Newsletter - Term 3 - Week 4 - 13 August 2025

Dear Parents/Carers,

Administration Team Staffing Update

We are delighted to welcome Sunday Cutbush to our administration team, taking over from Toni Kearney. Sunday brings great enthusiasm and experience from Clifton Hill Primary and has already hit the ground running working along Carmel and Litsa.

Litsa Kirk will be taking planned long service leave for the remainder of Term 3. While Litsa is away, we’re pleased to welcome Maddie Mcquin who will be joining the administration team on a casual basis and started on Monday 11th August. Maddie will be working alongside Carmel and Sunday to keep everything running smoothly. We know our community will make the new faces in our administration team feel right at home.

Parents / Caregivers / Guardians Annual Survey

Our school is conducting the annual 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 behaviour, and student engagement. The survey strongly encouraged 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, as well as celebrate areas of achievement and growth. 

Last year we used the survey results to plan better communication between home and school, and this led to the purchase of the premium version of SeeSaw to enhance our digital portfolio. As well as implement the 10-week reporting cycle to provide more updated communication to families on their child’s learning. 

The results from the 2025 survey will be unpacked by the wider leadership team and in consultation with our community engagement sub-committee to celebrate areas of achievement, as well as outline our next focus areas for 2026.

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 via this link https://research.orima.com/parent and using the School Code: 752190. 

The survey is an online survey and only takes 20 minutes to complete. It 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 the school directly for survey guides in your language.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to complete this survey.

Child Safety at Ivanhoe East Primary School

At Ivanhoe East Primary School, the safety and wellbeing of every child is our highest priority. Not only do we fully comply with the Victorian Child Safe Standards and Ministerial Order 1359, but we go above these requirements to create an environment where every student is safe, respected, and empowered. Child safety is not just a policy it is embedded in our leadership culture, daily operations, and community partnerships.

We are committed to providing a culturally safe and inclusive environment for all students, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, students with disabilities, those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, students in out-of-home care, international students, and students who identify as LGBTIQA+. We promote diversity and equity, address discrimination swiftly, and ensure that every child knows their rights and feels confident to speak up.

Our robust policies and risk management practices guide how we identify, assess, and manage risks in all environments on site, online, and during off-site activities with third-party providers. These include clear duty protocols, supervision of high-risk areas, strong digital safety measures, and privacy impact assessments for online platforms. Our Child Safety Risk Register is reviewed annually to ensure our practices remain effective and responsive.

All staff, contractors, and volunteers undertake rigorous screening and training before working with children. This includes valid Working With Children Checks, official notification to IEPS as the organisation, proof of identity, and reference checks addressing suitability for working with children. Volunteers must complete an induction program and, where relevant, specific training for roles such as school camps. These measures exceed basic compliance and ensure that everyone in our school community understands their obligations and role in safeguarding children.

We provide ongoing professional learning for staff throughout the year, covering child safety obligations, recognising and responding to harm, cultural safety, diversity, information sharing, and online safety. Staff induction is comprehensive and supported by coaching, peer observation, and mentoring to ensure our practices remain strong and consistent.

Students are central to our child safety approach. They participate in weekly wellbeing sessions that teach them about their rights focusing on respectful relationships. Daily community circles, restorative practices, and peer support programs help to build trust, belonging, and strong connections. Age-appropriate reporting processes ensure students know exactly how and to whom they can raise concerns.

Our families and wider school community are valued partners in keeping children safe. We provide accessible information about our policies and updates via the school website and Bulletin and invite input through School Council and consultation opportunities. By working together, we strengthen our collective ability to prevent harm and respond swiftly if concerns arise.

Child safety at IEPS is a shared responsibility and a living commitment. We regularly review and improve our policies  and practices and communicate openly with staff, students, and families about improvements. By embedding a safety-first culture, maintaining rigorous standards, and actively engaging our community, IEPS ensures that every child can learn, grow, and thrive in a secure and supportive environment. 

Thank you.

