Principal and Assistant Principal's Page

Principal's Report

What a topsy-turvy fortnight of weather! It is a timely reminder of having to be organised to deal with the changing Melbourne weather patterns! We sure have seen many ‘four seasons in one day!’

Our newest friend!

The students in 3A and 3B are very excited as we have a new friend living under our building! This blue tongue lizard has been seen out and about around the portable. With the weather we have seen an increase in frogs as well. Kai from FC was very excited to tell me about the mini black frogs he saw near the oval! It’s wonderful that our students can experience seeing these animals in the school. 

2023 Year 6 Captains Announcement

Last Friday I had the pleasure of announcing the 2023 School Captains roles. It was wonderful to see so many students run for a number of positions. Each person presented a 90 second video to pitch their ideas. The Year 3-6 students voted, with the teachers ratifying the positions. Congratulations to the following students:

School Captains- Shunsuke & Abby

Multimedia Captains- Marcus, Hana & Tulasi

Community Captains- Mars & Isla

Environment Captains- Ruby, Noa, James & Mimosa

House Captains

Honshu- Jimmy & Taketo

Kyushu- Ky Nam & Lea

Hokkaido- Evie & Alannah

Shikoku- Karena & Matthew

We will announce the Taiko and Senior Choir Captains early next year. Students in Years 2-6 also have the opportunity to run for the Student Leadership Council. All Year 6 students will have a leadership role.

At an assembly in Term 1 we will present students with their badges.

We also will work on a formal leadership program for students, working with ‘Our House Spirit’, which will be very exciting. 

We look forward to seeing our students develop and flourish in their captaincy role. 

International Day of Students with a Disability

International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD) is a United Nations Day celebrated on 3 December each year to increase public awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with disability. 

By acknowledging this important day, we can take action to remove barriers for the 4.4 million Australians with disability and contribute to positive change in our classrooms and our community. 

Did you know that around 20% of people have a disability- In our school that would equate to around 75 children with additional needs. We all know someone who has a disability and how important it is to support them. People have all sorts of disabilities, but it does not mean they can’t learn! They may learn in a different way or at a different rate. They enrich our lives and can positively contribute to society.

Together, we can all take action to challenge perceptions about disability, remove barriers and promote inclusive and respectful attitudes and behaviours in our community. 

For more information about IDPwD, including resources, stories, videos and social tiles, visit www.idpwd.com.au or follow @idpwd on Facebook and Twitter, or @idpwd_au on Instagram. 

You can also help spread the word and join the conversation online using #IDPwD

ICAS Mathematics Results

The school finally received the results of the ICAS Mathematics Competition. Overall, the students performed to a high level. Congratulations to students for achieving the following awards:

GRADE 2

GRADE 3

GRADE 4 

GRADE 5

GRADE 6

Reminder- Planning for 2023

The school is well underway for planning the 2023 school year.

If you are planning on moving interstate, to another country or away from Huntingdale and are yet to notify the office please do so as soon as possible. Numbers have a significant bearing on our planning, and we appreciate early notification where possible.   

If you hear of anyone wishing to attend Huntingdale in 2023, please send them to the office to enrol.  If you have not enrolled any younger siblings, please do so as quickly as possible so that they can attend our kinder to school transition program.

If you have any further questions, please contact the school office.

Staying safe from mosquitoes

DET has asked that I share this information.

After heavy rainfall, mosquitoes can grow and spread in the pools of water left behind.

While the overall risk is low, some mosquitoes carry diseases that are spread through mosquito bites. Mosquitoes are more active at dusk and dawn, but some will also bite during the day. 

The best way to prevent mosquito-borne diseases is to avoid mosquito bites. 

Families can protect against mosquito bites by:

• covering up as much as possible with long, loose-fitting, light-coloured clothing 
• applying insect repellent that contains picaridin or DEET on exposed skin when leaving home
• limiting outdoor activity if lots of mosquitoes are active.

Further information

• Better Health Channel information about preventing mosquito-borne diseases
• A handy checklist for at home to help reduce mosquito breeding sites 
• Department of Health safety advice for flood-affected areas in a range of languages.

Have a great fortnight!

Ruth Biddle

Principal

Assistant Principal's report

Drama Class Performance

This week, parents have been invited to watch their child's drama performance as scheduled below.

Thank you so much to our parents who came along. I was so happy to see the level of students’ engagement from writing the script in Japanese to adding the music elements and by playing the instruments. I hope you enjoy watching the performances and see how the children have developed their Japanese language over the years and how confident they are performing in front an audience. 

A big thank you to all parents who helped out making the costume.   

Grade 1-2 parents

Miyuki Matsuoka, Sareporn Laungararm, Masayo Kaneko, Makiko Slater,Lucy Dong, Kiku Anley, Amy Frederickson, Rumi Matsuoka and Suniti Rao.

Grade 3-4 parents

Nora Hamacher, Amy Frederickson, Masoyo Kaneko, Rina Wong, Farida Solanthi.

 Special thanks to the Class Reps who organised the costume-making.

Thank you to Nishikubo sensei for working with the students and to Ando sensei for her support in the classroom. 

