Principal Report

Welcome to our Week Six newsletter. I hope you have been enjoying the afternoon sunshine. We have had a great six weeks at HPS with lots of solid learning, school photos, some dancing and a few fun incursions too. 

Welcome to HPS 

This fortnight, we have had one new students begin their learning journey with us at Highvale. Welcome to HPS Twisha T in 1D. We are sure you will love being a member 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

A child’s birthday is a very special occasion and every fortnight I will share this celebration by including the children’s names in our newsletter. 

Happy Birthday to the following students who will celebrate their special day throughout June: Emma L 4U, Noah L Prep B, Elise L 3J, Neymi H 3CBB, Wey Xin S 3J, Artus G 4U, Frederick P 4U, Kellan H 6D, Luke D 3CBB, Chloe Q 3CBB, Isabella M 1S, Dara F 1D, Maya E 5X, Calvin C 3J, Ene Z 4A, Brandon U 6S, Natalie H Prep B, Hannah T 2S, Lucas G 6S, Dinson K 1D, James V 5D, Mirabelle L 4A, Gretel L 2M, Pramish A 3J and Yuri P 1D. 

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 171 students who have achieved 100% attendance so far in May. Some of these students include: Mirreeha A Prep FY, Arjan B Prep FY, Alice H Prep B, Raven J Prep B, Zohran D 1S, Anisha D 1S, Minghao G 1D, Ethan N 1D, Aarna K 2S, Cooper K 2S, Surveen B 2M, Gretel L 2M, Jenil P 2J, Dhaani S 2J, Emily M 3CBB, Chloe Q 3CBB, Advika M 3J, Anehka D 3J, Megan C 4A, Leo G 4A, Jun Ler E 4U, Talitha H 4U, Adriana C 5S, Joshua H 5S, Jonathan H 5X, Eelon L 5X, Warren C 6S and Myra D 6S. 

Here are some attendance figures for 2025 so far:

Remember: it is not ok to be away!

New Crossing Attendant 

We have a wonderful new crossing attendant. Please say hello and give them a HPS welcome as you cross the road each day. I got a lovely email from the former crossing attendant who was sad to move on. Please see the email below: 

I’m writing to let you know that I will be moving on from my current role and transitioning into a new position within the business, effective today. It has been a genuine pleasure working with your school and supporting the important work of keeping students safe at the crossings. I want to thank you for your collaboration and support throughout my time in this role. 

Parent Helpers 

We welcome parents to volunteer to help at HPS in a range of ways. We believe this contributes to developing strong home/school partnerships within our community. If you would like to volunteer as a classroom helper, you need to have a current Working With Children Check and have completed the Parent Volunteer Training and Induction. Onsite or online training sessions are conducted at the beginning of each term. If you wish to volunteer this term, please contact your child’s classroom teacher.

AToSS – Attitude to School Survey

The AtoSS is a voluntary student survey offered by the Department of Education every year to help schools and the department understand students' experiences of school. This week we have asked students in Years Four, Five and Six about their thoughts and feelings about their school, their learning, relationships with other students, resilience, bullying, health and wellbeing, physical activity, and life in general. This survey has been running for nearly 20 years and helps schools plan programs and activities to improve children’s engagement with school, their wellbeing and their learning. The survey data also helps the Department of Education understand how to improve student learning. We look forward to sharing the results with our school community once we have them. 

Dance Curriculum

This week all students have participated in Dance Curriculum classes. Omar has led the students through some very fun and exciting moves and the students are making great progress. We will be holding a Performance next Friday 6th June where we’d love all families to attend. The first performance from 1:50pm – 2:30pm will be all students from Prep, Year Two, Year Four and Year Six performing. The second performance from 2:40pm – 3:20pm will be all students from Year One, Year Three and Year Five performing. Both performances will be held in the MPC. We hope to see you there!  

Cadbury Fundraiser

Thank you to each family that sold a box or two of Cadbury chocolates and supported our school fundraiser. If you have not returned the envelope yet, please do so ASAP. Once all envelopes have been returned, we can finalise the figures and share the amount that we were able to raise through this particular fundraiser. If you still wish to donate money as part of the chocolate fundraiser, please do so via Compass or come and see us at the front office for assistance. We thank all families for their participation and contribution to this delicious fundraiser. 

