DATES TO REMEMBER

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Welcome to the 2025 School Year!

Welcome back to all our student and families

I would like to extend a special welcome to the new families that have joined the Eastwood Heights Public School Community this year. I trust that everyone has had time to relax and rejuvenate over the vacation period ready for the school year. I look forward to meeting the community at our planned events organised by the school and P&C. The staff and I are looking forward to an exciting and rewarding year.

Classes

Students have been placed into their 2025 class and teachers will begin establishing class routines and learning programs. The organisation of 2025 classes has been a complex task and I can assure parents that it has involved considerable input from previous teachers, the executive team, support staff and has taken into account many factors. The needs of the entire student body are carefully considered when new classes are formed, and we strive to create safe, supportive and stimulating learning evnironments for all students. I appreciate your support in encouraging and reassuring your child within the first few weeks and throughout the year. Please see the attached 2025 staff list with classes.

Staffing

I would like to welcome Miss Emily Powell & Mrs Nidhi Bajaj to Eastwood Heights Public School. These two teachers are looking forward to teaching at our great school and getting to know our school community. Mrs MacPherson, our school counsellor will continue to be with us on a Wednesday and Friday this year.

We also welcome Mrs Natalie Vrataric to our school. Mrs Vrataric works with Family Connect & Support and she will be on school site on Wednesday and working closely with our School Psychologist, Mrs Belinda McPherson, Mrs Ljiljana Prothero and myself.

Update Student Details

If you have changed your phone number or other details over the holidays, please let us know so we can contact you if/when needed. Please complete and return to the office the attached updated student detail form if any of your details have recently changed.

School Uniform

Students at Eastwood Heights are expected to wear the correct school uniform every day.

The school has a policy of ‘No hat, sit in the shade’, so all students must wear a hat every day.

The Eastwood Heights uniform is designed to be practical, flexible and is intended to achieve uniformity and neatness of appearance to emphasize pride in belonging to the school. The school colours of maroon and white are reflected in every uniform item (with the exception of shoes) and each element of the uniform, except for the girl’s tunic, is intended for use in either summer or winter, depending on curriculum requirements (e.g. for sport), weather and a child’s preference. The uniform is intended to be comfortable, affordable, and consistent with the school’s sun-safe policy. The fabrics are chosen for easy care so that busy parents do not need to spend a lot of time laundering and ironing. The school P&C endorsed the Uniform Policy set out below. Please note the sport uniform is mandated for students during 2025 onwards.

EHPS UNIFORM POLICY

Uniform Items:

• long sleeve knit polo shirt with school crest (white)
• short sleeve knit polo shirt with school crest (white)
• tunic (maroon checks) - Term 1 and 4
• long pants (maroon)
• shorts (maroon)
• skort (maroon)
• tracksuit pants (maroon)
• sloppy joe (maroon with white school crest)
• zipper jacket (maroon with white school crest)
• sports house top & sports shorts
• brimmed hat (maroon with white school crest)
• white socks
• black leather lace up joggers or shoes

Additional guidelines:

• Maroon and white are the only colours to be worn (raincoats excepted)
• Girls’ hair accessories (eg. ribbons) are to be maroon.
• LABEL, LABEL, LABEL all items of clothing with your child’s name.

The school uniform can be purchased from the Uniform Shop located at the side of the School Hall. It is open twice a week on the following days and times; Wednesdays 3-4pm and Fridays 9-10am. Orders can also placed online at https://www.gtschool.com.au and picked up from the uniform shop or office once you have been advised your order is ready.

Please see the Uniform price list below for more information.

School Leaders

Congratulations to our 2025 School leaders who are very excited to carry out their duties this year. The student leadership responsibility builds within our leaders’ skills to support their student voice and to be an effective representative of the school student body. I look forward to working with these students to further develop the needs of students across the school.

School Leaders:

Chloe C

Esther N

Dante A

Leena L

'Meet the Teacher' Mornings

We will be holding ‘Meet the Teacher’ information sessions from Week 5, 24 February to 27 February at 8:15am to 9:15am. Further information will be provided closer to the date.  These sessions are designed to give a general overview of what is happening in the stage/grade for the year. If you wish to speak individually to a teacher regarding your child, please make an appointment for another time.

