Principals' Page

School Performance

Toward the end of 2024, HEPS engaged in a four yearly independent review. This was a positive experience that took place over a period of three days. The overall findings are that HEPS provides a positive learning environment that strives to engage all students.  

Recommended were key areas for our next four year strategic plan with the following areas of focus to be prioritised:

• continued refinement of instructional models
• a focus on differentiation 
• revision of the assessment schedule to include formative assessment
• develop strategies to enable student feedback on learning and wellbeing 
• continued focus on the teaching of higher order thinking processes
• student voice and agency in learning. 

Our 2024 school performance report was positive in both DET focus areas of learning and wellbeing.  I have included a snap shot of HEPS performance below. 

Capital Works Update

We are excited to see the new building starting to come out of the ground. Over the last two weeks, a team of workers has been busy in constructing the block walls that will form the support for the building's slab. It has been great to see the children watching the different machinery and tradespeople working. This is real life learning taking place.

The work on the new playground is now scheduled for the school holiday period. The playground will be for the use of the Foundation to Year 3 students and will be replacing the current 3/4 playground.  It has been great to witness the types of play that children have been engaging with in this first part of the year. We have seen older children teach the younger ones traditional games, skipping, ball games and interestingly more imaginative games. This has been an unexpected positive growth in social relationships as a result to the reduction in formal playground equipment.

School Start and Finish Times

At HEPS student safety is our highest priority, and a big part of ensuring safety is supervision of students in the yard. Our teachers are on yard duty from 8:45am in the morning, recess, lunchtime and until 3:45pm in the afternoon.

We ask that all parents also place their children's safety as the highest priority. Please do not send your children prior to 8:45am in the morning. Students can enter the classrooms from 8:50am for a 'soft' start to learning. Equally importantly please ensure that they are picked up from school at 3:30pm, or that alternative arrangements are made for your child's care. Duty staff in the afternoon are ensuring that all children have left the grounds or the duty of care has been passed to an adult. School staff are not on duty prior to 8:45am or after 3:45pm.

TeamKids is available for children needing care before 8:45am and after 3:45pm.

Thank you for working with HEPS to provide the safest environment for all children.

Ride2School Day

This Friday is Ride2School Day. Ride2School Day is a national event, and we encourage your family to join in the fun and ride, walk, scoot or skate to school on Friday!  At HEPS, we encourage all families to walk, scoot or ride to school as often as possible every day. Please don’t forget your helmets! 

Harmony Day

We are excited to announce that HEPS will be celebrating Harmony Day this year on Monday March 24th. We encourage students to wear the colour orange or a traditional costume. Why orange?  Orange is the official colour chosen to represent Harmony Day. It signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. The colour orange also relates to freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect.

The day will begin with a whole school assembly, an acknowledgement to country and an explanation of why we celebrate Harmony Day from our school captains. There will be an Indigenous culture performance.

Three Way Conferences

A reminder that Three-Way conferences will occur in Week 10 (last week of Term) on Monday 31st March between 2.00-3:30 PM and Thursday 3rd April from 2.00-7.00 PM. It is expected that your child attends the conference, as they will discuss their learnings with both the teacher and yourselves. Bookings can be made by selecting the Community tab and then clicking on Conferences. Please keep in mind that we have allocated each conference 10 minutes and we would ask for your assistance in keeping to these time constraints. 

Bookings will close on Wednesday 26th March at 3:30 pm. 

M.A.D Day

This was shared with the students by two of our JSC representatives at assembly.

Hi, we are two of your JSC reps for 2025.  We’re so excited to share with you a fun and exciting day that we’ll be celebrating on the last day of Term 1!  Last year, the JSC team asked students what they'd like more of, and free dress was a topic that came up a lot. A lot of you wanted the chance to show your personality and style to your friends at school. So, this year, we’ve decided to have a new kind of end-of-term celebration!

Instead of the Easter Bonnet Parade, we’ll be having a MAD Day – Make a Difference Day. This is a chance for you to wear crazy colours, crazy socks, and even have crazy hair!

We know many of you enjoy getting creative with your Easter hats, so if you'd still like to make one, that's totally fine! Just remember, Easter won’t be the theme of the day – it’s all about having fun and showing off your unique style! And, to make this day even more special, we’re asking for a gold coin donation to support a charity. Your donation will help make a difference, so bring your coins and get ready for a day of fun and giving!

We’ll still meet at the front courts for a whole school parade at 9am and some fun games, so don’t forget to bring your best crazy outfit and your school spirit!

This will be on Friday the 4th of April!

Benefits of Regular Home Reading

Regular reading is probably the most important learning habit that children can develop. At HEPS, it is expected that all children read daily as part of our school homework expectations. This might be with an adult in the early years or independently as children gain confidence and move up the school. Taking time to discuss the text before, during or after reading also helps to build comprehension.

‘Reading stamina’ is the ability to maintain reading focus for an extended period. Like any skill, we learn through regular practice. The longer students can sustain reading focus, the more reading experiences they will be able to enjoy and the more their reading and related skills will improve. A quick challenge is to encourage your child to time how long they can read for and set stretch goals for their reading stamina.

Aside from improving reading skills, reading also positively impacts many other aspects of learning including:

  – Improved vocabulary

  – Improved writing and spelling

  – Development of empathy

  – Improved self-awareness

  – Improved memory

  – Increased general knowledge

Hopefully, this information has convinced all parents to support their child in developing positive reading habits and a regular home reading routine. If you would like to read more about the benefits of regular reading, please click the following link:  https://youngreadersfoundation.org/importance-of reading/#:~:text=Reading%20is%20an%20exercise%20for%20the%20mind.%20It,up%20to%2030%20reasons%20why%20reading%20is%20important.

You are also welcome to speak to your child’s teacher, the team leader or myself if you need further advice around this.

School Attendance

The Importance of Attendance- The Department of Education's "Every Day Counts" initiative emphasises that regular school attendance is essential for your child’s education. Attending school every day is the most important factor in a child's learning and development. Missing school or being late puts students behind, as they miss out on key lessons that are critical for their academic success.

WHY ATTENDANCE MATTERS

• Every day counts: Missing school regularly leads to missing out on fundamental skills, which can affect performance in later years.
• Long-term impact: There is no safe number of days for missing school. Each missed day is linked to lower achievement in key areas like numeracy, writing, and reading.
• Early attendance matters: Patterns of missing school are often established in the early years, and students who miss school early on are more likely to continue missing school in the future, which can result in lower test scores.

Did You Know? Being away from school one day a fortnight equals missing 1.5 years over 13 years of schooling!

PARENTS' ROLE IN ATTENDANCE

Parents are responsible for ensuring their child attends school daily and managing absences by:

• Logging absences through Compass.
• Seek approval from the Principal for extended periods of absence for family holidays
• Advise the school of any updates to current contact details.

COMMUNICATION IS KEY

Open communication with the school is vital to prevent attendance issues from escalating. If your child has ongoing attendance problems, contact the classroom teacher early to work together on a solution. 

TOP TIPS FOR PARENTS:

• Act early if you have concerns about your child’s attendance.
• Talk positively about school and the importance of attending every day.
• Avoid scheduling routine medical or dental appointments during school hours, and try to plan family holidays during school breaks.
• If concerned about attendance or wellbeing, reach out to the school for support.

By working together, we can help ensure your child attends school regularly and receives the best possible education. Remember: Every day counts