Principal's Report

Over the second half of the year, we have a lot to be excited about as a school community. A Twilight Carnival (11th November), Strategic Plan Review (Term 4), Grade 3 Camp (Term 4) and Prep 2023 Transition to name a few. Because of all this, as well as day-to-day reminders, it can be tempting to ignore Compass posts, the Calendar or perhaps skip sections of the Newsletter, however, I strongly encourage you to stay connected and informed so that you are able to remain informed and hopefully also engage and participate in some of the opportunities that are currently available. Below are some such important things to be aware of. 

100 Days of School

Last week, this year's Foundation students have just celebrated their 100 days of school with their teachers. Congratulations to every one of you for the many successes you have had with your learning, in making friends, taking risks and having a lot of fun along the way!

COVID Safe Practices

The final month of Winter is upon us and there is hope that Spring may bring with it some warmer weather and see the health of our community improve. Unfortunately, we are currently seeing a high percentage of students absent with illness and hope to see this number decrease in the second half of the year. It is obvious that attendance at school has a strong correlation with student outcomes (academic and wellbeing) and therefore I encourage you to do what you can to help your child be at school as often as possible. Using masks, RATs and keeping children home who are unwell or symptomatic all help!

Snack Shack Operation

After experiencing a range of unexpected staffing challenges since taking over, we have agreed with the manager of the Snack Shack to part ways. I am pleased to share that Fun Fresh Foods will be beginning operation in the Snack Shack on August 22nd. Fun Fresh Foods currently operate in six local primary schools and come with a proven track record of great service and delicious options for students and families. They will be open from 7:30am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for families to visit and purchase over-the-counter options, they welcome (but don’t rely on) volunteers, make the vast majority of menu items from scratch and have daily and weekly specials. We will continue to use Flexi Schools going forward so parents are not required to change anything, you will simply see a new menu to choose from in the coming weeks. The Snack Shack will remain in operation in the interim under the current model. 

Refurbishment Works

Classrooms in our main building continue to be repainted, repaired and re-carpeted with three now complete. This work will continue over the coming months, with classes moving to portable classrooms near the Grade 4 rooms / Bike Shed whilst their rooms are being made over. I thank teachers and students for their flexibility throughout as we rejuvenate our spaces!

2023 Transition Underway!

This afternoon our first Story Time Transition Session will take place. It will be exciting to welcome many new students and families to our school for the session, which is the first of many between now and December. If any current families (or those you know of that are planning/hoping to enrol) have not yet, I encourage you to do so as a matter of urgency so that your children can participate in all transition sessions. 

Social Media Survey

Thanks to all families that have responded to the Online Communications Survey that was sent out last week. The large response indicates that you are keen to share your opinions in this space and certainly the need for us to be exploring how we improve our presence and efficiencies. The survey remains open until next Friday so please respond if you haven’t already. 

Policy updates 

Policies are regularly reviewed by the Education Sub-committee and School Council to ensure they remain relevant, reflective of best-practise and compliant with all DET legislation. Recently, the below policies have been reviewed and the direct link to each of them is provided (they are always accessible on our website). Should you have any questions or concerns about these or other policies, please get in touch. 

Student Engagement & Wellbeing

Digital Learning

Child Safety

Inclusion and Diversity

Duty of Care

As was communicated in the last newsletter, our Duty of Care policy was recently updated. We have since made adjustments to some collection processes that will further ensure a safe transition when duty of care is handed from teacher to parent/carer/after-school program.

The most significant change is that all students attending Team Kids or After School Programs will be brought by their teacher directly to the courtyard where they will be met by the staff responsible for the program, instead of making their own way to the Hall or allocated space. All other students will continue to be taken to their normal dismissal area where the teachers will remain responsible for handing children over to your care. We strongly encourage you to communicate any changes to the normal arrangement to teachers to support this process, such as a grandparent collecting or your child going home with a friend, to assist this process. 

For students who make their own way to/from school, it is important to remember that you are responsible for the care and supervision of your children travelling to and from school. This extends to before 8:45am and after 3:45pm for students who may arrive at school before or after the yard is supervised. Therefore students who arrive independently before 8:45am are still considered under your care and supervision. Where this presents a challenge or should you wish for your child to begin making their way to/from school independently, please communicate this with their teacher so they are informed. 

Emergency Contact Information

It is important that we always have your most up-to-date contact information in circumstances where we have to contact you (urgently or otherwise). Each year we send home a reminder to review your contact details and update them should they have changed. This will be sent out in the coming weeks so please take time to review it and respond if necessary. 

Congratulations!

In this edition, I am happy to share more impressive accomplishments of HPS students both within the school and outside of it. 

I congratulate Finlay M (Grade 6) who has recently been selected for the Under 12 Victorian State Soccer Team. Finlay travels to Perth this September for National Championships and we wish him and the Victorian Team the very best of luck. 

We also celebrated many successes in Inter School Sports during Semester 1. Our school won the District Titles in Tennis, Girls Soccer, Girls Lacrosse and Boys Cricket. Our Girls Soccer also won the Division final and are now off to Regional finals to qualify for States. All students and coaches can be very proud of not only the outcomes but the manner in which the students demonstrated our school norms throughout Semester 1.