Recorder News

Mini-Concert in Room 12, Wed. 10.6.2026:

Students from rooms 9 and 12 gathered on Wednesday after Recess to hear a short performance of music by seven of HPS’s recorder players.

This mini-concert gave an opportunity to a student who had not been able to attend the recorder program’s May Soirée to play their piece in front of an audience.

Performance is a vital part of any instrumental music program, galvanising learning and helping to build resilience and confidence, and the recorder students at HPS are fortunate indeed to have the support of a school community that happily hosts concerts for the benefit of our students.

We enjoyed the feeling of anticipation in the air as we joined our audience of Grade 1 students, and excitement mixed with nervous energy and concentration as we prepared to play, making this a memorable musical experience for performers Disha, Ella, Luca, Rohan, Kai, Phoebe and Rudhra.

We are deeply grateful to Mrs Carla Daniele, Miss Gemma Lindsay-Knape and their students for welcoming us so warmly and being the model of HPS school values in listening to us play.

Mini-performances for Grades 2 & 3 next week, Tue. 16.6.2026:

Other recorder students who missed the May Soirée will have the chance to play their pieces to an audience of Grade 2s in the BER before visiting the Grade 3 classrooms for mini-performances in session 6 next Tuesday afternoon.

May Soirée feedback from a recorder family:

‘Thank you so much for organizing a special night and an opportunity for the recorder performers at HPS. … It was a great opportunity for them to purely enjoy playing the recorder … I’m looking forward to the next performance opportunity and seeing more stars on their music book!’

Maya K: ‘Everybody played well. May Soirée was a good opportunity to reflect on the importance of practicing at home.’

Spencer said it sounded nice both when he performed and he listened to other performers.

Would your child enjoy learning to play recorder?

Music for the mind, body and spirit—

Why learn an instrument? Playing music feels good – and it’s good for you, too! Music is a shared language for cultures all across the world. Making music unites communities as it offers individuals deep intrinsic rewards as a unique form of non-verbal self-expression.

For school students, studying a musical instrument can also bring added bonuses – it can be a greatly enjoyable means of developing emotional intelligence and self-assurance as well as personal-management and fine-motor skills – and, like all languages, music is most rapidly learned when children are young.

To view a YouTube video showing how music is like ‘fireworks’ for the brain, please see <http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-playing-an-instrument-benefits-your-brain-anita-collins>, or for a summary of the benefits of music education, please visit the Bigger Better Brains website <https://www.biggerbetterbrains.com.au/research-updates/advocating-for-music-at-the-school-board>.

The HPS recorder program provides students (grades 1 to 6) the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument while learning to read music notation and gaining valuable associated skills. If your child is interested in learning the recorder, commencing in term 3, 2026, please email fionawalters@ioville.net for enrolment application information by 17.6.2026.

Through studying music, students can be life-long learners, gaining self-confidence as they practise risk-taking and build resilience.

Fiona Walters, BEd (Mus, Eng); MEd (LLAE), AMusA, Music Tutor

Happy music making, everyone!

Fiona Walters, Recorder Tutor

Apply now to enrol your child in Foundation (Prep) for 2027

All Victorian government primary schools follow a statewide timeline for enrolling in Foundation (Prep) for the 2027 school year.

If you have a child starting primary school in 2027, it’s time to enrol. Make sure to submit your enrolment application by Friday 31 July 2026.

If you are enrolling the sibling of a student at our school for Foundation in 2027, and both children will be attending our school at the same time, your child is prioritised for a place at our school.

It is important to submit your enrolment application to us on time as it will ensure your child is included in all transition activities if offered enrolment at our school. This also allows us to plan our classrooms, staffing and transition activities, and ensures your child has the best start to school.

For more information, please read about how to enrol your child in Foundation at vic.gov.au/enrolling-foundation-prep.

If you would like to enrol your child in Foundation (Prep) in 2027, please contact our school office on 9457 2259 or email heidelberg.ps@education.vic.gov.au to book a school tour or request an application form.

Waste Free Wednesday

Language Translation on Compass

We wish to advise you that our Compass platform has now been enabled with a Google Translate function. This will allow families to access Compass in their preferred language.

On laptop or desktop computers this appears as a ‘Select Language’ button in the bottom right of your screen.

If using the Compass app on your phone and wishing to access the translate function you will need to follow the following steps:

From home page tap the ‘More’ menu in the bottom right hand corner
Tap ‘Open in Browser’ in bottom left hand corner
Scroll to the bottom of the page
Click ‘Select Language’ button in bottom right hand corner

Lost Property Locations

Lost Property can be found around the school at the following locations:

SAC Building
Library (BER)
Year 1 Building

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From the SRC