We hope that all our communtiy members are well rested and have enjoyed the school holiday period. Congratulations to all of our Collingwood supporters, we hope that you all had an enjoyable Grand Final weekend as the weather was fantastic.

Over the past two days is has been pleasing to see how smoothly students have transitioned back to the classrooms from their well desereved school holidays, this a credit to the teachers and their forward planning and organisaiton. It is a busy term ahead and we look forward to engaging hands on learning occuring across the school with many incursions/excurison and whole school events on the calendar.

Please refer to the calendar below my message for key dates this term.

October 10^th – World Inclusion Day (Whole School Event)

Next week, on October 10^th, IEPS will be celebrating World Inclusion Day. This day is an acknowledgement that although we come from different backgrounds, cultures, abilities, genders, races, ages etc. we are accepted and welcomed. Our differences are celebrated as a part of our community and we treat everyone with kindness and equity. As a school, we welcome students to wear casual clothes that represent them. The gold coin donation of this will go to the ‘Inclusion Foundation’, a foundation designed to create a more inclusive world for individuals with Down Syndrome. Within our classrooms, each student will be completing a small piece of art to be pieced together with the rest of the school with the theme of ‘we all fit together at IEPS’. This will be a day of celebrating ourselves, our peers and our community.

 October 10^th – World Mental Health Day

Our mental health affects how we think, feel and act. It is just as, if not more important that our physical health. On this day we acknowledge how privileged this country is to take mental health seriously; we teach it, are supported by our jobs and community when it is poor, and have supports in place if it is ever needed. On this day, remember the importance of having open conversations about your feelings and listening when others are needing a support. 

Parent Requests for 2024 Classes

As we continue to meet the needs of the students at our school we have already begun the complex task of workforce planning for the 2024 year; considering budgets, teacher requests, staffing changes and student numbers.

This is the time of the year when we start to explore class structures and carefully consider the best resourcing to meet student needs. As mentioned above, in order to do this we need to have an accurate understanding of student numbers in each level.

If you know of any families who will be moving into the area and will have children enrolling at Ivanhoe East Primary School for next year, please ask them to make urgent contact with the school. Likewise, please let us know if your family is moving and/or your children will not be returning to IEPS in 2024. 

Throughout November and early December, we will be working on our class structures and student combinations for next year. A great deal of thought, planning and time goes into placing students into classes. Every effort is made to place each child in a learning environment that is engaging, caring and productive and each student will be able to nominate up to 5 learning friends for their 2024 class, each student will be guaranteed to receive at least 1 learning friend in their 2024 class. As you may understand, the allocation of students to new classes is an intricate task and one that requires patience and a great deal of thought. The method used to create classes at IEPS is quite an in-depth analytical process that involves a multitude of variables. These variables include each student’s academics, learning needs, student pairings, behavioral aspects, parent requests, friendship requests and their specific classroom teacher’s observations and judgements. Rest assured even through this is a complex process, as mentioned above each student will have at least one of their requested learning friends in their 2024 class.

Information from parents is welcomed as part of the decision-making processes, and we now invite parents to write to us about any requests they may have for their child’s educational needs. We do not accept requests for placement with individual teachers, however, we do take into consideration relevant information, based on educational needs, which can help us with the placement process.

Requests are to be addressed directly to Mr. Boyle and will be considered up until Friday 27^th October. Please email directly to tom.boyle@education.vic.gov.au with any concerns around specific educational needs in relation to class placement. Only Letters received by 5pm Friday October 27th will be considered. If you have previously emailed your child’s classroom teacher, you will need to re-email this letter addressed to myself and sent directly to me. If you would like to have a face-to-face conversation please don’t hesitate to contact me and we can arrange a time.

Please note that while we take any information that you provide into consideration, the final decisions regarding your child’s placement rest with the teaching staff and leadership team. Furthermore please note that once classes are finalised there will be no changes made to those class structures.

Assemblies Term 4

This term we will be continuing with fortnightly on-site assemblies, with the alternating week being an IEPS news episode. Our on-site assemblies will begin this week and will occur on the following dates:

• Friday 6^th of October
• Friday 20^th of October
• Friday 3^rd of November
• Friday 17^th of November
• Friday 1^st of December
• Friday 15^th of December (Final assembly of the year)

Furthermore, we will be changing our student of the week process. We will be moving to a student of the fortnight where at least 1 student will be awarded with a certificate each fortnight at assembly. At the conclusion of assembly those students will be invited to come up to the front of the gymnasium to get a group photo with Mr Boyle, which will be placed into the following bulletin, parents are also welcome to come up the front to take this photo as well.

Lunchtime Clubs Update Term 4.

The PAG representatives surveyed Foundation to Year 6's students and then collated the data to select the top 4 lunchtime clubs voted upon by students. The PAG representatives have discussed some amendments and scheduling changes that are reflective of feedback from the students. Please note, Tech club will be run by Ms. Gould and will involve the use of proper tech skills being taught. Please find attached below the timetable for Lunchtime Clubs starting Week 2 of Term 4.

IEPS - Big Night Out

Our major fundraiser the Big Night Out will be held this Friday night. A big thank you to our PTFA for organising this event and the efforts that have gone in to fundraising for our school. 

For those who can’t make it you can still join the fun! Our online silent auction will go live on Friday afternoon and we have an amazing array of fantastic items up for grabs. A link will be sent out via Compass and your class reps that you can share with family and friends. Every dollar raised will go towards upgrading our outdoor spaces.

Large Funeral Service next door on Monday 9^th October

There will be a large funeral service taking place at St Georges on Monday 9^th October 2023 commencing at 10.30am.

Noel Whale was much loved and well known in the diocese, having served as a priest for 52 years, only retiring in 2022. In Noel’s time he had strong connections with the school and was a close friend of Fay, one of my predecessors.

Reverend John Sanderson expects the church to be literally full to overflowing and there will be plenty of people looking for parking in surrounding streets. He expects that the congregation will have dispersed by 2pm so there should have minimal impact on school drop off and pick-up, although it will cone off their parking bay for the hearse from early in the morning.