EPSOM PRIMARY SCHOOL NEWSLETTER NO 1– 09/02/11 Phone Number: 03 5448 4318 School Fax Number: 03 5448 3334 Email: epsom.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au Website: www.epsomps.vic.edu.au

This is a “YOU CAN DO IT” school

EPSOM PALM PRESS

Look out for the awards on next week’s newsletter.

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to families for the 2011 school year. We

look forward to an exciting year working together.

We welcome three new staff members, Mrs Leanne

O’Connor, Mrs Michelle Stone and Mr Jake Saddlier

and look forward to having them on our team.

We are really pleased to be back with new buildings and

the gallery complete. A huge thank you to the parents

who came in over the holidays to clean up the grounds.

This was a huge job and is much appreciated by staff

and students.

The students have settled in well and I am very im-

pressed with the tone and the work ethic in each of the

classrooms. Welcome also to our new Preps and other

new students and families. We have begun the year with

171 students.

Kerry McGuffie

Visitors Policy Our visitors policy is now up and running and I ask eve-

ryone’s cooperation in signing in and wearing a visitors

tag if you are going to be working in the school. Visitors

are also asked to comply with the Working With Chil-

dren’s Check legislation. Information sheets are avail-

able in the office regarding this and if you have any

queries please don’t hesitate to ask.

School Fair Meeting—tomorrow,

Thursday 11th February 2pm A meeting to continue planning for this year’s School

Fair will take place at school tomorrow. Everyone is

welcome to attend and we particularly encourage new

parents to come along and be involved. We need plenty

of help and support with the Fair, which will be held on

Friday, 18th March.

Student Materials Fee In 2011 the student materials and requisites fee is

$75 per child. This can be paid anytime at the

Office.

Education Maintenance Allowance—$230

for Primary School Children If you are the holder of a Centrelink Card (which

must be valid as of 1st February) please visit the

Office to complete an EMA (Education Mainte-

nance Allowance) form. It is essential that you

submit your form by 28th February. No late

claims can be processed.

Please come and see me in the Office if you have

any queries at all.

Excursion Fee The 2011 excursion and camp costs for various

grades will be sent home later this term.

This fee can be paid in full or by term instal-

ments.

2011 Term Dates

Term 1- 4th February - 8th April

Term 2- 27th April -1st July

Term 3- 18th July - 23rd September

Term 4- 10th October - 22nd December

Uniform Order

I will be placing a uniform order next Friday

18th February. Please visit the Office to pick

up an order form. Please make sure you have

you payment with your order.

Change Please ensure that when you are making payments

at the Office that you have the right money. I can

not always accommodate change.

DATES TO REMEMBER: Thurs, 10th Feb School Fair Meeting @ 2pm All Welcome

Friday, 11th Feb First day for Subway lunch orders

Friday, 18th Feb Uniform Orders Close

Tues, 22nd Feb Active After-School Communities start 3.30-4.45pm

Mon, 28th Feb EMA applications close. No late claims can be processed

Mon, 14th March Labour Day Holiday

2011 Staff Teams

Steph Parsons, Michelle Stone - P/1 Tilby Hayward, Jan Brunswick—5/6

Leanne O’Connor, Gill Davey—1/2 Hilary Miller, Jake Saddlier—3/4

Jenny Ashby, Kerry McGuffie, Deanne Hendy Naomi Smart, Chris Skinner, Glenda Nevinson

Admin Team Support staff

Student Absences When your child is absent we would like you to com-

plete an absence note and return it to school. More

forms are available from your child’s teacher or the

office. It is an expectation of the Department of Edu-

cation that all absences are explained. Regular atten-

dance is extremely important and it’s not okay to be

away, unless your child is ill or has a valid reason.

Studies have shown that there is significant negative

impact on a child’s learning if they are absent for 20

days or more in a year.

School Banking This will commence for all grades next Tuesday. In-

terested new children can collect banking details from

the office and forms can be returned to the office at

any time. Books will be collected from your child’s

classroom and returned to your child’s room on Tues-

day mornings. Please ensure that the coupon has been

filled in correctly and that it contains your child’s ac-

count number.

Active After-Schools Communities

(AASC) – Free Program The free AASC program begins on Tuesday 22nd February

and will be coordinated by Jenna Raglus on Tuesday and

Thursday afternoons from 3:30-4:45pm.

To participate in AASC you must fill out the enrolment

form for your child/ren to attend this program.

AASC records are being updated so please visit the Of-

fice to pick up an enrolment form even if you filled one

in last year.

Please ensure your child/ren are picked up promptly

from AASC at 4:45pm.

Parent Helpers We invite parents of children in all grades to come into

our classrooms to hear reading any morning you are

available. Our preference this year is for reading to

begin at 9:00am through to approximately 9:30am.

We also require parents to assist cleaning the tables.

This could happen any morning before 9.00am or any

afternoon after 3.30pm.

Subway Lunches – Begin Friday 11th

February If your child is having a lunch order, please write your

child’s name, grade and order items on the form and

forward the correct money in a named & sealed enve-

lope. Your child then needs to place his/her lunch or-

der in the slot at the general office before 9am on a

THURSDAY MORNING.

Once again, Subway lunches will be available on

Fridays only.

