17 August 2017

Newsletter Articles

Dates to Remember

August

September

From the Principal

As you are no doubt aware, NAPLAN results for 2017 have been released. The school summary data has shown good improvement across all areas and we are all working hard as a community, to continue to improve outcomes for all of our students. Students in grade 3 and 5 should have received their individual reports on Monday. If you wish to discuss the reports or NAPLAN, please speak to your child’s teacher or contact the office.

The new Education Act came into effect on July 10th this year. The Act provides schools with an up-to-date legal framework that better supports high quality teaching and learning in Tasmania’s schools. There will be a staged implementation regarding changes to schools. Our School Association Committee has already begun work on these changes. We will keep the community informed of changes, as they occur. Attached below, is some information regarding the key changes with the Act and some information about attendance and student absences. If you have any questions, please contact the office.

Jerome Pape - Principal

Hilly Kids Are Friendly Kids

Our HKFK focus for this week has been “Being Assertive”. Next week’s focus topic will be “Teamwork” and the week after will be “Including Others”.

Teamwork

Teamwork is very important at our school and used in many ways. Many of our students practice their teamwork skills through organised sport or by being a member of the school choirs or by being a part of a group in the classroom. Sport is a great way to develop a child’s understanding about the importance of working and playing together as a member of a team. Whether you win, draw or lose, the important part of being in a team is doing your best for the other players and coaches while trying to achieve team goals. It is a great feeling to know you’ve done your best in whatever you do!

Teamwork is all about working with others to produce a team result. It is about using your talents and interests with others to achieve something together so, encourage others in your group to do their best and to put the team interests ahead of their own interests. Recognise everyone’s contribution to the team and congratulate them. Don’t criticise team members, even when things go wrong and, definitely, don’t try to dominate a team.

Including Others

Including others in your games and activities makes everyone feel good. It means that you are generous and willing to share your time with others and care about their feelings. If you include others in your games they are more likely to include you when you are looking for someone to play with or talk to.

If you are not already doing so, try to look around and see if there are others who might like to join in. Sometimes they might not even ask to join in, but just stand close by - try to include them. If you see someone standing off alone – try to include them. If there is a new student at school – try to include them. If someone is being teased – try to include them. There are always opportunities to include others so try to be the person who sets a good example to your fellow students by being kind and helpful and including others in your activities.

Our Hilly Kid of the Week for “Group Decision making” was Lukas from 5-6H and for “Negotiating” was Sommer from P-1P. Our Aussie of the Month for July was Inika from 1-2B. Congratulations, Lukas, Sommer and Inika!

Well done to our other class representatives:

School Socials – Wednesday, Aug 23rd

Our school socials will be held next Wednesday, August 23rd. This year they coincide with Book Week and therefore we are using the Book Week theme of ‘Escape to Everywhere’ as the theme for the socials. When you read a book…you can “escape to anywhere” in your mind…..so, dressing up as a favourite character from a book is perfect! (Dressing up is optional!)

The socials will be in our school hall. Early Childhood students are welcome from 4.30pm until 6.00pm and Primary students are welcome from 6.30pm until 8.00pm. Entry is $2 to cover the cost of a snack and drink.

(Please note that this year there will not be a separate Book Week dress up day.)

School Photos

School photos will be next Thursday morning, August 24th. Please ensure that you have returned your photo envelopes to the school, EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT ORDERING PHOTOS. The envelope has your child’s unique barcode on it which helps photo day run much more smoothly. Any orders not returned before the photo sessions start will incur a $10 late fee. Remember that there are second parent envelopes, family discount forms and family photo envelopes in the school office if needed.

On Photo Day please ensure that your child is dressed in school uniform.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

On Friday some of our Student Councillors will represent our school at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Service to reflect on Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War and to remember and honour the 521 who paid the supreme sacrifice.

Gran’s Van

At our assembly last week, Malcolm Paterson from Gran’s Van was presented with your donations of non-perishable food items and a total of $203 that was raised on Wacky Wednesday. He assured us that it would all be very useful! Thank you very much for your support of Wacky Wednesday last term.

Eisteddfod Reminder

Please remember that, if your child is performing in the Primary Choir or is in P-1BE, P-1P, 1-2B or 2-3P they will be expected to wear a full winter uniform on the day. Please start now to ensure that your child has the correct uniform. Girls will need the winter skirt with polo top and navy/black tights. Boys will need grey trousers (NOT shorts) with the gold polo top. All students will need to wear the school jumper and black shoes. You may need to borrow from a friend. We do have new and second-hand uniform available at school and may have some winter skirts for some girls to borrow. Please contact the school office for more information.

Woolworths Earn & Learn

July 26th to September 19th

Remember to keep collecting your Earn & Learn stickers every time you shop at Woolworths. Place the Woolworths Earn & Learn sticker onto a Woolworths Earn & Learn Sticker sheet and when it’s complete, the sticker sheet can be dropped into the collection box here at school or at your local Woolworths. Or simply drop the stickers into the collection box and we can do the sticking! At the end of the promotion, we’ll be able to get some great new equipment. If you’d like to know more visit:

2-3 Peace

Our Writer’s Workshop – a celebration of our writing

To start this term we have had a BIG focus on growing our interest in becoming writers.

