20 December 2018

Newsletter Articles

Dates to Remember

2019

Term Dates – 2019

From the Principal

It has been a very busy year- I cannot believe another year has passed us by! As always, we have had a very hectic couple of weeks and I am sure everyone is looking forward to the holiday season.

Canteen Volunteer of the Year

It is always great to celebrate success and I am pleased to share some exciting news for our community. Theresa Johns has been a dedicated volunteer in the canteen for the last seven years. Theresa has recently been recognised as The Canteen Volunteer of the Year for 2018, awarded by the Tasmanian School Canteen Association. Congratulations, Theresa! We are very proud of your achievement.

Reece High Awards

It was also great to hear that four grade 7 students previously from Hillcrest were recognised for their achievements at the Reece High School Final Assembly. Well done to Bridie P, Zack B, Seche M and Jye B, who all received recognition.

Children’s University

It was a fantastic opportunity to attend the Town and Gown Parade in Burnie last week. I was very proud of our students who represented our school so well. Congratulations to the following students who graduated after getting more than 30 hours of extra-curricular learning in their learning passports this year - Charli, Bianca, Mataya, Mia, Chloe L, Chloe Mc and William.

I look forward to seeing even more students graduating next year. An information session will be held early in 2019 for any students in grades 2-6 who might be interested.

Welcomes and Farewells

We will have a few staff changes going into 2019. Alissa Nutting and Mick Purton will be joining the team at Hillcrest from the beginning of 2019. Alissa has transferred from Sheffield School and will be teaching our grade 1/2 class. Mick was with us for a term on the 3/4 class and will be joining us for two days a week on a 5/6 class and two days a week as the STEM teacher. I welcome Alissa and Mick look forward to working with them.

Nina Eberhardt has left Hillcrest Primary School after 9 years in our school community. Nina has transferred to Dodges Ferry Primary School in Hobart. I wish Nina and her family all the best with her new school.

Melissa Berwick and Hannah Alexander are also leaving at the end of this year. Melissa has been with Hillcrest for two years and she has been a great member of the team. I want to thank Melissa for her dedication and flexibility and wish her all the best for her new teaching role at Port Sorell Primary.

Although Hannah has only been with us for a short time as our Launching into Learning teacher, she has made a very positive impact on our LIL program and we wish her all the best with her future plans.

Chris Nock has been working with some of our grade 6 students as a Numeracy Specialist teacher in terms 3 & 4. Chris will be taking on an AST position at Sheffield School next year. I wish Chris all the best in his new position.

Joanna Winkel will also be leaving after a short stint in the office. I would like to thank Jo for her support as School Administration Clerk during her time here at Hillcrest.

Farewell also to our grade 6 students and families who are leaving at the end of this year. I wish you all the best for your futures and look forward to hearing about the great things happening for you.

Staffing for Term 1, 2019

Launching into Learning – Carol Miller
Prep/1 – Kimberley Parker
Kinder B – Jess Bellchambers
Kinder M – Carol Miller
Prep/1 – Jaime-Lea Duff
1/2 – Alissa Nutting
2/3 – Janmaree Peace
3/4 – Vina Bonner and Karen Thompson
4/5 – Gaye Kelly
5/6 – Matt Hortle and Mick Purton
5/6 – Steve Fenn
HPE – David Carter
STEM – Mick Purton
AST and Response to Effective Intervention teacher – Ann-Maree Mulcaster
AST and Support Teacher– Prue Bezemer
AST and Instructional Coach - Literacy – Naomi Archer
Support Teacher – Jess Bellchambers
LIFT coordinator and Japanese teacher – Rosie Baker

Have a Safe Break!

As this is the last newsletter for the year, I wish to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the Hillcrest community for your ongoing support of our school. I wish everyone a well-deserved break over Christmas and hope you have an opportunity to spend time with family and friends. Have a safe break and I look forward to catching up with you in 2019!

Jerome Pape - Principal

Hilly Kids Are Friendly Kids

We have had a great year and now it is time to celebrate and look forward to next year. There have been a lot of chances to celebrate in the last week of school and we hope everyone has enjoyed themselves! Well done to all!

Our Hilly Kid of the Week for ‘Respecting Differences’ was Hayley from P-1P. Congratulations, Hayley!

Well done to our other class representatives:

Hillcrest Athletics Carnival

Many thanks to parents, staff and the Reece High School Leadership Group who assisted in making our Carnival a great success! At the end of the day Wattle (green) collected 868 points, Banksia (red) 958 points and Blue Gum (blue) 926 points. Congratulations to Banksia for winning this year’s Athletics Carnival!

David Carter – PE Teacher

Hillcrest Primary School Association

The Hillcrest Primary School Association has had another great year of fundraising. The fundraising enables us to provide valuable resources for classrooms, fund programs for students and upgrade the playgrounds and equipment. Along the way we get our families and school community together, organise, participate, share, communicate and, most of all, have fun!

A big thankyou to everyone who took time to help out at the Father’s Day and Mother’s Day stalls and pack orders on Pie Drive delivery day.

A big thankyou to everyone who donated items for our fundraising, bought and sold raffle tickets, took orders for the Pie Drive, ordered calendars, visited our Family Market, collected sponsors for the Walkathon and saved up 5¢ coins for the coin drive.

2019 is our year to hold our biennial Fair and the committee has already had meetings to start the process. We have decided to change the date from early in the year to a Saturday in October. As plans progress, we will keep you informed.

