East Bentleigh Primary School acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which we work and learn, the Boon Wurrung people.We pay respect to their elders, past, present and future for they hold the memories, traditions, cultures and hopes of Aboriginal Australia.
Hello everyone,
Swimming Our Grade 1 and 2 children have been enjoying their Intensive Swimming lessons over the last seven days.
Labour Day Public Holiday - An Explanation On Monday 11th March 2024, it is a public holiday, to acknowledge Labour Day. Labour Day in Australia celebrates workers’ roles in contributing to the nation’s economy. It is an annual public holiday. It commemorates the granting of the eight-hour working day for Australians.
NAPLAN Next week students in Grade 3 and 5 will be taking part in these annual tests. The children will be beginning with Writing on Wednesday 13th, Reading and Language Conventions on Thursday 14th and Numeracy on Friday 15th March.
Mobile Phones/Smart Watches A reminder to all our families that as per DE policy - (Personal Mobile Devices) any children bringing mobile phones to school must hand them in to the office for safe keeping. These devices can then be collected by the children at the end of the day. The same applies to smart watches that have very similar applications to mobile phones.
Whilst we understand that a few children carry phones as a safety measure to and from school, they have no need to access them during the day as teachers and support staff will look after all students during the school day. Like any rule there are a very small number of exceptions such as a child wearing a device for a medical reason. Anyone in this category must contact us to speak about it.
The Child Safe Standards The aim of the child safe standards is to drive continuous improvement so that protecting children from abuse is embedded in everyday thinking and practice of leaders, staff and volunteers. The focus of the standards is on raising awareness and helping organisations to create and maintain child safe environments through education and training. The Child Safe Standards have been introduced in response to the recommendations of the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Non-Government Organisations, which found that more must be done to prevent and respond to child abuse. The standards apply to all organisations that provide services for children, including early childhood services.
Creating a child safe organisation In complying with the child safe standards, schools must include the following principles as part of each standard: - promoting the cultural safety of Aboriginal children - promoting the cultural safety of children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds - promoting the safety of children with a disability. To create and maintain a child safe organisation, an early childhood service must have in place the following 11 standards:
The 11 Child Safe Standards
Organisations establish a culturally safe environment in which the diverse and unique identities and experiences of Aboriginal children and young people are respected and valued.
Child safety and wellbeing is embedded in organisational leadership, governance and culture.
Children and young people are empowered about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.
Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing.
Equity is upheld and diverse needs respected in policy and practice.
People working with children and young people are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice.
Processes for complaints and concerns are child-focused.
Staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and young people safe through ongoing education and training.
Physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for children and young people to be harmed.
Implementation of the Child Safe Standards is regularly reviewed and improved.
Policies and procedures document how the organisation is safe for children and young people.
The National Quality Framework already requires schools to meet many aspects of the child safe standards. At EBPS we will be reviewing our policies, procedures and practices including our current child safe environment and staffing policies and procedures to ensure they meet the child safe standards.
Medications at School It is crucial that all medications are handed to the office staff. Medical Authority forms must be completed. Any medication that needs to be given at school, must be in its original container with your child’s name on it. Please do NOT give it to your child to carry to school or place in your child’s bag. It is extremely dangerous if the medication falls out of their pocket or bag and is picked up by another child in the playground. The only exception is Ventolin and some types of cream. Students are permitted to carry their own Ventolin - but this can also be kept for students in the office.
How do we keep our students safe when using the Internet? The impact of the internet on education is not straightforward. There is little argument that the internet is a valuable tool for students, providing easy access to a wide range of materials for homework and research. It serves as a teacher to students from where you can ask anything and it will answer you, as well as it can be used to quickly gain information and knowledge on almost everything. The internet is important because it gives access to both students and educators to vast educational resources. It provides students of any age with the ability to collaborate with others and answer questions they cannot answer on their own.