School Composition Staffing for 2011 is as follows:

Mrs Kerry McGuffie - Principal

Mrs Jan Brunswick - Grade 5/6

Mrs Tilby Hayward—Grade 5/6

Mrs Hilary Miller - Grade 3/4

Mr Jake Saddlier—Grade 3/4

Mrs Gill Davey - Grade 1/2

Mrs Leanne O’Connor—Grade 1/2

Mrs Michelle Stone - Grade Prep/1

Miss Steph Parsons – Grade Prep/1

Mrs Jenny Ashby – Technology, Reading Recovery

Mr Philip McGuffie – Performing Arts

Mrs Deanne Hendy – Office Manager & library coor-

dinator.

Mrs Glenda Nevinson – Integration aide & library

assistance.

Mrs Naomi Smart – Integration aide

Mr Chris Skinner—Computer Technician

Michael Roberts – Cleaner

40 KMPH Speed Restrictions The police have warned that there will be a blitz on

speed zones near schools. Please heed their warning

and ensure the safety of your children by driving at

the correct speed. Did you know that the fine for ex-

ceeding the speed limit by 11 to 24 km/ph is $200

and 3 demerit points? You would incur that fine by

driving past our school during the hours of 8.00 to

9.30am and 2.30 to 4.00pm between 51 to 64 km/ph.

ICT Permission Forms Various permission forms will be sent home this

week regarding computer agreements and contracts

as well as permission for photos of children to be

used in various media. Please ensure these forms are

returned to you child’s teacher.

Headphones All children need to have a set of headphones for

their own use. Some children may have theirs at

home from last year. If so they need to bring them

along ASAP.. Headphones allow the children to use

multimedia programs that often have sound.

If you do not have any suitable headphones at home

please fill out an order from available from the Office

and return it to school with the money by Tuesday

March 1st. The cost is $6 which includes name labels

and a zip bag to keep them in so they stay clean.

Jenny Ashby—ICT Coordinator

2011 School Times Session 1 9.00– 11.00am

Recess 11.00 am - 11.30 am

Session 2 11.30– 1.30pm

Eat Lunch 1.30—1.40pm (in rooms)

Lunch Play 1.40 – 2.30 pm

Session 3 2.30—3.30pm

Children need to be at school early enough to allow

time to unpack bags and change reader/library books

before the bell.

Children should not be at school prior to 8:30am.

A warning bell will be sounded before school, after

recess and lunch time, two minutes before the above

times.

Hats – Be Sunsmart Children are expected to wear broad-brimmed or le-

gionnaire-style hats for sun protection. Baseball caps

are not acceptable, as they provide inadequate protec-

tion. The school has a ‘no hat, no play’ policy. A

copy of the policy is available at the office upon re-

quest. Children who do not have a hat will be di-

rected to remain under the shelter area. We appreci-

ate your support with the promotion of sunsmart be-

haviours.

Prep Attendance & Other Information Prep children attend school four days a week during

February.

They will NOT be required at school on Wednes-

days.

Parents are most welcome to join in with class activi-

ties between 9-9:30am each morning. Mothers, fa-

thers and grandparents are all welcome.

Supplies To Be Provided By Parents The school supplies most materials that your child

will need.

The only things parents are asked to supply are:

Smock or old shirt for Art and Craft.

Large box of tissues. Please send to your

child’s class teacher.

School bag large enough to hold a lunch box,

reader cover and general belongings.

Library book bag for Grades 1-6.

The payment of a student requisites fee of $75.00 per

student per year and the additional excursions/camp

fee.

Please ensure you name clothing, bags, drinking con-

tainers, lunch boxes and other personal items. Small

children often fail to recognise their belongings.

Weekly Grounds Roster We have a very successful weekend grounds roster

for parents to help keep our school grounds in such

good shape. We will commence this roster again

this week with two families on duty each weekend

On the Wednesday prior to your weekend duty,

you will be sent information and a key that opens

the padlocks on the double gate closest to the

oval and the shelter shed. Equipment is stored in

the shelter shed.

For parents who are new to the school, your duty

involves only an hour of your time over the week-

end, or after school any night, and entails sweeping

paths, weeding and other light jobs. You use the

school’s equipment for any job allotted. If the week

you are rostered on doesn’t suit, you can swap or let

us know in the office.

We would like to thank all the participating families

for a job well done in 2010 in providing a more aes-

thetic, happier and safe environment for the chil-

dren.

Deanne Hendy – Environmental Coordinator

Headlice Inspection Program Our school conducts an effective headlice inspection

program that minimises headlice infestation.

The school will begin our regular program of head-

lice inspections next week. As for 2010, all children

will be screened unless parents have requested

that they be excluded.

If you return the form asking to be excluded from

the program, you are agreeing to carry out your own

inspections to coincide with school inspections and

you will be expected to return a form the following

day stating that you have carried out an examination

of your children.

2011 HEAD LICE EXCLUSION RETURN

I wish to have my child/children

………………………………………

excluded from the Epsom Primary

School Parent Head Lice Inspection Program.

I agree to carry out an inspection

of my own child/children at the time

of the school’s inspection and return

the inspection sheet to the school on the

following day. Signed

…………………………………..

Family Name

…………………………………..

Signed

…………………………………..

Family Name

…………………………………..