15 Jun 2023

Dates to Remember

June 2023

July 2023

From the Principal

I can’t believe this will be our second last newsletter for Term 2! I hope our families enjoyed some extra family time over the Kings Birthday long weekend.

As we head into the cooler Winter weather, some reminders for students and parents/carers that we will continue to maintain high expectations for wearing our uniform. We ask that if students need to wear long sleeves under their school polos that they are either gold or blue (royal or navy) and students school jumpers and any pants/trousers are either grey or navy blue.  It has been great to see some students have brought along slippers to wear in the classroom!

Hillcrest Cross Country

Thank you to Mr Forward for his preparation and organisation for our 2023 School Cross Country held on Thursday 1 June. It was lovely to see many parents, extended family members and friends who came along to support our students. We had excellent participation from our students and it was pleasing to see students giving their personal best in the event. I know Mr Forward has been using recent PE lessons to build fitness and running stamina in the lead up to the event. Many thanks also goes to Mr Woods for assisting Mr Forward with the set up and packing up on the day.

NWPSSA Cross Country

Congratulations to the top four students in Years 3-6 who were selected to attend the combined North West Primary Schools Cross Country held in Ulverstone last Wednesday 7 June. This event is hosted by NWPSSA and is a fantastic opportunity to compete against other schools in the region. I was pleased to be able to attend with the team, our students represented Hillcrest Primary with excellent behaviour and positive attitudes, well done everyone!

A special mention to the following students who performed particularly well in large fields of runners in their respective Year levels, schools received results for the top 30 runners in each year level and gender.

Shakiya 2^nd, Kyiesha 6^th, Lawi 20^th, Faith 28^th.

Reporting – Communicating Learning Progress

A reminder to our families that mid-year reports will be sent home with children on Friday 23 June.

The report will show your child’s learning achievement on a 9-point visual scale for students in Years 1 to 6 (and for Prep students at the end of the year). The 9-point scale shows where your child’s learning achievement is against the expected standard for their year level.

In addition to the mid-year report, families will receive an English evidence of learning (work sample) and an attendance summary for each student in term 1 and 2, with the aim that this information will provide more detailed summary of the year so far.

There will be no teacher comments in the report. Our 3-Way conferences are part of our reporting process and will be offered in Week 10 (26-30 June). These are a great opportunity to discuss how your child is progressing with their learning. If you haven’t yet made an appointment, please do so via the link below or contact the school and we can assist.

For more information about reports:

• School Reports FAQs
• Understanding the 9-point scale

Visit the Department’s website at: Reporting - The Department for Education, Children and Young People Tasmania (decyp.tas.gov.au)

Communication with Families – Winner of movie tickets!

A BIG thank you to our 57 respondents who completed the survey ‘Communication with families’. These results will help us understand preferences and ways of communication moving forward. We have received some very informative and useful feedback to help us further enhance the way we communicate with parents and families. Whilst we will not be able to incorporate all of these suggestions in our ways of working, we will consider how we can best cater for the majority of our families and address as many needs where practicable.

I look forward to sharing the results of the survey with our parent representatives at our School Association Meeting tonight to further share and discuss ways we can work together to improve.

Congratulations to Nicole Bassett as the winner of the four movie tickets!

Attendance

Thank you to families who have made great efforts to improve their child’s attendance over recent weeks. We have seen an increase in our students who may be ‘at risk’ (below 85%) for low attendance and I know, from many conversations that I have had with both parents/carers and students that this is making a positive impact on student wellbeing and levels of engagement in learning. Keep up the great work!

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

In partnership,

Staffing update

Last Friday we farewelled Mrs Ackerley as she begins her maternity leave. On behalf of HPS we wish Jaime-Lea and Simon all the best for the arrival of their baby. I’m sure we will have a visit at some stage for baby Ackerley to meet our Hilly Kids and staff.  

As a result of Mrs Ackerley’s leave, I am pleased to welcome Mr Jordan Lynd to Hillcrest in the acting AST role. Jordan will be joining us from Romaine Park Primary School, however due to the current staff shortage in Tasmanian Schools we are aiming for Jordan to start with us at the start of Term 3.

Welcome back to Mrs Carolyn Ollington who has returned to her role as a Teacher Assistant at Hillcrest. Carolyn has enjoyed a term and a half of long service leave and will be working across multiple classes in our school.

