8 September 2016

Newsletter Articles

Dates to Remember

September

October

From the Principal

Welcome to our new look newsletter! We are pleased that we have been able to go to an electronic format– it is far more efficient, easily accessible and great for the environment, too! We always appreciate feedback, so if you think our newsletter needs any changes or additions, please let us know. The newsletter will be produced fortnightly, but if there are any important announcements before the next issue, we will ensure that the community is informed.

Some families would have received a letter inviting them to participate in a short online survey regarding the school. This is a yearly survey undertaken by the department. If you have been asked to complete the survey, we would appreciate if you can do so by Friday, 16th September. Your feedback is important and we appreciate you giving the time to provide it. If you require any help to complete the survey or need access to a computer, please let the office know.

School Satisfaction Surveys - Student, Parent and Staff

This year, School Satisfaction Surveys for students, parents and staff will be conducted during September. These surveys contain questions on a range of matters about our school.

This survey provides an opportunity for students, parents and staff to provide important feedback. This feedback is valued by our school as a means of identifying what the school does well and opportunities for the school to make improvements.

Students (from Year 5 and above), parents and staff will be invited to participate. Those students who are selected to undertake the survey will do so during school time.

You will receive a letter in coming days if you have been selected to participate in the parent survey.

Your responses will be secure and anonymous.

We encourage you to participate and complete the survey so that the school has a clear direction when planning for future programs and services for students.

Please contact the office if you wish to use a school computer to complete the survey.

Hilly Kids Are Friendly Kids

This week's Hilly Kids Focus has been Respecting Adults. The topics for weeks 9 & 10 will be Suggesting & Persuading and Seeing it Through.

Suggesting & Persuading: Why learn this skill? People don't like being around other people who give orders, criticise all the time and are bossy. We would like people to listen to us and to take on our ideas and the best way to convince others to do what you want, and to co-operate with you, is to make suggestions and give good reasons for your suggestions. A suggestion allows others the choice of agreeing or not agreeing to do what you would like.

What you can try: Make a suggestion in a polite way. Try using: Why don't we… Perhaps we could… How about… What if we… We could… Give a good reason for your suggestion.

What to avoid: Don't be bossy. Don't get angry if they don't agree with you.

Seeing it Through: Perseverance is a much admired quality and that means seeing it through! So many great people have this quality and it is one we can all aim for. Seeing it through means sticking at something until it is finished, until the job is done. It means that when things are difficult you don't give up and walk away. It means you might have to try a bit harder, you might have to get someone to help you or you might have to try things a different way; but, mostly it means you stick with what you set out to do until you are happy with the result. Good luck!

Our HKFK student of the week last week for Consequences was Sarah Rawlinson from 5-6Fenn and the Aussie of the Month for August was Chelsey Gardner from 2-3MA. Congratulations, Sarah and Chelsey!

Well done to our other class representatives for Consequences!

Soccer Tops

We still have a number of soccer tops outstanding. If the tops are not returned before the end of term we will have no choice but to invoice parents for a replacement top as we need to do a top inventory and order replacements well before the start of the next soccer season.

Footy Colours Day – Sept 21

On Wednesday, September 21st we are having a footy colours day. The cost is a gold coin donation. You can come dressed in your favourite football team's colours. Your donations will go to the RSPSCA. By Seche and Trinity

Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes

Please remember your donations for this wonderful endeavour. Help your child's class fill a shoebox for a child who is a victim of war, poverty, famine or disease. Please check with your child's teacher about the age and gender of the child the class shoebox is for. We will collect the boxes from classrooms at the end of term, ready for delivery to the drop off depot in October.

Please check last week's newsletter for ideas of items to donate.

Fathers' Day Stall

Thanks to the wonderful efforts and generous donations from parents and students over $610 was raised from our Fathers' Day Stall this year! What an amazing effort!

A big thank you goes to Kim Reid, Theresa Johns, Rhonda Welsh and Caroline Welsh for their help on sale day. Congratulations to Kadie Purton, the lucky winner of our Fathers' Day Stall draw.

Working with Vulnerable People Card

We would like to remind you that people volunteering in a school and contract workers who visit schools MUST now have their Working with Vulnerable People card. These can be obtained by going to the link below. Once you have your card please bring it to the school office so we can update our records.

If you need help with your online application or need to access a computer or the internet, please contact the school to arrange to meet Mrs Mulcaster in the library and she will help you through the application.

3-4 Priest

The students in 3-4P are researching and learning about the First Fleet in their history lessons.

"I am enjoying learning about the First Fleet." Autumn

"We wrote a letter home to England pretending we were a convict who had been sent out to Australia on the First Fleet for stealing." Maya

4-5 Kelly

In 4/5K we worked on metaphors and what they mean and then constructed our own Metaphor Poems with Mr Murray. Last week we had a performance by a group called "Ogham Soup". They were a band who played Irish instruments and sang Irish songs. They also sang some limericks which are Irish poems. A limerick has 5 lines. The 1st, 2nd and 5th lines rhyme with each other and the 3rd and 4th lines rhyme with each other. We created our own limericks…but we had to be careful to have the correct number of syllables in each line, as well as make sure that we had the rhyming correct.

Hillcrest Tuckerbox

How does your family grow?

Most families need a reminder to eat more fruit and vegetables. Some ways to increase your family's intake include:

• Shop in season for fruit and vegetables for the cheapest prices
• Keep fresh, tinned and frozen fruit and vegetables ready to eat at home
• Add fruit and vegetables to recipes and meals
• Involve kids in growing, shopping for, preparing and cooking fruit and vegetables
• Enjoy eating fruit and vegetables together as a family and watch your family grow!

Move Well Eat Well

Ways to get your family moving in the community.

To be healthy and active families all need physical activity every day. By becoming more active, families benefit in so many ways!

• Reduce inactive leisure time – limit television viewing, cut down on video games and reduce time surfing the net
• Get the family involved in local activities – encourage more social involvement by joining after school clubs and taking part in community events. Get involved in fun events, volunteer for a litter clean-up or a working bee
• Lock up the car – leave the car at home for short journeys like the school run and trips to the shops and take a bike ride, rollerblade or walk there instead.

Soccer School

Slipstream Circus

Oral Health Services

After School Care