As with any tool there are some inherent risks to students using the internet. I offer the following information with the intent of raising awareness of some strategies that can be used by us all to counter these risks. The Department has clear guidelines on Acceptable Use for staff, students, and parents, with a written agreement between students, parents, and the school to abide by the conditions in the agreement, which we ask all parents to sign.
We are doing everything possible to ensure our students are not exposed to inappropriate material online. Given the recent publicity about detection and cyber-predators, we all have a part to play in keeping our students safe.
At home, parents can take the following steps to ensure their children’s online experiences are safe and pleasant:
Specifically, they should not give out personal information such as name, address, telephone number (including mobile phones) and should check profiles to ensure the information there doesn’t identify them. Report inappropriate behaviour or material, e.g., call the police, contact your Internet, or chat room provider, or contact the Virtual Global Task Force (http://www.virtualglobaltaskforce.com/reprt_abuse.html)
To report inappropriate behaviour or material you can call Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000
Kind Regards,
Sue Jackson - Acting Principal
Steiner Prep Literacy
Our story of the week has been ‘The King who tried to touch the Moon’. The children have immersed themselves in the creative experience and dramatized and re-enacted the story. They have been exposed to new vocabulary and interesting language and applied it in the classroom. The children have enjoyed strategizing and problem solving how to create a structure that would assist the king to reach the moon. A lot of lively discussion has taken place including thoughtful and constructive ideas. The children have been respectful and attentive listeners.
Last week the children thoroughly enjoyed introducing their teddy bears from home to each other. They discussed their teddy bears likes and dislikes and what they would enjoy eating at our Teddy Bear Picnic. The children created their own unique teddy bears proudly displayed in our classroom. Each child described to the class their teddy bear and the rest of the children had to select the appropriate bear. During Morning Circle, we have incorporated sound and movement to ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’. The children are enthralled every time we do the choral verse and dramatization.
By Donna Leibowitz - Prep D Classroom Teacher
Maths in 6L
This term in the 5-6 senior classes, we have been working on place value, perimeter and area and decimals and fractions.
In 6L we have reviewed and extended our knowledge of place value to tenths, hundredths, thousands, tens of thousandths and millionths.
Some of the games we played were: ‘High Roll, Low Roll,’ competing with a partner to roll the highest or lowest decimal number you can.
‘Hit the target’ where pairs choose a target number and take it in turns to enter a number smaller than the target number. The challenge is for the other player to enter the matching number to hit the target.
We practised rounding decimal numbers, adding and subtracting decimal numbers and some students multiplied and divided decimal numbers.
In perimeter and area, we found the perimeters of shapes, then focussed on area, finding the area of quadrilaterals, including parallelograms and triangles. Some students practised using Pick’s formula for determining the area of irregular shapes.
Over the last two weeks we have been reviewing fractions and fraction vocabulary, adding and subtracting fractions with like and different denominators and factorising to support finding equivalent fractions. In addition, we are exploring the relationship between fractions and decimals and converting between the two.
Geometry has been a highlight this term with students reviewing parts of a circle, bisecting angles and drawing six and twelve point circles, all with a compass and straight edge.
Adding fractions with different denominators
After I get the answer, I’m challenging myself
to change it into a decimal using long division.
By Henry
Wellbeing for Year 1/2 students
This week has been very busy for the Year 1/2 students, with swimming. It has been a great opportunity to regularly discuss this week’s value of empathy and how we can be good classmates and great friends.
Understandably, the students are quite tired by the end of the day and they have all done a great job of treating each other with kindness and supporting one another when needed.
By Amanda Hooper-Duffy - 1/2H Classroom Teacher
MPSSA District Swimming
On Wednesday, twenty-four students competed at the Moorabbin District swimming event at GESAC. It was hot conditions and tough opposition that greeted us, but to the students credit they performed as best they could.
Special congratulations go to Yasmine.M who finished 4th in the 9/10 Girls 50m Freestyle, our best performance of the carnival.
Thanks also to Andrea for her assistance and the many parents who supported and encouraged all participants.
By John Seeary - PE Teacher