Extra Curricular

Buddies

All students in Prep to Year 5 are allocated a Buddy. Students meet regularly with their Buddy class to participate in structured activities and whole school activities. This ensures a strong friendship is built and younger students continue to feel supported by their elder peers while at school.

The role of the older Buddy is to build a supportive relationship with the younger student, to be a positive role model for the student to look up to, and to share the joy of learning and being a student at MEPS.

Buddy Program activities focus on our School Values. They help students develop positive social skills and understand and use these values in safe, supportive social settings.

House Spirit

All students across the school (Prep to Year 6) are part of the House System. The MEPS House System promotes a positive and inclusive culture. It is designed to create a caring and supportive environment where all students are welcome and valued, and can demonstrate loyalty and allegiance while contributing to the success of their House. Our system is inclusive of all learners and includes sporting, academic and artistic endeavours.

 

The four Houses are named after significant marine villas in the Mount Eliza area and include:

Earimil – Blue 

Perhaps the oldest of the marine villas in the Shire, Earimil in Mount Eliza is thought to have been built by Welsh Sea Captain Lintott (an important early Mornington resident) on his 290 acre farm in the mid-1800s. The estate was situated adjacent to the Earimil Creek (formerly Dennant Creek). During this period, Lintott was significant for donating the three acre site for the Anglican Saint John The Less church and school at Mount Eliza. Earimil was later known for its magnificent gardens.

Manyung (1863) and Moondah (1888) at Mount Eliza were both owned by the prominent Grice family, and typified the multiple building phases, designs and uses of these grand properties.

Moondah – Red 

In 1888, Mr James Grice bought the southern boundary of Earimil down to Gunyong Creek, 250 acres known as Moondah. In Boonwurrung language, Moondah means ‘black snake’ and refers to the creek running through it.

Manyung – Green 

On the other side of Gunyong Creek to Manmangur Creek, 280 acres was sold to Mr Richard Grice previously in 1863. Grice gave it the name ‘ManYong’ a combination of the first and last syllables of each of the creeks.

Ranelagh – Yellow 

Ranelagh House refers to the ‘Ranelagh Estate’ in Mt Eliza, one of the most prominent seaside residential estates on the Peninsula and designed by renowned international architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin in 1924. The Estate is said to be named after the eighteenth century English ‘Ranelagh Gardens’ at Chelsea, UK, which was at the time a fashionable ‘out of London’ holiday resort.

Library

We are fortunate to have a bright, spacious and large library for our students and staff. It houses an excellent collection including up to date digital resources that assist student learning.

Our library is managed by our Librarian/Technician whom is supported by our Year 6 Student Library Leaders. These leaders are students with a love of reading and have been selected to be ambassadors of the library. With guidance and support, students are empowered with a range of responsibilities that promote the importance of reading and the function of a library.

Our students have access to the library during their class session and during selected lunchtime sessions. They are able to access a wide variety of Fiction and Non-Fiction books with many of these being the most up to date books from the Children’s book council of Australia. We have a large collection of Lexile Literacy Pro readers to ensure children continue to enjoy reading that is relevant to their ability as well as their particular interest. We utilise the Wheelers eplatform which boasts a huge collection of ebooks enabling students to access our eLibrary anywhere, anytime, on multiple devices. Our students learn to value the library as an important learning tool. Library computers are equipped with various research and inquiry databases. Most importantly, our students foster a love of reading by having regular access to a welcoming and peaceful environment.

Lunchtime Clubs

At Mt Eliza during Terms 2 and 3 we have a fantastic Lunchtime Clubs program. It is all possible due to the wonderful work of some dedicated students and staff. The Year 5 and 6 students all work together in small groups to plan, organise and run successful lunchtime activities during their own free time. We are extremely proud that our students and staff run these programs during their own lunch break with such positive success. The clubs are announced at the beginning of each lunchtime and below is an example of some of our excellent clubs available:

Here is an example of some of our excellent clubs available:

  • Football Club
  • Minecraft Club
  • Dance & Gymnastics Club
  • Arts & Crafts Club
  • Mindfulness Club
  • Kahootz Club
  • Slime & Playdough

MEET

The Mt Eliza Environment Team (MEET) is a student organisation that meet on a regular basis to discuss and organise various ways in which we can care for our environment (and encourage others to do the same). There are 2 representatives from each class from Years 3-6 that are chosen by their fellow students and their teachers. The MEET Team oversee recycling, ways in which we can conserve energy and ‘Nude Food’ lunches where students are encouraged to bring their lunch and playlunch in containers – with no paper or plastic wrapping. Senior MEET representatives are given the opportunity to participate in the Dolphin Research Institute Ambassadors ‘I Sea, I Care’ program which aims to develop leadership in students around marine environmental issues.

