Principal's Report

The final newsletter of the term is a chance to reflect on the substantial achievements of your children and our staff throughout. With significant absence and much to squeeze into a very short term, it has not been without obstacles or challenges, however, due to the dedication of our staff, your support and the resilience of our students, we can feel very proud of what has been accomplished. 

Students have had the opportunity to participate in camps, Interschool Sport, Swimming, NAPLAN, Excursions to places such as the Arts Centre, Sovereign Hill, the Museum and the Botanic Gardens; host incursions including woodworking, football clinics, Play Leaders and yoga; and have been recognised and achieved success for their talents beyond our school in visual arts, sport and poetry. Each of these is not to be taken for granted anymore and I know has greatly added to the students’ enjoyment and sense of accomplishment. Our teachers have shown wonderful commitment to making each of these not just possible but also successful, with the additional load that each requires, and I thank them for it. Your understanding and flexibility with changes in process and participation are also greatly appreciated. 

Below are some additional items to be across as we look forward to a similarly busy and fruitful Term 3.

2023 Enrolments

If you have a child who will be starting school in 2023, please ensure you complete an enrolment form for them within the next month. As the term comes to a close, we begin to finalise places, send out confirmations and plan transition so the earlier you have your enrolment finalised, the more readily your child will be able to be a part of each stage of transition which begins in Term 3. Enrolment forms can be collected at the office or downloaded here and submitted via email. 

Curriculum Day Change

As was sent out today via Compass, unfortunately due to COVID-related travel issues the curriculum day planned for the 11th of July has had to be rescheduled to later in the term. This has now been scheduled for 8th of August, which will hopefully provide a mid-term break for students in a term with no long weekends as teachers work with a leading consultant on further enhancing the instruction of reading. As a parent I know such changes can present a challenge for families and I apologise for any inconvenience caused. All Curriculum Days and other key events for the year can be found on the Compass Calendar.

Team Kids Program

Staff shortages across the education sector, as was written about in the previous newsletter, are translating through to providers such as Team Kids who are not currently able to provide staff for a large number of students in before and after care at our school. This means the program is being capped at 30 students on some days, so I encourage all users of the service to both book early, and ensure you cancel should you not need a place so that others can be accommodated. The shifting of the upcoming Holiday Program to St Leonard’s College is also a result of these shortages. Team Kids are working to entice more staff into the industry and are confident that the current shortfall will be rectified soon. 

Building Upgrade Petition

As we have communicated regularly over the past twelve months School Council is currently working to secure funding for more appropriate and updated facilities for our students and the broader community to enjoy. This includes a multipurpose stadium for sport, assemblies and community use and redesigned classrooms. A key component of our success will be demonstrating the desire and need from our community to the state government and local politicians. We have a petition to capture this and Council is seeking your support by signing the petition and sharing it with others if you can. Please find the link to the petition or access it by using the QR code.

Semester One Reports

Teachers are currently working on the Semester One student reports to ensure they are ready for distribution to parents via Compass next week. The Semester One Report will provide further insight as to your child’s progress, alongside their feedback and assessment received through Seesaw. Parent-Teacher meetings will be held at the beginning of term 3. More information on booking these will be published on Compass before the end of the term.

Celebrations

Congratulations to Xavier E in Grade 6 who has been selected to represent Team Victoria in the School Sport Australia Swimming Championships in Queensland later in the year in both the 50m and 100m breaststroke and 3 relay events. This is an outstanding achievement and we wish Xavier all the best at the meet.

Congratulations also to Miles A in Grade 4 for competing in the Division Cross Country finals, in which he placed 36th of 66 competitors.  Unfortunately our Grade 5 and 6 representatives were unable to compete due to camp, so Miles was left to represent HPS with pride and distinction on his own which we congratulate him for.