Update on Ivanhoe East Primary School Principal

Justine Mackey has confirmed she is not returning to Ivanhoe East Primary School and will continue in her current role of Principal in Residence at the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership. 

We would like to share this message from Justine:

Ivanhoe East Primary School is a great school, and it has been an extraordinary privilege to serve the students and community as principal. I am grateful to our amazing students, teachers, staff and families for their contribution to our thriving community. I thank School Council for its wisdom and guidance to help set the direction of the school; I am proud of what we achieved together. Our teachers are remarkable, and I thank them for their care and commitment to every student. Special thanks to our support staff who do so much work in the background to support everyone in the community, including students, their families and teachers. I am grateful to the leadership team for their tireless commitment to excellence and ongoing improvement.  Thank you to Tom Boyle for his superb leadership over the last 12 months, the school has flourished in his care. And finally, thanks to our students who are at the centre of everything we do. They bring the joy, curiosity, and wonder every day and are fortunate to be a part of this school and community. I wish you and your families good health and happiness.  

The Department of Education will commence the process to appoint a substantive principal towards the end of this term and into Term 2.  

I will continue my role as Acting Principal as I partake in this process and look forward to the possibility of leading Ivanhoe East Primary School as a substantive principal in the near future. More information will be provided at the conclusion of this process, in the meantime as has been, I will continue to lead Ivanhoe East Primary School in the best interests of all stakeholders, focusing on improving outcomes for all students academically, socially and emotionally.

Cultural Diversity Week

Cultural Diversity week is celebrated between the dates of 11^th to the 21^st of March. The 2023 Cultural Diversity Week theme is Our Past, Our Future: Celebrating and reflecting on the contributions of Victoria's multicultural communities. The theme invites Victorians of all ages and backgrounds to reflect on multicultural Victoria's long history and celebrate its bright future. Students will be participating in activities across next week to celebrate our cultural diversity.

This Tuesday just gone, we celebrated National Harmony Day. This was a day of celebration and acknowledgement of our differences. This day focusses on building and maintaining an inclusive environment for all, founded in respect and a sense of belonging within our community.

March 22^nd – April 20^th Ramadan

Starting on the evening of the 22^nd, Ramadan is a month of fasting, prayer and reflection.  Within the Muslim community, Ramadan is a deeply spiritual month where individuals and the community reflect on themselves and their religion. The act of fasting between daylight hours is considered deeply spiritual. For children, fasting is optional and often a conversation amongst individual families. When teaching during this time of year, the staff at Ivanhoe East are aware that some of our students and families are participating in this celebration; we make adjustments to support them during this time and wish them a wonderful Eid on this last day.  

Music Production

In 2023, IEPS is looking to have a whole school concert in some form. Over previous years there has been different performances including a musical, circus, Bushwahzee or dance performance.  

This year, before we lock in what we do, we are keen to see what assistance there is in our school community.  

If you have any passion or skills that would help us, please let us know. Please include how you can help, and what time you are available. This will help guide us to what will work best for IEPS in 2023. 

If you are able to help in any way, shape or form please email Lauren Fairbairn direct at lauren.fairbairn@education.vic.gov.au

Student Uniform Policy
I would like to bring to your attention our Student Uniform Policy which is named Student Dress Code, this is available via our website or by following this link; https://ivanhoeeastps.vic.edu.au/policies

This policy states that school uniform is compulsory. Students are to wear school uniform at all times, although individual items of uniform do not need to be branded with the school logo; however, they need to be the same colour as the school branded item. For example, navy track pants may be worn and do not need to have the school logo on them. Uniform items can be purchased from PSW, or parents may order it directly from psw.com.au.

Second-hand uniform items can be purchased from our Second Hand Uniform shop each Friday morning from 8.30am to 9.15am. Items are $5 each and payment is strictly card only. Please use the stairs next to the entrance to the Hall/Gym.

Please contact the Principal or Assistant Principal to discuss support that we may be able to provide to families experiencing difficulty meeting uniform requirements.

East Ivanhoe Village – Burton Crescent Re-development Plan

Visit Shaping Banyule https://shaping.banyule.vic.gov.au/eastivanhoe to view the Plan or see the attached, which includes 4 options for Burton Crescent. We have also included a survey so you can tell us what you select as your preferred option. Your feedback will help us finalise the final design. A letter, including a hardcopy of the concept plan and survey for Burton Crescent options, will be sent to all East Ivanhoe residents and local businesses next week.

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.

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,

After a little summer hiatus, the Environment Club is back and there’s lots to talk about! Firstly, congratulations to Lucy L and Jasper S who have been appointed as the 2023 School Environment Captains – an important student role that can impact both the present and future school generations. Well done Lucy and Jasper, we look forward to seeing your ideas in action.

For those who haven’t heard, the Environment Club is a casual group of parents, teachers and students working together to improve environmental sustainability and awareness within the school. In recent years and with the assistance of grant funding, there has been numerous projects undertaken including:

• Revegetating ‘The Banks’ where students planted 2200 native tubes along Robinhood Rd to increase biodiversity within the school ground.
• Landscaping and planting out ‘The Little Corner’ with sensory and pollinator species to create an inviting space that encourages students to engage with plants.
• Planting and maintenance of the vegetable gardens, weekly collection of canteen and classroom green waste for worm farms and compost bins located onsite.
• Student led initiatives including native planting under the friendship tree and in-ground compost bins throughout the school.
• Working with the facilities council to install a large solar power system to help improve energy efficiency within the school.

All of this could not be achieved without the assistance of the greater school community and we would love some help from anyone with an interest. This year to kick things off there will be a Working Bee at the school on Sunday 2^nd April from 12-4pm followed by a BBQ. The time will allow for some much-needed maintenance of the vegetable gardens, ‘The Banks’ and ‘Little Corner’ sites as well as time to gather and discuss what lies ahead for the Environment Club in 2023. Please bring all the family along for what will be a very enjoyable community day.

Michael Vosbergen 0431 686 432

Carly Simmance 0419 552 870

iepsenvironmentclub@gmail.com.

On Wednesday the 8^th of March a group of Year 6 girls left the school with Mr Bartlett to go try and win the AFL Round Robin Tournament, excited to play their first match against the other schools. No one played footy for a club, but everyone gave it their best shot. Our defence was really strong, with no team scoring more than one goal against them. They kicked off their first game by playing Saint Anthonys and then tried to beat Mary Immaculate. They later played Saint Johns and finished off their last game with Ivanhoe Girls Grammar. Every game they got continuously better, but at the end of the day they needed more experience to win the Tournament. 

Overall, the day went very smoothly with good weather and the girls were extremely lucky to have AFLW players as their Umpires. 

By Sibina and Montana, Year 6 

Hello everyone,

I am Kathy Elston and am the Instrumental Music teacher at Ivanhoe East Primary School.  I would like to teach flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, trumpet, trombone and drums at this school to form a concert band.

Lessons will be $40 for a private lesson and $26 for 2 people to share a lesson. To share a lesson they need to be learning the same instrument. These lessons will be available during school time.

If you are interested in this opportunity you can pick up an instrumental music application form from the school office. 

Kathy Elston.

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.