15 February 2024
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From the Principal
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Dates to Remember
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Safeguarding
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Hilly Kids Are Friendly Kids
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Big Breakfast
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Fire Safety
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Children’s University
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NAPLAN 2024
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Sun Safe Hat Policy
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Launching into Learning
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What’s happening in 5-6H
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Hilly Staff
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Hilly Kids that 'Shine'
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Breakfast Club
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Hillcrest Tuckerbox – NEW MENU
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Car Parking
From the Principal
Welcome back to another exciting school year at Hillcrest Primary School! As we kick off the new term, I wanted to take a moment to extend a warm welcome to all our returning families and a particular mention, welcoming those who are new to our school community.
I hope this message finds you rejuvenated after the break and ready for a rewarding and exciting school year ahead. It's been an absolute pleasure to see the school buzzing with energy as students reconnect with friends, meet new classmates, get to know new staff and settle into their routines.
I want to express my sincere appreciation to all the families for your support and dedication towards your child's education. Your efforts in ensuring your children arrive at school, dressed neatly in their full uniforms, equipped and prepared for learning, do not go unnoticed. Thank you for partnering with us to create a positive and nurturing environment for our students to commence the year.
Our school is off to an incredibly smooth and organised start, thanks to the hard work and commitment of our staff, particularly our admin team, our EFA’s and our Teacher Assistants who returned to work some weeks ago to ensure our school is fully organised and prepared. This enabled our teachers to focus on their classroom spaces and I would like to acknowledge our whole teaching teams who have who spent many hours during their holidays preparing for the school year. Our classrooms are brimming with excitement as teachers introduce engaging lessons and activities designed to build strong relationships and connections between all class members.
Our whole school focus in these first few weeks is to ensure all students are known well, before our structured, curriculum based learning commences. Together, we will continue to foster a culture of high expectations where every student feels valued, supported, and empowered to achieve their goals.
Staffing updates:
As mentioned in newsletters last year, we have welcomed some new faces to our team (see below). There has been some additional changes this year that I would like to share with you:
- New staff:
Teaching team – Phoebe Hortle (5/6), Carla McKenzie (Kinder), Rachel Moore (intern P/1L)
Teacher assistants: Samantha Guyatt, Tamieka Naylor, Anita Bellchambers, Belinda Stanton, Ryan Smith
Other changes include:
- Mrs Lyn Aherne is taking well deserved Long Service Leave through until August. We wish Lyn all the best as she enjoys her time outside of school.
- We are very fortunate to have Paige Wells joining our team as Canteen Supervisor, Paige joins us with experience in a Primary school canteen setting and leading the school lunch project (hot lunches). Please check below for more details about some exciting changes to our Summer Menu.
- Miss Sarah Brooke, our 2023 Visual Art teacher has secured a permanent position with the University of Tasmania. This means she won’t be continuing with us. We welcome Ms Melinda Dear as our Visual Art teacher at Hillcrest.
This year we will be sharing a new section in our newsletter, ‘Get to know our staff’, keep an eye out for our first entries!
I want to encourage you to stay connected with us throughout the year. To stay informed about all the exciting happenings at Hillcrest.
Be sure to:
- read our weekly newsletters
- sign up to class seesaw
- follow us on Facebook
- attend school events, our first whole school event being our annual ‘Big Breakfast’ on Wednesday 28 February at 8am.
Thank you once again for entrusting us with your child's education. Here's to a fantastic year filled with growth, learning, and possibilities!
Please don’t hesitate to make contact with class teachers or any member of the leadership team by contacting the office, in person or by phone on 6425 5211.
I look forward to a fantastic year ahead, working in partnership with our families and school community to support our students to be known, well, safe and learning everyday.