Title: Sarukani-Gassen (The crab and the Monkey) 

3A Fri, 25 November, 9:20-9:50 in STEM room 

3B Fri, 25 Nov, 10:20-10:50 in STEM room 

34C Tue, 29 Nov, 2:50-3:20 in STEM room 

4B Wed, 23 November, 9:20-9:50 in the Library 

4A  Wed, 23 Nov, 10:20-10:50 in the Library

Title: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

1C 23 November, 12:00-12:30

1B 24 November, 12:00-12:30

1A 25 November, 12:00-12:30

Venue: STEM Room (subject to change)

Title: Urashima-Taro

2C 23 November, 12:50-13:20

2B 24 November, 12:50-13:20

2A 25 November, 12:50-13:20 

Venue: STEM Room (subject to change)

Japan Day

Grade 6 students had their “Japan Day” on Tuesday 15th November. The day started with a speech by the Deputy Consul-General, Mr Shunsuke Saito.  Students then enjoyed many cultural activities (a Taiko Drumming workshop, cooking and Shuji calligraphy) in the morning. Following recess, students video conferenced with our sister school, Kuramochi Primary School in Mie Prefecture. They performed a Japanese song and also did a quiz about Australia. They enjoyed the Japanese snack and Bento box. Then finally they did the virtual Japan Tour. 

I heard many comments from students who attended about how much they enjoyed the day. 

Thank you so much, Nishikubo sensei, for organising the event and Shoya sensei, Iida sensei and Ando sensei for running the various activities.

Asian Pacific Children’s Convention

"Hello everyone

My name is Zalia and I am here today to talk about the Asian Pacific Children's Convention, or the APCC. The APCC is an organisation that holds a convention every year for kids from all around the Pacific and Asia. This year it was held in Fukuoka, Japan.

Because of COVID we didn't actually get to go to Japan so we had meetings on zoom. Within the convention we had workshops in individual groups and got to meet and speak to people from all around  Asia and the Pacific. We got to see many different cultures and lifestyles.

One of the most challenging things about the experience was probably going into the meetings at first and meeting people I had never met, but I found after everything settled down it was very calm and fun. A few of my favourite things about going to the meetings were hearing about different cultures and meeting new people from other countries. I also enjoyed learning about new and delicious snacks, drinks and meals from countries all around the Pacific and Asia. I may also have the chance to work with the APCC in the future.

I would definitely recommend this to future students who want to participate in seeing and learning about other countries and cultures, meeting people and more.

Thank you"

From Zalia W

"Hello everyone my name is Oliver and I am one of the participants in the Asia Pacific Children's Convention, or APCC for short. Sadly this year the program was held online because of the recent pandemic, but usually the convention is held in Fukuoka Japan. It would’ve been absolutely awesome to go to Japan for the convention. 

I really enjoyed the program.   We learnt a lot about climate issues and how people live in other countries. Some of the countries that were involved in the program were; Taiwan, Japan, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Malaysia and many more. The meetings happened every Sunday morning and were 3 hours long.

I would recommend this program to anyone who is seeking to learn about other cultures and making friends with people from other countries. I would encourage you all to apply for the future program, where you could actually go to the camp in Fukuoka in Japan. That would be the ultimate experience! I’m so glad to have participated in APCC."

Student Support (OnPsych)

I would like to share the good news that OnPsych’s service is back at our school again. Here is the information about OnPsych.   If you are interested, please come and see me for further information.  I’ll be very happy to pass the OnPsych Parent Information Pack. The service can be accessed at school during school hours. 

OnPsych staff are experts in their field. They offer professional help with simple problems like making friends, to complex mental health issues, such as: 

• Dealing with bullying
• Fears, phobias & anxiety
• Behaviour problems at home and at school
• Depression
• The stress of exams and relationships
• Attention deficit & hyperactivity
• Social skills
• Eating disorders
• Grief and loss 
• Autism.

OnPsych also offers individual/group skills training in:

• Communication skills
• Problem solving
• Stress management
• Anger management
• Negotiation skills 
• Relaxation
• Social skills training
• Motivation
• Parenting

Childhood and adolescence can be a difficult and challenging time.

OnPsych offers services to students, their families and the school community a no out of pocket expenses (bulk billing) service.  This is done under a range of programs, including the GP Mental Health Care Plan (MHCP) and National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The MHCP will entitle the child, adolescent or family member up to 20 therapeutic (counselling sessions) sessions per year with the psychologist or mental health social worker. NDIS services differ based on individual plans. 

For MHCPs follow these easy steps to obtain a GP referral and fax or email it this directly to onPsych as soon as possible:

• Complete the paperwork (titled ‘Information for your GP’) 
• Book a double appointment with your GP
• Advise them of your concerns regarding your child’s emotional wellbeing
• Obtain a referral under the Better Access Initiative (Item 2715/2700)
• Have your GP fax the referral and the paperwork directly to onPsych on 1300 651 580,    or you can take it to school and ask them to fax it to onPsych for you or alternatively, it can be scanned and emailed to contact@onpsych.com.au)
• onPsych will then be in contact with you to arrange a meeting for yourself and your child.

For further information about onPsych services, feel free to contact your state manager on 1300 659 350 or visit our website www.onpsych.com.au 

Sun Smart

Students need to wear a school hat when they are outside. If they don’t have it, they need to stay under the shade. Please make sure your child brings their school hat to school every day. Also, please ensure your child’s name is written on their hat. 

Naomi Mori-Hanazono

Assistant Principal