8 November 2018

Newsletter Articles

Dates to Remember

November

December

From the Principal

I have been enjoying looking at all the work our students have been doing with Children’s University. Students who have completed 30 hours will soon be graduating. More information will be provided to families regarding arrangements for the day. Well done to all students who have submitted passports for checking. If you have hours that still need stamping, please get them to Mr Pape by tomorrow, 9th November at the latest.

A reminder that we will soon be placing students in classes for 2019. If you have any particular requests, please make an appointment prior to Friday, 16th November. We try and meet requests where possible, but a range of factors contribute to how classes are structured.

If families are aware of any children in our area who will be turning 4 by January 1st, 2019, please encourage them to enquire about enrolling in our Kinder for next year. Your support is appreciated!

As you are no doubt aware, there have been many changes to school and department policy, in line with the new Education Act. Our School Association Committee have been working on the Hillcrest Primary School Respectful Student Behaviour Policy and the Hillcrest Primary School Dress Code and Uniform Policy. We will keep you informed of changes to procedures and expectations as each policy is finalised.

Jerome Pape - Principal

Hilly Kids Are Friendly Kids

Our HKFK focus for this week has been ‘Respecting the Opposite Gender’. Our focus topics for the next two weeks will be ‘Respecting Adults’ and ‘Respecting Property’.

Respecting Adults

There are many adults around our school, home and community who help us. It may be your teacher, the canteen worker, the bus driver or your next door neighbour.

It’s not OK to ignore what they ask you to do. It’s not OK to be rude when they talk to you.

These people are there to help you and guide you into the correct way of doing things and to follow the rules of society. They are always looking after us, making sure we are safe and happy.

We need to show respect to these adults by:

• using our manners by saying please and thank you,
• following their instructions
• listening when they speak
• giving way
• offering to help

Respecting adults is important. All of us would like to be respected and all children should show respect to all adults, whether they be our parents, grandparents, bus drivers, shop owners or teachers. Respecting adults shows everyone that we are friendly and appreciative children at Hillcrest.

Respecting Property

Around our school, our home and the homes of our friends there are many things we use that make our life more enjoyable. At home it may be the television, the stereo or the computer, at school it may be sports equipment, art materials or some of the play equipment in the yard. Whatever we use, we need to look after, not just for ourselves, but because others like to use these things as well.

Our Hilly Kid of the Week for ‘Body Language’ was Sienna from P-1P and for ‘Respecting our School’ was Zoe from P-1P. Congratulations, Sienna & Zoe! Well done to our other class representatives.

Grade 1-2 Swimming Program

The Grade 1-2 Swimming Program, to be held at the Nixon St Primary School pool, is only a few weeks away. Please make sure you return your aquatic consent and major excursion/medical forms to the office as soon as possible.

David Carter – PE Teacher

Hillcrest Athletics Carnival

Our school’s Athletics Carnival will be held on Friday, December 7th – weather permitting. All parents and community members are welcome to attend to view the day’s running and novelty events. There will be a sausage sizzle for lunch on the day. An order form will be sent home at a later date.

David Carter – PE Teacher

Christmas Raffle

Ticket books for our Christmas Raffle were sent home with students earlier this week. Please sell them to family and friends and return the stubs, with the money, in a sealed envelope to the school office by Friday, December 7th.

The raffle will be drawn on Thursday, December 13th. There are extra books available from the school office. Please return books before requesting new ones.

Please remember: donations to our grocery hamper will be greatly appreciated.

Lyn Aherne - Fundraising

2019 Calendar

Have you ordered your calendar(s) yet? All families were sent home an order form for a 2019 calendar featuring your child’s artwork. They would make great Christmas gifts for family members! To order, please fill out the form and return it to the school office ASAP.

5¢ Coin Challenge

Over term 3 classes collected 5¢ pieces as a school fundraiser. Some classes had fun weighing to estimate the value and laying them out to measure how long their coin lines were. The challenge has now finished and the totals have been tallied!

The winning class, with a total of $155.40, is Prep/1 Parker. That is a massive 3,108 five-cent coins collected!!! What an effort!! The final total from all classes is $609! Wow!! (12, 180 coins!!!) Thank you for your donations!

Toy Catalogue Fundraiser

A big thankyou to everyone who ordered from our Toy Fundraiser catalogue. Orders have been collated & submitted. You may still order from the catalogue as the company will continue to credit Hillcrest Primary with bonus fundraising vouchers.

Lyn Aherne – Fundraising

Walkathon

What a brilliant effort on a beautiful day!! Well done to everyone who participated in the Walkathon! Don’t forget to keep collecting your sponsorship money and get the forms back to the school office by tomorrow, November 9th to go into the draw to win a prize pack. There will be one prize for an early childhood student and one for a primary student.

MWEW Team

LiFT News

Just a reminder about the Department of Education’s Early Years website for parents/carers called ‘It’s a Great Start’. The website provides lots of information about programs such as Launching into Learning (LiL), Kindergarten and Learning in Families Together (LIFT) – all programs offered at our school. These programs help give children the very best start to life as they learn, grow and discover the world around them. I encourage you to please take the time to look at the ‘It’s a Great Start’ website.

