Principal’s Report

EPS Book Week

This week we have been celebrating Book Week 2026 with the exciting theme of a “Symphony of Stories”. It has been wonderful to see students immersed in the joy of reading and storytelling through our amazing collection of CBCA books. We are looking forward to our special assembly on Friday, where we will be celebrating with our much-loved Book Week Dress-Up Day, which sees our students bring their favourite characters to life. Other fun activities for the week include our Virtual Author Workshops, Treasure Hunts and Drawing Competitions. This will culminate in a Whole School Read-In on Friday where our school community will take some time to enjoy the magic of books and reading together. A BIG thank you to Katie Weerasinghe and Shannyn Gardiner for their co-ordination of the events for this week.

Happy Book Week!

Reminder – 2026 Voluntary Contributions

All families will note on Compass that the Voluntary Curriculum Contribution amounts are accessible there for payment. We understand that 2026 has continued to be a challenging year for families economically, and so really appreciate it if you are able to make a payment plan to finish off the year, or pay outright when you can. If there are any more families who could put some money toward these this year, so that we can continue to conduct a full, rich program of learning at EPS, that would be wonderful. Please contact myself or Fiona Hogben, our Business Manager, for a chat if you would like to discuss payment options further. We understand that every family’s circumstances are different, and we certainly appreciate that not everyone is in a position to contribute. However, if you are able to still make a contribution at this end of the year, we would be very grateful for your support. Every contribution, large or small, helps us continue to provide the best possible opportunities for our students.

Shout Out to Hills Physiotherapy!

Thank you to Hills Physiotherapy for their generous donation of some high jump equipment for our school – it is very much appreciated!

2026 Parent/Carer Opinion Survey

Our school is conducting the annual Parent and Carer 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 and Carer Opinion Survey is open online from Monday 24 August to Friday 18 September 2026. All families have been 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. Please see the Compass message sent this week with the link to undertake the survey.

2027 Prep Enrolments - A reminder that the due date for acceptance of enrolments is this Friday 28th August.

A reminder that the due date for acceptance of enrolments is this Friday 28^th August.

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 24th August – Friday 28th August – Book Week
- Monday 24th August – Friday 28th August – Smile Squad
- Thursday 27th – Friday 28th August – State School Spectacular Rehearsal (selected Grade 6 students)
- Thursday 27th August – School Council @7.15pm
- 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
- Monday 14th September – Friday 18th September – Grade 6 Camp
- Friday 18th September – Last Day of Term 3 – 2.30pm Finish

Emma Clark

Principal

This Week…

Exciting Grade 6 Sporting Achievements This Week…

Regional Soccer

On Tuesday 18th August, Emerald competed in Regional Soccer at Manningham Football Club. Our team included Ollie, Oakley, Lucas, Ash, Ashtyn, Reve, Jagger, Andy, Jack S., Jack W. and Kayden. We won one game, drew one and lost three, which may not sound amazing, but it was the best Emerald has ever performed at this level – and we made the semi-finals! A highlight was playing together as a team rather than as 11 individual players. We are all friends, shared the ball and weren’t greedy. We would like to give a special thank you to Ash for coaching us, as well as the referees and the other teams for making it such a fun experience.

By Ollie B

EDEC Basketball

On Monday 17th August, Emerald Primary School travelled to Kilsyth Basketball Stadium to compete in the EDEC Basketball competition. Throughout the day, students displayed excellent teamwork, sportsmanship and determination while representing our school with pride. Here are some snapshots of the day, written by our Grade 6 students.

Our team included Sophie, Malaika, Ava, Maggie, Winter, Maya, Amelia and me. We won every game by a lot, which was definitely the highlight of the day! We showed great teamwork by passing and making sure no one hogged the ball. We would like to thank our coach, Bonnie, and everyone on the team for playing so well.

