everyone who donated some books to this great cause.  Sue was implementing this activity in all of the small schools that she visits during the week and was excited about the involvement of all students.  Our Bookweek Dress Up Day this year will be in Wednesday September 7th.

It is important to remember that staff duty of care operates from 8:45am-9:00am in the morning and from 3:15pm-3:30pm in the afternoon.  Students at school before these times are not supervised in the yard and should not be dropped at school too early for Child Safety reasons, unless they are attending a scheduled and advertised Breakfast Club session.  Please contact the school if you need any support in this area.

Our school PA reward system is going well.  The Disco jar is filling fast and is almost at the point of completion.  At different times your child might bring home a PA (positive acknowledgement card) as part of our School Wide Positive Behaviours program in place at school.  Ask them about it, what school values did they show?  Ask them about the process at school of what happens next?

Reminders

  • Tying back of long hair. It is important that all students with longer hair, have it tied back when attending school.  Now that mullets are back, this may be a more common requirement for all students.  Please communicate this with your child/ren if they have longer hair.  A simple hair tie is all that is required to ensure it is tied back during the school day.
  • Please ensure all school items are labelled clearly. This includes drink bottles as they are sometimes taken o excursions and out of school activities.  A clear label will usually ensure it being returned.
  • Pie Warmer takes place every Wednesday this term. Students can bring along a food item that can be warmed up in a pie warmer to eat for lunch.  Please make sure it is clearly named and students know what they have.

Our Patch

Our new daily supervisors are working hard to try and attract some more numbers to After School Care each day.  After School Care is not just for those families that work after school hours and need care, anyone can use it on a casual basis or as an after school activity.  There is a range of activities the group has access to each night.  Our Patch is also looking to offer specialist activities of interest once the numbers grow.  Dance is currently being offered on a Tuesday night.  If you have any questions about After School Care, check out the Our Patch Website.

Emergency Drill

On Tuesday we completed an evacuation drill at school.  All classes spoke about what was happening and why we were doing it to ensure understanding of the procedure.  Our emergency evacuation point was the bottom of the oval which works very well.  All classes moved calmly and efficiently to the space on the day.  You may be prompted at home by the students about your home evacuation plan as they may have some questions.  Do you have your own family emergency procedure at home?

Camps coming up

Our ¾ Group will be off to Campaspe Downs for a 2 night camp in August.  This will be their first extended camp for some time and the first time for a while that Eppalock PS has provided a camp at the ¾ level without the 5/6 students attending.  This camp is made possible through the Positive Start program which is providing low cost camps and excursions to Victorian School Students this year.

Shortly after our ¾ camp, our 5/6 group will be off to Halls Gap for a 2 night camp.  This is another camp made possible through the Positive Start Program.

In November our 3-6 students will be attending Camp Wilkin in Anglesea for 2 nights.  This camp is not covered through the Positive Start program and was already booked in with a deposit paid last year.  We are currently in the process of trying to find additional funding support to help reduce the cost of this camp for families.  If you know of any groups that might be able to contribute some funds please contact the school to let us know.  Cost of camps have increased in price in recent years and will also include transport so any additional funds will be appreciated and acknowledged.

HDFL Clean up

One of the opportunities we have to raise some funds for the camp is the clean up on the Sunday after the HDFL Grand Final.  It is Father’s Day, which is super important, however if you can spare a couple of hours in the morning of that day to help clean up at the Huntly Football Ground we would love your help.  School will receive $1000 to clean up after the Grand Final.  The more hands we have the quicker the job will get done.

School Items for removal

We have a few larger, awkward items sitting in the school grounds which would be great if they were able to be taken away by one of our families.  If you have some time and maybe a trailer please contact the school to see if you can help out.  Mr O’Neill can talk with you about what needs to be done.  One of these is the large worm farm near the old school building.  If you would like to make use of it at your property, let us know.

Gym

We have two more sessions of Gym remaining.  These sessions have been a lot of fun each Friday.



IMPORTANT DATES Term 3 Week 4

JULY

Wednesday 27th - MARC Van 

Friday 29th - Gym 

AUGUST

Friday 5th - Gym 

Wednesday 10th - MARC Van 

Friday 12th - Gym

Wednesday 24th - MARC Van 

Monday 22nd - 3/4 Camp (Return 24th)

Monday 29th - 4/5/6 Camp (Return 31st)

SEPTEMBER 

Wednesday 7th - Book Week 

Friday 16th - Last Day of Term - 1.30pm Finish (Casual clothes day)

AWARDS - Term 3 Week 4

  Watjarang 454

  Yuliwil       398

  Bunjil        499
  1st     -  4/5/6

  2nd    -   2/3

  3rd     -  P/1
  P/1     Dakota.M

  2/3      Charlotte.V

  4/5/6  Eddie.M


PARENT COMMUNITY NEWS TERM 3 WEEK 4

Get your callendars out for a family friendly social event.

Friday September 9th!
Fire & sausage sizzle at the school to celebrate Father's Day & Footy Colours Day.


Term 3 Social Events
Family social - Fire & Sausage sizzle after school on Friday 9th September starting from 2:30pm. Come & celebrate Father's Day & Footy Colours day with a kick of the footy and a sausage in bread around the fire.


Adults Social - Trivia night  & dinner at One Tree Hill pub on a Wednesday night in Term 3. It's a great atmosphere, & generous meals, as well as catering for those who normally work weekends.
What other activities would you like to see come out of our community?

If you have some input, or feedback please message me on face book or email knunnseps@outlook.com

Parent Community Meetings - 
Last meeting we worked on term 3 Fundraisers & Social events.
Details in social events & below

Term 3 Fundraiser 
Mango Drive - Lydia Ferring has offered to be our farm contact again & create the flyer. Thank you, Lydia!

 We are looking for one or two volunteers for this one please.
  • Someone to manage the orders, which involves the use of the Mango Drive e-mail account & a spread sheet.
  • The other to manage the face book page, pretty much adding the flyer on the page & updating with a post once a week, recipes, a countdown closer to the pick-up date etc.
If you think you could help out with this in term 3, please contact Kelly Nunns, Lydia Fehring, Alicia Martin via messenger or e-mail, or Nikki Mannes in the office



What’s Parent Community all about?
The best news is you don't have to join, if you have children at the school, you are already part of our Parent Community. 

Basically, once a month we meet up & look at what social events & fundraisers we would like to achieve throughout the year.

Simple tasks like showing up or being the contact for a gathering, to booking the bowling club or organizing sausages or bread are typically as hard as it gets.

Meetings are held in the old school building, staff room or at the pub & always involve a chat & either a cuppa or lunch depending on time or location.

For more information talk to Kelly Nunns (Lexi and Ethan's Mum) or Alicia Martin (Connor, Jacob & Max's Mum) or Nikki in the office (Charlie's Mum).

Parent Community Reminders & Dates to Remember
Social Events

Family Fire & Saussage sizzle - after school on Thursday 9th September starting at 2:30pm further details to come.

Trivia at One Tree Hill - date to be confirmed - it will be a Wednesday night in term 3.

Fundraiser
Mango drive - August-October dates to be confirmed

ASC - Dancing Tuesdays

Dancing Tuesdays
Commencing Tuesday 26th July ( Incorrect date on Flyer)

Scholastic BOOK CLUB