Stage 1 – Monday 24 February

Stage 2 – Tuesday 25 February

Stage 3 – Wednesday 26 February

Early Stage 1 – Thursday 27 February

Before School Arrival

I would like to remind parents/carers that duty of care only begins with staff from 9am for your child/ren. We do understand that parent/carers working hours can be different to the school starting time, however, if you are unable to drop your child off at the correct time, we ask that you enrol your child in before school care (EOOSH). Any student who is at school before this time will be asked to come up to the office. If a student arrives early consistently, then a parent will be contacted and asked to come and collect their child/ren.

Parent and Citizens Meeting (P&C)

The first P&C meeting for 2025 will be Tuesday 11 February beginning at 7:00pm. We would love to see as many parents/carers joining the P&C during 2025 to help support the school to provide excellence for student achievement.

Allergies

Anaphylaxis is a potentially life threatening, severe allergic reaction which occurs after exposure to an allergen (usually to foods, insects or medicines), to which a person is already extremely sensitive. We have a number of students at Eastwood Heights Public School with anaphylaxis and similar allergic conditions and our staff undertake face-to-face and online training in providing an emergency response to this condition, yearly. The parents of our anaphylactic and allergic students work hard to educate their children about the risks of sharing food, as do our teachers.

As this is a potentially life-threatening condition, we ask that you please consider these students before sending high-risk products such as peanut butter, Nutella and seafood in school lunchboxes. Please talk to your child about the potential risks of sharing food and ask them to wash their hands after eating any nut-based or seafood products. Thank you for your understanding, our anaphylactic children and their families appreciate your support.

Our school already takes a strong, positive, student-centred approach, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with you and all our families to maintaining a safe learning environment so our students can thrive.

If you have any questions about the revised policy and procedures, please contact me.

Dropping off and Pickup up Students

The school is very fortunate to have dedicated staff who assist in the safe pick-up of students in this area. Please follow any instruction given to you by staff in order to keep the children safe. Please read the information that has been forwarded to all NSW public schools around the ranger patrols in school zones

Ranger patrols update

Council Rangers will be conducting patrols at schools throughout February with the aim of supporting the school community during drop-off and pick-up times. Please note that Rangers will take appropriate action if drivers are parked where their vehicle poses a risk to the safety of children by parking in the No Stopping zones or pedestrian crossings.

Parents should be reminded that whatever the traffic and parking conditions around their school, they are responsible for driving safely, following the road rules and prioritising safety over convenience at drop-off and pick-up times:

• Kiss & Ride zones operate under ‘No Parking’ rules: you may only stop for a maximum of 2 minutes to pick-up and drop-off, and must remain within 3 metres of your vehicle.
• Don’t arrive early. Plan to arrive after the school bell. If you are stopped to queue in a ‘No Stopping’ zone, you risk being fined. If you are early, try waiting close by and proceeding to the Kiss & Ride zone after the bell goes. If you arrive at the Kiss & Ride zone and there is queue backing into a 'No Stopping' zone - go around the block
• ‘No Stopping’ zones are in place for a reason – to ensure safe sight lines for drivers, to keep traffic routes clear – in short, to assist in providing the safest possible environment for children around schools.
• Do not stop on a crossing – pay attention to the movement of cars ahead of you and ensure you are not caught in traffic that has stopped on a pedestrian or children’s crossing.

School_Zone_Road_Safety_News_Term_1_2025.pdf

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First Day of Kindergarten

Welcome to our new Kindergarten students who started school on Thursday. It was delightful to be able to spend some time in the Kindergarten rooms welcoming our 2025 Kindergarten students and their families. The first day of school is such a special moment in our lives! I was extremely impressed with the smiles I saw in each of the Kindergarten classrooms. Thank you to Mrs Sparrow  and Mrs Atherton  for the awesome work they have done to have everything ready for a smooth transition to school.

