Welcome to Week Four of Term One and our second newsletter for the year. It has continued to be pleasing to see the way our students have settled into their new classrooms and connected with their peers and teacher. We have all had a wonderful start to the school year.

Birthdays

A child’s birthday is a very special occasion and every fortnight I will share this celebration by including the student’s names in our newsletter.

Happy Birthday to the following students who celebrated their special day during January:

Alaistair L, Nathan L, Lisa L, Talitha H, Stanley X, E-Dayne T, Seth Y, Shrigna S, Boey N, Emily M, Olivia Y, Rock S, Andrea L, Henry H, Marwin H, Nikan V, Sia J, Emma S, Zarina P, Salwa A, Tuya T, Nikki N, Krystal W, Aarieya N, Olivia G, Flynn F, Matthew N, Elisha S, Claire Y, Aradhya T, Kayden W, Caleb L, Jonathan V, Phillips L, Jasper S, Chloe L, Raniah S, Caspian R

Happy Birthday to the following students who celebrated their special day during February:

Nora T, Lyndon L, Harris L, Arjan B, Bonnie W, Mirreeha A, Ace H, Hunter Y, Aaron L, Oscar S, Maya T, Mishkaat A, Lotus L, Evelyn W, Nathan Y, Claire C, Mariana N, Aiden W, Madison S, Alice H, Andrew C, Sheldon X, Shawn F, Julia T, Sam T, Isabella M, Nour N, Eddy L and Kenneth L.

NAPLAN

All students in Years Three and Five will be sitting the NAPLAN assessments in March. The students will be assessed on the following subjects: Writing, Reading, Conventions of Language and Numeracy. The NAPLAN test window starts on Wednesday 12 March 2025 and finishes on Monday 24 March 2025.

Highvale Primary School will follow the timetable below for the NAPLAN:

Wednesday 12th March – Year Three and Year Five Writing

Thursday 13th March – Year Three Reading

Friday 14th March – Year Five Reading

Monday 17th March – Year Three and Five Conventions of Language

Tuesday 18th March – Year Three Numeracy

Wednesday 19th March – Year Five Numeracy

Students are not expected to study for NAPLAN, however, you can support your child by letting them know that NAPLAN is a part of their school program and reminding them to simply do their best. Some explanation of NAPLAN is useful to help students understand and be comfortable with the format of the tests; however, it is not necessary for parents/carers to do this. Teachers will ensure students are familiar with the types of questions in the tests and will provide appropriate support and guidance.

School Council Elections

School Council elections are fast approaching with Notice of Election coming up. With three nominated parent school council positions available this year it is important that any parents interested in nominating are clear about the role of School Councillor and key functions of School Council.

School councils have three main responsibilities:

Finance: overseeing the development of the school’s annual budget and ensuring proper records are kept of the school’s financial operation.
Strategic Planning: participating in the development and monitoring of the school strategic plan.
Policy Development and Review: developing, reviewing and updating policies that reflect a school’s values and support the school’s broad direction outlined in its strategic plan.

Other key functions of school councils include:

raising funds for school related purposes
maintaining school grounds and facilities
entering into contracts
reporting annually to the school community and the Department
creating interest in the school in the wider community
representing and taking the views of the community into account
regulating and facilitating after-hours use of school premises and grounds
operating a children’s service at the school

At Highvale PS we are fortunate to have a very proactive School Council who works supportively with the school’s leadership to provide the best possible education outcomes for our students. School Councils play a key role in all schools and the role of School Councillor can be a very rewarding experience. It’s a great way to get involved and have a real say in what your school is doing for its students. If you are considering standing for election, you can nominate yourself. There are forms at the office waiting to be collected.

Thank you

A huge thank you to our School Council President Pav Klair who chaired and attended his final School Council meeting on Tuesday night. As Pav’s daughters have all now graduated from Highvale Primary School, his time on the council has come to an end. Pav has been on School Council for many, many years and we thank him for the impact he has had on developing and improving our school. We also say farewell to Shaun Yap and Tami Thananjeyan who have been a wonderful asset to our School Council over the past few years. We appreciate your contributions and ideas and you will be very missed.

