Attendance - Let us know if your child is absent

The wellbeing of our students is extremely important to us. One way we protect the wellbeing of your child is by monitoring and responding to student absences.

Please remember to contact us if your child is absent. This is best done early in the morning if your child is going to be away or late for school so your child’s absence can be recorded correctly and we can provide appropriate support for you and your family.

School and Community Events

Since starting, I have really noticed the strong sense of community at EHPS. This has been evident throughout the various P&C events this week. This started on Saturday with the Election BBQ and cake stall, where there was a steady flow of community members enjoying the tasty offerings throughout the day.

The Mother’s Day Stall gave students the opportunity to shop for a special gift for their mothers, grandmothers and special women in their life, and it was great to see so many community members attend our Mother’s Day breakfast this morning. These events would not be possible without the hard work of our P&C volunteers. Thank you to everyone who gave up part of their week to volunteer and for making these community events possible.

You would have already received information about the next P&C meeting to be held on Tuesday 13 May at 7.00pm. Hopefully, having the option to attend face-to-face or virtually means that many of you can join. This is a good opportunity for you to be a part of formal decision-making and help make a difference to your child’s school and education. I hope to see you there.

Cross Country Carnival

There were lots of excited students ready to test their endurance at this week’s Cross Country Carnival. All students made it around to the finish line and were encouraged along the way by their highly supportive classmates, teachers and parents. I would like to thank Miss King and all staff that worked to make the event run so smoothly. Well done to all students that have progressed to the Zone Cross Country Carnival.

Voluntary Contributions

Our voluntary contributions assist the school to supplement funds provided by the Department of Education. These contributions enable the school to provide improved resources and facilities to enhance student’s learning experiences. All families will be sent the Voluntary Contributions email via School Bytes next week. We request that, where possible, payments are made by the end of Term 2, 2025. Your generous donations enable us to enrich the learning opportunities for all children attending our school. Thank you!

Student Reports

This term we will be introducing updated school reports. The new format has been developed by the NSW Department of Education in response to feedback from parents and educators to make reports easier to read and understand. Your child’s report will still show their progress across all subject areas.

Teacher comments will appear in English, mathematics and the general comment section. The general comment for Kindergarten also covers all other key learning areas including creative arts, HSIE, PDHPE, and science and technology. A new achievement scale and descriptions are included to provide a clearer picture of your child’s progress.

Details of these changes and what to expect in your child’s report will be shared through a parent information session later in the term. Student reports will be available for you to access on the School Bytes Parent Portal on Wednesday 2 July.

School Bytes App

Just a reminder if you don't already have the School Bytes parent app with push notifications enabled, it's a great way to get instant notifications of time-critical information from the school (eg. bus is running late or PSSA training has been cancelled).

Ryde Rotary Public Speaking Competition

This week, we hosted the annual Rotary Public Speaking Competition. This event includes students from both public and Catholic schools in the Ryde area. Each school had two students representing them, and this year, our representatives were Esther (5/6P) and Lily-Eve (5/6S).

The calibre of speeches was extremely high and both girls did a fantastic job with their speeches on topics chosen by Ryde Rotary – ‘My biggest concern for the future is...’ and ‘How to become a millionaire’. Congratulations to Esther and Lily-Eve for all their hard work in preparing for this speech. Both girls demonstrated confidence, projection, eye contact and considered content. A big well done to Lily-Eve who progressed to the finals! Thank you to Ms Hull and members of the Ryde Rotary who coordinated this event.

Students Achievements Outside of School

I always enjoy hearing about student achievements and endeavours outside of the school gates. This week I heard about Lily-Eve (5/6S) who recently competed in the NSW Short Walks Championships and placed 2^nd place in the age 11 girls 1000m race walk. Lily-Eve achieved a personal best with a time of just 4 minutes 54 seconds. Well done, Lily-Eve!