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

SHS_OC_Parent_Newsletter _pdf 138.72 KB

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