Principal’s Report

Next week is an exciting one at Emerald Primary School as we celebrate Children’s Book Week! Students can look forward to a range of fun activities, all centred around the joy of reading, and there will be a special surprise at next Friday’s assembly – we can’t wait to share it with you!

 

This week, we were proud to host a Learning Walk with local school leaders, who visited classrooms to observe how we teach Numeracy. These Learning Walks also take place at other schools in the Dandenong Ranges Network, giving us all the opportunity to share ideas and learn from each other about best teaching practices for all of the students in the hills. A big thank you to our fantastic Maths Learning Specialist, Tara Porter, and Maths Professional Learning Team Leader, Craig Appleby, for their contributions to the important work of supporting Maths teaching at our school.

 

On a personal note, my experience as an Acting SEIL was incredibly rewarding, offering valuable insights into our broader school community and strengthening our connections across the region.

 

A big thank you to Carice D’Rozario for being Acting Principal during this time, and to Cathlin Smart and Bianca Appleby for their support also whilst I was absent, undertaking the Acting Assistant Principal roles. We are very fortunate to have such outstanding leaders in our school community.

WE WANT OUR PARENTS / CAREGIVERS / GUARDIANS TO TELL US WHAT THEY THINK!

Our school is conducting the anual Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey offered by the Department of Education and is seeking your feedback. The survey is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behavior, and student engagement. The survey is optional, but we encourage and appreciate your participation.

Our school will use the survey results to assist in identifying areas for improvement and professional development needs in the school, to target school planning and improvement strategies.

The Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey will be open online from Monday 18 August to Friday 19 September 2025.

All families are invited to participate in the survey.

The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones.

The online survey will be available in English and 10 other languages including Arabic, Greek, Hakha Chin, Hindi, Japanese, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Turkish, and Vietnamese. Resources are also available in additional languages to assist parents / caregivers / guardians who speak a language other than English at home. Please reach out to your child’s teacher, or the school directly for survey guides in your language.

The survey results will be communicated to parents / caregivers / guardians via the Annual Report and will be available on the school website.

Please speak to your child’s teacher if you would like more information.

  • August Events:
    • Monday 18th – Friday 22nd August – Children’s Book Week
    • Monday 18th August – Regional Boys Soccer (Selected Students)
    • Thursday 21st August – School Council meeting @ 7.30pm
    • Friday 22nd August – Assembly
    • Friday 22nd August – Book Dress-Up Day
  • September Events:
    • Monday 1st – Friday 5th September – Production Rehearsal Week (Grade 6)
    • Friday 5th September – Assembly
    • Monday 8th September – Production Tech Rehearsal (Grade 6)
    • Tuesday 9th September – Production Dress Rehearsal (Grade 6)
    • Wednesday 10th September @ 1pm – Grade 6 Production Matinee
    • Thursday 11th – Friday 12th September @ 6.30pm – Grade 6 Production
    • Wednesday 17th September – Divisional Athletics (Seleted Students)
    • Thusday 18th September –  EDEC Basketball (Grade 6)
    • Thusday 18th September – School Council meeting @ 7.30pm
    • Friday 19th September – Assembly
    • Friday 19th September – Last Day of Term 3 – Students dismissed at 2.30pm

Emma Clark

Principal

Star of the week!

For working so hard to identify the sounds in words during writing lessons.

For your enthusiasm and dedication to your reading. Your consistent effort has led to amazing outcomes!

For putting great effort into your spider web and writing a sentence after reading SPIRO by Anna McGregor. What a STAR.

For jumping into the learning pit and climbing back out with our poetry work this week!

For your incredible work in maths. You are a multiplication whiz!

For consistently putting in her best effort with her writing. Well done Aylah!

For challenging your own learning in maths, while taking the time to support and encourage others.

For your persistence and non-stop 110% effort! What a super star!

For always taking pride in her work. She consistently goes above and beyond to do the best she can in every task!

For your hard work that you’ve put in, to show us a calm, relaxed, respectful and hard-working member of 5SA. Your positivity is shining through! You are a respectful SUPERSTAR!

For accurately using a range of strategies to order and compare fractions.

For your engagement and enthusiasm in your learning. I love watching you jump in and give tasks your best. You are kicking goals Phae!

For being an amazing role model and working hard to complete her work.

For settling in so well to Emerald Primary School. You are a STAR.

For showing great focus and making fantastic progress with sounding out words during our morning UFLI sessions. Keep up the great work Alaska!

