Principal Report
Welcome to the Term One, Week Four Highvale Primary School newsletter. As we move further into the term, it has been wonderful to see our classrooms filled with energy, curiosity and purposeful learning. Our students continue to demonstrate enthusiasm and resilience as they engage in rich learning experiences and take pride in their achievements. This term has already provided many opportunities for growth — academically, socially and emotionally. From focused literacy and numeracy learning to sporting events, our students are embracing every opportunity to challenge themselves and support one another.
Welcome to Highvale
We have had some new students begin their learning journey with us since our last newsletter. Welcome to HPS: Jefferson C 3A, Jason C 6T and Ian G 3A. We are sure you will love being members of our community. If there is anything that you would like to discuss or need assistance with, please contact the School Office on 9887 8000. We are always here to help!
Birthdays
Happy Birthday to the following students who will celebrate their special day throughout February: Dylan L PFY, Harris L 5E, Arjan B 1P, Bonnie W 4G, Mirreeha A 1P, Jade L PFY, Ace H 1P, Hunter Y 5E, Rakith G PA, Anna W PFY, Yuvan M 4P, Aaron L 6S, Oscar S 3C, Senaya W PA, Mishkaat A 6S, Hua L 3L, Evelyn W 6T, Nthan Y 3L, Lily M 5E, Claire C 6S, Aiden W 1GC, Alice H 1GC, Andrew C 3L, Sheldon X 4P, Shawn F 5S, Julia T 6D, Sam T 6D, Isabella M 5M, Aadhithya S 6T, Lucas L PA, Eddy L PA, Kenneth L 3L, Duthi J 4C and Duhi J 4P. We hope you all have a terrific birthday.
Attendance
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. This term, we will be reinforcing the importance of attending school every day.
Congratulations to the 238 students who have achieved 100% attendance in February so far. Some of these students include: Jamie B PA, Rose C PA, Aarnik A PFY, Alex C PFY, Stanley X 1P, Zoe N 1P, Aiden W 1GC, Anna W 1GC, Amika N 2M, Omar N 2M, Isabella M 2L, Kanisha N 2L, Boey N 3A, Kaylee S 3A, Prachi R 3C, Markus P 3C, Aarna K 3L, Surveen B 3L, Pramish A 4C, Jackie K 4C, Andrea L 4G, Serina G 4G, Austen H 4P, Duhi J 4P, Ethan C 5E, Kayley C 5E, Megan C 5M, Arshia D 5M, Shawn F 5S, Weien D 5S, James Z 6T, Olivia Y 6T, Zara Z 6S, Kaitlyn W 6S, Aleina C 6D and Eleni K 6D.
Remember: It is not ok to be away!
School Council: Seeking new members
Our School Council plays an important role in guiding and supporting our school. It helps set the broad direction and vision for the school in partnership with the community and contributes to the development of the School Strategic Plan. Council members oversee the management of school finances, facilities and grounds, ensuring resources are used responsibly and for the benefit of students.
The School Council is also responsible for fundraising, managing the hire and shared use of school facilities, determining student-free days, and supporting the provision of services such as cleaning and canteen operations where applicable. Importantly, Council represents the voice of the community, considers community feedback in decision-making, and reports annually to families and the Department on the school’s progress and financial activities.
We are calling for new members to join our wonderful School Council. We meet once or twice a term and have a mix of face to face and online meetings. If you are interested in joining School Council and assisting with the effective management of our school, please come and get a nomination form from the front office or see Compass for further information.
Upcoming Community Events
We have a number of whole school community events planned for this term. Please add these dates to your calendar.
- Open Classroom and Welcome Back BBQ (Tuesday 24th February)
- HPS Sports Carnival (NEW DATE: Wednesday 1st April)
We are really looking forward to seeing you all at these events throughout Term One.
Open Classrooms & Welcome Back BBQ
We are very excited to be having Open Classrooms & a Welcome back BBQ on Tuesday 24th February from 3:40pm – 5:00pm and are hoping for a big turnout of families. Open Classroom is a good opportunity for parents to see inside their child’s classroom and look at what they’ve done across the first few weeks of school. Parents can ask the classroom teacher any specific questions they may have about the year ahead and just generally get to know them. If parents have specific things to discuss about their child and their learning journey, they will need to book an alternative meeting time or send the teacher an email. Open Classroom is designed for all parents to be in the classroom together, so no private matters will be discussed. Following this, we will be having the BBQ so we are hoping that the weather is kind and all families can enjoy this together. Please see Compass to indicate how many sausages/ veggie patties your family require.
Chinese Lion Dance
A huge thank you to Caroline Coady (Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader/ Year One teacher) for organising the Chinese Youth Society of Melbourne to perform a Chinese Lion Dance and celebrate the Lunar New Year with us on Monday. Everyone who attended seemed to really enjoy the performance. Thank you to our parent community who attended and provided us with some positive feedback about the event which celebrated cultural awareness, inclusion and respect for diversity.