I hope all our families went home after dropping off the child and made themselves a cup of tea and put their feet up.

Family Law Information

Information for parents and students

The department recognises that family breakdowns take place. The department relies on the following principles when meeting its obligations to students and parents:

• the education of a child is primarily the responsibility of the child’s parents
• decisions will be made to ensure the continued effective and efficient operation of the school
• generally, it will be assumed that both parents have been involved in any decisions made concerning major long term issues impacting on the school
• school decisions are based on what they believe to be the best interests of the child
• where parents cannot agree between themselves on what is in the child’s best interests, it is the role of the court, not the school, to determine those interests
• the school cannot enforce family court orders; school is not the appropriate place for family disputes to be resolved, and it is not appropriate for school staff to resolve family law issues
• a school’s decisions should be unbiased and as far as reasonably practicable, not show favour to either parent
• the obligations imposed by other legislation, such as the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 also need to be considered when dealing with family law related issues
• the continued effective and efficient operation of the school and parents’ obligations under the Education Act 1990 to ensure their children of compulsory school age attend school or received home schooling take precedence over any interests parents may assert they have under the Family Law Act 1975.

Parents have a responsibility to advise the school immediately if any changes in family circumstances occur which may impact on the relationship between the school and the parents and/or students. If court orders are obtained by one or both parents, a copy of the orders should be provided to the school as soon as possible.

In the absence of anything to the contrary such as a court order, it is assumed that both parents retain shared and equal parental responsibility for their children. This means that the school recognises that each parent has equal duties, obligations, responsibilities and opportunities in relation to matters involving their children’s education at the school.

The department has developed a detailed policy to assist schools to manage family law-related issues. The main features of the policy are summarised below:

• in the absence of any court order to the contrary, generally, either parent can enrol a child in a government school
• parenting orders are child-focused and are for the benefit of the child. The court’s objective when framing parenting orders is to help the child have as normal a relationship with both parents as is possible
• except in specifically defined circumstances, a child must be enrolled using the name that appears on his or her birth certificate
• unless there are court orders stating otherwise, each parent is entitled to know at which school his or her child is enrolled
• generally, each parent, whether the child is living with them or spends time with them, will be allowed to participate in all school-related activities, including teacher/parent interviews and can have access to school documentation relating to his or her child
• unless there are exceptional circumstances, children will not be permitted to leave school during the course of a school day.

Opportunity Class & Selective High School 2026

In 2024 we communicated to families of those students in Year 4 & Year 5 2025 about the Opportunity Class & Selective High School 2026 opportunities.

Applications for 2026 entry into an opportunity class (OC) or selective high school (SHS) are currently open and close for both on 21 February 2025.

SHS_OC_Parent_Newsletter.pdf

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Attendance - Working together for student attendance and to maximise learning

It’s always wonderful to have our students in classrooms, ready to engage and learn. Our teachers and school staff are committed to fostering growth and opportunity, and we are here to work with you to support your child to reach their full potential.

Consistently going to school has countless benefits – from learning, to creating social connections and improving wellbeing through access to support and quality education.

Students are required to attend school every day, whether it’s the first or last day of the term, Mondays, Fridays or days dedicated to sports carnivals, school excursions and incursions.

As we look ahead to the remainder of the school year, I’d like to remind our school community that we are here to work with you to support your child to thrive. We know that families experience a variety of challenging circumstances, and we are committed to working with you to address any barriers to regular attendance.

If your child is absent from school, please let us know why as soon as possible, even if it’s just a few minutes at the start or end of the school day. Of course, there will be times when your child is unable to be at school, like when they are unwell. Medical appointments should take place outside school hours where possible, and family holidays should be taken in term breaks.

If your child is feeling anxious about coming to school and you need support, please reach out to your child’s teacher or to me directly. There are also helpful resources for parents and carers on the NSW Department of Education website.

Thank you for being a part of our school community and for partnering with us to ensure students access the endless benefits of regular school attendance.

