Hampton Primary School

Principal's Report

Joshua Sheffield                                                                                                                                                              Image: Foundation A students already busily learning!

Welcome Back! 

After hopefully what has been a fun-filled summer for you all, it is wonderful to have our school full of students and families again after a very quiet previous fortnight for staff who have been in setting up for the year. I extend a special welcome and congratulations to our new students, families and teachers, including our Foundation families in the positive and confident way in which they’ve begun.

 

The start of the year is a busy time, with Compass notifications, permissions, calendar dates and the like flooding your inbox and phone as they do mine for my children. Whilst we do our best to streamline these, I acknowledge it can feel like a lot. I encourage you to stay connected and ask questions where they exist. The platforms we use for various purposes include:

Communication Platforms

  • Compass: All calendar events, payments and permissions and whole-school, cohort and individual notifications, reminders and updates.
  • Instagram/Facebook: Reminders, updates and celebrations of learning.
  • WhatsApp: Class groups established by coordinators, not moderated by HPS.
  • Seesaw: A private platform that gives you a window into our classrooms. Class and specialist teachers use Seesaw to share your child's schooling journey.
  • Newsletter: fortnightly summary of news and updates, and specific content such as wellbeing, curriculum, specialist programs and more. 
  • Year Level Term Newsletters: posted at the beginning of each term, containing information about key dates, reminders and curriculum focuses for the term.
  • Website: mostly static information about the school, including Parent Handbook, Enrolment processes, Policies and archived Newsletters.

I will also endeavour to keep newsletter articles very brief this year to ensure it’s more of a summary / snapshot of information and quickly and easily digested. Here goes!

Class Representatives

Class Representatives are essential in facilitating school and social connectedness and fun between parents and families. It is easy to take on and can be done as a partnership. We are seeking Class Representatives for a number of classes. If you’re able to undertake this role, please complete this very short form asap. 

Please see the Compass post regarding this if you’d like more information.  

Be a Class Rep

 

New Families Welcome BBQ

We invite all new families to a Welcome BBQ this Friday afternoon from 3:30pm-4:30pm. Attendees will be provided with a sausage and some other treats. It is a chance for parents to connect and hear from some of our parent groups within the school. 

Technology Parent Information Evenings

I implore all parents to attend the upcoming session next Wednesday evening regarding tips and information for setting up devices for safe use by children. Details for this and a future session are below. 

 

Wednesday 12th February @6:00pm: Practical Tips for Setting Up iPads Safely 

This session is presented by IT & Coffee, an organisation that works with families to ensure they are empowered to set up devices to ensure safe and appropriate use. It will include tips and tricks to keep your children safe online. This session will be hosted online with a link sent out prior.

 

Wednesday 23rd July @7:00pm: Cyber Safety and Digital Wellbeing. 

Presented by Inform & Empower. Details to come.

School Saving Bonus (SSB)

Please ensure you commit your SSB toward the school or otherwise as soon as possible. As soon as school events and activities are put on Compass, you cannot retrospectively allocate these funds to them. Therefore I suggest you do as I did and put it all toward the school at the start of the year, and enjoy not having to pay for activities/camps/swimming for a significant portion of the year at least. Remember:

  • It's worth the couple of minutes it takes ($400 of free school activities/events!)
  • It doesn’t expire
  • It can be used for any of your children (eg. With 3 children, we have $1200 to spend on activities between them all, not specifically $400 each). 
  • It’s easy to get online and do – it took us about 5 minutes for 3 children. 

Parent Contributions

Thank you to all families that have paid their contributions already. If you still need to, please visit the office to do so or call to organise other arrangements. Payment plans are available for any families who require this assistance, please contact Nicole via the office to discuss. 

Through curriculum contributions and donations to funds such as the Nurses Fund, we can maintain services such as our nurses who provided expert care to the more than 5000 students who visited them in 2024. 

Parent Teacher Interviews

Bookings are open for Parent Teacher Interviews for next week. They will remain open until Friday at 4pm. Please be reminded that should your child have two classroom teachers, an appointment can only be made with one teacher. 

Smart Phone & Watch Sign In

In line with a statewide policy, students are required to sign in all phones and smart watches to their teacher each morning so that it can be locked away in a safe for the day. Should you have any questions please see your class teacher. 

2025 Curriculum Days 

I can confirm that these will be as below (all are in the Compass Calendar):

  • Thursday 24th April (we understand many families may be away this week and hope this date is of minimal impact to you)
  • Monday 21st July
  • Monday 3rd November
  • One TBC in late term 4 for 2026 planning

Annual Reminders

Privacy

Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy. Please take time to remind yourself of the school’s collection statement, found on our website here.

For more information about privacy, see Schools’ Privacy Policy – information for parents. This information is available in nine community languages. 

Insurance

​The Education Department does not have accident insurance. Items of personal property that are lost, stolen or damaged at school, such as iPads or other valuables, are not the responsibility of Hampton Primary School or the Department. Staff and students are reminded not to bring items of value to school. The Department does not hold insurance for personal property brought to school and it has no capacity to pay for any loss or damage to such property, including iPads.

Ambulance Cover

The Education Department does not provide personal accident insurance or ambulance cover for students. Parents and guardians of students, who do not have student accident insurance/ ambulance cover, are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including the cost of ambulance attendance or transport as well as any other transport costs. 

New & Important Dates

  • Foundation Welcome Assembly: Friday 7th February 3:00pm in Quadrangle
  • New Families Welcome BBQ: Friday 7th February 3:30-4:30pm
  • School Photos: 24th & 25th February. 
  • District Swimming: 6th March
  • NAPLAN Tests: 12th, 13th, 18th, 19th March
  • End of Term: Thursday 4th April
  • Start of Term 2: Tuesday 22nd April
  • Curriculum Day: Thursday 24th April