Welcome to Week Five of Term Three. We are officially half way through the term, which is very exciting. With the Olympic Games closing, I hope you managed to watch some of the broadcast from Paris. Over the weekend, I enjoyed the women's basketball bronze medal match, where Australia won a tight game. What was your favourite memory from the 2024 Olympics?

Welcome to HPS

I would like to officially welcome the newest member of the Office Admin Team, Rachael Fleming who has been regularly working in the Office at HPS across the year. Rachael has joined us from Wheelers Hill Primary School. We are very happy to have you with us at Highvale PS and look forward to building a solid partnership.

Attendance

As you know, 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. Congratulations to these HPS students who have 100% attendance for Term Three so far: Avik A from Year Six, Megan C from Year Three, Zachary C from Year Five, Youli Z from Year Three and

Valens C from Year Six. Well done to all of the students who are consistently at school!

Science Week

This week is Science Week and we are celebrating at HPS with lots of fun investigations and experiments. Across the week I have seen caterpillars made from pipe cleaners in the garden and some students designing endangered animal enclosures that looked fabulous. All of our Science activities across the week have been fun, engaging and have instilled in our students a positive attitude towards science. Thank you to Mrs Williamson who has organised all of these activities for us. Well done to all of the Highvale scientists for a fantastic Science Week.

Book Week

I am so excited about Book Week next week. It's my favourite whole school event that we do in primary schools. I love the way Book Week allows students to celebrate authors and characters that they love. It brings the fun back into reading! The theme this year is "Reading is Magic". Mr Crozier and I have been on the search for the perfect costumes for Book Week Dress Up Day which is Friday 23rd August. We are having a 'Best Dressed Competition' among staff, so I'm looking forward to seeing the creative side of the Highvale staff. We also welcome all parents and friends to attend the Parade starting as close to 9:00am as possible. See Compass for more exciting Book Week activities and adventures.

District Basketball Team

Congratulations to the Level Five/Six students who participated in the District Basketball Competition last Friday at Nunawading Basketball Centre. Both teams had been practising prior to the event so they were ready for the big day. We had a separate girls and boys team compete. I spoke to Zoe 6D one of the team members from the girls team and she recounted a wonderful day. She said the team played extremely well and showed high levels of teamwork. The team won two games and Zoe said the best part of the day was spending time with each other, supporting each other and learning from their mistakes. After speaking with Zoe 6D I spoke with Sheldon 6D and Dehan 6D who were members of the boys team. Sheldon said he enjoyed the day, a highlight being a 20 point win against another school. Sheldon believes they were able to win that game as they showed teamwork, supported each other and gave all team members a chance. Dehan 6D said he enjoyed the day and having fun was the main goal of both of the Highvale teams. The teachers who attended were impressed by the attitude and sportsmanship shown on the day. Although we were not the overall winners, we had a great day and represented the school displaying our School Values - Respect, Responsibility, Honesty, Integrity and Commitment. Well done to the students involved and thanks for the chat Zoe, Dehan and Sheldon.

School Production

Our school production - ‘Star Warts: The Umpire Strikes Back’ - rehearsals continue and we are moving in the right direction. Last week, at Assembly, the Level Fours performed and they were super! Erin Stoddart is pleased with the progress of students and our staff have been working hard on logistical elements involved in the production. More information will be sent out via Compass in the coming weeks, but this is an exciting time!

Parent Survey

Recently, we invited parents and caregivers to complete the Parent Opinion Survey. The results of this survey help us understand the needs and views of our community. There is still time to have your say. For more information on the survey, please see my recent Compass Posts.

Parking around Highvale

We have received a series of complaints recently about the way parents are parking during drop off and pick up times. A letter recently indicated that someone had parked their car across a neighbours driveway and the locals were unable to exit their driveway for 30 minutes while they waited for a parent to return to their parked car. Please take care when dropping off and picking up students and stick to the road rules. We want to enjoy positive relationships with our neighbours and the local community.

Upcoming Events

Week Five

Science Week

2025 Prep Transition starts - Storytime

Week Six

Book Week

Book Week Dress Up Day

Week Seven

Prep, One, Two MOPA Excursion

2025 Prep Transition - Session Two

Fathers Day Breakfast

Week Eight

Footy Colours Day

District Athletics Day - Years 3-6

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

Community

Term 3 lunchtime extra-curricular activities

Activities and services in the community