Dear HPS Community,

It is hard to believe that we have just one week of Term 3 remaining! As we head into our final week, there is certainly a sense of excitement around HPS as we continue to make the most of every opportunity to learn, connect and celebrate together.

A reminder that school will finish at 2.30pm on Friday 18 September.

With the warmer weather upon us, thank you to everyone who is being SunSmart and ensuring that students are wearing their SunSmart, school-approved hats when outdoors. Sunscreen is provided in all classrooms, and students are very welcome to bring their own sunscreen from home if there is a particular product that best suits their individual needs.

Next week, many of our classes will also continue a wonderful and well-supported tradition at Heidelberg Primary School — welcoming parents, carers and family members into open classroom sessions. These opportunities provide students with the chance to proudly share and explain their learning from across the term.

There is something particularly special about seeing our students become the teachers as they explain what they have learned, the challenges they have worked through and the things they are curious to discover next. These sessions bring such a wonderful vibrancy and sense of community connection to our school and beautifully demonstrate the value we place on learning, sharing and curiosity.

Open classroom opportunities next week include:

Year 3: Tuesday 15 September
Foundation: Thursday 17 September
Year 6: Thursday 17 September
Year 1: Before and after school each day throughout next week

We look forward to welcoming many of you into classrooms and seeing our students proudly share their learning and celebrate the progress they have made throughout the term.

A reminder that on Monday at our school assembly, we will draw the four lucky winners of our Funfields passes!

Throughout Term 3, students have been working hard to earn Dojo points as part of our whole-school and class-based approach to recognising positive behaviours and effort. As part of our SWPBS rewards, we have been thrilled to offer a special incentive thanks to Funfields, who generously donated four individual passes, valued at approximately $70 each.

Each week, teachers have nominated the student in their class who earned the highest number of Dojo points. These students received an entry into our raffle, with students able to earn multiple entries across the term by continuing to be their class's highest point scorer.

We are looking forward to celebrating all of the students who have demonstrated our school values and worked hard throughout the term. Good luck to everyone with an entry – we can’t wait to see who our four Funfields winners will be!

Get ready for one of our favourite HPS traditions — Footy Colours Day and our annual Footy Parade!

To celebrate finals fever, students are invited to come to school wearing the colours of their favourite footy team on Wednesday 16 September. Whether you’re proudly sporting the red and black of the wooden spooners, the high-flying brown and gold, the purple and gold of the Melbourne Storm, or the colours of another AFL or NRL team, we want to see them all!

We’ll come together for our Footy Parade, celebrating the teams we love and the passion and excitement that sport brings to our community.

Most importantly, the day is about great team spirit, having fun and showing respect for everyone’s team. There will be plenty of colour, plenty of enthusiasm and, of course, a little friendly rivalry!

So, get your team colours ready and bring your footy spirit to HPS!

Final Week To Provide Feedback Through The Parent/ Carer Opinion Survey

Thank you to the families who have already provided feedback by completing the survey.

Our school conducts the annual Parent / Carer Opinion Survey to seek your feedback. The survey, offered by the Department of Education, is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, and student engagement.

Your opinions are important to us and will contribute to identifying areas for improvement and professional development needs in the school, to target school planning and improvement strategies.

The department will use the results from the survey for research purposes and to improve outcomes for students.

The survey will be conducted online and only takes 20 minutes to complete. It can be completed on any internet enabled device (desktop computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone) and is compatible with most browsers.

The survey is available in English and 10 other languages: Arabic, Greek, Hakha Chin, Hindi, Japanese, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Turkish, and Vietnamese.

If you require assistance in another language, resources may be available for you. Please reach out to your child’s teacher, or the school if you require assistance in another language.

The Parent / Carer Opinion Survey will be open online until Friday 18 September 2026.

Please refer to the Compass newsfeed for further information required to complete the survey.

Icy-Pole Sales

Our Year 6 cohort will be selling Zooper Dooper icy-poles each Thursday.

There will be two types of Zooper Doopers on sale including regular and sugar free.

Students are welcome to bring $1 on any Thursday they wish to purchase an icy-pole.

Funds raised will go towards supporting the 2026 Year 6 Graduation.

As this event will run each week until December, don't panic if your child forgets their money one Thursday, they can always bring it the following week.

2027 Foundation Students

This year, we are excited to introduce a new initiative designed to support our future students and their families as they begin their journey with Heidelberg Primary School.

Prior to the commencement of our formal Transition Program in Term 4, we are inviting children enrolled to begin Foundation in 2027, along with a parent or carer, to join us for a relaxed Story Time session in our school library.

These optional, low-pressure opportunities are designed to help children become familiar with our school environment, begin building connections with staff and other future students, and feel a sense of belonging within our school community.

We understand that starting school can be both an exciting and unfamiliar experience. Through these informal sessions, we hope to provide an additional opportunity for children and families to connect with Heidelberg Primary School and help make the transition to school feel a little more familiar and welcoming.

Thank you to the children and families who came along to our final story time session, where I read a book titled All The Ways To Be Smart by Davina Bell. Children then got to draw a picture of ways they are smart! There children who were smart at playing soccer, doing bombs into the pool, wiggling and dancing, climbing trees, drawing pictures and more!

We hope you had a wonderful time like we did, and we cant wait to see more ways that you can be smart when you begin school next year!

Upcoming Dates
September
Wednesday 16	Dress up in Footy Colours Day - parade 9.10-9.45am
October
Thursday 15	Year 6 Graduation Photo Day
Thursday 29	Matsuri Day - whole school
November
Monday 2	Curriculum Day- No students at school
Tuesday 3	Melbourne Cup Public Holiday

2026 School Term Dates

Term 3: Monday 13th July- Friday 18th September (2.30pm finish)

Term 4: Monday 5th October- Friday 18th December (1.30pm finish)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Naomi Ivers

Principal

Heidelberg Primary School

9457 2259

naomi.ivers@education.vic.gov.au

Heidelberg PS - Capers

Respect | Responsibility | Resilience | Compassion

Term 3 - Issue 9 · 11 Sep 2026

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