Principal’s Report

It has been another busy and exciting couple of weeks at Emerald Primary School!

Thank you to all the families who joined us for our Father’s Day Celebration last Friday. Our students put on a fantastic performance, followed by a sausage sizzle and classroom visits. It was lovely to see so many dads, grandfathers and special friends enjoying the afternoon with our students.

PJ Day – this Friday 11th September
Our Early Act students are running a “PJ Day” theme dress-up day to raise funds to support a school in Africa, via a support foundation called “Compelled By Love”, which provides fresh water for the school. Students are invited to wear their favourite pyjamas, with a gold coin donation welcome. Thank you to our Early Act students for leading this wonderful initiative!

Sports Theme Dress-Up Day – Friday 18th September (last day of term)
Next Friday, we will be celebrating all things sport! Students can dress up as whatever their favourite sport is – perhaps a sport they play, a favourite team or even their favourite sporting star. There is no donation required for this day; this is simply a fun day for everyone to enjoy on the last day of term.

We also have whole-school assemblies this Friday and next Friday. Next Friday’s assembly will include the presentation of our Growth Mindset Awards, recognising students who have demonstrated perseverance, a willingness to learn, positive attitudes and a growth mindset. We will finish the day with a whole-school sports-theme parade. School finishes at 2.30pm on next Friday 18th September.

As we continue to look at the best ways to communicate with our school community, we will be making some changes to how we use Class Dojo from Term 4. Class Dojo will continue to be used for whole-school and grade cohort posts, including sharing important information, reminders and celebrations with families. However, the direct messaging function between individual parents/carers and staff members will no longer be used for communication.

If you have a question, concern or matter you would like to discuss with your child’s teacher, we encourage you to touch base with them briefly before or after school, where appropriate, or contact the school to arrange a meeting time. You can also email the school emerald.ps@education.vic.gov.au and your message will be directed to the appropriate staff member. For anything urgent that needs to be addressed on the day, please contact the school office by phone so that we can ensure the message is received promptly.

We appreciate that families are busy and that communication between home and school is an important part of supporting our students. These changes will help us ensure that communication is managed consistently, that staff have appropriate time to focus on teaching and learning during the school day, and that parents and carers have the opportunity to discuss concerns directly and constructively.

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.

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.

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

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

  • Friday 4th December – Assessment & Reporting Day

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

  • Term 3:
  • September Events:
    • Friday 11th September – PJ Day (Gold Coin Donation)
    • Friday 11th September – Assembly
    • Monday 14th September – Friday 18th September – Grade 6 Camp – Woorabinda
    • Wednesday 16th September – Divisional Athletics (Selected Students)
    • Thursday 17th September – School Council @ 7.15pm
    • Friday 18th September – Sports Theme Dress-Up Day
    • Friday 18th September – Growth Mindset Awards Assembly
    • Friday 18th September – Last Day of Term 3 – 2.30pm Finish
  • Term 4:
  • October Events:
    • Monday 5th October – Term 4 Begins
    • Monday 5th October – Friday 9th October – Grade 6 Production Rehearsals
    • Monday 12th October – Tuesday 13th October – Grade 6 Production Rehearsals
    • Wednesday 14th October – Grade 6 Production Matinee @1pm
    • Thursday 15th October – Grade 6 Production Evening Show @6.30pm
    • Friday 16th October – Grade 6 Production Evening Show @6.30pm
    • Thursday 22nd October – School Council @ 7.15pm

Emma Clark

Principal

This Week…

A Reminder About Safe Driving Around Our School

With the busy school drop-off and pick-up times, we kindly remind all families

to take extra care when driving around Emerald Primary School and the surrounding areas, including the front of the school along Heroes Avenue and the GEMCO car park.

Please drive slowly, remain alert and be mindful of pedestrians, particularly our students who may be entering or leaving the school grounds. We ask that families follow all parking and traffic signs, use designated areas appropriately and avoid stopping or parking in unsafe locations.

The safety of our students, families and wider community is our highest priority. Thank you for your patience, consideration and cooperation in helping us keep the areas around our school safe for everyone.

👑 HEAR YE! HEAR YE! 👑

 A ROYAL ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE REALM! 

Hear ye, hear ye, good people of the kingdom!
The royal court is delighted to announce that tickets are available for our spectacular school production:

⚔️ WHAT A KNIGHT! ⚔️

Wednesday 14th October – 1:00pm
Tickets are still available!

Thursday 15th October – 6:30pm
A limited number of tickets remain!

Tickets may be purchased from the school office.

So gather your royal family, polish your crowns and prepare for an afternoon or evening of laughter, adventure, music and medieval merriment!

✨ We eagerly await your presence at the castle! ✨

HEAR YE! HEAR YE!
Don’t miss your chance to witness the wonderful tale of
WHAT A KNIGHT! 🏰⚔️👑

Community News

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Canteen News!

Friday Meal Deal 

Nacho’s with cheese salsa & sour cream

&

Chocolate crackle

$8.00

Don’t Forget the Footy Celebration Lunch!

Get ready to celebrate all things footy! Our Footy Celebration Lunch is coming up on Friday 18th September, with a special lunch available for students to enjoy.

Special Footy Lunch – $9.00

ORDERS CLOSE MONDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER

No late orders can be accepted.

Please note: There will be NO other lunch orders available from the canteen on Friday 18th September. The Footy Celebration Lunch will be the only lunch option available on the day.

Parents can order online through School24 or return the completed order slip with payment to the canteen.

Don’t miss out — make sure your Footy Lunch order is in by Monday 14th September!

SCHOOL EVENTS

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