In partnership,
Georgia Perry – Principal
Dates to Remember
2024
Monday 19 February | LiL Commences |
Tuesday 27 February | Last day for online school photo orders |
Wednesday 28 February | Big Breakfast - 8am in the hall |
Wednesday 28 February | Jazz Mad Auditions - 3pm in the hall |
Thursday 29 February | School Photo Day |
Monday 11 March | Public Holiday - SCHOOL CLOSED Students do not attend school |
13 March – 25 March | NAPLAN |
Friday 29 March | Good Friday - SCHOOL CLOSED Students do not attend school |
Monday 1 April | Easter Monday - SCHOOL CLOSED Students do not attend school |
Tuesday 2 April | Easter Tuesday - SCHOOL CLOSED Students do not attend school |
Friday 7 June | Moderation Day - SCHOOL CLOSED Students do not attend school |
Monday 10 June | King’s Birthday Holiday - SCHOOL CLOSED Students do not attend school |
Friday 1 November | Professional Learning - SCHOOL CLOSED Students do not attend school |
Monday 4 November | Recreation Day - SCHOOL CLOSED Students do not attend school |
Friday 29 November | Devonport Show Day - SCHOOL CLOSED Students do not attend school |
Term Dates for Students – 2024
Term 1 | 8 February – 12 April |
Term 2 | 29 April – 5 July |
Term 3 | 22 July – 27 September |
Term 4 | 14 October – 19 December |
Safeguarding
Safeguarding Students and Young People from Child Sexual Abuse
Over the last 2 years the Department for Education, Children and Young People have been working hard to address the issue of Child Sexual Abuse across the state. One of the actions is that all schools have a Safeguarding Lead, who is responsible for assisting the school community (staff, students and parents) to understand and report incidences of child sexual abuse.
Hillcrest Primary Schools Safeguarding Lead is Mr Lane.
During the first week of school, all staff completed two compulsory online modules. These modules are required every year and ensure that staff are aware of how to support students in the event of or a report of Child Sexual Abuse.
One of the new compulsory requirements from the Department in assisting to help keep our children safe, is that ALL volunteers and external providers working with students MUST HAVE a Working with Vulnerable People Card (WWVP) AND ARE now required to have undertaken the free Safeguarding Training.
The free training can be accessed from the link or QR Code below. On completion of the module, a certificate will be available for you to download or save to a device.
This certificate needs to be shown during check-in at the office in any school setting.
SAFEGUARDING TRAINING LINK
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU?
If you are a parent who is volunteering in the school (parent help, canteen, excursions, etc)
- You MUST have completed the Safeguarding Training before volunteering,
- Download a copy of your certificate (provided at the end of the training)
- Show the certificate to office staff on check-in – with your WWVP card.
If you are dropping your child to school, visiting the office to share information, visiting your child’s class teacher to share information or attending assemblies, you aren’t required to have completed the training.
If you have any questions, please contact Mr Lane via the school office.
Hilly Kids Are Friendly Kids
Smile and Greet People is our current focus
Big Breakfast
Fire Safety
Week 2 has seen our Prep to Year 6 students participate in a fire safety program. Firefighter Craig has discussed ‘Crawl Low and Go, Go, Go!’ and ‘Stop, Drop, Rock and Roll’ with students. Families are encouraged to continue these conversations at home. Families are also encouraged to discuss a ‘Safe meeting place’ with students and place a home fire escape plan on the fridge at home.
To find out more information on Home Fire Safety and Escape Plans go to ‘Home Fire Safety’ via the link below.
Children’s University
NAPLAN 2024
This year, NAPLAN starts on Wednesday 13 March and finishes on Monday 25 March. Students in year 3 and 5 will participate in the literacy and numeracy assessments. Information for families has been sent home today outlining the schedule of assessments. If you have any questions or concerns please contact your child’s classroom teacher.
Sun Safe Hat Policy
Please remember that our Sun-Safe Hat Policy is in place during Term 1. Students must wear a school bucket hat anytime they are outside during recess and lunch. If they do not have a hat, they will be asked to sit in a designated area out of the sun.