By Tanith

Reve, Hayden, Ashtyn, Henry, Caleb, Andy and Jax from Year 5 began with a 20–12 win against Gembrook. In our second game, we were down 8–0 to Macclesfield at half-time but made an amazing comeback to win 14–12! We then drew 16–16 with Gembrook before winning 26–8 against Gembrook 2, with Ashtyn hitting a three-pointer on the half-time buzzer.

We made it to the Grand Final, where we faced Emerald 1. They were a strong team and defeated us 27–16, but we showed great effort and teamwork. A highlight was Caleb’s mum, Naomi, promising us Macca’s ice creams if we reached the Grand Final—and large ones if we won! We showed great sportsmanship by sharing the ball, making good passes and not hogging it.

We would like to thank our coach, Jesse, and all the mums and dads who encouraged us throughout the day.

By Reve

There were three divisions, with one boys’ team and one girls’ team in Division 1, four mixed teams in Division 2 and two teams in Division 3. All of Grade 6 attended the event, along with a small number of Grade 5 students. My team consisted of Nathan, Poppy C., Joseph, Georgia, Cora and me.

Emerald Primary School faced some tough competition, but our teams won most of their matches. My team won three out of four games and drew the other, meaning we finished the day undefeated! This was my biggest highlight, and I had a great time throughout the day.

After every match, we shook hands with our opponents, and while watching other games, we cheered on our peers. I would like to thank Kilsyth Basketball Stadium for hosting us, Mrs Bathgate for coaching our team and myself!

By Campbell

My mixed team included Logan, Annabelle, Estella, Parker, Ollie D. and me. We won four out of our five games, but it didn’t matter that we didn’t win them all. The most important thing was that we had fun and worked together as a team.

A highlight was making it through every game without any blood or tears! I also enjoyed cheering on my friends during their matches. We showed teamwork and sportsmanship by volunteering to begin on the bench, sharing the ball and making sure everyone had at least three chances to shoot.

I would like to thank my mum and dad for paying for this amazing experience, everyone on my team, and especially our coaches, Amanda and Elle, as well as everyone who helped throughout the event.

By Xavier

Our team included Kayden, Mason, Jack, Sofia, Lucas C., Eliza and Conor. We had a very successful day, winning our first game by 29 points, our second by 35 and our third by 20 before drawing our final match. I scored 20 points in the first game, followed by 26 in the second, and finished the day with 69 points in total!

My highlights were hanging out with friends, scoring plenty of points and averaging nearly 20 points per game. We showed teamwork and sportsmanship by passing the ball and making sure everyone had a fair opportunity to shoot.

I would like to thank Peta for coaching our team and Mr Stella for making the day possible.

By Kayden

Our team included Jasmine, Indi McK., Matilda, Hunter, Ash, Hazel, Jack W., Aiden and Miller. One of our biggest results was an incredible win by almost 45 points!

My personal highlight was the total number of points I scored throughout the day. Our team worked really well together because we all knew one another and understood how each person played. This allowed us to work to everyone’s strengths and play as a team.

I would like to thank Mrs Porter for coaching and supporting us throughout the day, as well as everyone on the team.

By Ash

Our team included Oakley, Lucas K., Zoe P., Abby B., Alicia, Abi W., Venice, Sam and Willem. We won three out of our five games, and those victories were definitely a highlight! I also really enjoyed visiting the canteen. 😛

We showed teamwork and sportsmanship by passing the ball, scoring goals and cheering one another on no matter what happened.

We would like to thank Mrs Boocock for coaching our team and Kilsyth Basketball Stadium for hosting the event.

By Willem

Food Boxes Available – Don’t Miss Out!

We’re excited to let our school community know that, in addition to the breakfast food we receive for breakfast club, we have recently received a limited number of food boxes filled with pantry essentials!

Each box contains a variety of useful items, which may include tinned foods, fruit cups, cereal, long-life milk, soups and more.

If a food box would be useful for your family, please pop into the school office to collect one. There is no need to feel embarrassed or uncomfortable — all enquiries will be handled with care, kindness and respect.

Only a few boxes are left, so don’t miss out!

Available while supplies last.