Principal’s Report

State School Spectacular 2027

Good luck to our team of State School Spectacular participants this year, as they continue with their rehearsals today in the city at the Melbounre Town Hall. Looking forward to watching you all shine at the performances on Saturday 29^th August!

Thank You & Welcome

We wanted to say a big THANK YOU to Nicole Lane, for all of her wonderful support over the years as part of the ECHO Team, who support our Chaplain program and also offer assistance to our school community. Nicole has undertaken the Director of ECHO Youth and Family Services role for many years, and it has been a pleasure to work with her. All the very best for your future endeavours, Nicole!

We now welcome Naomi Dewar into the role at ECHO. Here is a short bio to introduce Naomi to our community:

Hello! My name is Naomi Dewar; I am the new Director of ECHO Youth and Family Services. I absolutely love living and working in the hills – we are blessed with such a beautiful environment and such incredible, welcoming communities. Professionally, I bring more than 25 years of experience in community outreach, youth development and family support to the role.

Outside of work, I love to spend time with my family, my wonderful husband, Tim who works in education as a campus principal in Pakenham and I am a proud mum to four young adults who are all currently busy juggling their own work and studies.

I am looking forward to continuing the partnership ECHO has with Emerald Primary so we can support children, young people and families throughout our region.

Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day – Thursday 13th August

We look forward to welcoming grandparents and special friends to Emerald Primary School on Thursday 13th August From 11.30am – 1.00pm. This is always a wonderful opportunity for our students to share their learning, classrooms and school with some the important people in their lives.

Please RSVP via this link to help us with numbers for the sausage sizzle:

https://forms.gle/r22t2xCBkMz1ZR1d8

If anyone is able to help on the barbecue next week, please sign up via this link:

https://www.wejoinin.com/sheets/ijmbd

Book Fair – Week Starting Monday 10th August

Our annual Book Fair will be running throughout the week beginning Monday 10th August. It’s a fantastic opportunity to discover some great new books while helping to raise funds for our school library. We encourage families to come along, browse the range and support a lifelong love of reading.

2027 Prep Enrolments

We are excited to be welcoming our new Prep students as we progress the enrolment process for next year. We are currently finalising the Transition to School program which runs in Term 4. Further information will be sent to enrolled families.

If you have submitted an enrolment application for EPS, you should now have received an enrolment offer via email, which needs to be accepted before next steps. If you have not received your offer, please contact the school.

Important Health Information for EPS

Please see attached some very important information in regards to protecting the health of a student at Emerald Primary School. Your support and co-operation is very much appreciated.

Important Letter from Monash Childrens Hospital 2026

EPS Student Free/Curriculum Days 2026

Please be advised of the following student free days, when our staff will be completing professional learning activities or parent teacher interviews:

Friday 4^th December – Assessment & Reporting Day

For those families using the TheirCare childcare service, they are preparing to have students on the 4^th December dates: https://theircare.com.au/

Exciting Events & Must-Know Dates!

Term 3:
August Events:
- Monday 10th – Friday 14th August – Book Fair
- Thursday 13th August – Grandparents’/Special Friends’ Day @11.30am – 1.00pm
- Friday 14th August – Assembly
- Monday 17th August – EDEC Basketball (Grade 6)
- Monday 24th August – Friday 28th August – Book Week
- Thursday 27th – Friday 28th August – State School Spectacular Rehearsal (selected Grade 6 students)
- Friday 28th August – Book Week Dress Up Day
- Friday 28th August – Assembly
- Saturday 29th August – State School Spectacular Performance (selected Grade 6 students)
September Events:
- Friday 4th September – Fathers Day Celebrations @2.30pm

Emma Clark

Principal

This Week…

Exciting Grade 6 Sporting Achievements This Week…

Divisional Footy - Boys 1

On the 29th of July, we went to Lewis Park for Divisional Football. The students who participated were Caleb, Jagger, Andy, Reve, Ashtyn, Redmon, Jack, Lucas, Ashley, Hayden and Peyton.

