Dear HPS Community,

This morning, our Heidelberg Primary School community came together to celebrate the wonderful people who play such an important role in the lives of our students at our Mother’s Day and Special Person Morning Tea. It was fantastic to see such a great turnout, with families enjoying a warm and welcoming atmosphere filled with conversation, smiles and connection. There were colouring in stations and games of basketball and chasey happening, all which added to the connection and positive vibes of the morning.

A huge thank you to our incredible parent helpers — Emma-Jane, Lavanya, Davis, Andrew & Erica, Nicole P, Evan M, Vi N and Yash B — for all of their preparation, organisation and hard work behind the scenes to ensure the event was such a success. Your generosity and support are greatly appreciated.

We would also like to sincerely thank Foodbank Australia for their ongoing generosity and support through their food donations, which helped make the morning extra special for our families.

A special thank you to our Year 1 classes, who baked delicious muffins for those attending the morning tea to enjoy. We also acknowledge our Enrichment Club students for the beautiful job they did decorating the calico bags that were gifted to families to help carry home packs and supplies from Foodbank. Your creativity and care added a thoughtful touch to the event.

We would also like to thank our HPS staff who contributed their time and support to the morning, particularly Sam, Jack, Sue, Helen, Monique, Jane, Tegan, Tom and preservice teacher, Priya. Events like these are only possible through the teamwork and dedication of our school community.

To all of the mothers, grandmothers, carers, step mums, aunts and special people in our students’ lives, we wish you a very happy and special day this Sunday. Thank you for all that you do for our children and our community.

Benefits of laughing

At assembly on Monday we celebrated World Laughter Day by having a good laugh.

Key Health & Social Benefits of Laughter:

Stress Reduction: Laughter lowers cortisol and epinephrine, reducing tension and promoting relaxation.
Immune System Boost: It increases natural killer cells and activated T-cells, enhancing the body’s immune function.
Physical Health Improvements: It improves blood circulation, lowers blood sugar levels, and helps with pain management by releasing natural endorphins.
Mental Well-being: Laughter alleviates feelings of anxiety and depression while boosting mood.
Social Connection & Resilience: Shared laughter strengthens relationships, fosters community connection, and builds resilience to deal with challenges, helping to reduce loneliness.

After building up from a small to medium laugh, everyone joined in giving a good deep, bottom of the belly, laugh.

Building in opportunities that provide laughter as a family is something that I value greatly. We have a game at home where if you say the word tickle then that is exactly what you will get! So it can instead be referred to as an 'ickle' or 'trickle' just so as not to say the word and be smothered with tickles!

The person being tickled always gets to say when it's enough. We can either say stop or if we are laughing too hard to even talk, we hold up a hand as a stop sign.

Second Hand Uniform Sale

Tuesday 12th May

2.50 - 3.40pm

Under the shade sails in top school

Jackets & dresses $5, everything else $2!

Cash only

Foundation 2027 Enrolments

Do you have a child starting school in 2027?

We are accepting enrolments now. Hard copy enrolment forms can be found in the office foyer, or on our website.

Enrolments will close on Friday 31 July 2026.

If you are enrolling the sibling of a student at our school, and both children will be attending our school at the same time, your child is prioritised for a place at our school as per the department’s Placement Policy. For more information, please read about when and how to enrol your child in Prep at vic.gov.au/enrolling-foundation-prep.

Industrial Action - Important Update!

I write to inform you that the Australian Education Union (AEU) has this week announced that proposed stop work action has been suspended for the next 2 weeks. The 1/2 day work stoppage that is set by the AEU for our area is on Thursday 28th May, which at this stage, has not be suspended. Please stay tuned and I will provide more information about what this means for our school as it becomes available.

Education Week

In 2026, Victoria celebrates Education Week from Monday 18 May to Friday 22 May.

The theme of 2026 Education Week is Showcase your school, encouraging school communities to celebrate what’s great about their school.

We invite our current HPS families, as well as potential future families, to visit our school during our open morning on Thursday 21 May between 10am & 11.30am. Across our school, classes will showcase learning in a variety of curriculums areas. Student leaders will be available to accompany people or you are welcome to wander and explore at your own leisure. We look forward to welcoming the community to our school and proudly showing off all the wonderful things HPS has to offer.

Upcoming Dates
May
Tuesday 12	Second hand uniform sale 2.50-3.40pm
Thursday 21	Education Week Open Morning 10.00-11.30am
June
Friday 5	Curriculum Day - No students at school
August
Wednesday 12	Teacher Professional Practice Day - No students at school
October
Thursday 15	Year 6 Graduation Photo Day
November
Monday 2	Curriculum Day- No students at school

2026 School Term Dates

Term 2: Monday 20th April- Friday 26th June (2.30pm finish)

Term 3: Monday 13th July- Friday 18th September (2.30pm finish)

Term 4: Monday 5th October- Friday 18th December (1.30pm finish)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Naomi Ivers

Principal

Heidelberg Primary School

Respectful Relationships