Welcome back to Term 3. I hope that the many of you who travelled abroad or to the warmer states had a wonderful time and that those who stayed closer to home enjoyed some inside fun!

This term has already begun in earnest with swimming starting last week for Grade 3 and 4 students, Ski Camp for many 5/6s next week and Division playoffs for many of our sports teams. Don’t forget to keep up to date through the Compass Calendar and posts, as well as our social channels (Instagram, Facebook). And it will be spring before we know it!

Thank Yous

I start this term and newsletter with a range of thank yous to the many wonderful parents who contribute to important functions of our school.

Thank you to Mark and the volunteers who ran a fantastic Mini Olympics event late last term. I know the turnout was strong, the participation (particularly from enthusiastic students) was earnest and everyone was very excited and keen to get their hands on a real Olympic gold medal (thanks Steve for your kindness in providing this opportunity). We look forward to this being an annual event going forward.

Thank you to Kirsten, Megan, Amy, Lin and Mel Da Silveira (coordinator) for their work with the Second Hand Uniform sale at the end of last term. I know that this serves as a critical service to many families at our school and also raised over $300 which will be put toward sustainability projects at our school.

And, last but certainly not least, with the

Parents’ Association’s Back to the 90’s Night approaching, the Auction is live and absolutely brimming with incredible items and some fervent bidding. A huge thank you to Alana and Carlo for their work in organising what will be a great night and we look forward to thanking the many local businesses that have generously supported the auction. Happy bidding!

Mirabel Foundation Fundraising

I am very pleased to share an initiative being driven by Mark Carpenter, a HPS parent, to support the Mirabel Foundation who does incredible work in supporting vulnerable children in our community. In order to raise an ambitious $50,000 this year, Mark has two initiatives which we would love to see our community get behind.

100K Run in the Surf Coast Century

Mark will be competing in the 100km Surf Coast Century on 21st September. This run is incredibly challenging with over 1800m in elevation. Regardless of whether you are a runner or have spent some time down the beautiful Surf Coast, I’m sure you can appreciate the magnitude of this challenge, and we wish Mark an injury-free lead up to the race. To get behind him or find out more, please follow the link below and look out for an opportunity to join him on his weekly Saturday morning running training in the WhatsApp Groups!

Beans for Dreams - A Coffee for a Cause

Mark has also launched "Beans for Dreams - A Coffee for a Cause” where he is asking friends, family and anyone able in our community to donate the equivalent of a cup of coffee per week. The hope is that this small, regular contribution can add up to a significant impact over the year.

We look forward to sharing Mark’s progress and wish you all the very best from the entire HPS community.

Stephanie Alexander Partnership & Landcare Grant

We are the proud recipients of a Woolworths Landcare Grant recently. The $1000 will go toward purchasing equipment, plants and other requirements to increase our ability to grow and harvest our own produce here at school to build students’ understanding of the process of the ‘paddock to plate’ process. We have also become members of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation which will provide resources and professional development to enable us to develop strong curriculum links in this area.

Thank you to Anne Hostein and our sustainability student leaders for driving this and we look forward to seeing the literal fruits of your labour!

BYOD Review Update

As flagged at the end of last term, we will be undertaking a review of the BYOD program, which we are mapping out at present. A part of this will be parent feedback which will be sought later this term. The deadline for any changes / decisions will be before the end of the year to allow Grade 3 families to plan for 2025.

Recipe Book Contributions

We had a large number of contributions for our HPS Recipe Book that student leaders were driving at the end of last term. They are now busy compiling these and working through the publishing process so that we can share them all with you soon!

New & Important Dates

Ski Camp: 29th – 31st July
100 Days of School (Foundation): 31st July
Beauty and the Beast Excursion: August 21st
House Athletics: August 23rd
Grade 5/6 Concert: August 28th

To stay up to date with all events and key dates, see the Compass Calendar.

Celebrations

Congratulations to Isla H who recently finished 2nd in the Rossignol Cup, an open Giant Slalom competition. This is an incredible achievement, finishing second only to the state champion in this discipline. We wish Isla more luck in the Interschool Snow Sports Championships next month which we have an HPS competing for the first time.

Team Kids