23 November 2023

From the Principal

It’s been an exciting fortnight at HPS with many engaging events and activities happening across our school.

Congratulations to Mrs Archer and our team of girls, Hayley, Scarlett, Gabi, Maddi, Grace and Lyra who competed in the Readers Cup on Friday 10 November. Not only did they represent our school as outstanding Hilly Kids, but they were also the overall WINNERS of the event! Well done to you all!

During our mid-term assembly last Friday the Readers Cup team presented one of their entries, Bully on the Bus. They are pictured here with their certificates, trophies and book vouchers that they will purchase new books for our school library.

Readers Cup Winners 2023

In addition to the excellent class sharing of persuasive texts from 1/2 Sims and 5/6 Ryrie, class awards were presented by our teaching staff. It was very pleasing to hear the explanations for a wide variety of reasons for each award. It was particularly pleasing to hear words such as trying, effort, their best, responding to feedback and improvement as these words indicate the process of learning and it is an ongoing process.
Congratulations to:

Koda, Alexandra, Dustin, Aubreigh, Delta, Montae, Sneh, Dakota, William, Evie, Stella, Lola, Axel, Harper, Ella-Rose, Mackenzie, Terleah and Layla.

Our Silent Disco last Thursday was a huge success, thank you to families and friends who supported our students to attend. It was a fun experience and very well received by our students. A special thank you to our Student Voice Group and Student Councillors who helped with preparation and ideas to make this idea a reality. Based on feedback from students, staff and families we look forward to hosting a similar event in 2024.
Our appreciation is extended to our adult helpers in the canteen making sure there were lots of chips eaten and fruit boxes consumed.

Our Silent Disco Fun

Dog Policy

At a recent meeting our School Association have ratified that our Dog Policy is reflective of our DECYP policy. This means we will follow the guidelines in relation to having dogs on school property.
Please see below for specific details relating to this policy.

The Law

Under section 28(1) of the Dog Control Act 2000 (Tas), a person must not take a dog into –

• Any grounds of a school, school, kindergarten, creche or other place for the reception of children without the permission of a person in charge of the place;
• The grounds of a public swimming pool; or
• Any playing area of a sportsground on which sport is being played; or
• Any area within 10 metres of a children’s playground

Dogs in classrooms (such as where there is a school pet, or a visiting dog):

Prior to granting permission for a dog to be allowed in classrooms, the person in charge should give consideration and be satisfied that the dog will:

• Not prevent a danger to students/children, staff, or other relevant persons;
• Remain under the effective control of a person of sufficient age and maturity;
• Be provided with adequate care (e.g. food, water, health, living conditions, handling, appropriate training) whilst on school grounds. Adequate care should include the provision of a dedicated area where the dog can be away from students/children as and when necessary for the health and wellbeing of the dog.
• Meet standards of hygiene and behaviour that are appropriate for an animal in a public place

Dogs brought into school, on school grounds, or to a school activity without permission:

No animal should be in school, on school property, or at a school activity without the principal’s knowledge and permission.

Where a person brings an animal into school, on to school grounds, or to a school activity without prior permission, the principal should:

• Direct that person to remove the dog from the school/school grounds/school activity;
• Advise that person, either orally and/or in writing, that prior permission must be sought before a dog will be allowed to be in school, on school grounds, or at a school activity
• Where the above steps have been taken and the person continues to bring a dog into school, onto school property, or to a school activity without permission, give consideration to issuing formal notice pursuant to section 136 of the Education Act 2016.

Exceptions

Under section 28(2) of the Act, the above does not apply to:

• A guide dog that is accompanying a wholly or partially blind person or is in training for that purpose; or
• A hearing dog that is accompanying a wholly or partially deaf person or is in training for that purpose

While there may be some overlap, the following information is not intended to cover situations involving the use of guide dogs, hearing dogs, or other assistance animals in schools or on school property. For further information about assistance animals, refer to the Assistance Animals In Schools Factsheet.

Delta Dogs

This week we have Delta Dogs visiting our Early Childhood classrooms, this is a free program for children aged 4-8yrs in Tasmania, Delta Dog Safe is a community education program that aims to reduce the incidence of dog bites. The program has been developed to promote safe and sensible behaviour around dogs.

While a dog in the family is a wonderful source of companionship and fun, Delta Dog Safe™ provides important messages about canine behaviour for young children and their parents. Early intervention and education is the key to reducing the incidence of dog bites.

Staffing and planning for 2024

As we approach the end of this school year we are busily planning for 2024. We are fortunate that our staffing will remain relatively unchanged.

If you child/children will not be attending Hillcrest Primary School in 2024, please contact the school to let us know as soon as possible, as this will affect our class placements and class lists.
If you have a child attending Kinder, please ensure you complete enrolment forms and return to the office. In 2024 we will be adding and additional Kinder class, taking our classes from 9 classes to 10.

Attendance

Thank you to families who have made great efforts to improve their child’s attendance over recent weeks. We have seen a slight increase in our overall school attendance. It’s not too late to boost our whole school attendance. We are encouraging students to try and finish the year with excellent attendance – we only have 18 school days left, try and be at school for all of them!

As always, if you have anything you wish to discuss in relation to your child’s wellbeing, I invite you to please feel free to speak in person, call the school office to speak over the phone or make an appointment to see me.

In partnership,
Georgia

Dates To Remember

November

December

School Calendar 2024

Hilly Kids Are Friendly Kids

Our current Hilly Kids focus topic is ‘Including Others’. Our next focus topic is ‘Reflection’.

