Principal Report

Welcome to our second newsletter for Term Two. I hope you have been enjoying the sunshine, it’s a bit chilly early in the morning but the afternoons have been perfect. We have had a great four weeks at HPS with lots of solid learning and some fun activities along the way. 

I hope all of the mums, stepmothers, grandmothers and motherly figures had a super Mothers Day last Sunday. We hope you got pampered and spoilt for the day.     

Welcome to HPS 

This fortnight, we have had one new students begin their learning journey with us at Highvale. Welcome to HPS Myra D 6A. We are sure you will love being a member of our community. If there is anything that you would like to discuss or need assistance with, please contact the School Office on 9887 8000. We are always here to help!

Birthdays

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

Happy Birthday to the following students who will celebrate their special day throughout May:  Cici S, Austin C, Charlie D, Elizabeth C, Faraz G, Emma L, James Z, Joshua D, Mann A, Ethan X, Senuth W, Shanaa J, Adam J, Erica J, Ewen L, Harris C, Joshua C, Adyashakti G, Violet W, Olivia T, Owen L, Ethan N, Chong O, Jackie K, Mikayla L, Navya P and Quinn L. We hope you all have a terrific birthday.

Attendance

At Highvale Primary School we firmly believe that attending school every day plays a crucial role in shaping a child's educational journey. Regular attendance allows students to fully engage in classroom activities, discussions, and hands-on learning experiences. It provides them with the opportunity to grasp new concepts, ask questions, and collaborate with their peers. Consistent attendance helps build a strong foundation of knowledge and skills, enabling children to excel academically. This term, we will be reinforcing the importance of attending school every day. 

Congratulations to the 245 students who have achieved 100% attendance so far in May. Some of these students include: Arjan Prep FY, Eddy Prep B, Manduul 1S, Ewen 1D, Aarna 2S, Jason 2M, Zara 2J, Joshua 3CBB, Advika 3J, Shi Chen 4A, Cassie 4U, Sam 5S, Maya 5X, Zachary 6S and Katarina 6D.

Here are some attendance figures for 2025 so far:

Remember: it is not ok to be away!

Mother’s Day Breakfast

A huge thank you to the HPCG for organising the Mothers Day Breakfast last Friday morning. We hope everyone who attended had a great time and enjoyed the croissants and coffee.  

Cadbury Fundraiser

Thank you to each family that sold a box or two of Cadbury chocolates and supported our school fundraiser. For each box of chocolates that was sold, the school received $20 which will go towards creating more sheltered areas in our schoolyard for the students to access. If you have not returned the envelope yet, please do so ASAP. Once all envelopes have been returned, we can finalise the figures and share the amount that we were able to raise through this particular fundraiser. If you wish to donate money as part of the chocolate fundraiser, please do so via Compass or come and see us at the front office for assistance. We thank all families for their participation and contribution to this delicious fundraiser. 

Prep 2026

We are currently conducting school tours and we are taking enrolments for 2026. It appears we have a lot of new families that are wanting to join us and become part of the Highvale Primary School Community. If you know of anyone who has a child that will be starting school in 2026, please let them know they are welcome to contact the office to book in a tour or use the Student Insights online portal to enrol. If you are having trouble with the portal, please contact the office and we can assist you. 

Education Week

We are very excited to celebrate Education Week from Monday 19th May - Friday 23rd May. This year’s theme Celebration of Cultures highlights the diversity of our communities and the importance of every child feeling safe and welcome at school. Our main celebration will be an Open Classroom Event on Wednesday 21st May from 9:30am - 10:30am. However, prior to this there is a small musical performance from our choir and the bands of HPS. This will begin at 9:10 in the MPC. On Thursday 22nd May, students are invited to dress up in their traditional cultural dress or wear the colours of the flag from the country they were born in. We look forward to celebrating a great Education Week at Highvale Primary School next week.

Financial Contributions 

Highvale Primary School sincerely thanks all parents and carers who have supported our school this year. Your generous contributions play a vital role in helping us enhance and enrich the educational experiences we offer our students. These contributions have enabled us to provide additional resources and opportunities beyond the standard curriculum. If you are yet to make contributions and would like to, please see Compass or come and visit us at the school office. You are helping to make Highvale a very special place for our students to learn and grow. 

Principal Conference

Last week, Mrs Soccio and I attended the Monash/ Manningham Principal Conference and were offsite for two days. Surrounded by approximately 160 other Principals and Assistant Principals, we were led through a series of speakers who have expertise in leadership, leading teams, developing positive culture and developing effective processes. The sessions were practical and gave us some good ideas relatable to our context at HPS. Overall it was a very valuable and informative professional learning opportunity for us and we really appreciated the time offsite together. We look forward to implementing and using some of the key take aways at Highvale in the near future.

National Simultaneous Storytime

National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) is an Australia-wide group reading and literacy event, where schools, libraries and other institutions gather school-age children together to read the same chosen picture book at the same time. Ever since its inception, the aim of NSS has been to promote the value and fun of books, reading, and community storytime activities, as well as the work of the featured author and illustrator. The National Simultaneous Storytime story for 2025 is 'The Truck Cat', written by Deborah Frenkel. This touching tale features Tinka, a cat journeying alongside his human companion, Yacoub, as they navigate themes of belonging, connection, and finding a place to call home. The whole school will be reading this book on Wednesday 21st May at 12:00pm. 

Education Support Personnel Day 

The Australian Education Union celebrate Education Support Personnel Day on Friday 16th May every year. Education Support Personnel are a vital part of the education workforce, as they contribute to creating and sustaining a school culture where learning takes place. They cover a wide range of professional, administrative, technical, and general staff working as teaching assistants, Integration Aides, Student administration and more. We would like to take the opportunity to join in and acknowledge the wonderful work our ES staff do. Thank you so much to Allie, Dot, Trish, Sophie, Emily, Candy, Shu, Andrea, Fiona and Rachael for keeping our school running by supporting our students to learn, our teachers to teach and engaging our community in our wonderful school. Your efforts are very much appreciated!

National Reconciliation Week

The 27th of May marks the beginning of National Reconciliation Week. National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. NRW always falls on the same dates each year, from 27th May to 3rd June. The 27th of May marks the anniversary of the 1967 referendum when Australians voted to remove clauses in the Australian Constitution that discriminated against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The 3rd of June marks the historic 1992 Mabo decision in which the High Court of Australia recognised native title— the recognition that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights over their lands did survive British colonisation. 

The day before NRW, the 26th May, is National Sorry Day, which was first held in Sydney in 1998 and is now commemorated nationally to remember and honour the Stolen Generations. There are a growing number of books and online material written for young people to help them understand more about the Stolen Generation, Sorry Day, and the 1967 referendum, such as 

1. Say Yes by Jennifer Castles 
2. PlaySchool Walking Together episode (https://iview.abc.net.au/show/play-school-walking-together) 
3. BTN - Reconciliation Week episode (https://www.abc.net.au/btn/classroom/reconciliation-week2021/13350912)

These are great to watch as a family to learn more about these important dates if you are interested.

Late pick ups

We have some students that are not being collected from school until after 3:45pm each day. Please ensure your child is collected at 3:30pm or as close to 3:30pm as possible. If you cannot arrange this, please enrol your child in TheirCare our OSHC (Out of School Hours Care) provider. Then you can do ‘pick up’ at a time that suits your family and the circumstances. 

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