For working really hard on her poem construction this week!

For her beautiful reading, amazing rhyming poem and expert time telling! Incredible!

For writing a well-structured and informative procedural text.

For passion and enthusiasm to always work harder, particularly in word study!

For showing AMAZING confidence while doing a great presentation on your soccer (football. Sorry) career.

*Student Award*

For having a wonderful start to this term. You are so kind and caring and we love having you at EPS. You are a STAR!

For your resilience and ‘can do’ attitude. You are a beacon of positivity and wonderful role model in 5SA! Keep on being your biggest advocate and using your voice to achieve your learning goals! You truly are a SUPERSTAR!

For being a kind, caring and supportive friend to all. You are always there to offer help and encouragement – even to me.

For her detailed review of the book Floods, you gave excellent examples of personification and discussed how Bruce Whatley added imagery through illustrations.

For taking on the challenge to add more to her writing tasks – with excellent results! Keep it up!

For her positive attitude towards her task, always tries her best with her happy smile.

For showing wonderful effort when creating a detailed spider web and writing a sentence with an adjective after reading our SPIRO story. What a STAR!

For putting in 100% effort this week. You have actively participated in all lessons and been a positive role model for your peers!

For her outstanding knowledge about Ancient Greece and for her incredible rhyming poem!

For using such rich and expressive vocabulary in your writing.

For enacting skills that support and care for friends. You are a thoughtful star!

For stepping up and engaging more in class discussions and working hard to complete set tasks in class, especially in mathematics!

For writing an amazing narrative poem which included lots of figurative language. What a poetic STAR!

For researching diligently about Deforestation, and efficiently note-taking key information.

For showing perseverance and creativity in maths when finding percentages. You showed a great maths mindset.

This Week…

Sporting Success at EPS! 

What a start to Term 3 for our Grade 6 students! Selected students competed in Division Football, Division Soccer, and the HPV Grand Prix at Sandown Racecourse — with great results and plenty of fun along the way. 

EPS girls' and boys' teams competed in the Division Football competition. Both teams played exceptionally well, adapting to the new 9 v 9 format and smaller playing area, and achieving several wins throughout the day. It was an enjoyable day for all, with many players relishing the chance to tackle and kick for goal. 

The girls' team recorded a win and a draw, while the boys' team—who finished on equal points with the leaders—enjoyed multiple wins but just missed out on a spot in the final due to a lower percentage. 

Thank you to Aaron Barber, Mrs Bathgate, and Mr Stella for their coaching and guidance.

"EPS girls' and boys' teams represent at Division Football."

 

Two days later, our girls’ and boys’ soccer teams competed in the Division Soccer tournament. The sun was shining, and EPS were finding the back of the net in both teams!

Our girls’ team grew in confidence and skill with each game, finishing a close second to Selby. The boys’ team had a tight game with St Paul’s, but demonstrated strong teamwork and skill in their other matches to win the tournament.

Result: Boys’ team through to the Regional Championship — Monday 18 August.

Thank you to Andrew Bailey, Ash Bucci, and Mauro Callegari for their coaching, support, and guidance.

“Smiles all round at Division Soccer.”

The weather gods were in their element for the HPV Grand Prix! EPS entered three student teams and one parent team in the 7-hour endurance race.

From riders tearing around the track, to parents managing pit changes, marshalling, filming, and cheering — the EPS HPV community spirit was in full flight.

An early race bingle made it even more unforgettable for Stevie!

Thank you to our team sponsors, parent group, and students for their energy and involvement.
Final race: Sunday 26 October at Lang Lang.

EPS riders in action at Sandown Raceway.”

Dear EPS Parents and Carers,

The eSafety Commissioner (eSafety) is the Australian

Government’s independent online safety regulator.

Their purpose is to help safeguard Australians at risk of

online harms and to promote safer, more positive online experiences.

They have a range of free webinars for parents and carers. These

live webinars give parents and carers the knowledge, skills and tools to

support their children to have safe online experiences.

Please follow this link (https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/webinars)

for more details.

Here, also, is a link to the parent resources page to

support parents and carers with eSafety information for children. https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents

Kind regards,

Bianca Appleby

Upcoming Events…

If so please bring them to the Emerald SES to be recycled. Emerald Primary School is now a registered donation partner with the Victorian Container Deposit Scheme. So your rubbish can be recycled and each empty container earns 10c. Please donate the money you collect to our school, so we can fundraise for more drink taps on the school oval.

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