Welcome back to the 2025 School Year!

‘We are Respectful, We are Inclusive, We are Learners.’

We have had a very settled start to the year and are looking forward to this continuing in order for our students to continue to grow, thrive and be happy and regulated at school.

At HEPS, we maintain a strong emphasis on our high behaviour expectations for learning and upholding our school values. We will continue to work collaboratively as a staff and with families, fostering opportunities for our children to learn the importance of collaboration. At Hackham East Primary School, we take great pride in our dedicated staff who deliver high-quality learning experiences for our students and look forward to working together throughout this year!

Classroom and School Communication

As partners in your child’s wellbeing and education we appreciate your communication, feedback and questions.

Classroom Teacher Communication

You would have been notified by your child’s teacher about how to connect to the SeeSaw platform which is the main form of communication for your child’s learning, class events and ongoing information.

If you need help setting this up you are welcome to contact the school to make a time with Nick Allen, our ICT person who can support you with this.

If you need to meet with your child’s teacher face to face for an extended period, please email them to make a time. Our staff will endeavour to respond to any email correspondence within 24 hours during school and term times.

If you have an urgent matter to discuss with your child’s teacher or leadership, please call the front office and they will direct this accordingly.

Whole School Communication

Our school Facebook page posts about whole school events and information. If you are not yet a member, please search for Hackham East Primary School and answer the security questions. This is a closed/private Facebook page for current families and staff.

HEPS Learning Teams

The staff, including our wonderful support staff work in collaborative teams with a focus on creating rigorous, challenging and engaging learning opportunities for all of our students. I would like to acknowledge the professionalism, commitment and wonderful job that all of our “HEPS Village” staff do to support each and every one of our learners. These are our teams in 2025.

Congratulations to Mr Scott Megson who has been appointed as Principal at Darlington Primary School for Term 1 this year, and also to Mrs Sarah Kemp who will be our acting Deputy Principal for Term 1.

LEADERSHIP TEAM
Principal	Ms Sally Slattery
Deputy Principal	Mrs Sarah Kemp (Acting)
Coordinator	To be announced
CASTLE TEAM
Year R/1	Mrs Dowd & Mrs Hazelwood on Wednesdays
Year R/1	Ms Martyne Hamilton
Year 1/ 2	Ms Tori Hay
Year 1/ 2	Ms Alyssa Rigney
JP & Primary Small Classes	Mr Daniel Goodman Mr Drew Grieve
HOLLY TEAM
Year 3/4	Mr Jonathon Kaesler
Year 3/4	Mrs Natalie Jolley – Tuesday-Friday Ms McGarvey - Monday
STILLWELL TEAM
Year 5/6	Mrs Fiona Dealtry – Monday - Thursday Mr Jayden Rowell - Friday
Year 5/6	Ms April Qualo (Woods)
Cultural Hub	Mrs Sue Dunn – Aboriginal Education Teacher Ms Jharni Perry – Aboriginal Community Education Officer
SPECIALIST TEAM
PE/Health	Mrs Gab Martin – Wednesday - Friday Mr Jayden Rowell - Monday
World Cultures	Mrs Lauren Mawson – Tuesday - Thursday
The Arts	Mrs Melissa Thiele – Tuesday - Thursday
Autism Inclusion Teacher	Ms Claire McGarvey - Tuesday
OFFICE/LIBRARY ADMIN TEAM
Front Office	Ms Lee Clements
Finance Officers	Ms Tanya Black (Tracy Rowley on leave) Miss Megan Lewis
Admin Support/ICT Support	Mr Nick Allen
Library	Mrs Deb Scarff
SUPPORT STAFF
Groundsperson	Mr Kevin Bellis
OSHC Director	Ms Ally Gradisar
Pastoral Care Worker	Ms Neva Camac
School Support Officers	Mrs Jo Burgum Mrs Ali Clennett Ms Jess Couch Mrs Dianne Curyer Ms Carina Dimasi Ms Julia Drennan Ms Danni Hansen Ms Jaki Lavender Mrs Karyn Thomson Mrs Deb White Mrs Leanne Worrall Mrs Bec Zahra Miss Alicia Zahra

We welcome the following new and returning staff to our HEPS village!

Alyssa Rigney

I am feeling very honoured and excited to be a part of the Hackham East Primary Village. My experience in teaching across Primary School and Secondary School has taught me that every student can learn and experience success when provided with the right support and environment. Outside of work I enjoy cooking, reading, doing anything outdoors and playing golf (although quite poorly). Looking forward to meeting more of you as the year goes by.

Mr Jayden Rowell

My name is Jayden Rowell. After the wonderful opportunity to teach some of the year 5/6s in the second half of last year, I have been fortunate enough to continue to be part of our community, teaching both P.E. and 5/6 with Mrs Martin and Mrs Dealty respectively. I'm passionate about providing a positive and enjoyable learning environment where students from all walks of life can thrive. I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you better over the year!

Mrs Lauren Mawson

Lauren returns to us from parenting leave with her daughter and son and is excited to take up our new language focus of World Cultures as an alternative to our previous French program. I am excited to take our students ‘around the world’ and incorporate language, food, traditions and culture of a range of countries throughout the year. I look forward to sharing this amazing learning with you all!

Ms Claire McGarvey

I’m excited to introduce myself as the Autism Inclusion Teacher (AIT) for 2025. Many of you may recognize me from my time at the school. I’ve been with Hackham East since 2014, working in both junior primary classrooms and in leadership roles

As many of you know, the AIT role is part of an innovative, nation-leading initiative launched in 2023. The role of AITs is to develop their own knowledge and expertise in order to guide and influence the practices of other staff at the school. This includes providing advice and strategies to support autistic children and young people within the school environment.

In addition to my role as AIT, I will also teach in Nat Jolley’s Year 3/4 class every Monday. The opportunity to work directly with students in my role as a classroom teacher, while also supporting and guiding teachers and staff is truly rewarding, and I’m thankful for the trust and support from the Hackham East Primary community.

Thank you for your ongoing support and looking forward to an amazing year at HEPS!

Kind regards,

Ms Sally

Principal

PASTORAL CARE WORKER

T1 2025