Principal's Report

Hear from our principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

As Term 1 draws to a close, we can look back and reflect on what has been a term unlike any other, and, in doing so, I would like to thank each of you for the incredible patience and support you have shown us over this time. Dealing with Omicron and its associated challenges has not been easy, but I prepare to slink away into the holidays thankful for our broader school community and proud of what has been achieved.

In the previous edition of our newsletter, I mentioned that 2022 would be a year of consolidation. Despite the aforementioned challenges, we continue to reel off firsts, notably, our successful Year 3-6 and Prep-Year 2 Athletics Carnivals. For the first time, our students now belong to houses, each named after inspirational indigenous sporting leaders: Goolagong (Blue), Mills (Red), Freeman (Green) and Goodes (Yellow). Competing for house pride, our students enjoyed the carnivals immensely and, in addition to some great performances, what made us most proud was the way in which every student attacked each event regardless of their familiarity or experience level. Congratulations to Breelle Mackie, our wonderful Specialist P.E. Teacher, who worked tirelessly to both organise and coordinate these events.

We are also incredibly proud to introduce our School Captains and Vice-Captains for 2022, Summer Macleod and Cruz Tardrew (Captains) and Ella Francis and Lewis Blaikie (Vice Captains). Summer, Cruz, Ella and Lewis each engaged positively with a rigorous selection process including application and presentation to their peers and we were blown away by their leadership attributes and dedication to the school. Since their appointments, all four have been busily working to develop projects that will improve the school for our students and are looking forward to overseeing the Junior School Council which will be established in anticipation for Term 2. I am incredibly proud of Summer, Cruz, Ella and Lewis (as I am of all of the students who participated in the process) and cannot wait to get to work in partnership with them.

I recently had the opportunity to present our approach to Literacy here at EPS for parents over Zoom and greatly appreciate those of you who took the time to attend or have viewed the recording since. I had been hoping for an opportunity to share our direction for some time, including the substantial evidence base behind our work and, if you have not yet had the opportunity to view the presentation, would encourage you to do so (link is available on Compass). As always, I also welcome any follow-up conversations or questions that may stem from that presentation.

The presentation itself touched on the need for our most recent Curriculum Day, largely dedicated to the ongoing development and documentation of our curriculum program across all year levels and learning areas. This day was enormously successful and our continued direction of implementing a knowledge-rich curriculum continues to be well planned for and broadly supporting our literacy goals and aspirations.

We now pivot to getting ready for what will be an incredibly busy Term 2, involving student reports and NAPLAN amongst a raft of other events and initiatives. In doing, I’d encourage all of our families to enjoy the Term 1 holidays and look forward to seeing all of our students and staff refreshed for Term 2.

As always, please contact me if there is anything you would like to discuss.

Sincerely,

Phillip Coloca

Principal