To find out what we thought about writing, Mrs Peace asked us “Why do Writers write?”. Here are some of our very interesting answers:

• “For FUN!” - Chloe L, Veronica, Mylee, Myha, Bianca, Piper and Alexis
• “Authors share stories through writing.” - Jehanne
• “It’s good for them.” - Jehanne
• “To escape the world.” - Catherine
• “They like it.” - Yazzi
• “A teacher, as a writer, uses writing to demonstrate skills.” - Chloe L

We then answered questions like:

• What is the best thing about writing?
• What do I enjoy about writing?
• What have you written about in the past?
• When is writing hard for me?

Next, we learnt about the process of writing and the importance of all the parts. We have practised each step as a class so that we can work independently during our Writer’s Workshop time.

Last week we finished our first piece this term after working through planning, drafting, revising, editing and then publishing. We have begun celebrating these pieces by reading our work aloud to the class and by sharing some work in the newsletter.

We are very excited to start exploring our new unit of learning: ‘Writing for a purpose: Instructional writing’.

5-6 Fenn

Transition Day

Last Wednesday all Grade 6 students met in Mr Hortle's classroom to have morning tea with some Reece High students, teachers and Year 10 prefects. We played some games with them and shared a yummy morning tea.

One of the games we played was with a ping pong ball and you bounced it into a cup.

We also played another game with M&Ms. You had to suck them out of a cup with a straw and put them into another cup.

One funny game was where you had to put Vaseline on your nose and pick up cotton wool balls with your nose and put them into a bowl. It was a bit sticky but fun.

The last game was where you had a time limit of 1 minute to blow up a balloon and let the air out of the balloon to blow styrene cups off the table.

It was a fun morning tea, the food was yummy and it was good to meet some of the prefects and our teachers for next year.

By Trinity, Chloe and Zoe (Grade 6 Fenn)

Grade 5/6 Sports Expo

Last Tuesday, August 8th, all Grade 5/6 students went to a Sports Expo at different venues to play all types of sports such as soccer, basketball, volleyball, netball and hockey. Elizabeth and I played soccer and as the day went on, we got better at it.

We won a game against Devonport Primary. The score was five to one. We also played against other primary schools such as Latrobe Primary, Nixon Street Primary, Devonport Primary, Port Sorell Primary and Andrews Creek.

The aim of this Expo was for us to try new sports we may not have played before, but many of us chose sports we already could play. Maybe next year more kids will try something new.

Father’s Day Stall

The Father’s Day stall will be held on Tuesday, August 29th for all classes K-6. Families are asked to buy or make a small gift to the value of $3 and send it to school by Monday, August 28th.

Don’t forget – Every child who donates to the stall will go into the draw to win a gift for dad.

Please do not wrap gifts – On the day of the stall please send your child to school with $3 to purchase a gift for Dad. If you do not want your child to participate, please tell him/her beforehand. Donations of second-hand wrapping paper are also needed. Offers of assistance to help run the stall on the Tuesday from 9-10:30am would be most welcome. Please leave your name at the school office.

Lyn Aherne – Fundraising

Move Well Eat Well

Kids get a lot of grief for spending too much time in front of the TV or computer, but we adults aren’t much better! Make a family agreement to:

• Limit screen time for everyone
• Turn the TV off after the program has finished
• Resolve to watch one less TV program a week
• Play music or stories on a CD instead
• Make meal time your family time and turn off the TV

MWEW Team

Hillcrest Tuckerbox

August is fruit and vegetable month. Some ways to increase your family’s intake include:

• Involve children in choosing fruit and vegetables to buy and in cutting up or peeling
• Add vegetables to favourite foods such as pizza toppings, pasta sauces and pie filings (eg grated carrot, zucchini, beetroot)
• Make vegetable pikelets or mini-pizzas using rolls or muffins to take to school the next day
• Make smoothies by blending soft fruit, such as bananas or strawberries, with milk and yoghurt
• Use frozen and canned vegetables as an alternative to fresh
• Include vegetables in soups, eg pumpkin, minestrone or potato

• Keep a bowl of fresh fruit handy and bite-sized vegetables such as cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, celery, cheese and cucumber sticks in the fridge to grab as a snack

Lyn Aherne - Canteen Supervisor

Netball Congratulations

Congratulations to Lily and Sarita who were chosen to represent Devon 11 & under at a recent tournament in Launceston.

Netball

The Devon Netball Association Primary Spring Roster will commence on Wednesday, September 20th. All games are played at the Spreyton Netball Centre. Primary netball is open to any girls or boys turning 8 or older in 2017. Players who have participated in the winter roster do not pay any further registration fee. New players will need to pay registration which is $50 for Grade 5/6 and $70 for Netta (which includes a NetSetGo! Pack).

Please leave your child’s name at the school office by Friday, August 25th if they wish to play in the spring roster.

Free Dental Care for Children & Teens

Disability Expo

CAP Money Course