Principal's Report

Term 3 Wrap!

This week draws to a close another term of action, events, successes and learnings. The sheer quantity of events and opportunities throughout the term is overwhelming when captured together and evidences the diverse and rich experiences children have enjoyed in the past ten weeks. 

Sporting Triumphs: Interschool sports included various regional finals and participation in the State Soccer Finals, where our team displayed outstanding skill and teamwork. Our House Athletics Carnival was another highlight, with students breaking personal records and cheering each other on before progressing to District Athletics this week. The Foundation and Grade 3/4 Swimming programs offered further opportunities for students to hone their skills and improve water safety.

Creative and Cultural Celebrations: The term was rich with cultural and creative events. Book Week was a standout, with imaginative costumes and engaging activities celebrating a love of reading, with the Preps' 100 Days of School another celebration of all things learning. Hundreds of students attended Beauty and the Beast in the city, whilst many senior students also enjoyed the Peter and the Wolf production. Our Olympics Dress Up Day showcased national spirit and our upcoming Footy Day will round out the term on a high. 

Camp Adventures and Excursions: This term saw Grade 5 Camp take place at Cape Schank, alongside a wide range of incursions and excursions for all levels throughout the term. We also held our inaugural Ski Camp, where students hit the slopes enjoying the best conditions of a very short ski season. The recent Bayside Upstanders Forum and current Student Leadership Forums have provided opportunities for senior student leaders to have a greater impact in their various roles in the school. 

Community and Parental Engagement: Events like the Parents 90s Night, Battle of the Boots, Father’s Day Stall and Beaut Blokes Day provided opportunities for parents to connect and enjoy each other’s company whilst also raising significant funds for the school. Parent Teacher Interviews held just last week provided a formal feedback opportunity for parents to better understand your child’s progress and future goals. 

A huge thanks to everyone who has been involved in these events in either the organisation, support, attendance or participation; it is absolutely an attribute that makes our school great. With Term 3 typically being the ‘quiet term’, look out in Term 4!

New Worm Farm

Last edition we had the opportunity to thank @patiochef for their generous donation of two pizza ovens, this edition we get to again recognise the generosity of an Australian business helping out our school. A huge thank you to Tumbleweed who have donated a Worm Farm and accessories to our school to enrich our garden program and support our students’ understanding of sustainability and farm to table concepts. 

I encourage you to support these generous companies should you have the opportunity. 

HPS Recipe Book

Over the past term, a group of our student leaders have been working on gathering, classifying, organising and finally publishing the HPS Recipe Book. The concept for this book stemmed from the students who wanted to celebrate World Multicultural Day back in Term 2. This book contains recipes from many of you which reflects cuisine from all over the world, family recipes and things that you enjoy cooking together. There are very easy through to very complex recipes that the students hope you enjoy looking through and replicating as a family over the holidays. Congratulations to Ari, Tamar, Tasman, Emma, Ayla and Cleo on their work in putting this together over many weeks. You will not find a professional looking, perfectly published book, but one that has lots of student voice, action and is entirely our community's creation. The digital copy of the book can be found below. 

Dad’s Camp

The Dad’s Camp has again proven to be the hottest ticket in town, with over 500 tickets sold to the two camps ensuring there will be more attendees at these than ever. A huge thank you to Sven Karlsson for the level of organisation and communication in enabling these opportunities to take place. 

BYOD Survey 

The BYOD review is well underway with the survey being shared last week. This will close on Friday so if you are a parent in Grade 4-6 and have not yet completed it, I encourage you to do so. The survey is available to complete below.

PE Staff Change

Unfortunately, the end of Term 3 also brings to an end both Kylee Martin (PE teacher) and Scott Martin’s (Education Support Staff) time at HPS. Due to family circumstances, Kylee and Scott have to return to Perth (their home town) and leave our school. In their time here, they have both contributed significantly to the students they’ve worked with, us as colleagues and I’m sure many of you as parents. We thank them for their time with us and wish them all the best in heading home.

Rob Giabardo will be returning to HPS in Term 4 to take on PE again for the remainder of the year, ensuring a smooth handover given his experience in this role. 

Hats Are Back!

As the warmer weather arrives, students are reminded that hats must be worn each day or they will be required to play in shaded areas on the Alhambra Stage or in the Rotunda. 

New & Important Dates

• Footy Fever Day: Friday 20th September
• Term 4 Begins: Monday 7th October
• Twilight Carnival: Friday 25th October
• Curriculum Day: Monday 4th November
• Curriculum Day: Monday 9th December

To stay up to date with all events and key dates, see the Compass Calendar.