Welcome Back

Welcome back to Ivanhoe East Primary School. I hope that you had a great summer holiday and were able to spend some quality time with family and friends. I would also like to acknowledge the recent Chinese New Year celebrations marking the Year of the Rabbit. It was a fantastic day on Tuesday with the return of all students. Everyone settled in very well and there was a great buzz in the school yard throughout the day. I would like to officially welcome all of our 2023 Foundation parents to the Ivanhoe East Community and hope that day 1 of school for your child was everything they hoped it could be.

I would like to acknowledge the dedication shown by our staff over the school holidays to spend time at school to ensure that the classrooms were prepared for students to ensure that learning could commence right from day one.

Infectious Disease

COVID Safe measures have changed, but all Victorian government schools are required to continue to implement important practices to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. We continue to take the important steps of ensuring air purifiers are in use, external ventilation is maximised, good personal hygiene is encouraged, and face masks continue to be made available for staff, students and visitors who wish to wear them.

If your child does test positive for COVID-19 it is recommended that they isolate for a minimum of 5 days and not attend school until their symptoms have resolved.

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.

Rapid Antigen Tests are also available from the front office, please don’t hesitate to come in and collect as needed. Furthermore, they are available from local council sites. People can get 2 free packs (10 tests) for themselves and 2 free packs (10 tests) for each of their household members.

Please note: if your child tests positive to COVID-19 we would greatly appreciate it if you could communicate this to us in a timely manner so we can act accordingly.

Anaphylaxis

We have a number of children across the school that are anaphylactic to a range of different foods. At IEPS we do not ban any food at school, however, due to the high percentage of students with anaphylaxis that have severe reactions to different nuts, we ask that you consider other options to nuts and nut spreads in your child’s lunchbox. A further strategy that we utilise to reduce the chance of students having an adverse reaction to foods is that we ask that there is no sharing of food. Families pack their child’s lunchboxes with the intention of their own child consuming the products in there, so it is not appropriate for students to be sharing or swapping any items within it. Instead, we encourage students to take home uneaten items so that parents can be informed about what has or hasn’t been eaten. Thank you for your support and understanding.

Entry into School Buildings

All parents and visitors must sign in at the school office when entering school buildings during the day. At the beginning and end of the school day, all parents are asked not to enter the school buildings. This reduces congestion, prevents distractions to our students and is essential to our Child Safety practices.

Getting to Know You Interviews

Our getting to know you interviews are an opportunity for you to meet your child’s 2023 classroom teacher and discuss anything that you would like your child’s classroom teacher to know related to your child’s social, emotional and academic learning.

These interviews have a 10-minute time slot and will be held over two Wednesday evenings on the 1^st of March and the 8^th of March from 4pm – 7pm. The bookings for these interviews will open closer to the date and will be communicated with the wider community over the coming weeks.

School Hats

In Term 1 all students are required to wear school hats from the commencement of Term. If you need to buy a new one, please visit the PSW, speak to the office regarding our second hand uniforms and/or check our lost property tubs. We have a ‘no hat no play’ policy, therefore if your child doesn’t have a hat they will be directed to sit in the shade at recess and lunchtime.

Assemblies

School assemblies will take place on Friday mornings at 9.05 am in the gymnasium. These assemblies will be run by our Year 6 Leaders and we welcome the wider community to attend. Our first assembly for the year will be this Friday and we will have a special mention welcoming our 2023 Foundation students to IEPS.

Communications

Communication is vitally important for any school community.  All communication at IEPS will predominantly feature in our weekly community bulletin, all events and class related information as well as whole school reminders will flow through our Compass platform. If you have misplaced your log in details please contact the office and they will be able to assist you.

In terms of student learning, we will once again be using the See-Saw app. You will receive information from your child’s classroom teacher this Friday, so please keep an eye out so you can set up your account and be able to keep up to date with your child’s learning.