Extra Support Services for Highvale students
We continue to offer students and families high levels of allied health support in 2026. Shifa Sadiq is a counselling student from Monash University who is with us two days a week until June. Melissa Tsui is a provisional psychologist from Psych In Schools and will be with us two days a week for Semester One. She will be working one on one with individual students who are referred through their classroom teacher, with parent approval. Andrea Perkins is our Speech Therapist who is with us two days a week and Joanne Goh is our Occupational Therapist and is onsite with us one day a week. If you would like any information regarding our allied health suite, please email me directly or speak to your child’s class teacher.
NAPLAN 2026
For those that are unaware, NAPLAN stands for the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy. It is a nationwide assessment undertaken by students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 across Australia. NAPLAN provides a snapshot of how students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are progressing in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy. The purpose of NAPLAN is to provide a snapshot of student learning at a point in time. It helps schools and education systems understand how students are progressing in essential literacy and numeracy skills and identify areas of strength and areas for improvement. As we approach the upcoming NAPLAN testing period, we would like to reassure families that NAPLAN is just one of many ways we gather information about student learning.
At Highvale, we encourage students to approach NAPLAN with confidence and a positive mindset. We remind them that it is an opportunity to demonstrate what they know and can do, rather than something to be anxious about. Classroom learning will continue as normal during the testing period and students are well prepared through the everyday teaching and learning experiences they engage in throughout the year.
The NAPLAN testing schedule at Highvale is as follows:
Wednesday 11th March - Year Three and Year Five Writing (9:30am)
Thursday 12th March - Year Three and Five Reading (9:30am)
Friday 13th March - Year Five Language Conventions (9:30am)
Monday 16th March - Year Three Language Conventions & Year Five Maths (9:30am)
Wednesday 18th March - Year Three Maths (9:30am)
Families can support their children by ensuring they get a good night’s sleep, eat a healthy breakfast, and arrive at school on time during the testing days. Most importantly, reassurance and encouragement at home go a long way in helping students feel calm and ready to do their best. We look forward to celebrating our students’ efforts and continuing to work together to support their ongoing growth and achievement.
Easing into adolescence: Resources for families
The Department of Education has launched an Easing into adolescence webpage for families of students aged 10 to 14 (Grade 5 to Year 8). The webpage has information and strategies you can use to help ease your child into adolescence and secondary school. These include:
- a guide to emotion coaching. Staff from The University of Melbourne’s Tuning into Teens Kids program developed the guidance.
- how to support your adolescent with their studies and more generally. Parenting expert and clinical psychologist Andrew Fuller helped develop this resource.
Subtitles for videos by The University of Melbourne on the webpage are available in 10 languages. You can select your preferred language on the translations page.
For questions about these resources, contact the Strategic Partnerships, Transitions and Student Voice team. You can email them at Secondary.School.Transition@education.vic.gov.au
Compass & Communication
The Compass parent portal is a key communication tool, which provides parents with access to information about their child’s academic progress, attendance, key dates, reports, upcoming events, payments, interview bookings and newsletters. Please ensure you can access this portal, as information is regularly shared through this service. If you are unable to access Compass, please phone Charlotte or Kate in the Office on 9887 8000.
District Swimming Event
Congratulations to the following 24 students who proudly represented Highvale at the District Swimming Event on Thursday the 12th of February at Monash Aquatic Centre: Roger Z 3A, Jasper L 4G, Adorna L 4P, Claire Y 4C, Tiya T 4G, Cici S 3C, Claire H 3A, Eline W 4C, Xin Xin D 3L, Mishkaat A 6S, Aadhi S 6T, Saijan T 5M, Stella B 5S, Sara L 5M, Khloe L 5S, Cassie H 5E, Victoria Z 5S, Kaiyan D 5E, Lilly Y 5S, Mirabelle L 5S, Senuth W 6T, Keitarou S 6T, Eelon L 6S and Faith C 6D.
From all reports your commitment, willingness to challenge yourselves and the positive sportsmanship you displayed throughout the day were outstanding. Competing at this level requires courage, determination and resilience and each of you should be incredibly proud of your efforts in and out of the pool. You represented our school with pride, encouragement and team spirit and we commend you for your achievements. Well done HPS students!
Tissues
If possible, it would be much appreciated if each student could please contribute a box of tissues to the classroom supply. These come in very handy throughout the day for small spills and for students to blow their nose if they have caught a cold. Please provide a box of tissues to your child’s classroom teacher at your earliest convenience. These will be stored in the classroom until needed.
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
Thank you for your ongoing partnership and support. Together we continue to create a positive, inclusive and high-expectations learning environment for every child.
Have a great week ahead HPS families,
Carly Epskamp