13 September 2018

Newsletter Articles

Dates to Remember

September

October

From the Principal

It was great to go along to the Devonport Eisteddfod last week to hear the Primary Choir sing. As always, they looked fantastic on stage – thanks to all families who ensured that their children were in full school uniform for the event. Thanks also go to Gaye Kelly for getting choirs ready for the competition. All choirs went well and we are proud of their achievements. Well done, everyone!

It is important that students attend school each day, unless they are too unwell to do so. Regular attendance is important for students’ academic and social development – miss school, miss out! If your child is unwell, please remember to contact the office and let us know. Unexplained absences will be followed up by your child’s teacher. Let’s all work together to get our Hilly Kids to school!

A reminder that our School Association Committee will be meeting tonight at 7pm, in the staffroom. We will be discussing the Respectful Student Behaviour Policy as per the new Education Act. Community members are most welcome to attend.

Jerome Pape - Principal

HPSA Family Market – THIS Saturday!

Remember to come and support our Family Market THIS Saturday from 10-2 in the school GP Hall! Have a browse, have a sausage and a cuppa!! See you there!

Lyn Aherne – Fundraising

Hilly Kids Are Friendly Kids

Our HKFK focus for this week has been ‘Being Resilient/Who Can Help Me?’ Our focus topics for the next two weeks will be ‘Suggesting & Persuading’ and ‘Good Winners/Good Losers’.

Suggesting & Persuading

People don’t like being around other people who give orders, criticise all the time and are bossy. But sometimes we would like people to listen to us and to take on our ideas.

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 is tentative and allows others the choice of agreeing to do what you would like or not.

Don’t boss people around and don’t get angry if they don’t agree. Just think of another suggestion.

Make a suggestion in a polite way. Try:

• Why don’t we…
• Perhaps we could…
• How about…
• What if we…
• We could…

Good Winners/Good Losers

Winning is great fun but we should remember that we need to win in a way that keeps our friends and promotes others’ respect for us. Celebrate our successes, but do it in a way that does not offend or hurt others.

At all times play fairly. Give others a go and stick to the spirit of the rules. In the end the game should be fun for all, win, lose or draw.

Do

• Keep smiles and celebrations low-key.
• Comment on good players but do not overdo it.
• Always try hard even if you are losing.
• Thank others for the game.
• Encourage your team members and give everyone a go.
• Respect your opposition and all their hard work.

Don’t

• Don’t boast about your ability or victory.
• Don’t comment on how far behind the others are.
• Don’t point out where the others are going wrong.
• Don’t act happy about others’ mistakes, e.g. don’t clap or laugh at poor shots.
• Don’t cheat or manipulate others.

Our Hilly Kid of the Week for ‘Including Others’ was Amber from 4-5K and for ‘Saying No’ was Kailie, also from 4-5K. Our Aussie of the Month for August was Terleah from P-1P. Congratulations Amber, Kailie and Terleah! Well done to our other class representatives.

Father’s Day Stall

Thanks to the wonderful efforts and generous donations from parents and students, over $615 was raised from our Father’s Day Stall this year. What an amazing effort!

A big thankyou to Kim Reid, Jackie Langmaid, Caroline Welsh, Fiona Smith and Debbie Jones for their help on sale day.

Congratulations to Toby from 4-5K, the lucky winner of our Father’s Day stall draw.

Eisteddfod

The Hillcrest Primary School choirs represented us extremely well at the 90th Devonport Eisteddfod last week. We entered 4 choirs: the Grade 4/5/6 choir sang “It’s Raining on the Rock” and “Choo Choo Ch’ Boogie”; the Prep/1 choir sang about their Mums with “Because They’re Cute” and also “The Jelly Bean Jive”. The Grade 1/2 choir sang “Summer Holiday” and “Eat Your VEGETABLES”. The 3/4 choir finished us off with “The Cup of Life” and a rap about being responsible with our environment called “Keep It Clean’. All of our choirs received Honourable Mentions for their performances.

We coped with technical hitches and having to wait patiently, as so many parents wanted to watch (the line of parents waiting to get in stretched all the way back to Subway!).

Thank you to all the parents who supported us by taking the time to come along and making sure that their child was dressed in correct uniform…so many people commented on how well dressed we were, and how well behaved we were! I was very proud to be a teacher at Hillcrest Primary School.

Gaye Kelly – Choir Teacher

Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes

Starting this week and continuing until the end of term, students at Hillcrest will be supporting the Operation Christmas Child Program by providing appropriate gifts for children around the world who are victims of war, poverty, famine or disease. Last year Tasmanians filled 16,479 boxes, which were delivered to Cambodia and Thailand. This year Operation Christmas child is aiming to fill 18,000 Tasmanian boxes! Please help your child’s class fill a shoebox. Check with their teacher regarding the age and gender of the child that the class shoebox is for.