2025 Stationary Lists

Street Tree Planting

City of Ryde have sent out a notification letter advising residents that they can complete feedback relating to Council’s upcoming 2025 Street Tree Planting program. If you have not received notification and would like to provide feedback, please complete the survey by visiting www.surveymonkey.com/r/TreePlanting25.

All survey responses must be received by Council by Sunday 23 February 2025.

Newsletter Published Dates

In 2024 the EHPS newsletter will only be published three times a term. With the use of School Enews, we are trying to condense the amount of communication platforms that are going out to families throughout each term. The school newsletter will be published during Weeks 2, 6 and 10. Term 1 newsletters will be :

Week 2 Friday 7 February

Week 6 Friday 7 March

Week 10 Friday 4 April

Mrs Nicole Henderson

Principal

Parents and carers are a child's first educator

Parents and carers provide support, values and life-long lessons to their children.

At the same time, children benefit from the expertise of teaching professionals and a structured learning environment. ​

Research shows that engaging parents and carers in their child’s education at school leads to better educational and wellbeing outcomes. ​

That is why we are building stronger partnerships across education communities, between learners, parents and carers, educators and staff, to help to foster engagement and positive learning and wellbeing outcomes.

For additional information, please access file:///C:/Users/lprothero/Downloads/Engaging-our-parents-and-carers.pdf

Healthy Lunchbox Week

About Health Lunchbox Week

National Lunchbox Week is an initiative of Nutrition Australia that aims to inspire Australian families to create enjoyable and nourishing lunchboxes.

Throughout the campaign we're celebrating the lunchbox and how it reflects diversity, enjoyment and nourishment.​

Encouraging enjoyable and pressure free lunchbox experiences supports children’s wellbeing and helps build a positive relationship with food. 

National Lunchbox Week helps families, schools and early childhood settings by:

• inspiring practical lunchbox ideas and recipes 
• supporting positive lunchbox experiences for children 
• embracing the diversity of lunchboxes
• promoting supportive, judgment-free conversations around food.

Why 9 - 15 February?

Occurring at the start of Term 1, National Lunchbox Week provides timely information for families as they return to the routine of daily lunchbox packing. It also supports schools, early childhood settings, teachers and educators to share inclusive lunchbox messages within their school and early childhood community. 

Healthy Eating

A healthy lunch box keeps kids active alert and focussed by providing with the nutrition they need every day. Check out Cancer Council NSW's Healthy Lunch Box resource for recipes, ideas and tips: https://healthylunchbox.com.au/ and Nutrition Australia at https://www.healthylunchboxweek.org.au/.

Healthy Harold and Woolworths Fresh Food Kids are on the lookout for Australia's Healthiest Lunchboxes.

Simply build a healthy lunchbox for your school child, upload a photo and describe in words what’s in their lunchbox.

It’s as simple as snapping a photo of your child’s healthier lunchbox as part of our search for Australia’s Healthier Lunchboxes, with partner Woolworths. 

PLUS if your child’s lunchbox wins, their school does too! 

There will be six winning families selected who will receive a Woolworths e-gift card valued at $1,000 each. Their school will also receive a Woolworths e-gift card valued at $2,000.

You’re not alone!

Healthy Harold and Woolworths will be providing free tips, information and resources to help – from budget-friendly recipes, to colourful activities you can do at home with kids to spark healthier conversations. 

A collection of quality free material designed to help out parent & carers at home can be accessed at https://lifeed.org.au/families/resources-for-parents-carers/

Enter here https://lifeed.org.au/australias-healthier-lunchboxes/

When do entries close?

Entries close on February 28 2025 at 12:00am AEDT.

Learning and Support Team

Our Learning and Support Team will meet every Friday morning before school. This team collects information and gives recommendations for the teachers of students who need adjustments to access the curriculum and meet their educational goals.

They play a key role in meeting the specific needs of students with a disability and additional learning and support needs. It is very important that parents share any reports from paediatricians, speech and occupational therapists as well as psychologists, so that we can work with our paraprofessionals in addressing student wellbeing needs.

