Final Call for School Council Nominations

This is the final call for nominations for 2023 School Council. School Council meets twice each term (Wednesdays at 7.30 pm) to discuss and make decisions regarding many issues relevant to school life.  These discussions include teaching and learning, finances, buildings, promotion of the school, policies, uniforms, grounds, and much more. The first School Council meeting for the newly elected council will be on Wednesday 29th March 2023. Nominations have been extended until close of business on Friday 10^th March.

Celebrating our Communities Diversity

Here at Ivanhoe East Primary School, we pride ourselves on having a strong sense of community. Our school vision states that all students are known and cared for, which allows them to thrive and flourish as learners. We will be acknowledging, recognising, and/or celebrating more events related to a range of different cultures/race/genders and community groups. This will occur through a range of channels such as our school bulletin, community Instagram, and some events will feature in classroom learning and across the school. We have also circled our calendar for October 25^th which is World Inclusivity Day, this will be a day where we will bring all the diversity of our community together to promote inclusion of all.

March 5^th Clean up Australia day

Clean Up Australia Day will be Sunday 5th March. Our dedicated Schools Clean Up Day is Friday 3rd March. But the great news is you can organise a Clean Up for any day of the year! We are currently working through a Clean Up IEPS day which will be in the last week of term, most likely on Thursday 6^th April. We will be providing more information in our week 8 and 9 bulletins and will be inviting our community to attend in the afternoon.

March 8^th International Women's Day

For International Women's Day and beyond, let's all fully #EmbraceEquity. Equity isn't just a nice-to-have, it's a must have. We can all challenge gender stereotypes, call out discrimination, draw attention to bias, and seek out inclusion. When we embrace equity, we embrace diversity, and we embrace inclusion. We embrace equity to forge harmony and unity, and to help drive success for all. Equality is the goal, and equity is the means to get there. Through the process of equity, we can reach equality. Take time today to reflect on and celebrate the achievements of women and their contributions throughout history, as well as the women in your life, women you admire, or even the woman that you are.

March 8^th Holi (festival of colour)

Holi is a religious spring festival celebrated by Hindus. It is a festival celebrated with colour, water and the exchange of sweets, and is primarily observed in India, Nepal, Pakistan, and countries with a large Indian population following Hinduism. Celebrating Holi helps kids gain self-confidence about their own stories, and cultures, and develop empathy and understanding of others.

Open Afternoon/Welcome Picnic last Friday

Thank you to Nelson Alexander for sponsoring our Welcome Picnic last Friday. It was a great opportunity for our community to see the classrooms in action, followed by a welcome BBQ/picnic. We hope that you had an enjoyable time, and we look forward to future community events.

Update on PTFA committee for 2023 and call for additional support

Hi Everyone,

On Monday night the PTFA committee met and elected the 2023 committee. Congratulations to the following parents who were elected to PTFA committee positions:

• PTFA President – Amanda Lynch
• PTFA Secretary – Samantha Gieschen
• PTFA Treasurer – Open role
• Class rep Co-ordinator – Donna White

Other committee members are:
Kate Brennan, Joanne Convery, Jessica Provan, Jessica Milesi, Karen Dickenson 

The open role of treasurer is not a difficult role if anyone is interested in putting their hand up to help. It is mainly liaising with the school business office to ensure that payments are recorded and helping other members of the committee with a budget for events or activities if they need it. If you are interested please contact Tom Boyle via the School office or Amanda Lynch at alynch@northcotelawyers.com.au.

Dad’s Drinks!

We would love to have a dad’s event early next term, but need some dads to help organise it. If you are interested in organising something for fun to get all the dads together locally, please contact Amanda Lynch.

Finally, thanks to Nelson Alexander for sponsoring the first sausage sizzle for 2023. Due to them providing all the materials, we were able to make $800 for the school from the gold coin donations. Every bit helps!

NAPLAN

Please find below the NAPLAN timetable that will be in operation over the next 2 weeks. If your child is in either Year 3 or Year 5, please make sure they arrive at school on time. We encourage you to take this opportunity to speak with your child about the importance of preparation to give their ultimate best with participating in NAPLAN. However we also strongly encourage you to reiterate that this is just one piece of assessment and that their classroom teachers know them best. Their day to day, week by week classroom work is more telling of who they are as a learner across the 3 domains of academic, social, and emotional development and growth than any NAPLAN assessment.

Wednesday 15^th March – Writing 3s and 5s – 9:30am

Thursday 16^th March – Reading 3s and 5s – 9:30am

Monday 20^th March – Language Conventions 3s and 5s – 9:30am

Tuesday 21^st March – Numeracy 3s and 5s – 9:30am

Wednesday 22^nd March – Catch up test 1 – 9:30am

Thursday 23^rd March – Catch up test 2 – 9:30am

We ask that our community respects the testing times and keeps any visits to the school at a minimum. If you have any questions regarding NAPLAN, please do not hesitate to conduct Ben Phillips via email Benjamin.Phillips@educaiton.vic.gov.au

Principal Advisory Group

Our PAG representatives have been finalised through their in-class processes and I congratulate our 2023 PAG representatives as listed below. As mentioned in earlier communications we will be having 2 x PAG representatives in each grade and they will be their classes voice, but they will be the whole school’s student voice and agency for a semester each.

I look forward to working with these students on our continuous improvement journey with student voice and agency as a large part of the process.

Fair/Colour Run Fundraiser Update

Our 2022 Fair and Colour Fun Run fundraising

Our others are featured below.

GaGa Ball Pit

Outdoor and Indoor Basketball & Outdoor Netball Rings

Sensory Inclusive Interactive Path for Junior Playground

Infectious Disease

If your child does test positive for COVID-19 and/or any other infectious disease we ask you contact the school via email Ivanhoe.east.ps@education.vic.gov.au and it is recommended that they isolate for a minimum of 5 days and not attend school until their symptoms have resolved.

In relation to Covid-19 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.

Reminders From Last Week’s Bulletin

Cyber Safety

As you may be aware this year, our school is partnering with the Cyber Safety Project team to work with our staff, students and their families. Their mission is to EMPOWER every young Australian to self-manage their own cyber safety and digital wellbeing through proactive education. Their whole community approach also aims to EQUIP educators with the latest resources and ENGAGE parents to create safe digital environments at home.

I would strongly encourage you to sign up to their monthly newsletter which is accessible via their website  https://cybersafetyproject.com.au/

For Your Diaries

Please refer to print out below for Term 1 and 2 important dates.

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,

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

The Second Hand Uniform shop will be open each Friday morning from 8.30am - 9.15am (45 minutes) for you to purchase any items you might need.

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

We can also accept any clothing 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!).

As we have been inundated, we are not accepting school bags at the moment.

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

Prace is an established, not-for-profit, community education provider.  

Prace courses may be relevant to jobseekers and parents considering returning to the workforce.

Courses include:-

Introduction to Barista & Cafe Operations, Literacy Online, Office Administration Essentials, Employability Skills Course - Civil Construction Labourer.

If you are interested in finding out more information, please refer to the website www.prace.vic.edu.au or email office@prace.vic.edu.au