LiL and Pre Kinder

This month in LiL at Hillcrest Primary, we have been having fun experiencing lots of activities at our on-site ‘stay, play and explore’ and ‘pre-kinder’ sessions. From next Monday Mrs Lawes will be taking LiL on Mondays for Story Time and Rhyme and Pre-Kinder.

What’s happening next 

Kinder enrolments

We are now taking enrolments for Kinder 2024. If your child is due to start Kinder next year, please contact the school office for further information.

Hilly Kids Are Friendly Kids

Our Hilly Kid for the ‘Teamwork’ topic was Charlie, from 1-2 Sims

Well done to our other class representatives:

Our current Hilly Kids focus topic is DOING YOUR BEST. Our last focus topic for term 2 will be consequences.

Consequences

Whatever we choose to do, there will always be consequences.  If you play outside in the rain, you will get wet, and your parents will probably not be happy.  If you stay up late, the next morning you will not feel like getting up.  If you play football inside there is a good chance, you’ll break something.  That is not very smart.  Better to play outside or in the park. 

Consequences are natural.  The difficult part is trying to work out what the consequences are before you make your choices.  It is a good idea to take a bit of time to THINK first!  THINK about consequences before you act.

Asthma

About one in nine people in Australia have asthma, one of the highest rates in the world.

Asthma affects people of all ages, and it can appear at any time in life. With the right medication and a daily management plan in place, asthma symptoms can be controlled. An Asthma Plan completed by a medical practitioner outlines the child’s known triggers and the emergency procedures to be applied in the event of an asthma flare-up or attack and helps the school support your child in the case of an urgent situation.

Ideally Asthma Plans should be updated annually and copies provided to the school office along with any medications required (Inhaler and spacer).

If you think your child’s information requires updating with the school, please let the office know and we can support you in the process required.

For more information about asthma:

5¢ Coin Challenge

Friday, 7 July will be the last day for our 5c coin drive. Well done to everyone who dragged those pesky little 5c coins up the hill to fill their class jars!

We’ll get them tallied up and announce our winner soon.

Will we beat the 14570 coin count from 2021?

Fundraising Committee

Sunrise Bakery Pie Drive

Please remember all order forms and money are due back at the school office by tomorrow Friday, 16 June.

Thank you to everyone who made the effort to get orders for the Pie Drive.  The delivery date for our pie orders is Wednesday, 28 June after 11am. If you are available to help pack orders first thing that morning, please leave your name at the school office.

Orders can be collected between 11am-4pm on that day.  Please ensure that you collect your orders by 4pm that day as we do not have the capacity to refrigerate any orders left overnight.

Lyn Aherne – Fundraising

Prep-1 Lawes

This term in Prep/1 Lawes we have been learning about different text-types, including their features and purposes.  We have looked at recounts and narratives (including Fairy Tales) and our recent focus has been on procedural texts.  Last week we all made a mask and then we had a turn at writing the procedure for making a mask.  Here are our creations and some of our writing.

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Tuckerbox Tips

Add breads and cereals to your child’s lunch.  Try the following ideas:

• Rice, pasta or noodle salads
• Pita pockets or mountain bread wraps
• Rice crackers, corn thins or wholemeal crispbreads
• Use different types of bread – wholemeal, wholegrain, rye, bagels, Turkish bread or English muffins

Lyn Aherne – Canteen Supervisor

Move Well Eat Well

Making better takeaway choices

Takeaway food can cost a lot and is often high in fat and salt and low in fibre and vitamins.  Having takeaway food sometimes is ok but try to buy healthier choices.

• Pizza - have more vegetable toppings, e.g. pineapple, capsicum, mushroom & tomato
• Sandwiches - choose salad sandwiches & rolls with ham, roast beef, chicken, egg or cheese. Try different types of bread, e.g. mountain bread, grain, wholemeal, bagels, etc.
• Chicken - choose BBQ chicken, remove the skin and have it with bread & salad instead of chips
• Fish - have grilled fish with rice, bread & salad rather than chips
• Italian - choose tomato-based dishes. Try ones with different ingredients & a variety of vegetables
• Hot potatoes - try vegetable toppings such as beans & salads. Limit sour cream, cheese, butter & bacon.

MWEW Team