Principals' Page

Three Way Conferences

This is a reminder that bookings for our Term 3 Three-Way Conferences are now open and will close on Wednesday 4th September at 3:45 pm. 

Three-Way Conferences will occur from Wednesday 11th September between 2:00-3:30 PM and Thursday 12th September between 2.00-7.00 PM. These will occur in your teacher's classrooms or in an allocated room.  Three-way interviews are a key aspect of maintaining supportive communication for your child between school and home.

Working Bee- Save the date Sunday 15th September

Our Term 3 working bee is scheduled for Sunday 15th September commencing at 9am. Working bees are a fantastic opportunity for our school community to come together, improve our facilities, and create a better environment for our children. Whether you can lend a hand for an hour or stay for the whole time, every bit of help makes a significant difference. No special skills are required, just bring your enthusiasm and willingness to contribute!

Dogs on HEPS grounds

It is important, for the physical safety and mental wellbeing of our students and staff, that we all have understanding of the rules around a dog/dogs being allowed on site at HEPS. The grounds of Heathmont East Primary School are not a public place, and dogs should never be off lead while on the grounds. This applies to our school community and people from outside of the school both during and outside of school hours.

I have copied below the information from our dog policy regarding pet dogs. Please see our HEPS dog policy on our website for further information. This policy will be regularly reviewed and changes may be made to support the safety of all on site.

Pet dogs 

Heathmont East Primary School is not a public place, and our principal has the authority to permit or decline entry to school grounds and impose conditions of entry.

Dogs permitted with conditions. 

Whilst Heathmont East Primary School understands that many families in our school community keep dogs as pets, to ensure that our school remains a safe and inclusive place for everyone, we have in place a number of rules that we expect all families to follow if they wish to bring their pet dog onto school grounds: 

• pet dogs must be leashed at all times and in the control of a responsible adult. 

• pet dogs must not be tied up on school grounds or left unaccompanied. 

• families that bring dogs to school that exhibit signs of aggressive behaviour, bark, or jump may be asked to remove the dog from school premises. 

• pet dogs must not attend school events such as: Christmas Concert, Colour Run, Movie Nights, Athletics days etc. 

• pet dogs must not be in a school building without prior permission from the Principal. 

• pet dogs must always be kept at a safe distance from students and adults on the school grounds. 

The Principal has the authority to prohibit certain dogs from school grounds or modify this policy to ensure the safety and wellbeing of staff, students and members of our school community at any time.

Shining a light on Student Voice and HEPS

This year, we are focusing on Student Voice at HEPS. This means that we are actively listening to our students regarding ways that might enhance their learning and wellbeing experience at our school.  Over the past few weeks all teachers have surveyed their students regarding what they would like more of or less of in their school day.   The results were analysed by the Wellbeing team as sorted into the most common responses.  We have decided to focus on one element or activity per week for the rest of the term these are;

The second focus (Week ) is CROSS CLASS GROUP WORK.  This is something we value at HEPS as it allows a greater level of connection and collaboration between classrooms and foster better relationships between students and teachers.  

Here  are some examples from the week.

How Can I Help Build My Child’s Numeracy?

As parents you play a significant role in your child’s learning by setting expectations, nurturing curiosity, and encouraging a love of learning.

You can help build your child’s Numeracy through doing the following:

• be positive about their numeracy experiences and praise effort and perseverance
• let your child know that everyone can be successful
• seize everyday opportunities to capitalise on numeracy development
• involve your child in numeracy-related activities
• describe what you are doing in situations that involve numeracy
• explain why you make certain numeracy choices
• explore numeracy with your child
• learn alongside your child and encourage a sharing of numeracy ideas and thoughts.

Helping children to become numerate does not need a high level of mathematics.

It means:

• encouraging children to try, then keep trying
• encouraging children to think (reason)
• supporting children while they do homework (which means encouraging them and taking an interest, but not doing the thinking for them)
• numeracy with children (including interpreting data, charts and diagrams)
• talking aloud when solving problems (every day or mathematical)
• getting children to check their answers (Does this answer make sense?)
• encouraging children to help with cooking (especially measuring out ingredients)
• paying bills
• scheduling events during the day
• reading maps and giving directions
• shopping
• measuring 

You can find many great resources on a range of Department of Education websites. If you’d like more information or ideas for talking about maths at home, take a browse at https://numeracyguidedet.global2.vic.edu.au/numeracy-at-home/