PO Box 305, Mt Eliza 3930 – Phone 9787 1385 Newsletter is available on the web site address :

www.mtelizaps.vic.edu.au on the web site

29th April, 2021

DIARY Term 2

May

Mon 3rd Mothers / Friends Morning – 8.45am to 9.30am

Tue 4th Prep Tour – 9.30am

Wed 5th Grade 4 Phillip Island Camp departs Prep Tour – 9.30am

Thu 6th Prep Tour – 9.30am

Fri 7th Grade 4 Phillip Island Camp returns

Mon 10th Prep Tour – 9.15am Whole School Assembly – 2.30pm School Council Meeting – 7.15pm Staff Room

Tue 11th Prep Tour – 9.30am NAPLAN Testing – 11th to 14th May

Thu 13th Grades 1 and 2 Scienceworks Excursion

Fri 14th Whole School Cross Country

Tu 18th Prep Tour – 9.30am

Mon 24th Whole School Assembly PTA Meeting – 7.00pm in the Staff Room

Tue 25th Prep Tour – 9.30am

Tue 25th GRIP Leadership Conference – Grade 6

June

Tue 1st Prep Tour – 9.30am

Mon 7th Whole School Assembly School Council Meeting – 7.15pm

Tue 8th Prep Tour – 9.30am

Fri 11th Grade 6 Winter Lightning Premiership

Mon 14th Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday

Tue 15th Prep Tour – 9.30am

Tue 22nd Prep Tour – 9.30am

Camp Australia Before and After School Care is available in the Old School House. To register your child please phone Camp Australia on 1300 105 343. Registration is available online at www.campaustralia.com.au

Uniform Shop

Uniform Shop Opening Hours -

Monday – 8.30am – 11.00am Wednesday – 2.00pm – 4.00pm

Reminder – If you are unable to visit the Uniform Shop in person, uniforms can be ordered from the online portal - https://fcw.com.au/online-shop/mt-eliza-primary-school-online/

Processed orders can be collected from the Uniform Shop during opening hours –

Claire McAvoy Uniform Shop Co-ordinator

Please remember our social distancing requirements.

Principal’s Report

ANZAC COMMEMORATIONS It has been a very memorable week, starting on Sunday where our SRC Leaders, Lily G and Jeremy T, joined me in representing the school at the Mount Eliza ANZAC Day Ceremony in the Village. I was so proud of our Grade 6 leaders who laid a wreath on behalf of the school. Assembly We concluded our ANZAC Day commemorations at our Monday afternoon assembly. Our Communications Leaders did an amazing job leading the assembly. It was inspiring to hear from our guest speaker, ex-Lieutenant Campbell Fehring, who shared stories from his time in East Timor as part of the United Nations operations. Campbell was joined by ex-Private James Farquharson, who is the President of the Mornington RSL.

MEPS Newsletter

Connecting with Mt Eliza Secondary College In promoting connections across our community, we also welcomed the Acting Principal, Mr James Barut, and school leaders, Alex H and Callum M, from Mt Eliza Secondary College to participate in the formalities. Alex and Callum read moving renditions of ‘The Ode’ and ‘In Flanders Fields’. Callum was particularly excited about taking part in our ceremony as he had attended MEPS during his primary school years. It is wonderful to see that he has further developed his leadership skills as Year 12 school captain.

LEADERS IN OUR COMMUNITY MEPS - OzHarvest Victorian Launch School We are absolutely thrilled to have been selected as the Victorian Launch school for the OzHarvest FEAST program (Food Education and Sustainability Training). Through hands on cooking experiences and inquiry-based learning, our Grade 6 students are exploring the role that food plays in our lives and the lives of other people in our wider society, whilst also considering our ecological footprint. Our partnership with OzHarvest is opening the minds and hearts of our students, educating and empowering them as leaders and change makers in our community.

