2 March 2017

Newsletter Articles

Dates to Remember

March

April

From the Principal

Japan!

I had an exciting and busy time in Japan last week. We had a very full schedule and I had the great privilege of meeting many new people who are excited about the teaching of Japanese language and culture. I met with both primary school and high school principals from around Australia and New Zealand, who all had the same belief of the importance of teaching Japanese in their schools. I am grateful for the opportunity and wish to thank The Japan Foundation for sponsoring the trip. I look forward to working with staff to help further develop our own Japanese program led by the expertise of Mrs Rosie Baker, our Japanese teacher.

I have included photos of my trip away, including some student artwork from a primary school in Kyoto.

I have also included photos of the children doing the daily cleaning at the school (that’s right, they don’t have a school cleaner!).

The mountain is a picture of Mt Fuji, taken from the Shinkansen (bullet train) on the way to Kyoto.

These last two photos are of a golden Buddhist temple in Kyoto called Kinkaku-ji, with a photo of me sitting on the Emperor’s stone seat in the garden. Not looking much like the Emperor, really.

I would like to thank everyone who supported the school in my absence. A particular thanks goes to Mrs Prue Bezemer, who did a fantastic job filling in for me. It was a great trip but it is nice to be back.

Miss School Miss Out

It is important that students attend school every day so they don’t miss out. We understand that sickness or other issues occur, but it is important that students attend every day, if possible. If your child is sick or not attending, please let the school know. We do send out text messages for unexplained absences. These are a safety precaution in case your child has gone missing, so please respond and let us know if they are away by ringing back or replying to the text message. Remember – if they miss school, they miss out!

Jerome Pape - Principal

School Twilight Fair – Mar 3 @ 4pm

Our Twilight Fair is getting close now and we still need volunteers to man a shift at the various stalls. Please see your child’s teacher or the office and put your name down if you can help for a short time. We don’t want to take you away from the fun of the fair for too long!

If you can make any donations, especially items for the plants, produce and craft stalls, they can be left at the front office as soon as possible.

If you are not able to help we hope to still see you at the Fair!! Come on down and grab a bargain and take something sweet home for the weekend!

HPSCA Fair Committee

LIFT Breakfast

It was great to see so many families at the LIFT breakfast this term. We all enjoyed a selection of cereals, toast, fruit and pancakes. Thanks to everyone who helped out on the day.

Thank you also to Boja Distributors who sponsored the event through the donation of milk. Thanks also go to Ann-Maree Mulcaster, our LIFT coordinator, who organised this LIFT event.

Hilly Kids Are Friendly Kids

Our HKFK focus for this week has been ‘Respecting the Environment’. Let’s hope everyone keeps this in mind as they go through the week because every one of you can make a difference!

Next week’s focus topic will be “Playing Together” and “Taking Turns”

Playing together does not just mean playing happily with our friends, although that is important. It means sharing our space and our games sensibly so everyone can enjoy their playtime. It means thinking about other people and their games and making sure we are playing sensibly so everyone can enjoy themselves.

Taking Turns - Almost every day at school we need to take our turn. Sometimes it is in the classroom and other times outside in the yard. In the class we may need to wait for our turn to see the teacher or to go on the computer. We need to take our turn at the canteen or for the drinking taps. In games we need to take our turns to bat, to bowl, to pick teams and all sorts of things. Remember, wait patiently, allow others to finish before you start and give others their go. Don’t push and shove, push in or always try to be first.

Our focus topic for Week 6 will be “What is Bullying?”

No one has the right to make others feel unhappy, sad, frightened or not want to come to school to learn.

We will look at the types of bullying behaviours that we do not accept at Hillcrest Primary School like:

• Name calling
• Deliberately hurting others
• Using put down type comments
• Deliberately excluding others.

We all have a responsibility to put an end to any bullying type behaviour by letting people know it’s not okay and telling someone about it, like a friend, your family or a teacher.

The website Bullying No Way has many great support resources too.

We recognise that many students are still developing their social skills in how to deal with problems and interact in appropriate ways with others. We continue to support our students to learn from their mistakes and to make a commitment to ensure that they do not make the same mistakes again.

NWPSSA Athletics

Trials and run-offs for the selection of our school’s Penguin Athletics team have started for students in grades 3-6. Information about this event will be sent home in the coming weeks to the students who have been selected to represent Hillcrest on Thursday, March 16th.

David Carter – PE Teacher

Student Banking

Thank you to our two parent volunteers who will be sharing the role of helping with the student banking. Please send your child’s banking in on Mondays. It will be processed and the bankbooks returned on Wednesdays.

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Wow! What a great start we have had to the year! The children have been working so hard and have been enthusiastic to learn. During our investigation time it has been fantastic to see new friendships formed, cooperation and sharing skills being used.

Our investigation time provides opportunities for children to explore areas that are of interest to them. Children gain confidence when speaking about new skills they have learnt or a task they are proud of completing. Investigation time also provides experiences that are linked to other learning areas throughout the day. Children’s learning becomes relevant to their life and experiences.

Hillcrest Tuckerbox

Fruit is a good source of vitamins and fibre and is full of energy for active children. It is important children eat a rainbow of different coloured fruits every day. To increase fruit in lunch boxes try these tips:

• Fruit salad - easy to eat bite-sized pieces of watermelon, grapes, kiwi, oranges, rockmelon, pineapple,
• Fruit added to mini muffins, scones & pikelets,
• Fruit bread or fruit buns cut into bite-sized fingers,
• Fruit in custard or yoghurt,
• Tinned fruit in natural juice as an alternative to fresh,
• Nibble pack with dried fruit, vegetable sticks & cheese cubes.

Lyn Aherne - Coordinator

Move Well Eat Well

Tips for encouraging your child to drink water:

• Get your child their own individual water bottle for school
• In warm weather, freeze your child’s water bottle to send to school
• Show your child that you enjoy drinking water, too
• At meal times serve everyone at the table with a glass of water
• At home, always keep a jug or bottle of cold water in the fridge and serve with ice
• Always take a water bottle with you when you go out

MWEW Team

Devonport Triathlon 2017

East Devonport Football Club