Prep 2026

We are currently conducting school tours and we are taking enrolments for 2026. It appears we have a lot of new families that are wanting to join us and become part of the Highvale Primary School Community. If you know of anyone who has a child that will be starting school in 2026, please let them know they are welcome to contact the office to book in a tour or use the Student Insights online portal to enrol. If you are having trouble with the portal, please contact the office and we can assist you. 

Education Week

We had a fabulous Education Week last week. This year’s theme Celebration of Cultures allowed us to highlight and celebrate the diversity of our communities and the importance of every child feeling safe and welcome at school. Our main celebration was an Open Classroom Event on Wednesday morning which attracted a lot of parents and families and welcomed them into our school. Prior to this there was a musical performance from our choir and the bands of HPS. The students did an amazing job performing and really set a positive tone for the day. On Thursday, students dressed in their traditional cultural dress or wore the colours of the flag from the country they were born in. There was a lot of colour and excitement in our school on Thursday. We had such a great Education Week and look forward to celebrating more special events at HPS later in the year.

Financial Contributions 

Highvale Primary School sincerely thanks all parents and carers who have supported our school this year. Your generous contributions play a vital role in helping us enhance and enrich the educational experiences we offer our students. These contributions have enabled us to provide additional resources and opportunities beyond the standard curriculum. If you are yet to make contributions and would like to, please see Compass or come and visit us at the school office. You are helping to make Highvale a very special place for our students to learn and grow. 

National Simultaneous Storytime

Last Wednesday, HPS took part in National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) an Australia-wide group reading and literacy event, where schools, libraries and other institutions gather school-age children together to read the same chosen picture book at the same time. Ever since its inception, the aim of NSS has been to promote the value and fun of books, reading, and community storytime activities, as well as the work of the featured author and illustrator. The National Simultaneous Storytime story for 2025 was 'The Truck Cat', written by Deborah Frenkel. This touching tale features Tinka, a cat journeying alongside his human companion, Yacoub, as they navigate themes of belonging, connection, and finding a place to call home. You can ask your child if they enjoyed the story, it sounded like a good one!

National Reconciliation Week

The 27th of May marked the beginning of National Reconciliation Week. National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. There are a growing number of books and online material written for young people to help them understand more about National Reconciliation Week, the Stolen Generation, Sorry Day, and the 1967 referendum, such as 

1. Say Yes by Jennifer Castles 
2. PlaySchool Walking Together episode (https://iview.abc.net.au/show/play-school-walking-together) 
3. BTN - Reconciliation Week episode (https://www.abc.net.au/btn/classroom/reconciliation-week2021/13350912) 

These are great to watch as a family to learn more about these important dates if you are interested.

ICAS Assessments 

This year we are excited to offer students in Years Three to Six the chance to participate in the ICAS academic competition. This is an internationally recognised program that provides students with additional opportunities to display their knowledge, skills and confidence across several areas of the Victorian Curriculum. ICAS is an optional program that gives you the freedom to choose which assessments your child participates in. If you wish for your child to participate in ICAS this year, please see the information on Compass or visit; icasassessments.com/products-icas/

Changes to the turning circle

If you pick your child up at the turning circle each night, you may have noticed some changes across this week. Students are no longer playing on the equipment whilst waiting for their family, they are standing with the teacher in charge on the concrete and waiting there. The reason for these changes is that too many students were not realising their parents were waiting in the car and this led to beeping/ yelling out windows and a very congested turning circle each night. We have found this new strategy to be a little more safe and calm for all involved.

Gates being unlocked

Recently, we have employed a new strategy for unlocking the gates each morning. Students are welcomed into the school between 8:45am and 8:50am by HPS staff members. The gates then remain open until 9:05am before being locked. We hope you enjoy seeing familiar faces at the gate each morning.   

Late Pick ups

We have some students that are not being collected from school until after 3:45pm each day. Please ensure your child is collected at 3:30pm or as close to 3:30pm as possible. If you cannot arrange this, please enrol your child in TheirCare our OSHC (Out of School Hours Care) provider. Then you can do ‘pick up’ at a time that suits your family and the circumstances. 

A friendly reminder that when you are collecting your child from school at 3:30pm, you are not permitted to take other children with you unless instructed to do so by the child's parents. If this is the case, please make classroom teachers/ school aware of the arrangements.

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