Dear HPS Community,

Student-Free Day - Wednesday 1st June

Please be reminded that school will be closed to students next Wednesday 1st June.

Other student-free days this term include:

Monday 13th June - Queen's Birthday Public Holiday
Tuesday 14th June - Curriculum Day. There are still places within the day program we are offering on this date. Please see Compass reminder shared today.

District Cross Country

This week 43 HPS students competed in the district cross country trials, with 7 students finishing in the top 10 across their age group. The following students are going through to divisional trials next week on Wednesday 1st June:

Tilda finished 4th
Kayne finished 7th
Esther finished 1st
Miles finished 8th
Aoife finished 1st
Bliss finished 8th
Ruby finished 5th

Well done to all of our students who competed. We are very proud of you. Good luck to those moving on to the next round. Many thanks to Ms Clark, Ms Thomas and Ms Papadopoulos for their support on the day.

Student Illness

I would like to thank the community for your support with managing student illness in recent weeks. We do appreciate the challenges facing families when caring for ill children, while managing work and a myriad of other responsibilities.

Unfortunately we are still facing an issue with a number of students coming to school unwell or too soon after a significant case of the flu or gastro. For those of you who have not read the Compass update from Ms Helen Thomas focused on community health and wellbeing, I would kindly ask that you do so as soon as possible. This remains a significant issue for the health and wellbeing of our students and staff. We would greatly appreciate the support of all families with this matter.

Staff shortages and class arrangements

Many of you will have seen or read reports in the media recently regarding the shortage of CRT's (Casual Relief Teachers) to support students during the absence of their regular class teacher. This has been exacerbated by the cases of COVID still in the community, along with the rise in flu cases within the community.

The school is working very hard to ensure normal programs continue, as well extra-curricula activities such as camps, sports and excursions. As important as these activities are for the students, they also put a strain on staffing due to the supervision ratios required.

This is system wide issue at the moment, that has required HPS to take a variety of measures to ensure the programs delivered for our students are as consistent as possible.

There may be days when your child's class is split amongst another class in the year level, or perhaps the class may have more than one teacher supervising throughout the day.

Although the school will continue to look for more permanent solutions to this issue, I would ask for your patience and understanding as we work through these current challenges. I would like to make a special mention of the work carried out by Justin Lania as he manages the daily organisation of the school. This is a highly stressful and time-consuming role that Justin manages extremely well. Thank you for your commitment to your role.

Education Week and HPS Open Morning

Every year we recognise and celebrate education week, which has been taking place this year between 22-28 May. The department has been celebrating 150 years of public education in Victoria this year, with the student undertaking a variety of activities across the school.

During education week it is traditional to hold an open morning for families to visit the classrooms and share in some of their students learning. Due to the impact of significant staff absences, preparation and delivery of camps and an extended NAPLAN testing period, it has not been possible for the school to prepare satisfactorily for an Open Morning event. Rather than rush this through, I have decided that we plan for an opportunity in early Term 3 to welcome families into classrooms and share in some of their students learning.

Election Day BBQ and Cake Stall - Thank you

Once again I would like to offer my sincere thanks to those of you who gave your time and effort to support the school during the BBQ and Cake Stall held during Election Day last Saturday 21st May. The event was hugely successful, not only from a fundraising perspective, but more importantly as a vehicle to connect and engage community after such a long period. I would like to extend my thanks of behalf of the HPS community to the following people for your support on the day. Apologies for anyone whom I have overlooked.

Danielle Logan, Caroline Evans, Rebecca Charlesworth, Rebecca Patena, Emma-Jane Stabb, Yvette Standfield, Lucy McLoughlin, Nicole Petzierides, Mary Allan, Anita Galli, Natalie McKay, Liusha Zahir, Suzie Reichman, Brigette Walker, Michael Standfield, Dylan Martyn, Thushani Goonatillake, Sarah James, Tobi Erickson, Dinushka Goonatillake, Akila Samaranayake, Kylie Gran, Hassan Sheik, Julian Charlesworth, James Bull, Meaghan Waddingham, Anthony Gambrell, Rachel Mcgriskin, Cath Stent, Mike Wake, David Pountney, Terry McCarthy, Sari Harris, Paul Voutier, Todd Mendham.

The process for determining the focus for fundraising profits is usually done before the event and approved by the school council. This will be the case for future events, but is yet to be determined for the Mother's Day Stall and Election BBQ/Cake Stall. This process will take place over the next couple of weeks as the Community Engagement Committee meet and then take their recommendations to School Council on June 21st. The Mother's Day Stall raised $1900 and the BBQ/Cake Stall raised $2700, making a total of $4600 profit for the school. Once the recommendations have been finalised and approved they will be communicated directly the community.

2023 Foundation Information Evening - Thank you

Earlier this week the HPS Foundation team hosted families of prospective 2023 Foundation enrolments, to provide greater insight into the way we support and provide for our Foundation students and families at Heidelberg Primary School. Sincere thanks to the team including Linda Young, Stef Galvin, Grace Kelly and Gemma Lindsay-Knape. Thanks also to Justin Lania and Carol Dawson for their support of the team on the night.

2023 Foundation Enrolments and Tours

I would also like to request that families with older siblings already at the school, who plan for the younger sibling to join us next year, submit their Foundation enrolment documentation as soon as possible.

It would also be appreciated if you know of families who reside in the HPS school zone (www.findmyschool.vic.gov.au), and are planning to join us in 2023, that they submit their enrolment paperwork as soon as they are able.

The remaining dates for Term 2 are as follows:

Thursday 2nd June (9.30-10.30) - School Tour
Wednesday 15th June (9.30-10.30) - School Tour

Term 2 tours can be booked through the following link: Heidelberg Primary School Tours

Thought of the Week

Stick with people who pull the magic out of you and not the madness.

Kind regards

Brett MacKenzie

Principal

Heidelberg Primary School

Cold and Flu Season