Principal Address

Dear Parents,

I pray you have had a wonderful week. It was great to see so many of you on site this week, and such a joy to welcome back all of our students. The first week of the school year is probably my favourite. We get to welcome new families, reconnect with returning students, and feel the excitement of new learning and fresh opportunities ahead.

It has been a joy to see how beautifully settled our students have been. I honestly cannot remember a year beginning with such a positive and wonderful atmosphere across the school. I loved seeing all of our new kindies today, singing and having such a great time at Chapel, so amazing.

All students have now met their new teachers and have been engaging in their learning. You should have got a note from your child’s class teacher, which had some information about them and about what your children will be learning in class for the term. The term overview is a new document that we are providing to parents. I understand that there will be different degrees of interest in this, however, it would be good for you as parents to read through it so you can be aware of what our students are learning and you can ask questions as you wish to.

For those families who are part of our double-stream classes, our students are now all settled and enjoying being in their new learning environment. Often, we have preferences for our children with teachers, and with other students, however, please note that class allocations are not a random lottery. Myself, Mrs Davila and the previous year’s teachers all sit down and think about friendships, teacher-student fit and class dynamics to ensure that we place children in the best possible class for them. For all of our new Kindies, we read over all of the transition to school reports that were provided by all of the preschool’s and ELC’s. It is not an exact science but we are confident that every child will flourish in their new environments.

At Chapel this morning, I spoke with the students about our theme for this year. You might remember last year, we had our theme which was to “Walk Together”. In 2026 our theme is “To be set apart”. In other words to be deliberately different as a community. Not to just be normal, but to be deliberately unique. There are two things I think that means for us as a community in 2026:

For us to know that “we belong to Jesus”. God made us unique and therefore we are special as we are created in His image. God has amazing plans and purposes for all of our lives, both short and long term. He cares about us, being “set apart” means that we can know that we are different/unique because we are created in the image of God.
In a world that is continually changing I think generally people are being more unkind to each other. I pray that in 2026 we would be a community marked by kindness, known for kindness. I think HPCS already is! Perhaps though, that there would be other ways we can be kind this year. To think not just about ourselves, but to be thoughtful and caring with others. That doesn’t mean being pushovers or not being confident, or not self assured. It means instead that we are caring about how our actions impact others. The teachers are going to be unpacking this, with our students, in class and in their weekly Bible lessons.

For those of you who may not know or have forgotten: Courage, Excellence, Respect and Kindness are our school values. In other words, the character traits we want our students to show:

To have Courage in trying new things, having a go, taking risks in their learning.
To show a spirit of excellence in all that we do. Excellence is not perfection, it is doing OUR personal best.
Having respect for others, listening to each other and obeying teacher instructions.
To show kindness: Thinking of others, including others and being selfless.

More than anything, we want our school to be a place where every child feels safe, valued, challenged and encouraged to be all that God has called them to be in 2026.

As always please read the below information for some important information in the life of our school.

Bus List:

Please note that for the remainder of Term 1, there are NO spaces left on any buses. There will be more places for Term 2.

Homework:

A reminder for families regarding homework as homework begins shortly and will be taken home:

All children will be given homework and encouraged to complete it
No child will get a consequence for not completing it.

Whilst homework does help to consolidate learning and we do encourage it. If completing homework at home becomes a significant source of stress or conflict, we respect your decision to step back from it. I understand different families have differing perspectives on homework. We do encourage students to develop good habits and responsibility, but we also recognise that family wellbeing is important and many families are doing co-curriculars, having family time and value other things at home.

Sports Uniform Reminder:

Please note that from next week, our updated sport day will be:

Tuesday: 3-6 Sport
Wednesday: K-2 Sport (no change)

Thank you for ensuring students are in their sports uniform on these days.

Co-Curricular

As you may be noticing, our school is becoming a busier place. There are more opportunities on offer for our students.

A note went out yesterday regarding after-school activities. We still have a few spots left in a couple of the classes if you would like to sign up. You will be receiving an email later today if you completed the sign up.

Please also note that due to our Musical rehearsals, we will not be running our usual in-school clubs this term. These will recommence in Term 2.

I also want to acknowledge that after school activities can involve additional costs. If your child would love to participate but cost is a genuine barrier, please shoot me a line confidentially, we will do our best to support where we can.

Please note that these are an additional option for families, they are not replacing anything that we are doing in-school hours.

Band Reminder:

Yesterday a note went out to all years 4-6 families about the concert band. Tryouts are happening for new students next week and the band is starting back again on Monday of Week 3, February 9th.

Musical:

A reminder that musical rehearsals are occurring on Monday afternoon. Please see the previous schedule to see if your child is required on a particular day.

Swimming Carnival:

Years 2–6 Swimming Carnival will be held again at Wentworthville Pool on Wednesday 11 February.

Permission notes will go home, in student bags, on Monday. Please return these as soon as possible.

For those students who are looking to swim at a more competitive level; they have a few weeks to train. It might be a good idea to get your child comfortable swimming 25m, or 50m, if that is a goal of theirs.

If your child is not going to be swimming competitively there are novelty events for them to participate in as well as a waterplay option for those students not getting in the pool at all.

Important Update: Afternoon Pick-Up and Site Access Changes

As I shared in last week’s edition, next week starts an exciting new chapter in our school.

The first evidence of building work begins on Monday, where there will be fencing all around the current assembly area, and the previous K-1 Block, so that an archeological dig can begin.

Even without the new fencing being installed, our current afternoon arrangements have become increasingly busy, with many students and families moving in different directions at once.

Please note the following important changes from Monday:

A large fence will be installed around the old K–1 block and the current assembly area.
There will still be three access points into the school:
- Beale Street gate
- Lionel Street entrance. There is no parent access via Ashcroft Street anymore. Lionel street is the small gate on the side street.
- Kiss and Drop zone
The afternoon assembly meeting area will move to the front of the school office. Students will wait in lines waiting to be dismissed by their class teacher.
There will no longer be access to the playground through the office.
Some gates and pathways will be closed as the building zone expands.
The carpark remains operational.
If you wish to park on Ashcroft street rather than use the kiss and drop, access will be via the Lionel Street gate.
If you wish to access the playground you will not be able to do so via the office, there is a door in-between the homestead and the office which you can use.
There is a new path and fence that has been constructed to ensure safe moving of the students to the Kiss and Drop from the new assembly point.

I will send a short video to all of you over the weekend to guide families through the new arrangements. As I think visually we all need to see this.

On Monday morning, we will also have plenty of staff available to assist all students.

Thank you for partnering with us in keeping our school safe and orderly and thank you in advance for your patience, flexibility, and support as we all adjust.

Staffing:

I’ve included a full staff list on the following page for your reference.

I know that 2026 will be a wonderful year of learning, growth, and God’s blessing across our school community.

My door is always open.

Joe Britton

Principal