We worked as a team and tried our best to make it to Regionals. Even though we didn’t make it, it didn’t really matter because we had heaps of fun! One of the highlights was not having to go to school and getting to play footy with our friends. It was also great beating the Twos!

We showed teamwork by passing the ball with precision, supporting each other and congratulating our opponents when they won. We would like to thank all the teachers, the Ones footy team and, of course, our footy coach, Mr Appleby, for helping us have such a great day.

By Caleb and Peyton

Divisional Footy - Boys 2

On the 29th of July, we went to Lewis Park for Divisional Football. The students who participated were Conor, Ollie D, Henry, Mason, Parker K, Kayden, Seth, Zeke, Parker and more.

We won two games and lost the rest, but our team worked together really well and never stopped trying. A highlight from the day was winning two games and seeing almost everyone on the team kick a goal. It was really exciting!

We showed teamwork and sportsmanship by supporting each other during the games. Mason did some great blocking to help the team, and everyone kept encouraging each other.

We would like to thank Steve Shore for coaching us, running our training sessions and helping us improve. It was a great day of footy!

By Ollie D, Parker, Mason

Divisional Soccer

On Friday the 31st of July, we went to Munbulk Soccer Club for Divisional Soccer. The students who participated were Oliver, Ashley, Jagger, Lucas, Andy, Oakley, Ashtyn, Jack W, Jack S and Hunter, who was unfortunately sick and couldn’t attend.

Our team won every game with courage and skill. We won our games by quite a few goals, except for the last game, which we won 2–1. This win put us through to Regionals, which was very exciting!

One of the highlights of the day depended on who you asked. For Andy, it was when Ashira brought the sweet food, while for others it was winning the flag! We all thought the day was a great opportunity to represent our school.

We showed teamwork by passing to each other and helping everyone get a chance to score. We also showed good sportsmanship by shaking hands with the other teams after every game.

We would like to thank Ash, Oliver’s dad, for coaching us and helping our team and school achieve this win. We would also like to thank Frank, Andy’s dad, for being our assistant coach during our out-of-school training sessions. A big thank you to Mrs Porter for washing all the stinky soccer uniforms and supporting the team, and to Ashira for buying food to keep us going and supporting us throughout the day.

By Ashtyn and Oakley

🌿 Introducing Our Play Spaces Matrix – The EPS Way!

We are excited to introduce our new ‘Play Spaces Matrix’, along with our previously introduced ‘Always Matrix’, which helps our students understand what it looks, sounds, and feels like to demonstrate The EPS Way while playing and learning across our playgrounds and outdoor spaces.

Our three school values guide the way we interact with others and care for our school:

💚 KINDNESS – Care • Include • Support
We make positive choices to include others, ask if we can join a game, help and check in with others, and encourage and support our friends.

💛 RESPECT – Think • Act • Communicate
We play by the rules, take turns, keep our hands and feet to ourselves, respect other people’s belongings and look after our playgrounds, gardens and school equipment.

💚 RESILIENCE – Persist • Adapt • Grow

We communicate our problems effectively, take responsibility for our actions, stay calm when things don’t go our way, solve problems and seek help when we need it.

The Play Spaces Matrix gives us a shared language for positive play, problem-solving and looking after one another. We will be explicitly teaching these expectations with students and celebrating students who demonstrate The EPS Way in our play spaces.

Remember:

The EPS Way

Respect • Kindness • Resilience
Every Day. Every Way! 🌿

Food Boxes Available

In addition to the breakfast food we receive from the Food Bank, we have recently received a number of food boxes containing a variety of pantry essentials, including tinned foods, fruit cups, cereal, long-life milk, soups and rice.

If your family would benefit from a food box, please visit the school office to collect one. All enquiries will be treated with care and respect, and boxes are available while supplies last.