Tom Boyle,
Principal

If you plan to do any volunteer child-related work at Ivanhoe East Primary school, you will need:

• to provide a valid Working With children check
• to sign in and carry your check while volunteering
• to update your "organisation" details to include Ivanhoe East Primary school as an organisation you are volunteering at (this generates a letter that is automatically sent to the school on your behalf)

Please come and talk to the front office staff to check if we have a copy of the required letter on file.

If you have only provided us with a WWC card this is not enough and you will not be able to volunteer your services at the school.

If you haven't already registered IEPS as an organisation you volunteer with, please update your profile by clicking on the link below and forward your confirmation email to the school: ivanhoe.east.ps@education.vic.gov.au

As per the Department's timeline, enrolments for Foundation 2026 have now closed. If you want to enrol your child for 2026, please contact Carmel Sitilidis, our Enrolment Coordinator, carmel.sitilidis@education.vic.gov.au as soon as possible.

Furthermore, if your child is currently in Prep-5 and will not be returning to IEPS in 2026, please notify carmel.sitilidis@education.vic.gov.au in writing as soon as possible. We require this information as soon as possible to establish grade structures for the start of the new school year.

Children's Book Week turns 80 in 2025!

Let’s celebrate imagination, storytelling, and creativity together!

Where: IEPS basketball courts

When: Thursday 21 August 2025 (weather permitting)

Time: 9:00(ish) am

Wear: Book character costume

Parents are invited to attend the parade.

This weekend, to kick off Book Week's 80th year, there will be an event to celebrate the CBCA 80th anniversary. Click on the link below for details. 

The Smile Squad free school dental program is coming to our school

Dear Ivanhoe East families,

The Smile Squad team from Holstep Health (formerly known as Banyule Community Health) are coming to our school. Smile Squad is the Victorian Government free school dental program.

The Dental treatment truck is on-site from 20 October and the Placement Students are on-site from 13 - 24 October.

This means ALL students can get a free dental check-up, preventive services, and treatment at school.

How to access free dental care

We need your consent before we can provide services. Consent is usually provided by a parent or guardian. Please complete and submit the consent form as soon as you can.

The electronic consent form can be translated into more than 100 languages, and the paper form is currently available in 30 languages. 

Sign up to Smile Squad using the link below.

On Thursday 31 July, all students in Years 3–6 gathered at the Collingwood Harriers Athletics Track for our annual Athletics Carnival. The day gave everyone the chance to take part in a range of track and field events including the 100m sprint, shot put, high jump, discus and long jump.

Students embraced the opportunity to represent their house colours, give their best effort and enjoy friendly competition. There was a fantastic display of sportsmanship, with students encouraging one another and celebrating each other’s achievements.

A huge thank you to our House Captains and School Captains, teachers and parent volunteers for helping the event run smoothly and to the families who came to cheer from the sidelines.

Congratulations to all students for participating with such enthusiasm, determination and good spirit — you made the day a great success.

This term in Art, Year 4 students have been exploring the exciting world of comic strips! They began by planning out their storylines and learning how to express ideas through a sequence of images. Using guided cartoon drawing techniques, students designed their own unique characters and brought them to life through humour, action and imagination. These were then arranged into comic strip templates, showcasing their creativity and storytelling skills.

Keep an eye out for more to come every school bulletin from now on! 

These ones are from:

Sophia La Rocca - 4G

Emily O'Keefe - 4T

Assembly & Fortnightly Bulletin Update

In 2025, we will continue to alternate between onsite and online assemblies, however given the amount of work that is required to create a YouTube episode, these will only be showcased twice per term in weeks 4 and 8. 

Each year level will host at least one onsite assembly, share their learning and present the Student of the Fortnight and green card awards and announce house points. 

Assemblies will be held onsite in the school gym at 9am on alternate Friday mornings.

Please refer to the schedule below: 

- MS Readathon - Sign up here - https://www.msreadathon.org.au/join/ivanhoeeastprimaryschool

- Balance of SSB after June - Please refer to the previous bulletin on 14 May or the home page of the website where it is a 'featured article'.