The team includes:

Principal - Nicole Henderson

Stage 3 Assistant Princiipal/Coordinator - Ljiljana Prothero

School Counsellor - Belinda MacPherson (Mondays and Fridays)

Assistant Principals - Jenny Calagis - Stage 1

                                   Nerys Hull - Stage 2

                                   Karen Sparrow - Early Stage One

Learning and Support Teacher - Rekha Rajvanshi

English as an Additional Language or Dialect EAL/D - Yoyce Yee

How will the Learning and Support team support your child?

• get to know your child
• work with your child’s teachers to make sure your child’s additional learning and support needs are identified
• organise the planning process, and design the supports for your child
• work with the whole school community and other professionals to improve learning for all students.

• The learning and support team also assists in early intervention planning, processing and allocating resources.

Meeting the Learning and Support Team/Teacher

As part of your role in supporting your child, if your child requires an individual plan, you will be asked to meet with a member of the learning and support team or classroom teacher to:

• discuss your child’s strengths, interests, and areas for development
• plan adjustments and supports
• monitor your child’s progress.

Planning ahead can help every child experience a smooth transition to a school, new year, new class.

Please provide:

• any supporting information - medical reports, any reports provided by therapists or other agencies, organisations or health personnel

• details of any resources or equipment that are used or required for day-to-day activities.

By taking into account the insights and information parents and carers can offer, we can make well-informed decisions about each child's individual learning and support needs. At EHPS we work closely with parents and carers to develop a set of planned activities to help make school a success for every student so that they are known, valued and cared for.

You Can Do It Education

Eastwood Heights Public School is a “You Can Do It‟ school. The You Can Do It program aims to foster the social and emotional development of students, assisting them to develop to their full potential. Within a common theme of developing resilience, the program focuses on the five key foundations of confidence, persistence, organisation, getting along and emotional resilience. 

Positive Habits of the Mind provide the "nuts and bolts‟ that support these foundations. This program is successful when it is embraced by our entire school community, staff, students, parents and carers.

This year, all students K-6 will be introduced to an updated digital version of the You Can Do It Program. This means that there will no longer be a focus on one key each term.

 You Can Do It: Stella Star Awards

The Stella Star program is a whole school reward system that is aligned to the 'You Can Do It' program which reinforces the Five Keys to Success: Confidence (work, social), Peristence, Organisation, Getting Along and Resilience.

All students from Kindergarten to Year 6 have been issued a new individual Stella Star Chart. The star charts are displayed in all classrooms. Teachers award stars when students demonstrate one of the five keys to success within the classroom or learning time. Students either colour a star or attach a star/sticker to their chart.

The Classroom Stella Star System

• When 5 stars have been coloured/covered, teacher present students with a Stella Key certificate.
• When 15 stars have been coloured/covered, students are presented a Bronze award at K-6 assemblies.
• Once 30 stars are awarded students will be presented with a Silver award at K-6 assemblies
• Once 45 stars are awarded students will be presented with a Gold award at K-6 assemblies
• Once the student has attained all 60 stars they will be presented with a Principal’s Award and invited to a Principal’s, morning tea.

Note: The Principal will acknowledge student achievements and recognise student work and effort through an additional Principal Merit Award and prizes. The principal can award Stella Stars to individual students.

Teachers may supplement and align additional class incentives to the Stella Star Award system. Classroom teachers will inform parents of their behaviour strategies at our Meet the Teacher sessions in Week 5.     

Stella Fun Club

The Stella Fun Club encourages social play and assists students in making connections, building friendships, and strengthening social skills. EHPS Parliament will be coordinating activities through their Wellbeing and Safety Ministry.

Buddy classes have been allocated for 2025

Buddy classes have been allocated for 2025:

Buddy classes will further strengthen student relationships and enable students to be supported in curriculum areas and school-based activities.

Getting Ready for Primary School

Starting school is a big milestone for children and their families. The transition between learning environments can be both challenging and exciting. 

This guide is packed with information to help you and your family get your child ready for primary school. 

