Principal and Assistant Principal's Page

Principal's Report

Welcome back to Term 2.  I hope you have all had a lovely break.  I know I certainly enjoyed some time catching up with friends and colleagues and out in the garden upgrading a few garden beds.  The highlight of which would have to have been time with my gorgeous nieces and the rockery, Japanese garden and Fairy garden/stump that we created.  A key prerequisite for the garden upgrade was to make it low maintenance so that it can look after itself during the busy school terms!  Fingers crossed we’ve succeeded!  I am sure you will all have taken some time to enjoy your families and the special time that childhood is with your children.    

As some of you would be aware Miss Linda Ooi is absent from school this week as she is getting married!  When she returns she will be Mrs Linda Chan although she’s still debating which title to keep so 1L will remain 1L for the rest of the year.  We wish Linda and Deryck all the best of luck on the weekend and for their life together from all of us at Huntingdale Primary School!   

Bilingual Schools Network

Over the course of last year you may have read about the many conferences and events that we are invited to attend and present at through my newsletter updates.  Huntingdale Primary School is a leader in bilingual education and it is my great privilege to sit on the Executive of the Bilingual Schools Network of Victoria to continue to support the existing bilingual schools and up and coming languages programs across the nation.  Victoria is well ahead of the other states in Australia in terms of Bilingual Education, DET support and it is so important that we continue spreading the word and good practice with other schools and education facilities. 

Earlier this week we received the Babel magazine which is received by all members of the Multilingual Teachers Association of Victoria (MLTAV).  The work we have been doing over the past four years around enhancing our bilingual immersion program through Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) principles and the supporting work of Mr Russell Cross from Melbourne University was recognised in this issue.  Not only were we as a school recognised in the Professional Learning Modules, the support we have given Robina State High School in NSW in setting up their bilingual program was also noted.  This is evidence of and another cause for celebration of all the hard work our teaching staff are doing ensuring we keep up to date with bilingual pedagogy and keep our programs supportive for the children in our care. 

Annual Report

Each year the Leadership Team creates the Annual Report which is taken to School Council to approve.  This year’s Annual Report was approved late last term and we have now uploaded the document to the website for your information.  The overview page describes the background behind the data sets presented and what we plan to do to continuously improve across a range of areas.  The report can be located at http://huntingdaleps.vic.edu.au/our-bilingual-school/#report with our 60th Anniversary Mosaic wall, that our year 3-6 children created last year, on the front page.

Hats in Term 2

Huntingdale Primary School is a SunSmart school and as such we adhere to various requirements one of which is “No Hat, No Play” which takes place predominantly in Terms 1 and 4.  Hats are now optional as during April through till the end of August the UV impact is lower than at others times of the year.  As mentioned at assembly on Monday the children are still encouraged to wear their hats if they have them but they are no longer sent to the shade if they do have a hat.

Special Religious Instruction (SRI) Instructors

Earlier in the year all parents/guardians were given the option to select if they wished for their child to be involved in SRI at Huntingdale this year.  We have had a significant uptake and will be running sessions in Christian, Orthodox (Greek) and Buddhism.  The instructors are as follows:

Christian – Miss Meryl Rowe, Mrs Wendy Prestari

Orthodox – Mrs Dimitra Giotas

Buddihsm - Mr Prem Nawarathne

For more information you can visit the relevant websites as listed below or speak to any of the office staff who will be able to direct you to the relevant people as required.

Christianity: ACCESS Ministries http://www.accessministries.org.au/

Buddhism & Orthodox: Religions for Peace Australia http://www.religionsforpeaceaustralia.org.au

Notification re: Measles and Chickenpox Reminder

Each term there is a reminder in the newsletter regarding Measles and Chickenpox.  As you may or may not be aware, there is currently a child in our school community who is receiving medical treatment.  The child participates in the normal school program without any major limitations.  A major concern, however, is if this student develops measles or chickenpox, they can become seriously ill.  I seek your cooperation in preventing this situation.  If your son/daughter has or may have measles or chickenpox, I request that you do not send them to school during this period and notify your class teacher and the office as soon as possible.  Thank you for your support in keeping our school a safe place for all of our children.

Chess Tournament

It was with great excitement at assembly on Monday we announced that there are 82 children signed up to participate in the Huntingdale chess tournament that starts next week!  We wish all of our chess enthusiasts the best of luck.

Have a lovely fortnight everyone!

Kate Gray

Principal

Assistant Principal's Report

Welcome back to Term Two! Children and staff look refreshed and happy to be back at school. I have heard a few holiday stories from children and they sounded like they had a fabulous time! My holidays were amazing as I travelled to Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong. A highlight was definitely seeing the cherry blossoms out in bloom in Seoul Park….they were so beautiful and I took far too many photos!

Year 6-7 Transition Parent Information Evening

We ran a very successful parent session on Year 6-7 Transition for parents of Year 4, 5 and 6 children. The prospect of your child moving to Secondary College can be an exciting and daunting time with lots of questions. The information evening really emphasised to parents the importance of starting early when selecting a Secondary College, an understanding of the Department of Education and Training’s Transition Guidelines and dates and also answering questions. Thank you to Mrs Gray, Harada sensei, Miss Van Pagee and Mr Tolliday for presenting at the session.

Life Education Van

Our Life Education Van sessions start next week! All students are expected to attend this incursion as it is an integral part of the Health Curriculum. Please ensure you have paid for your child to attend. Parents are most welcome to attend the parent session which is from 9.00-9.30am on Friday 24th April in the Life Ed Van.

School Nursing Program

Our school nurse is due to start next week at Huntingdale Primary School to see our Foundation students. If you have any questions, please come and see me or Gill at the Office.

Japan Trip Program

The organisation and preparation for the Japan Trip is well advanced. Teachers and students met again this week to discuss the organisation of the trip, record some pre trip ideas and discuss protocols and behaviours. We will be meeting regularly now up until the time of the trip to ensure students are well prepared and we’ve bonded as a group.

Have a great fortnight!

Ruth Biddle