Thursday, 30 March 2023

Dear Parents, Students and Friends,

This will be the final newsletter of the term. Don't forget, school finishes next Thursday 6th April with a 2.30pm dismissal. Parents requiring supervision for their children will need to make arrangements with Academy for Kids which will be available for after school care. Please note, staff will be attending an anaphylaxis training session at 2.45pm and will be unable to supervise students.

Unfortunately, due to the weather, we had to postpone our HPS Sports Carnival until next Wednesday. Please see School Stream for updates.

Term 1 Summary Reports

At the conclusion of Term 1, each student will receive a Summary Report. This report aims to enhance communication to parents and provide a snapshot of your child’s progress to the end of Term 1. More information will come out shortly on School Stream.

Planning Week

This week was Planning Week, where staff are provided time to plan as a PLT, as well as organise incursions and excursions for Term 2. Thanks to our staff for using this time effectively to ensure we provide high quality and engaging learning tasks. Our focus next term is on science and the topic is Our Environment is Precious. I look forward to seeing all the wonderful work our students achieve in Term 2!

Open Day

Just a reminder that we have our Open Day on Monday 3 April. All parents are welcome to attend and join in some fun and interesting activities in your child's classroom. It starts at 9.10am. We hope to see you there!

Parent Training: ‘Children’s Wellbeing & Learning’ Session

Following on from the Open Day, we will be holding a Parent Training session from 10.45am on Monday 3rd April. This session will provide you with an overview of Highvale Primary School’s Literacy and Mathematics programs, as well as our PBL approach. By participating in this, parents will then be able to volunteer to support student learning in the classrooms.

*Please note - as we adhere to Child Safe Standards, there are a number of other requirements before being able to volunteer. This includes providing a copy of your Working With Children’s card, completing the HPS Code of Conduct and the Volunteer Induction documents (available in School Stream under the Forms tab). Please contact the office if you have any questions.

Student Voice – New Senior Playground

Recently, we have investigated replacing our senior playground. This is the one closest to the turning circle. Our student leaders have recently surveyed all Year 3-6 students to get their thoughts and ideas (Student Voice). Our school captains, Jai and Bhuvi, also met with one company's representative to discuss our school’s needs.

The most popular items - as selected by Years 3-6 - included:

Activity Cube (or Climbing Cube)

Monkey Bars

Bridges

Speakers

And, if possible, to incorporate something of a circuit into the new playground.

We have sent out our students’ ideas to some playground companies and we await their proposals which will be taken back to the students for feedback.

Syndal District Athletics Carnival

We have a number of students participating in the District Athletics tomorrow at Bill Sewart Athletics Track in Burwood. Whether students win or lose, this will be a great experience for our students in Years 3-6. Good luck to all competitors!

Year 1 & 2 Excursion – Enchanted Adventures

After some horrendous weather last Friday, our Year 1&2s have rescheduled their Enchanted Adventures excursion to tomorrow. Hopefully there won’t be any lightning this time around! While the plan for the day sounds like lots of fun, it’s also a great opportunity for students to develop their cooperative learning skills.

End of Term Dismissal & Beginning of Term 2 – ANZAC Day Service.

As noted above, the last day of Term 1 is Thursday 6th April with a 2.30pm dismissal.

The first day of Term 2 is Monday 24th April.

We will be holding our ANZAC Day service on Monday at 2.40pm. Please note, Tuesday 25th April is ANZAC Day. As it is a public holiday, the school is closed.

School Supervision

As mentioned in previous newsletters and communications home, there is no teacher supervision before 8.45am. Please ensure you remain with your child if they are on school grounds or alternatively, please use our before school care program, Academy for Kids.

Students should also be picked up before 3.45pm as there is no teacher supervision after this time. Thank you for your cooperation.

Sleep Health For Students

While we know sleep is essential for good health, research shows that many children and young people are not getting enough sleep on school nights. This can affect thinking, concentration, memory, reaction times and mood.

Research shows about 12% of primary school-aged children, a quarter of 12- to 15-year-olds and half of 16- to 17-year-olds don’t get enough sleep on school nights. The recommended amount of time to sleep for primary school-aged children is 9 to 11 hours. For teenagers, it’s 8 to 10 hours.

Signs that your child is not getting enough sleep can include:

· low mood and irritability during social interactions

· reluctance or arguing about getting off devices and going to bed

· falling asleep during the day

· difficulties waking up for school and sleeping in late on weekends to catch up

· changes to communicating or interacting at home.

You can help your child to improve their sleep by:

· establishing a regular sleep pattern and consistent bedtime routine

· supporting them to avoid using electronic devices such as smartphones before going to bed and in bed

· encouraging your child to exercise and spend time outside in daylight, steering clear of vigorous activity in the hour before sleep

· encouraging them to wind down and relax before going to bed.

If your child is still having trouble sleeping, has persistent problems with low mood, excessive daytime sleepiness, restlessness in bed, severe snoring or wakening unrefreshed, despite getting adequate length sleep, they should see a doctor.

For more information on sleep health, you can refer to:

Sleep tips for children: Sleep Tips for Children (sleephealthfoundation.org.au)

Child Safety and Wellbeing at Highvale Primary School: Information for Families and the School Community

The Victorian Government has announced new Child Safe Standards to further strengthen child safety across organisations, including schools. The new standards recognise the critical importance of families and the broader school community in maintaining and promoting child safety and wellbeing.

Highvale Primary School has reviewed and updated our child safety policies and procedures to ensure they meet the requirements of the new standards. These are available to view in our newsletter (see Policies section) and on our school website.

We are committed to continuous improvement in our approach to child safety and wellbeing and welcome feedback from families and members of our school community on ways we can further strengthen our child safety policies, procedures and practices.

If you have any suggestions, comments or questions, please contact Joshua Crozier: joshua.crozier@education.vic.gov.au

Policies that have been approved so far this year include:

School Cash Handling Policy
School Electronic Funds Management Policy
School Purchasing Card Policy
Petty Cash Policy
HPS Volunteers Policy
HPS Sun Protection Policy
HPS Statement of Values and School Philosophy
HPS Volunteer Induction Booklet
HPS Digital Learning Policy
Appendix 1 HPS Digital Learning Safe & Acceptable Use Expectations Prep - Year 2 2023
Appendix 2 HPS Digital Learning Safe & Acceptable Use Expectations Year 3 - Year 6 2023
Appendix 3 HPS Personal Device Enrolment Application March 2023

Policies currently under consultation and/or review include (these can found in the School Policy Consultation and Update section of the newsletter):

HPS Bullying Prevention Policy

Have a great week!

Joshua Crozier

Assistant Principal

joshua.crozier@education.vic.gov.au

Assembly dates

Term 1 assembly dates