We also have a community Instagram page that is run by members of the teaching community. This account will post frequently and promote and celebrate the range of learning across the school. As well as promote and celebrate events happening across the school, showcase incursions/excursions/learning expo’s/special guests and provide reminders to the school community. If you haven’t already, please follow us @ivanhoeeastprimaryschool

Curriculum & Professional Practice Days

The following dates for Professional Practice Days and Curriculum Days have been approved by School Council for 2023 (in addition to the use of the state-wide Curriculum Day on Friday 27th January) are:

2023 Curriculum Days

• Friday, 27^th January (Term One)– Setting up for Success Day 1
• Monday, 30^th January (Term One)– Setting up for Success Day 2
• Monday 24^th April (Term Two)– AIP initiatives
• Monday, 10^th July (Term Three)– AIP initiatives

2023 Professional Practice days

• Friday 10^th March (Term One) – Curriculum & Assessment
• Monday 6^th November (Term Four) Teacher Moderation and Report Writing Day

All of the dates listed above are Student Free days at IEPS. OSHClub will be able to provide a service on these days. Reminders of these dates will be sent out throughout the year and will feature in our ‘for your diaries’ section of the bulletin.

PTFA

With such a great buzz around the school on Tuesday morning I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to let everyone know about a number of roles available for parents to become involved with the school community this year.

We have an active Parents, Teachers and Friends committee (that put on the prep coffee van yesterday).  A number of the parents on that committee have children in the final years of school and have indicated their intention to retire from the committee.

A perfect time for some renewals on the committee!

We need an active community of parents, to take on roles such as:

• PTFA President
• PTFA Treasurer
• PTFA Secretary
• PTFA Class rep liaison
• PTFA committee members across the year levels

The time commitment is a committee meeting each term and assistance with planning for events you nominate to help with.  You can also get involved in specific events and fundraisers such as: Welcome bbq, School disco, Gala function, Mothers and Fathers day stalls and events or as a class rep.

Please fill out the following google form if you are interested. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScNUyu_2yrJESc0vyG3F4kNDKw02F7If4t3Qg3fvLCFEGX0jg/viewform?usp=sf_link

Thank you in advance and we greatly appreciated our community being involved with our school events.

School Council

Information regarding the 2023 School Council election process was sent to families via Compass later next week. I would encourage any interested parent to contact me for more information. School council is an extremely vital part of the school, and it is from council that we take our direction. Council approves external contracts, provides advice and consent on a range of areas, and oversees school finance. Please look out for this if you think you may be interested in nominating or being nominated. Information includes a timeline and summary of the role of School Council.

2023 Parent Payments Reminder

Parent payments help the school to operate effectively. IEPS provides a significant range of programs, resources and learning opportunities that cannot be delivered without the optional support of families. We would like to thank the parents that have already made these payments. Payments are still being processed and can be made through the Compass App and/or directly at the office.

For Your Diaries

February 9^th  – Year 6 Camp Parent Info 8:30am (Webex)

February 10^th  – IEPS Swimming Tryouts @ Fitzroy Swimming Pool 11.30-2.30

February 16^th – Parent Cyber Safety Webinar

February 17^th  – Open Afternoon – Welcome Picnic (more information to come next week)

February 21^st – 24^th – Year 6 Camp @ Lorne

March 1^st – Getting To Know You Interviews 4 – 7pm

March 2^nd - IDSSA District Swimming Championship @ Watermarc
March 8^th - Getting To Know You Interviews 4 – 7pm
March 8^th - IDSSA Girls AFL Chelsworth
March 10^th – Professional Practice Day (Pupil Free Day)
March 14^th - Division Swimming Carnival - Oak Park Aquatic Centre
March 15^th – 22^nd – NAPLAN
March 30^th - NMR Swimming Carnival @ Watermarc

Follow Us

A reminder that we now have a community Instagram account, this account is used to connect with our wider community, promote school events and give an insight into our facilities, incursions, excursions, and all of the wonderful teaching & learning that is happening at IEPS. You can follow our movements by networking with us @ivanhoeeastprimaryschool on Instagram.

Regards,

IEPS Second Hand Uniforms is located upstairs in the gym!!

The Second Hand Uniform shop will be open starting from Friday 10th February from 8.30am - 9.30am and will be open each Friday morning for you to purchase any items you might need.

Items are $5 each and payment is strictly card only.

We can also accept any donations at this time - our only ask is that donated uniform items are clean and in good condition (i.e. no tears, holes, animal hair etc!).

Please use the stairs next to the entrance to the Hall/Gym. 

Dear Parents,

Please note, violin lessons are available for students in 2023.

If interested, please collect a form from the office area or visit www.polygon.ws/lessons to enrol your child.

Regards,

Ian McCulloch