Reflection

Reflection is a life-long skill that can be used to motivate us, and it is good to share this reflection with classmates, parents, and teachers. Reflection is a valuable skill that helps you look back on what you have achieved and think about how far you still need to go to meet personal goals or skills.  Reflection helps re-focus our ideas, skills, and goals so that we can move forward in our learning. Reflection leads us to consider ways we may change to reach a personal, class, school, or community outcome.

Our Hilly Kid for the ‘Sharing’ topic was Charlie from 1-2Si. Congratulations, Charlie!

Well done to our other class representatives:

2023 Celebration Concert Tickets!

All families will have now received their ticket allocations for our upcoming celebration concert on the 6 December. Requests that we have received for additional tickets will be allocated on 4 December.

Please understand that we may not have enough tickets to fulfil all additional requests due to the capacity of the venue.

If you have any tickets that you are unlikely to use, please return these to the office as soon as possible, so they can be reallocated.

2023 Library Books

As we approach the end of the school year, we are keen to gather up the missing books from our library, that may be lurking in your homes. If you have any library books lurking in some unusual places, please return these to school by week 9.

Kinder Lewis

Earlier in the term, Kinder Lewis had a wonderful time visiting Wilmot Farm.

We had fun feeding the baby lambs, goats and calves and loved being able to hold the baby chicks. We also had fun playing chasings with the big goats and visiting the big sheep in the paddock.

Mrs Andrews took us for a walk around the farm and we were able to see the different plants growing on the farm. We were lucky enough to cook pizza using some of the produce.

A big thank you to Mrs Andrews for having us – we had a wonderful time!

“I liked the chickies because I like their yellow fur. I liked the chickens who were out of their coup! I liked the goat chasing too!”

Colt

“I loved it because there were baby sheep. They were so cute. O liked the baby goats, I gave them goat food.”

Alexandra-Grace

“I liked the goat because I liked his funny horns. I liked the baby lamb, it loved drinking the milk.”

Dakota

Our Fun at The Farm

Year 6 Information

Year 6 Orientation Day

All Year 6 students attending Reece High School and Devonport High School in 2024 will be attending a full day of transition on Friday, 8 December.

Students must make their own way to Reece High by 8:35am and home again (finishing at 2:50pm).

Year 6 Big Day Out

Students in Year 6 will celebrate the end of their primary school years with a Hilly Finale on Monday, 18 December. They will be visiting Launceston for the day participating in some adventurous activities.

Year 6 Celebration Assembly

This year our Celebration Assembly will be limited, with only Grade 6 students and their families being invited to attend this assembly. An invitation will be sent home in the coming weeks. This special assembly will be held on Tuesday 19 December at 1.15pm.

Children’s University

On Wednesday, 9 students from Hillcrest Primary School attended the Children’s University Graduation in recognition of their outside of school learning in 2023.

Students wore academic gowns as they were called onto stage to receive a certificate for over 30 hours of learning. Since joining Children’s University in August, students at Hillcrest Primary School have completed over 380 recorded hours of learning outside regular school time.

Graduating students did a fantastic job representing themselves and Hillcrest Primary School. A special mention to Grace, who spoke excellently, opening the ceremony as the student speaker. A big thank you to the families of Children’s University for their ongoing enthusiasm and support. We look forward to opening Children’s University to more students in 2024 and strongly encourage any students interested to join.

Our Children’s university graduates

Pre-Kinder

Term 4 Pre-Kinder

This term our Pre-Kinder children have been having fun exploring our Kindergarten classroom and outdoor area as they prepare to begin Kindergarten next year.

If you have a child who was born in 2019 and is not yet enrolled in Kindergarten, please see the office ASAP so that we can assist you in the enrolment process.

Please see below for our upcoming parent information session and pre-Kinder sessions for the remainder of the term.

Jane Lewis      
Kindergarten and Pre-Kinder teacher  

Christmas Raffle

Remember to sell your raffle tickets and return the books with the money in a sealed envelope by Friday 8th December. The raffle will be drawn on Wednesday 13th December. Please support the wonderful businesses who have donated to our raffle including Lucas Hotel Latrobe, Devonport Tenpin Bowl, Devonport Bookshop, Thai Imperial Latrobe, SK’s Indian Restaurant, Devonport Car Spa and Pop Up Café 02.

Fundraising Committee

Tuckerbox Tips

Consider the following snack ideas for your child’s end of year/Christmas school party:

• Fruit kebabs using green and red fruits (kiwi, green apples, grapes, strawberries, watermelon)
• Vegie kebabs using green and red vegies (cherry tomatoes, snow peas, cucumber, radishes)
• Yoghurt cups topped with berries
• Mini pizza muffins (on English muffins) with green and red vegies and a sprinkle of cheese
• Dips, biscuits, and sliced vegie platter – arrange these to make a snowman, Christmas tree or reindeer face!

 Lyn Aherne – Canteen Supervisor

Move Well Eat Well

Gardening with Kids

Through gardening children learn responsibility, self-confidence, creativity, co-operation, reasoning and discovery!  It’s also a great way to get outside and active with children.  Gardening doesn’t have to be expensive and, in the long run, can save you money on your shopping bills, provide wonderful, healthy fresh produce and keep you, and the kids, fit and active.

• You can create your own biodegradable pots from newspaper or cardboard tubes. Plant them straight into the earth and the ‘container’ will compost into the ground
• Make little propagation houses from clear plastic punnets with lids or plant protectors from plastic milk containers
• Use unusual or quirky containers: tea pots, old boots, wheelbarrows, etc
• Re-use the sandpit box and convert it to a garden bed if your child has grown out of it
• Old baths, packing cases and tyres of all sizes can all be used to create easy access raised beds. 

 MWEW Team