Music Lessons

Mt Eliza Primary School offers a user-pays program in Instrumental Music. These sessions are run for half an hour during the school day and are run in small groups or individually. Steph Born teaches guitar, keyboard, rock band and singing. Concerts are held at the end of the year for parents to attend and individual children also perform at assemblies and in music classes.

Information regarding private tuition is available at the school office.

Student Representative Council (SRC)

At Mt Eliza Primary School we aim to empower student agency through leadership opportunities within the school that promote student voice. Our SRC program, for many students, is their first formal introduction to taking on a leadership role within the school.

Led by a staff member, the SRC aims to impact upon four core areas of value; the MEPS school community (including school grounds and projects to promote student connection), our local community (inclusive of projects within Mt Eliza and the wider Bayside Peninsula Region), school sustainability and acknowledgment of First Nation’s culture.

Projects initiated by the SRC are based upon feedback received from each class in the school. Through our innovative student-led working groups, the SRC leaders collaborate with student volunteers and the MEET team to implement projects that will benefit and improve school culture and the wider community.

Sport

Our philosophy is to promote physical activity to all students and provide opportunities for participation at all levels of skill. Being involved in sport promotes both physical and mental wellbeing, builds confidence, encourages teamwork and helps facilitate friendships outside of the classroom. Sport should be fun, as well as competitive and teach students how to enjoy success and accept disappointment. 

At Mt Eliza Primary School, there are many sporting opportunities available to students ranging from House, inter-school, representative and elite level competitions to year level and class sessions. We are proud of the rate of engagement and levels of participation in our various sporting options.

Various Sporting School Programs are available to primary years participants and have included expert advice and experiences in Badminton, Soccer, AFL and Athletics.

For select sports such as Athletics, Cross Country Running and Swimming, opportunities for students to compete at District, Divisional, Regional, State and National levels are available.

Prep – Year 2

Additional to weekly Physical Education sessions, Prep students participate in a weekly Perceptual Motor Program, designed to improve coordination and motor skills. Years 1 and 2 students are provided with experiences within mini-competition opportunities, where skills are developed in a supported context, including Athletics and Cross Country Running. Organised swimming lessons form part of the curriculum.

Years 3 and 4

Students in Years 3 and 4 participate in a weekly year level Sport session. They develop an understanding of roles and responsibilities, through the game sense model, in readiness for Years 5 and 6 interschool competition. House events combine physical skill with a competitive element. Students participate in Inter-House Swimming, Athletics and Cross Country Running events. Various Sporting School Programs are available to primary years participants. Organised swimming lessons form part of the curriculum.

Years 5 and 6

Students in Years 5 and 6 participate in a weekly Sport session, as well as House sporting events and inter-school competitions. The top results from District events continue to Division, Regional and State levels.

There is an emphasis on Swimming, Athletics and Cross Country Running during Inter-House competition, where a variety of sports are on offer. The students compete in the Summer and Winter Lightning Premiership program, which consists of local and away practice matches and District Lightning Premiership options. All students participate in the Beach Program in Term 1 which focuses on water safety and life saving skills, culminating in an Iron Man/Woman competition.

Walk & Ride to school

Each year Mt Eliza Primary School hosts their own Walk & Ride to school day. This is a culmination of Walk to school and Ride to school days, where students are encouraged to walk, ride or scoot to school. We have two meeting points for a “Walking School Bus” which involves teachers supervising students walking to school. This is a wonderful option for some families that may not be able to walk from their home to school; but are able to park further away and walk to school with their fellow students and staff. Prizes, healthy breakfasts, crazy helmets, funky shoe designs and house points have been past incentives and fun activities to compliment the day.

Whole School Concert

Mt Eliza Primary School stages a whole school concert, including a senior school production, every second year that involves every student in the school. These high quality productions are performed in front of an audience of over 1500 people over 2 nights at the Frankston Arts Centre. Most importantly, every student in our school gets the opportunity to put on full costume and make-up and be a part of this incredible event.

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