Term 1 SWPBS Focus - Responsibility

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.

Welcome to Term One

Welcome to everyone and our return to school at EPS for Term One.  We hope everyone had a great break and was able to enjoy some time with family and friends and reconnecting. School has started back tremendously, it has been wonderful to see all the students transition back into school life quite well. We have also thoroughly enjoyed welcoming our new Prep students and new families into the school.

Term One requires that all students wear a broad brimmed Eppalock PS hat while outside at recess and lunch time. Please check with your child/ren to ensure they have theirs and it is clearly named. Caps and other forms of hats are not part of our school uniform during learning times and students will be asked to take these off and put them away if they are worn at school.  Thanks for your support with this expectation.

Term One is already shaping up to be a busy term so it is very important that families stay connected through the uEducateUs app. We encourage families to have all adults logged into the app to ensure that families stay in the loop regarding events and information from EPS. If families are unsure about how the app works, there is an information session happening after the Open Night on Tuesday the 7^th.

School Captains

At our Friday assembly, we were able to recognise our two school captains for 2023, Annika Hall and Daisy Costello. Not only were they recognised, but both were very keen to lead our first assembly for the year. They did an absolutely wonderful job, showcasing the value of ‘Responsibility’ beautifully.

Message from the School Captains

Annika

Hi! I’m Annika, I’m in grade 6, and I’m one of the school captains for 2023. I’m really excited to be able to have this role, and after trying to get school captain last year – and not – I was really stoked when Mr O told the school that this year ‘Annika’ was one of the captains.

Starting with a bit about myself, I love animals, and I’ve gotten lucky enough to have 5 sheep and my own horse to care for. I also really like any or all sport and have played netball for a few years.

Some of my ideas that I would like to bring into the school include getting more storage for sports equipment (the teachers never stop complaining about the lack of care the sports stuff gets), getting some more student involvement into hobbies and clubs to make a few more leadership opportunities (but as Alicia says, you don’t need a badge to be a leader) and do some fundraisers for the school.

While I miss the new teachers HEAPS, even though it’s only the third day of term 1 when I’m writing this, I really do like the new teachers, and I’m glad we got who we did.

Thanks to anyone who voted for me, bye!

Daisy

Hi, I’m Daisy I am grade 6 and I am one of the new school captains. I’m excited to be a school leader at Eppalock this year because it means I can have more involvement in the school this year and have more leadership opportunities.

I play netball and footy. I have 3 dogs and 14 chooks, I have an older sister who has been school captain twice at Eppalock and an older brother who was house captain. I love spending time outside with the chooks and dogs, and I love reading.

Some ideas that I have is to do a colour run where everyone wears a white T-shirt that they don’t mind getting stained and people have colour powder and throw it at people while they are running. We could also do a kids and parents sport day where everyone’s parents come to school and they would all participate in different sports. Lately, I think that we should do a school talent show!! People who want to participate can and put on a small show for everyone show people their talents.

Thank you to the people who voted me as school captain I’m really appreciative.

Home Reading

It has been a great start to our home reading program, in both Ms S and Mrs G’s room students and families have done a great job ensuring that nightly reading is occurring and reading journals are maintained. We are waiting for reading journals to arrive for Mr T’s class and they will be sent home as soon as we get them.

Reminders

• Tuesday the 7^th at 6PM is Open Night.
• EPS Broad brimmed hats are to be worn at recess and lunch.
• Adults in families are reminded to download the uEducateUs app to their mobile device.
• Please ensure longer hair is tied back each day when coming to school.
• Any changes to regular pick up routines are best communicated via phone and speaking directly to a staff member so that it can be recorded in the after school pick up folder. We cannot always guarantee an email will be seen in time during the day.
• Staff duty of care begins at 8:45am in the morning.

DET Updates

Covid 19 Information

It is recommended that rapid antigen tests (RATs) are used by students and staff:

• If you have symptoms of COVID-19 infection, no matter how mild
• If you are a household or close contact of someone who has COVID-19
• If you are a social contact of someone who has COVID-19.

The Department of Health recommends that all Victorians should report their positive RAT result to the Department of Health online, or by calling 1800 675 398.

What to do if your child tests positive:

1. Parents/carers should complete the Student COVID-19 COVID Test Portal (https://covidtest.educationapps.vic.gov.au) if a student tests positive to COVID-19 (via a PCR or rapid antigen test).
2. Students who report a positive result are recommended to isolate for a minimum of 5 days and not attend school until their symptoms have resolved. Students who isolate because of a positive COVID-19 test should be supported in the same way as students with an extended absence due to illness or injury, with learning materials provided to support their continued learning.
3. There is no longer a requirement for principals to inform the school community of a positive case associated with the school.

Staying safe from mosquitoes

Recent wet and warm weather has increased mosquito breeding. Mosquitoes can carry diseases that may be passed on to people through mosquito bites. A range of mosquito-borne diseases have recently been detected in mosquitoes in northern Victoria.  Mosquito-borne diseases can cause serious illness, including infections of the brain, with children particularly at risk.

The best way to prevent mosquito-borne diseases is to avoid mosquito bites.

In line with community health advice , families can protect against mosquito bites by:

• using insect repellent that contains picaridin or DEET on all exposed skin if outdoors when mosquitoes are observed, from October to March
• wearing long, loose-fitting clothing outdoors if possible if mosquitoes are around and covering exposed skin as much as possible. Summer school uniforms, including polos and shorts, can continue to be worn, but students should use insect repellent on exposed skin if mosquitoes are active
• limiting outdoor activity when mosquitoes are active.

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