Principal's Report

Dear HPS Community,

Welcome back for term 3! I have enjoyed hearing from students about holidays and activities with family and friends that occurred over the the break. Many families seem to have been unfortunate in catching winter illnesses that kept them home and resting.

My daughter, Mila, and I flew to QLD to spend 10 days with my sister and her family. Despite many days of rain, it was still a bit warmer than the weather in Melbourne and we were able to get out on adventures, visit playgrounds and enjoy a game of mini golf.

Thank you to all our wonderful committed and dedicated staff who worked to ensure a smooth and successful transition back to school after the holidays. Our fabulous Foundation students are old hands at this returning from school holiday breaks now and have got straight back into the swing of learning and working together to demonstrate our school values.

Our year 6 students hit the ground running this week with both netball and T-ball Inter School Sports finals being held today.

Netball games were played here at our school, whilst T-ball games were held at Heidelberg park. There were some great skills and teamwork on display on the court and pitch with plenty of support and encouragement from the sidelines. 

Thanks to our players, coaches and spectators for a job well done and for representing our school so proudly.

Staffing

This term we are pleased to welcome back Tegan Griffiths, who returns after a period of family leave. Tegan will work 3 days a week and fulfil the role of Disability Inclusion Coordinator. The focus of this work is around building upon our culture of inclusion by improving whole-school approaches and practices and supporting improved teaching practice and implementation of reasonable adjustments to meet diverse student needs. This work aligns strongly with our School Strategic Plan goal of optimising student wellbeing and learning growth.

3 Way Conferences

If you haven't done so already, be sure to book a time on either Wednesday 31st July or Thursday 1st August for you and your child to meet with the class teacher. This opportunity allows for the home-school partnership to be strengthened and everyone to have input into each students learning achievements, progress and future direction.

The benefit of having students involved in these discussions with their teacher and parents/carers is to empower them and allow their voice and agency to contribute to the direction of their learning. Having voice and agency gives students the power to direct and take responsibility for their learning, creating independent and self-regulating learners.

Please note- Year 3- Room 16 dates for 3 way conference appointments are Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th August

School Disco - Friday 2nd August

There is great excitement and anticipation around the school because there is only two weeks until our HPS disco is held! This is a great opportunity for our students to socialise and have some fun showing off their dance moves. Check your Compass newsfeed for more information and ticket sale link.

Parents and carers intending to help at the event must have completed the OHS and Child Safety Induction, available for completion on Compass, and have a valid Working With Children Check registered with the school office.

We sincerely thank the parent team involved in organising this fabulous event for our children.

School Council Sub-Committees 

Are you looking for a way to become more involved in our school? Why not join one of our sub committees!!

Subcommittees are advisory bodies to the school council:

• they assist council with performing their duties and functions, and
• are generally established to support school council in specific areas.

Subcommittee membership is open to non-school-council members:

• providing the opportunity for the school community to be involved in school council matters.

Subcommittees cannot make decisions on behalf of the school council.

Each subcommittee has a nominated convener who is usually a school council member.

The subcommittee convener is responsible for:

• reporting back to school council and the principal about the sub-committee’s recommendations
• supporting the implementation and monitoring of approved recommendations
• encouraging participation in the subcommittee from members in the school community.

Subcommittees usually meet between regular school council meetings which are held twice a term. This allows time for:

• consideration of their particular area of responsibility, and
• decisions on any necessary action or follow up.

Members of subcommittees will:

• maintain confidentiality over
  • matters discussed at the meetings, and
  • recommendations put forward to the school council. 

We welcome and encourage involvement from our HPS community. Please contact the facilitator directly or email heidelberg.ps@education.vic.gov.au with your details and they will be passed on to the relevant person.

Upcoming Dates

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend and great week ahead.

Naomi Ivers

Principal

Heidelberg Primary School