Welcome to our Week Nine newsletter. It’s hard to believe that there are just two full weeks left in the 2024 school year. We have had a wonderful year, a successful school production, some construction upgrades, excellent academic achievement and happy staff, students and parents. Nonetheless, there is still plenty to do before we close the school gates on the 2024 school year.

Christmas Carols

The stage has arrived and we are really looking forward to our Christmas Carols family event tonight on the oval from 5:00pm – 7:00pm. We encourage families to bring along a picnic blanket, some food and a cold drink and enjoy the performances. Please remember to wear a hat and sunscreen as the weather is predicted to reach 31 degrees today. The singing will go from 5:00pm until approximately 6:00pm and then families are welcome to have a sausage and hang around or make their way home, if the weather is a bother to them. Thanks to Miss Stoddart and the HPCG for organising this community event, we are all really looking forward to it.

Assembly

On Monday, we will have a Special Assembly at 9:10am. The purpose of this assembly is to announce some of our School Leaders for 2025. We hope you can come along on Monday morning.

Reports

Teachers have been busy completing their final assessments for the school year. Your child’s report will be available on Compass on Wednesday 11th December. Information on how you can access these reports will be communicated on Wednesday. If you would like to have a brief meeting with your child’s teacher about the report, please send them an email directly. If your child is leaving HPS at the end of the year (including all Year 6 students) please ensure you download your child’s report before Compass access ceases (on 31 December).

Transition

Next week, students will transition into their new classes for 2025. Students will have two sessions in their new year level, the first on Tuesday 10th from 9:15am – 11:00am with a mixture of students from across the level. The second session is a Meet the Teacher morning on Thursday 12th from 9:15am – 11:00am. In this session, students will meet their 2025 teacher and 2025 classmates. All students will bring home information about their class and teacher to share with parents that evening. We look forward to these transition events and encourage families to support their children with optimism and a positive mindset.

Year Six Graduation

Our Year Six Graduation is scheduled for Thursday 12th December. I know the students along with their teachers are busy preparing for the evening and are getting very excited. It’s always a great night to celebrate the end of our students' primary school years as well as a significant time for teachers and parents, reflecting on how our children have grown up so quickly. We are looking forward to a wonderful celebration next Thursday.

Thank you

A huge thank you to all of the parents who are members of our School Council and the HPCG. On behalf of the school I would like to say thank you for your valuable contributions across the year. Your purpose is always to make HPS the best place it can be and for that we need to thank you. A special mention to the Klair family, Pav & Gurdeep. We have been lucky enough to have Pav as our School Council President for many years and his contribution to the School Council and the HPS community is commendable. Equally, Gurdeep has been a valued member of the HPCG and has been a driving force in many of our community events across the years. As their youngest daughter Alana is in Year Six and will graduate at the end of this year, we farewell the Klair family and thank them for their service. We appreciate everything you’ve done for HPS Pav and Gurdeep, thank you!

Early Dismissal

A reminder that school finishes for the year on Friday 20th December at 1.30pm. There will be a final assembly in the MPC at 1:00pm to say farewell to our Year Six students and wish everyone a safe Christmas and holiday break. Parents and carers are welcome to attend this very special assembly.

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

I am looking forward to a fabulous end to 2024 with you all.

Carly Epskamp

Acting Principal

carly.epskamp@education.vic.gov.au

Assembly dates

Term 4 Assembly Dates