Download Getting ready for primary school resources:

https://education.nsw.gov.au/schooling/parents-and-carers/going-to-school/getting-ready-for-school/starting-primary-school

• Getting ready for primary school guide (PDF 4479 KB)

• School term planner 2024 (PDF 547 KB)
• School calendar 2024 ( )
• Daisy's First Day (PDF 5546 KB)

Cyber Safe Parents

The Cybermarvel program is designed to provide information and resources to help you and your family stay safe online.

The internet has opened up fantastic opportunities to learn, socialise and share information, but it can also bring risks, especially for young people.

Parents play an important role in supporting their child’s online safety by understanding these risks and learning important tips and tricks to help reduce them.

Check out the parent video, podcast, articles and resources at https://www.nsw.gov.au/education-and-training/cybermarvel/parents

Safer Internet Day

Safer Internet Day is on Tuesday 11 February 2025!

Safer Internet Day - Tuesday 11 February 2025 - is a global day of action dedicated to raising awareness of online safety. On this page, you'll find everything you need to make online safety visible in your school, workplace, home or community.

Back to School safety

Tips for parents and carers

Drop-off and pick-up by car

• Make sure your children are in appropriate child car sets that are fitted and used correctly
• Stick to the 40km/h speed limit in a school zone as children are aabout and can be unpredictable
• Look out for buses pulling out - watch for wig-wag lights
• Always park and turn legally around schools and avoid dangerous manoevres like U-turns and three-point turns
• Always give way to pedestrians, especially when entering and leaving driveways
• Drop the kids off and pick them up on the school side of the road in your school's designated drop-off and pick-up area. Calling out to them from across the road is dangerous because they may run to you with checking traffic
  • It's safest for the kids to get out of the car on the kerb side of the road to be away from passing traffic.

• Walking together to and from school

  • Plan your trip to school so you are using pedestrian crossing areas where possible.
  • Always hold your child's hand up until the age of eight. Young children need your help to spot danger like vehicles coming out of driveways. They can also be easily distracted and wander into traffic.
  • Drop off and pick up your child near the school gate and avoid calling them from across the road. Talk to your children about Stop, Look, Listen and Think every time they cross the road:
  • Stop one step back from the kerb
  • Look continuously both ways
  • Listen for the sounds of approaching traffic
  • Think whether it is safe to cross and keep checking until safely across

  Your child's safety depends on you

  Young children can learn these safe pedestrian habits from you and use them when they are old enough to travel alone.

Backflips Against Bullying Performance 

'Backflips Against Bullying' is an anti-bullying incursion that features high-energy performances by a team of incredible acrobats. Parkour and flips are one of the fastest growing trends in students today. Action Education use this to engage students and teach them about bullying.

A permission note and payment was sent out via School Bytes. Due date is Friday 21 February 2025

When: Thursday 27 February 2025  

• 9:45am - 10:45am K-2
• 10:45 – 11:45am 3-6

The performance supports the PDHPE syllabus and assists students to develop the knowledge, understanding and skills important for building respectful relationships, enhancing personal strengths and exploring personal identity to promote the health, safety and wellbeing of themselves and others. They develop strategies to manage change, challenges, power, abuse, violence and learn how to protect themselves and others in a range of situations.

Welcome back everyone.  It is so good to be back at school.  The Canteen is very proud to announce that we have received the NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy award.  We have received this Award every year since its implementation.

Canteen has lots of great menu options for lunch and especially lots of frozen treats to help keep everyone cool during the hot summer days.

VOLUNTEERS ARE ALWAYS NEEDED ESPECIALLY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR AS WE HAVE LOST 6 OF OUR REGULARS AS THEIR CHILDREN HAVE NOW MOVED ON TO HIGH SCHOOL.

PLEASE CALL ME AT ANY TIME IF YOU CAN SPARE SOME TIME EITHER WEEKLY, FORTNIGHTLY, MONTHLY OR ONCE A TERM.  WE NEED VOLUNTEERS URGENTLY.

LOOKING FORWARD TO AN EXCITING AND FUN 1^ST TERM

Regards

Nancy Scro

Canteen Manager

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