Launching into Learning
Launching into Learning (LiL) - starts next week – on Monday 19 February at 8.40am -9.45am in the Library and Hall with Miss Lewis.
Children aged 0-5 years are invited to attend with an adult
What’s happening in 5-6H
In 5/6 H we have been learning about the power of “yet.”
During 2024 instead of saying “I can’t” we are working towards saying “I can’t yet.”
We discussed how this involves courage and persistence so that we can keep on trying.
We created personal goals for Term 1 that we are working towards achieving. Some of our goals included improving our reading and writing and others included speaking in front of the school at assembly. We plan on using strategies such as asking for help, trying new ways, and improving our self-talk so that we can reach our goals. Because it’s not that we CAN’T, we just CAN’T YET.
Hilly Staff
All about me
Lisa Willett
My Role - Teacher Assistant and Library
Worked at Hillcrest – 7 Years
What do you like most about our school - The family atmosphere
Pets – 2 Dogs, 3 Cats, 21 Goats, 1 Cow
Sporting Team I follow - None
Hobby in my spare time – Gardening and walking the dogs
Fun Fact about me - I have lived in 11 different houses
Favourite Meal or type of food – Salt & Vinegar Chips
A skill/talent I have that not many people know about me - I am a licenced crane operator
Favourite place I have visited - Norfolk Island
Would you rather…………….
Beach OR Pool - Beach
Tea OR Coffee – Decaf Coffee
Books OR Movies – Books
Summer OR Winter – Summer
Morning Person OR Night Owl – Night Owl
Cats OR Dogs – Dogs
Theme Park OR Museum – Theme Park
Naomi Lawes
My Role - Prep/1 Teacher
Worked at Hillcrest - This is my 4th Year
What do you like most about our school - The ‘Hilly Kids are Friendly Kids’ program
Pets - A bird called Oskar and a cat called Betsy
Sporting Team I follow - Carlton Football Club
Hobby in my spare time - Photo Scrapbooking
Fun Fact about me - I have my motorbike licence
Favourite Meal or type of food - Desserts!
A skill/talent I have that not many people know about me -
Favourite place I have visited - Daydream Island
Would you rather…………….
Beach OR Pool - Pool
Tea OR Coffee – Neither
Books OR Movies – Books
Summer OR Winter – Summer
Morning Person OR Night Owl – Night Owl
Cats OR Dogs – Dogs
Theme Park OR Museum - Museum
Hilly Kids that 'Shine'
Does your child play sport, a musical instrument or participate in a special activity outside of school? We would like to celebrate their achievement by featuring them in the Hilly Kids that 'Shine' section of our newsletter.
Please email us a little blurb about their achievement along with a photograph and we will feature them in the following newsletter. Email us at hillcrest.primary@decyp.tas.gov.au.
Breakfast Club
Brekky Club is back again and will be operating every morning from 8:25-8:45am in the GP Hall. There will be toast, fruit and a choice of milk or water to drink. If your child is planning to attend Brekky Club, please remind them to go to the Hall promptly, to allow them to have breakfast and get to class on time.
Hillcrest Tuckerbox – NEW MENU
We have re-launched our Tuckerbox menu this term to introduce some new healthy meal options for our students at lunchtime and recess. The new seasonal Summer Menu commences on Wednesday 21 February and is available to order on the Qkr APP.
Our Tuckerbox operates on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays only.
Please join us for a ‘Come and Try’ our new menu on Thursday 15 Feb at 2.45pm where you and your children can sample some new dishes with our compliments. Tokens have been sent home with the new menu.
Canteen Volunteers - We are also seeking helpers in the canteen to support our recess and lunctime service, 3 days per week. If you are able to help out in a regular weekly slot for 2-3 hours or just a couple of slots for the Term, please let the office know.
Paige Wells – Canteen Supervisor
Car Parking
Families are reminded that the Staff Car Park is for Staff Parking ONLY. This includes before and after school pick up.
Please refrain from using the staff car park unless you have a blue disabled parking badge.
Thank you