Dear Families and Community of EBPS,

A very warm welcome back to all of our students, families, and staff as we begin another exciting term at East Bentleigh Primary School. I hope everyone had the opportunity to enjoy a little rest over the break, spend time with family and friends, and return feeling refreshed and ready for the term ahead.

The term has started very smoothly, and it has been wonderful to once again hear the sounds of children learning, playing, and reconnecting with friends around our school grounds. There is always something special about the beginning of a new term – new opportunities, new learning, and lots to look forward to.

Welcoming New Staff

This term, we are delighted to officially welcome several new staff members to our community.

We warmly welcome Jade Williams, who joins us as our Acting Assistant Principal for Semester 2. Jade brings a wealth of experience in both primary and secondary education and has already spent time getting to know our staff, students, and community.

We warmly welcome Pallavi, who joins our Year 5/6 team for the remainder of the year. Pallavi has already spent time in the school getting to know the students and staff, and we are excited to have her join our community.

We are also very happy to welcome Jade Rosenberg who will be working in our Ready Room on Mondays and Tuesdays. Jade is very familiar with our school having visited many times as a casual relief teacher. 

In exciting news, we will also shortly welcome Peter Sneddon as an additional Assistant Principal. Peter is an experienced educational leader who will be supporting our school over the coming months. This additional leadership support is a wonderful opportunity for EBPS and will further strengthen our capacity to continue our improvement work.

Please join me in making Jade, Pallavi, Jade R. and Peter feel incredibly welcome as they become part of the EBPS family.

A Busy and Exciting Term Ahead

There is certainly no shortage of exciting opportunities planned for our students this term.

We are delighted to welcome Rosie back to teach Folk Dancing, which is always a highlight for many students. We also have students participating in Footsteps, continuing to build confidence, teamwork, and a love of movement and performance.

Looking ahead, we also have a Music Concert planned this term, a visit from the wonderful Andrew Hill, and many more learning experiences and community events that we look forward to sharing with you.

School Improvements Continue

Over the holidays, I was pleased to sign off on our final major building project, marking the completion of an incredible period of improvement works across our school.

Families may have already noticed many of the upgrades that have taken place over the past eighteen months. In addition to our major projects, there have also been many smaller improvements around the grounds.

A huge thank you once again to everyone who attended our recent Working Bee. It was wonderfully attended and is another reminder of the incredible community spirit that exists at EBPS. Thanks to the support of our families and volunteers, our grounds continue to be beautiful, welcoming spaces for our students.

I would also like to thank Jane Ross & Michael Saba for organising and assembling our fantastic new basketball backing boards. They look absolutely wonderful and have already been very popular with students.

Our Improvement Focus

This term we will continue our strong focus on student wellbeing, ensuring that every child feels safe, connected, and supported at school.

Alongside this important work, we will also be increasing our focus on academic improvement. This includes continuing to strengthen our teaching practices, using student learning data thoughtfully, and ensuring every student is challenged, supported, and making strong learning growth.

We know that children thrive when both wellbeing and learning are given equal importance, and we remain committed to ensuring our students receive the very best educational opportunities possible.

Welcoming New Students

This term we also welcome a number of new students and families to East Bentleigh Primary School.

Starting at a new school can be both exciting and a little daunting, and we hope all of our new students quickly feel the warmth and sense of belonging that makes our school community so special. We are delighted to have you join us and look forward to getting to know you and your families over the coming weeks.

Student-Free Day – Friday 7 August

A reminder to families that we have a planned Professional Practice Day (PPD) on Friday 7 August. This will be a student-free day.

Further information regarding the day and arrangements will be communicated closer to the date.

**Industrial Action – Thursday 23 July**
Families may also be aware that the Australian Education Union (AEU) is planning industrial action on Thursday 23 July.

At this stage, I am awaiting further information regarding the impact this may have on the usual school day. I appreciate your patience and understanding and will communicate our plans for the day as soon as I am able.


These events are also included in our Compass calendar.
Please click here to download the Term 3 calendar.



As always, thank you for your ongoing support of our school. The partnership between home and school is one of our greatest strengths, and I continue to feel incredibly grateful to lead such a caring, supportive, and engaged community.

I wish everyone a wonderful start to Term 3 and look forward to another exciting term of learning, growth, and community together.

Warmest regards,
Sarah Spence
Principal

Hello EBPS families,

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and say how excited I am to be joining the wonderful East Bentleigh Primary School community as Acting Assistant Principal.

I have spent many years working in education, supporting young people to achieve their personal best and leading teams to strengthen teaching, learning and whole-school improvement. Throughout my career, I have been passionate about creating positive school cultures where every student feels valued, supported and inspired to learn. I firmly believe that when schools work in partnership with families and the wider community, students are given the very best opportunity to thrive.

From the moment I arrived at EBPS, I have been overwhelmed by the warm welcome I have received from our staff, students and families. Everyone has been incredibly kind, generous and welcoming, making me feel part of the school community from day one. I have been particularly impressed by the genuine sense of belonging and inclusiveness that exists across the school. It is clear that the EBPS values are not simply words on a page—they are lived every day through the positive relationships, respect and care shown by everyone in our community.

One of the highlights of my first few weeks was having the opportunity to present awards at our final assembly last term. It was wonderful to celebrate our students' achievements and see the pride and encouragement shared throughout the school. I am already looking forward to our next assembly next week and celebrating more of the fantastic learning and successes taking place across EBPS.

I also thoroughly enjoyed attending the recent Community Market. It was fantastic to see so many families coming together and to experience the strong community spirit that makes EBPS such a special place. Although I unfortunately missed the Winter Festival, I am very much looking forward to the many exciting events and celebrations planned throughout the rest of the semester.

Thank you once again for making me feel so welcome. I am honoured to be part of the EBPS community and look forward to working alongside our dedicated staff, wonderful students and supportive families as we continue to provide the very best opportunities for every child.

Jade Williams - Acting Assistant Principal

Classroom Cuisine is available for us to order online,
every day (except Tuesdays)

NEW TERM 3 MENU BELOW
Orders open until 8:30am on the day!
menu below
https://classroomcuisine.com.au/

PARENTS CRAFT GROUP

If you would like to know more about our newly established parents craft group, text or WhatsApp message Denise McDonough on 0406 678 076.

The group aims to: 

* learn, improve and share craft skills, 

* make space for working on own projects, and

* create items for use in school classrooms as needed (eg. currently making toys for the Steiner prep classes).

Complete beginners welcome. This is a good opportunity to keep up with your Steiner child's craft skills!

All welcome, including both Steiner and Mainstream parents, grandparents, etc.

This is a community-run group that is not officially affiliated with the school, so you'll need to contact Denise for more details, rather than the school office or teachers.

Thanks,

Denise