With the summer holiday break not that far away, now would be a good time to join the Devonport Library. You can do this in person at the library in Rooke Street or join online – but you will still need to go to the library with proof of Tasmanian residency. If you would like some help with the online application process, please let me know.

Upcoming event:

Tuesday, 20th November 5:00-7:00pm STEM challenges and barbecue. A note will be sent home this week.

Please remember ….

The library is open every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, both before and after school, for home reader borrowing. Don’t forget to borrow a game to play together, too!

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

3-4 Bonner/Thompson

In 3/4BT we have had a focus on improving our reading stamina. We are reading for 30 minutes most days and this time frame has allowed us to really get into our novels or books. We have been able to develop our creative imaginations and improve our enjoyment for reading.

Here are some recommendations for some of the books we are reading:

William is reading “Just Doomed” written by Andy Griffiths and illustrated by Terry Denton. William said that he would recommend this book because they are very funny and they put themselves into the story.

Millie is reading “EJ12 in the Dark” written by Susannah McFarlane. Millie said that she would recommend this book as it is interesting because EJ12 is on a mission by herself and she gets scared, but remembers she has to defeat Shadow and that Al relies on her.

Charli is reading “Robot Riot!” written by Andy Griffiths. Charli would recommend this book because it is about a new girl and Henry thinks she is a robot. He reads her diary and reads her mission report, but it ends up that this is a book of a fake story.

Alexis is reading “That’s What Friends Aren’t For” written by Jamie Kelly. Alexis would recommend this book because she says it is funny and weird sometimes, but is fun to read.

Bianca is reading “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” written by The Brothers Grimm. Bianca said she would recommend this book because one of the princesses suspects there is a person following them.

Kai is reading “The 65 Storey Treehouse” written by Andy Griffiths and illustrated by Terry Denton. Kai would recommend this book because he says it is really funny and the two main characters are really silly and the pictures are funny. He likes that the author and the illustrator have included themselves in the story line of the book.

Beau is reading the book “The Wizard of Rondo” written by Emily Rodda. Beau would recommend this book because he finds it interesting, he thinks it is funny and he likes the characters.

Ryan is reading the book “Just Tricking” written by Andy Griffiths and illustrated by Terry Denton. Ryan would recommend this book because he likes the jokes.

Taylor is reading the book “Homeless” written by Sarah Lean. Taylor would recommend it because she says it takes her into a magical land in her imagination and it has a dog named Homeless.

Mataya is reading the book “The Wrong Book” written by Nick Bland. Mataya would recommend this book because it is good to read; it’s fun and exciting.

Yazzi is reading the book “Consentino: Rabbit Rescue” written by Consentino. Yazzi would recommend this book because it has a lot of characters like Ace Locki, Chance and many more. There are lots of magic tricks and it’s full of intriguing magic, mysteries and characters.

Chloe M is reading the book “Dork Diaries: Dear Dork” written by Rachel Ren Russell. Chloe would recommend this book because it is funny and there are many books in this series.

Declean is reading “Extra Time” written by Morris Gleitzman. Declean would recommend this book because he likes the author and finds the story funny. It is about a boy who likes soccer.

Cooper is reading “The Pharlap Mystery” written by Sophie Masson. Cooper said he would recommend this book because it is about a boy who tries to get his Dad a job. His Dad gets a job and tries to find out who tried to shoot Pharlap before the 1930 Melbourne Cup.

Chloe L is reading “Dork Diaries: Party Time” written by Rachel Renee Russell. Chloe would recommend this book because she finds it interesting and the drawings have a lot of detail. The author and illustrator have made a fantastic job in making it look like a real diary. She likes the book and the girls in it.

Tuckerbox Tips

The early and middle primary years are ones of slow and steady physical growth. Very low fat or restricted diets are not recommended – a healthy balanced approach to eating and activity is suggested for all children.

During these years children move to a more traditional eating pattern of three main meals each day. For busy, active children a ‘top up’ in between main meals is still important to keep them alert and on the go. A healthy snack at recess and after school is usually needed.

Packed lunches from home are a great way for your child to learn about healthy food and help with preparation. Packaging can sometimes be tricky for little fingers – make sure your child is able to unwrap or open the food in their lunchbox by him/herself.

Lyn Aherne – Canteen Supervisor

Move Well Eat Well

Get Your Family Outside!

Here are some simple ways to become a more active family:

• Be active together. Quality time isn’t time in front of the TV or eating takeaway food in the car. Plan some trips. Picnics are great or a day at the footy or cricket. Being active together will improve personal relationships and get your family communicating better.
• Go for free family fun. Not all family activities cost you money. There are many free activities like a family walk or a game in the backyard or in the local park.
• Explore ways to be an active family. Explore a national park, go bushwalking, bike ride together, go beachcombing!
• Take part in community events. Help organise fun events in your community, volunteer for a litter clean-up or a working bee.

MWEW Team

East Devonport Community House

Free Community Event

Visit the Dreambuilders event page on Facebook for more information.