Dear HPS Community,

What a wonderful week of celebrating the magic of books and storytelling at HPS! Our Book Week celebrations have been a fantastic opportunity for students to immerse themselves in stories, explore their favourite characters and share their love of reading and story telling.

A particular highlight was our fabulous Book Week Parade on Monday. The creativity, colour and enthusiasm on display were incredible, with students and staff bringing an amazing array of characters to life. Thank you to our HPS community for the effort and imagination that went into making the parade such a memorable and joyful celebration.

We thank all the family and friends who came along to join in the fun and witness the spectacle, cheering everyone on as they displayed their costumes.

Thank you to our magnificent library teachers Jane and Denise for organising, promoting and hosting the event.

We hope Book Week has inspired our students to continue discovering the wonderful worlds that can be found within the pages of a book!

Father's Day/ Special Person event

We warmly invite our HPS community to join us for a special morning tea and various games on Friday 4 September from 8.00–9.00am in the COLA.

This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the dads, grandpas, uncles and other important male role models who contribute so much to the lives of our students. Come along, enjoy a morning tea, take part in some games and spend some special time together before the school day begins. We look forward to seeing you there!

More helpers required- we are still in need of some volunteers to help with the setting up, serving and supporting during and then with pack up afterwards. If you are able to contribute in any way, please inform our staff in the office. We truly appreciate the people who have already committed to supporting this event.

Icy-Pole Sales

Our Year 6 cohort will be selling Zooper Dooper icy-poles each Thursday starting next week.

There will be two types of Zooper Doopers on sale including regular and sugar free.

Students are welcome to bring $1 on any Thursday they wish to purchase an icy-pole.

Funds raised will go towards supporting the 2026 Year 6 Graduation.

As this event will run each week until December, don't panic if your child forgets their money one Thursday, they can always bring it the following week.

Cultural Celebrations

This week, I was made aware of a festival that some of our families may have recently been celebrating. I was fascinated to learn about this celebration, which I had not previously been aware of, and thought it was a wonderful opportunity to share and celebrate the rich diversity of our HPS community.

Onam is an annual harvest and Hindu cultural festival celebrated predominantly by the people of Kerala, India. It is traditionally associated with the legend of the benevolent King Mahabali, who is believed to return each year to visit his people. The celebration is a time of joy, connection and cultural traditions.

Another wonderful cultural learning experience came during our recent Story Time session with our future Foundation students. One student attended with her grandparents, whom she lovingly referred to as Bà and Ông.

Bà – Grandmother, or a respectful term for an older woman.
Ông – Grandfather, or a respectful term for an older man.

Then, later that very same day while I was on yard duty after school, I learnt the Polish word for grandmother when one of our older students received a message to go and see her:

Babcia (pronounced “bob-cha”) – Grandmother.

These small moments are wonderful reminders of the richness and diversity within our school community. Every day provides an opportunity to learn something new about one another, and I am grateful for the many ways our students and families share their languages, traditions and cultures with us.

As lifelong learners, it is important that we remain open, curious and willing to embrace new ideas and experiences. Learning does not stop when we leave school; it continues throughout every stage of our lives. When we approach new things with curiosity and an open mind, we create opportunities to grow, challenge ourselves and discover new perspectives. This week, I encourage our HPS community to embrace the joy of learning and remain curious about the world and people around us.

Royal Children's Hospital Appeal

We have a student initiated lunchtime club that will run on Wednesday 2nd and Wednesday 9th September. Paper Plane Club will be launching next week, where Louis J and his crew will support participating students to learn the craft of paper plane building, provide opportunity to test their planes flight ability and then refine their design as they learn more about what helps to make a solid aerodynamic paper plane!

Louis will be accepting gold coin donations with all proceeds raised being donated to the Royal Children's Hospital.

2027 Foundation Students

This year, we are excited to introduce a new initiative designed to support our future students and their families as they begin their journey with Heidelberg Primary School.

Prior to the commencement of our formal Transition Program in Term 4, we are inviting children enrolled to begin Foundation in 2027, along with a parent or carer, to join us for a relaxed Story Time session in our school library.

These optional, low-pressure opportunities are designed to help children become familiar with our school environment, begin building connections with staff and other future students, and feel a sense of belonging within our school community.

We understand that starting school can be both an exciting and unfamiliar experience. Through these informal sessions, we hope to provide an additional opportunity for children and families to connect with Heidelberg Primary School and help make the transition to school feel a little more familiar and welcoming.

Thank you to the children and families who came along to our first story time session, where a book titled Oh No, George, by Chris Haughton was read by our Assistant Principal, Helen. We hope you had a fabulous time like we did!

Upcoming Dates
September
Friday 4	Father's Day and Special Person Morning Tea 8-9am
October
Thursday 15	Year 6 Graduation Photo Day
Thursday 29	Matsuri Day - whole school
November
Monday 2	Curriculum Day- No students at school
Tuesday 3	Melbourne Cup Public Holiday

Second Hand Uniform Sale Dates

Our final second-hand uniform sale for this term will be oon Wednesday next week!

Term 3 - 2.45-3.45pm

Wednesday 2nd September

**Thank you to our team of wonderful volunteers who are putting in loads of effort to organise and sell on the 2nd hand uniform items that've been so generously donated**

Naming of the new gymnasium

Thank you to everyone who voted on the naming of our new gymnasium.

With just over half of the total votes, our new gym at HPS will be referred to as the YUMAGU CENTRE, meaning 'everyone' in Woiwurrung language.

Parent/ Carer Opinion Survey

Our school is conducting the annual Parent / Carer Opinion Survey and is seeking your feedback. The survey, offered by the Department of Education, is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, and student engagement.

Your opinions are important to us and will contribute to identifying areas for improvement and professional development needs in the school, to target school planning and improvement strategies.

The department will use the results from the survey for research purposes and to improve outcomes for students.

The survey will be conducted online and only takes 20 minutes to complete. It can be completed on any internet enabled device (desktop computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone) and is compatible with most browsers.

The survey is available in English and 10 other languages: Arabic, Greek, Hakha Chin, Hindi, Japanese, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Turkish, and Vietnamese.

If you require assistance in another language, resources may be available for you. Please reach out to your child’s teacher, or the school if you require assistance in another language.

The Parent / Carer Opinion Survey will be open online from Monday 17 August to Friday 18 September 2026.

Please refer to the Compass newsfeed for further information required to complete the survey.

2026 School Term Dates

Term 3: Monday 13th July- Friday 18th September (2.30pm finish)

Term 4: Monday 5th October- Friday 18th December (1.30pm finish)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Naomi Ivers

Principal

Heidelberg Primary School

9457 2259

naomi.ivers@education.vic.gov.au

From the SRC