There is a display in the school library with ideas of what you can send along for the shoeboxes. We ask that students donate one or more of the following gift ideas:

• Something to wear: T shirt, shorts, underwear, a cap, beanie, sandals, etc
• Something to love: teddy bear, doll, soft toy, etc
• Something for school: exercise book, pencil case, pens, pencils, colouring pencils, sharpener, eraser, chalk, etc
• Something to play with: tennis ball, cars, skipping rope, marbles, musical instrument, yoyo, slinky, finger puppets, etc (no battery operated items please)
• Something for personal hygiene: soap, facewasher, toothbrush, hairbrush, comb, hairclips, scrunchies, etc.
• Something special: carry bag, sunglasses, necklace, craft kits, stickers, etc.

It is very important that you NOT include: any food or lollies, toothpaste, shampoo, glass, bubbles, plasticine, batteries, playdough, damaged or used items, mirrors, china, war-related toys including anything with camouflage print, anything that will leak or melt, any gambling related items including cards, dice, play money and dominoes, or anything of a religious, racial or political nature.

If you would like to find out more about Samaritan’s Purse and Operation Christmas Child, please check out their website:

If you would like to make something for the shoeboxes, there are a lot of craft, knitting and sewing ideas at the following link:

We are also on the hunt for empty shoe boxes in good condition as well, if you have any sitting around at home!

Lyn Aherne & Alison Hillier - Coordinators

Lift News

‘Let’s Cook … and Eat!’

It was great to see so many families able to come and enjoy a fun evening of cooking and eating on Wednesday, 5th September. The menu included miso soup, yakisoba (a Japanese flavoured noodle stir-fry dish) and a variety of Japanese cakes for dessert.

There was a chopstick challenge for families to transfer small items of food from one plate to another. A lot of interesting tactics and chopstick techniques were used!

A big “Thank You” to every one for helping to clean up afterwards.

Upcoming event:

Monday, 17th September: A special day for grandparents, aunt or uncles within our school community. The third Monday of September in Japan is a public holiday that acknowledges and celebrates the mature members of society. This year, we will celebrate this day at school during Japanese classes.

Please remember ….

The library is open every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday both before and after school for home reader borrowing.

For family members who do not have their Working With Vulnerable People card – Please come to the library and use our facilities to do this and I will be there to support you. Remember if you wish to attend class excursions with your child/ren, you are required to have one. The library is open to parents on a Wednesday morning from 8:30 until 9:30, or a time before or after school on a different day can be easily arranged.

Rosemarie Baker - LIFT Coordinator

Hillcrest Soccer

Soccer Top Returns and Refunds

Now that the soccer season has finished, we would appreciate it if the clean soccer tops could come back to the school office as soon as possible.

Upon return of the top in good, clean condition we will refund the $5 bond. Please note that if your child returns the top, we will be giving him/her the $5 in a sealed envelope so remember to ask for it when they get home!

eSmart

P-1 Duff

Prep/1 Duff have been learning to tell time and match these to our daily schedule.

It has been exciting to watch the students learn to independently tell the time to the hour and half past. This is a skill that gives them great independence and excitement. We have been learning about what time of the day we do particular things. Below are some schedules of our morning routines. If you have particular routines at home, share the time with your child and help them practice telling the time.

Tuckerbox Tips

Aim for two serves of fruit and five serves of vegetables daily. What’s in a serve?

One serve of fruit:

• 1 piece of medium sized fruit - apple, banana, orange or pear
• 2 pieces of smaller sized fruit - apricots, kiwis or plums
• 1 cup of tinned fruit in fruit juice, no added sugar

One serve of vegetables:

• ½ cup cooked green or orange vegetables - broccoli, carrots, pumpkin or spinach
• ½ cup cooked, dried or canned beans, peas or lentils
• 1 cup leafy or raw salad vegetables
• ½ cup sweet corn
• 1 medium potato or sweet potato
• 1 medium tomato

Lyn Aherne – Canteen Supervisor

Move Well Eat Well

Screen Time

The time children spend sitting and watching television or playing electronic games (known as ‘screen time’) is time children could spend being active.

Tips for parents to reduce children’s ‘small screen’ time:

• Set limits on your child’s TV watching and time spent playing electronic/computer games. Monitor how much ‘screen time’ your child engages in - you may be surprised at how many hours it actually is!

• Designate certain days of the week as ‘screen free’ days - it’s good for children to have one or more days during the week when there is no TV or computer games allowed.
• Leave the TV off - only have the TV on when it’s being watched; otherwise, turn it off and use music for ‘background noise’
• Eat at the table and leave the TV off - try to eat at the table as a family, not in front of the TV
• Be selective about what your child watches - most children will happily sit and watch whatever is on the screen for hours on end if allowed to do so. Be selective and use your child’s allocated screen time to watch quality children’s programs they enjoy
• Keep TVs and computers out of your child’s bedroom - keep these in a common area of the house so that you can monitor use.

MWEW Team

Junior Motocross

The Australian Junior Motocross Championships are coming to Penguin, Tasmania! Australia's best motocross riders will race over 7 days for the Australian Championship!

Practice and qualifying starts on Sunday, 30th September and finals will conclude on Saturday, 6th October. This is a free event for spectators with full canteen facilities every day. Merchandise will be available. There will be a full day of racing from 8.30am each day.