Principal Pen
Dear Parent and Caregivers,
STUDENT LEADERSHIP
On assembly Monday afternoon, we were able to announce the 11 students who have met the criteria for School Captain and who nominated to be School Captain for 2022 as their first preference. These students will now present a speech to the Yr 4, 5 and 6 students and staff on Friday, and then voting will be conducted with the Yr 4 and 5 students and staff. The outcome of these votes will be considered by the final panel, and once the School Captains are selected, the other positions will be determined and all of the successful candidates will be announced at the conclusion of the Principal’s Assembly on Monday 6th December.
These decisions will certainly be difficult as there are so many outstanding candidates all running for positions next year. They have all been so diligent in turning up for the leadership workshops which Mrs Burrows and myself have been running each week. They listen intently, take notes and ask pertinent questions. I was also most impressed with the letters of application they wrote to go with their application cards. They did a beautiful job selling themselves and explaining why they would make excellent School Captains for next year.
A leadership investiture ceremony will be held early in the new year to present the new leaders with their badges. There will also be an opportunity for each new class in Yr 3-6 to run a class process to select a Student Council Representative to represent their class on the Student Council. These students will also be included in the investiture ceremony.
STUDENT DRESS CODE
Last night at our final P and C meeting for this year, our P and C approved the school’s Student Dress Code moving into 2022. There were no changes endorsed for the current policy at the meeting, but it was approved that this document should be made into a more aesthetically pleasing document that can be added to our enrolment packs and provided to parents on request and made available on our school website.
The black shoe policy was discussed and it was decided to continue with the expectations that our student wear black shoes with white socks and that families should be reminded of this expectation. Currently we are seeing some multi-coloured shoes creep into school. If you are purchasing shoes for your children over the holidays, please ensure they are black as next year we will be looking at sanctions that can be put in place for students who do not abide by the approved Dress Code.
I also wanted to point out that our current Dress Code states that hair should be of a natural style and colour, which we are also seeing some alternative hairstyles at present.
PAST STUDENTS AND STAFF OF ESS
It was lovely to see the Past Students of ESS raise some funds for a legacy for our school. Through donations at the 150th Family Fun Day they raised $1439 for the legacy. In discussion with the school administration team, they decided to put the money towards a cabinet for the office foyer, to display some selected historical artefacts and also to put the rest towards another flagpole for the front of the school to fly the Torres Strait Islander flag. We thank the Past Students group for this thoughtful gesture and will ensure that a plaque goes on each item in recognition of the school’s 150th celebrations. Thank you so much to Dawn and Doug for leading this idea and following through with it.
ARTS ON STAGE
What a fantastic event ‘Arts on Stage’ was for our school community after a hiatus last year due to COVID. It was wonderful to see the culmination of a year’s hard work play out on stage. Well done to the students who performed, our Arts Captains, staff who supported the evening, our P and C for managing the ticket sales and food, and lastly, a massive thank you to our performing Arts staff of Mrs Wilcox, Ms Hopper and Mrs Moore for their great work in developing the performing arts in our school and developing the talent of our budding performers.
PREP TRANSITION
With our final Prep Transition morning being held last week, we now look forward to welcoming the new Preps into the school next year as they join the ESS community. A big thank you to the P and C and YMCA as well as our staff for supporting the activities and also to the many families who attended. The more time our new Preps get at these types of activities the more ready they will be for big school next year.
2022 STAFFING AND CLASS PLACEMENT
As staffing for next year is still being finalised and teachers are still working on the class placements for next year, this information will be released now in the last week of term. Parents will be emailed the class allocation on Wednesday 8th December 2021.
Till next time,
Mrs Anne Robinson
Principal