Early Arrivals

A reminder that teachers and staff at Highvale are on duty from 8:45am – 9:00am each morning. We have observed some students arriving at school as early as 8:30am without adult supervision. This poses a safety risk as they are not being supervised, and in some cases, we are not even aware that they are on site. We offer an excellent before and after care program with TheirCare OSCHC where students are provided with food, can interact with others, and are actively supervised by qualified educators. Please see the TheirCare website for more information: https://theircare.com.au/ or you can contact the office for more information.

SunSmart

A reminder that ALL students need to wear their school hat this term. As we are a SunSmart school, we take very seriously the need to be sun smart. This includes

Wearing the approved broad-brimmed HPS hat outside
Encouraging students to come to school wearing a broad-spectrum water-resistant sunscreen (30+) and to reapply it during the day

If students do not wear or have a hat, they will be restricted to sit in the designated shade areas.

Compass & Communication

The Compass parent portal is a key communication tool, which provides parents with access to information about their child’s academic progress, attendance, key dates, reports, upcoming events, payments, interview bookings and newsletters. Please ensure you can access this portal, as information is regularly shared through this service. If you are unable to access Compass, please phone Andrea or Rachael in the Office on 9887 8000.

School Uniform

All children must attend school in full school uniform each day. Our school uniform is available onsite at HPS. Our school uniform is an important part of the identity and culture of our school and includes school bags and our school hat. Please make sure all uniform is clearly labelled and your child can identify their belongings easily. If your child has lost an item of clothing, please check the lost property area in the corridor or come to the Office.

Respectful Relationships

In 2025, we continue our whole school approach of Respectful Relationships. In Respectful Relationships there are 8 topics that we focus on across the year. They are:

Emotional Literacy
Personal Strengths
Positive Coping
Problem Solving
Stress Management
Help Seeking
Gender and Identity
Positive Gender Relations

We can really see the impact this program has on our students and the culture at our school as we learn how to appreciate and understand diversity across our school. We have very accepting and inclusive students.

Safe Driving Practices

Just a reminder to parents about the safe driving practices required when dropping off and picking up your child. Please enter the school grounds at a slow speed and be mindful that you may need to wait to enter and exit the turning circle. Please note that the turning circle is meant to flow so that you can drive your car to the front of the queue and quickly drop your child off at the start of the day or wait for your child at pick up. We have teachers on duty to help expedite the process of locating your child and encouraging them to make their way towards you quickly. We then ask that you exit the turning circle carefully, being mindful of the cars behind. Please do not overtake other cars in the turning circle and do not park your car in the turning circle. We encourage all members of our community to be positive role models for our students with regards to road safety. Thank you for your immediate attention to this important matter.

2025 Parent Payments Reminder

Parent contributions are an essential source of funds for a school to operate effectively. Without these contributions, schools would not be able to provide the many programs and resources that we provide for the students at Highvale Primary School. We would like to thank the parents that have already made these payments. If you need assistance or would like to discuss the contributions further please come and see me.

New Year of Learning Website

Please find link below to A New Year of Learning Website provided by the Victorian Government packed with information and resources for parents and carers to help their children reach their potential for a new year of learning in 2025.

https://v6.education.vic.gov.au/ch/100821/bz3xq/3958/kuFg4xdw7vr5xES9h.2RcbuNg24SNxX8zbfHML_O-1.html

Home-school partnerships

At Highvale PS, we believe that the partnership between home and school is crucial. Our Assistant Principal, Mrs Soccio and I are always available to meet with parents, students and the wider school community. Our number one priority is the wellbeing, engagement and development of all students at Highvale Primary School and we are always happy to hear feedback on the ways we can further improve our wonderful school. Please feel free to visit the office or contact me directly to arrange a suitable meeting time if there’s anything you’d like to discuss.

IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS

Kids Help - kidshelpline.com.au phone 1800 55 1800

Parent Line - betterhealth.vic.gov.au phone 13 22 89

Headspace - headspace.org.au phone 1800 650 890

eSafety Commissioner - esafety.gov.au - Advice for parents and carers to help children have safe experiences online

Have a great week ahead HPS families,

Carly Epskamp

Acting Principal

carly.epskamp@education.vic.gov.au

Community

Lunchtime extra-curricular activities

Term 1 - 2025

Activities and services in the community