MEPS - Lead School for Respectful Relationships Along with MEPS teachers from Grades 2, 4 and 6, we welcomed assistant principals, wellbeing coordinators and teachers from seven different local schools at our recent professional learning workshop focussing on teaching sexuality education in primary schools. This was facilitated by Kristy Lang, the Respectful Relationships Project Lead for the Bayside Area, and hosted by MEPS as part of our responsibilities as a Respectful Relationships Lead School. It is important to note how our staff are respected as leaders in this area.

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS PTA I wanted to personally thank the PTA for their enthusiasm and energy. It has been a delight to join these meetings each month and to work closely with various members of the team on connecting our families and organising events. A huge thanks to our Tuesday ‘To-Do’ helpers who have been sensational in making sure that books are covered, resources are organised and things done around the school. It is greatly appreciated by students and staff alike!

Mothers and Special Friends Event “My mum is special because she goes out in the sunshine with me.” Georgia, Prep We are thrilled to be able to welcome mothers, grandmothers and special friends on Monday morning, 3 May. Gates open at 8.30am, then please join your child/ren in class from 8.45am - 9.30am. For contact tracing purposes, you will need to sign in at each classroom either on the sign-in sheet or via the QR code. “My mum is special because she makes my favourite dinner.” Liam, Prep

Prep 2022 Enrolment and Tours During Term 2, we are holding Principal tours of the school every Tuesday. Additional tours have now been added due to the high demand. Please see the flyer later in the newsletter for dates and times. I am thrilled to announce that we will also be holding a special Twilight Tour on Thursday 20 May, commencing at 6.00pm. Prospective families are invited to join the Prep teachers and me to see the school from a different perspective and to find out more about Prep.

Enjoy the lovely weather this weekend. Kind regards, Kim Wheeler Principal

PTA Report

Mothers’ & Special Friends’ Stall We are so excited to announce that our ‘Mothers & Special Friends’ Stall is back for 2021! I’m sure the children will be very excited to look at some of the wonderful items on offer and choose something special to surprise you with. The children really do enjoy visiting our pop-up stall and carefully consider every purchase. As an added bonus, our stall supports the school as well.

If you have items that could be donated, they would be greatly appreciated. All donations can be left at the front office any time between now and Monday, 3rd May. **HELP WANTED** Volunteers are needed to help wrap gifts purchased by the students from our stall. No experience is required. We have a very relaxed and social time. If you are free and are able to help with any of the below shifts, please contact Joanne Patterson with your preferred time, either by email or text; jorosspatterson@gmail.com or 0407537775

Shift times to be filled Tuesday 9:00am – 10:30am Tuesday 11:00am – 12:30pm Wednesday 9:00am – 10:30am Wednesday 11:00am – 12:30pm Thursday 9:00am – 10:30am Thursday 11:00am – 12:30pm

To-Do Tuesday & Second-Hand Uniforms Unfortunately, due to the ‘Mothers & Special Friends’ Stall running from May 4 to May 6 we will not be running To-Do-Tuesday or Second-Hand Uniforms sales this coming Tuesday, 4th May. However, we will be back the following week – Tuesday, 11th May. We look forward to seeing you then.

Joanne Patterson PTA President

SRC Report - ANZAC DAY BADGES Thank you to everyone who bought ANZAC badges from our SRC who were selling them during last week on behalf of the RSL. We are very proud to have raised $1000. Thank you again for your support

SRC

STUDENT ABSENCES - 0439 454 239 (Please SMS only)

NOTE: When reporting your child’s absence please remember to state your child’s name AND Grade and the reason for your child’s absence

Remember - please notify us by text only 0439 454 239 by 9.00am

“The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.”

Scholastic Book Club Scholastic Book Club catalogues have been distributed this week for Issue 3, Term 2.

Please place orders online only through LOOP at scholastic.com.au/LOOP by Friday, 7th May.

Note: Please do not send cash payments for Book Club to the school. Carina Thomas Book Club Co-ordinator

A ‘Twilight’ Prep Tour will be held on Thursday, 20th May. Stay tuned!

Thank you to the following sponsor for supporting our Newsletter

Community Notice

Community Notice