1 March 2024

Message from the Principal

It’s hard to believe we are already in week 4 of our 10 week term! It has been a positive and successful start to the school year and classes have established their routines and structures to support positive learning behaviours for all students. We are excited to welcome our new students and their families to our school, all students have joined our school wonderfully, already being great Hilly Kids.

The beginning of the year is such an important time at school as both staff and students learn how to work with each other and in their new class groupings.

Important dates coming up!

As the term progresses, we have lots of activities and events. Please ensure you keep an eye on the upcoming dates to ensure you don’t miss anything! Signing up to Seesaw will also help you see messages and reminders from class teachers for anything specific to your child’s class. If you haven’t signed up, please speak with a staff member and we can assist you.

Attendance and Literacy Learning

Attendance at school continues to be a big focus at Hillcrest this year. We encourage all students to attend school if they are well enough. We encourage you to bring your child every day, even if you are running late. The morning block of each day is important, the earlier you can arrive the better it is for your child’s learning. Each morning teaching across our whole school is dedicated to Literacy (English) this means that all students will be participating in the teaching involving:

• Letter and Sounds (P-2) & Spelling (3-6)
• Writing
• Reading

From 2024 onwards, all government schools are beginning statewide approach to the way we teach reading.

At Hillcrest, phonics has and is taught in the early stages of learning to read.

Students are explicitly taught the relationship between letters and sounds. This gives them the skills to decode words when they see them in print.

From now on, you may notice some changes with our home reading program we know that in the early stages of learning how to read, students practise these decoding skills with Decodable readers.

These specially designed “readers” allow students to practise and reinforce their letter-sound knowledge. We will be moving away from reading ‘levels’ and this may mean your child has a different text or reading material to your older children or to something they’ve used in previous years.

If you have any questions, please speak with your class teacher/s, Mrs Archer or Mrs Perry for more information.
Keep your eye out for a session Mrs Archer will be hosting to come and find out more!
More information can be found on the DECYP website:

Did you know our Value for Term 1 is Respect?

Respect is caring for ourselves, each other and our environment.

Respect is the cornerstone of our school community. It's more than just a word; it's a central idea that guides our interactions and shapes our environment. When we respect each other, we create a supportive environment where everyone feels valued and appreciated.

This term, I encourage our whole school community to think about how respect guides their everyday actions. Whether it's listening attentively in class, helping a classmate in need, or treating school property with care, each small gesture contributes to a culture of respect.

Parents and carers, your role in nurturing respect within our school community is invaluable. By modelling respectful behaviour at home and reinforcing its importance in daily conversations, you play a crucial part in shaping the behaviour and attitudes of our students.

Each fortnight our Hilly Kids are Friendly Kids focus supports the value of respect. It is through explicit teaching, modelling, and reinforcing positive behaviours that our students learn how to be more respectful in their everyday. See below for our Term 1 focus areas:

School Association -  Annual General Meeting

On Thursday 21 March we have our School Association AGM. We will be calling for nominations from any parents/carers to join our committee.

Meetings are held twice a term on a Thursday evening and each meeting goes for less than two hours. No experience is required and you can learn along the way!

The purpose of an Association is to provide family members with a way to participate and be involved in supporting the school. The Association works with the Principal to achieve shared outcomes for learners and the whole school community.

Membership of the Association provides a forum for the sharing of knowledge and skills. Parent and community engagement in the school is important, as it:

• creates a collaborative culture within the school
• uses existing community strengths to benefit all learners
• creates collaborative teamwork between staff, parents and the community
• helps create better understanding between the local community and school
• facilitates a good understanding of the value and benefits of education
• provides adult learning opportunities
• supports opportunities for creative thinking
• creates community support.

Research shows that children do better at school when their parents are involved and engaged in their education.

Are you interested? If so, please complete a nomination form and return it to the office. Any parent or carer can sign your form to endorse your nomination. Nomination forms will be sent home early next week.

I encourage you to make contact with class teachers, our leadership team or myself at any time in regard to your child’s learning or wellbeing at school, you can do this by visiting in person, phoning the office or emailing. We look forward to continuing to work with you for improvement outcomes for your child/children.

In partnership,
Georgia

Dates to Remember

2024

Term Dates for Students – 2024

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

Using Manners has been our fortnightly focus

Congratulations to Emmylou who was our Hilly Kid of The Fortnight Winner

Congratulations to Zaiyden who was our Week1/2 Winner for smiling and greeting people

Our next focus is Respecting People

NAPLAN – Years 3 and 5

This year, NAPLAN starts on Wednesday 14 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 outlining the schedule of assessments.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact your child’s class teacher or Mrs Archer. 

Lift Lounge in the Library

Sun Safe Hat Policy

Launching into Learning (LiL) with Miss Lewis and Lisa has started!  
Story Time and Songs, followed by Play Gym in the Library and Hall, Mondays at 8.40am -9.45am

Stay, Play and Explore our Kinder area, Fridays 9-10:30am

Children aged 0-5 years are invited to attend with an adult.

What’s happening in 3-4P

Breakfast Club

Brekky Club is back again and will be operating every morning from 8:30-8:45am in outside area of the canteen. 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 canteen 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 menu for Summer is available to order on the Qkr APP.

Our Tuckerbox operates on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays only. 

Paige Wells – Canteen Supervisor

Car Parking

Families are reminded that the Staff Car Park is for Staff Parking ONLY. Please refrain from using the staff car park unless you have a blue disabled parking badge.

Thank you