Lyn Aherne – Fundraising

Lift news

Thank you everyone for your wonderful support of all Lift activities, initiatives and events this year. Planning for 2019 is well underway! It will be great to work with you again next year as we continue to encourage and support our Hilly Kids to be the best they can be in all they do.

There are lots of ways you can help your child/ren learn during the summer holidays; for example, playing games both inside and outside, making shopping lists, reading through shopping catalogues, counting money when shopping, reading recipes and cooking or baking, talking about movies you watch … the list is endless. Above all, have fun!

Remember to visit the Devonport library during the holidays to read and borrow books.

Families who do not have their Working With Vulnerable People registration – The holiday break could be just the time to register via the link below. Remember: if you wish to attend a class excursion with your child/ren or help in the class in any way, you are required to have one.

Have a safe and happy holiday break. Merry Christmas!

Rosemarie Baker - LIFT Coordinator

Chaplain’s Chat

Earlier this year, I was passing through the HPS office when I came across one of our beautiful students who was unwell and waiting for a parent to collect her to take her home. This student was feeling miserable and teary so I stopped and stayed with her until I knew her dad was on the way to collect her. In the middle of her misery this little girl was incredibly brave and expressed her thanks to me for staying with her telling me that she “just needed a bit of extra support now and then”. I learned a lot from this little girl on this occasion. One thing I recognised was that, in the middle of a difficult situation, she recognised that she needed support and was brave enough to admit it and ask for it. For this reason, I was incredibly proud that she could speak out that need. I know that this is a Hilly Kid value that HPS students learn, recognising who they can turn to in a time of needing help. Sometimes, as adults, we can learn a lot from the children around us. Sometimes they can speak simple but profound truths into our lives.

We all need support and hopefully, as a community, HPS has been a supportive place for you and your children. I know that our teachers and staff endeavour to care for and to support all students.

As we enter the Christmas season that is one of business, excitement, but also stress at times for us as parents, may we remember the hope in the reason behind why we celebrate Christmas. I believe that in the hope of the Christmas message lies the support that we all need.

Please remember if you or your family need support that I may be able to assist you or find another avenue through the extensive network of Devonport churches.

Wishing you and your loved ones a very blessed and safe Christmas and New Year season.

Alison Hillier - Chaplain

Reminders

Newsletter 2019

If you no longer wish to receive newsletters from us in 2019, please let the school office staff know either by phoning 6424 5211, emailing hillcrest.primary@education.tas.gov.au or sending us a Facebook message. If you subscribe to the Schoolzine emailed newsletter, you can unsubscribe online.

Book Collection 2019

The school office will close at 4pm on Friday, December 21st and re-open on Tuesday, January 22nd. Please do not come in to collect books or buy uniforms, etc until January 29/30. Book collection/levy payments and uniform sales will take place January 29th & 30th strictly from 9am -2pm in the school office. Please remember to bring your lavender levy sheet, which was in your child’s report, with you on the day. Allow enough time to check and update your validation forms which will be handed out on the day. You can pay your levies and uniform by cash, cheque or eftpos. Some secondhand uniform may be cash only.

Secondhand Uniform

If you have any second hand uniform items in good shape that you won’t be needing, please consider either donating it to the school or bringing it in for us to sell on your behalf. We always have families looking for second hand uniforms!

Lost and Found

There are a number of items in our lost and found basket in the office foyer. At the end of the year any school uniform left in the basket will be washed and put into our secondhand uniform cupboard for sale. Any other items will be donated to an op shop if not claimed by 4pm this Friday.

RWVP

Remember, you must have a current Registration for Working with Vulnerable People card to do any parent help at all at the school. If you would like to help in the classroom, go on an excursion, etc, you MUST have one of these cards. Please see the LIFT article in this newsletter for information on how to register.

Enjoy your holidays and see you in 2019!

Admin Staff

Christmas Raffle Winners

Thank you to all the families that participated in our raffle and the wonderful supporters who donated the prizes. We raised over $1300! What a fantastic effort! Congratulations to the lucky winners:

1st: A. McGee
2nd: K. Gale
3rd: W. Twiss
4th: S. Farrell
5th: Ron

Lyn Aherne – Fundraising

Grade 6 Major Awards

These awards are a recognition of excellence for the 2018 year; however, through their primary years, these students have consistently displayed persistence, hard work, respect, responsibility, and resilience. It is because of these attributes that they have received the highest accolades in our school.

• Exemplary Academic Achievement Award: Chaz
• Principal’s Award for Contribution to the School: Sarita
• The Minister’s Respectful Student Award: Chelsea
• English Achievement Award: Hannah
• Mathematics Achievement Award: Jonty
• Arts Achievement Award: Shyann
• Sports Awards: Chaz & Lily
• Hilly Kids Award: Jasmine
• Improvement Award: Harrison
• Personal Growth Award: Kya

Outstanding Achievement Class Awards

Certificates of Appreciation 2018

The following students have been reliable helpers in our school for the 2018 school year and have received Certificates of Appreciation:

Student Council 2019

Students from grades 3-6, and staff recently participated in the election of the 2019 HPS Student Council. Each student participated in a process involving nominations and speeches to their peers. I congratulate, on behalf of the school community, the following students who make up the 2019 HPS Student Council: Zack, Saxon, Maya, Matilda, Yazmyn, Mylee, Gemma, Toby L, Toby P, Thomas and Kailie. Well done!

Gaye Kelly - Coordinator

Sports Leaders 2019

Congratulations to the Hillcrest Sports Leaders for 2019 who, I am sure, will do a fantastic job next year leading us all through the Daily PE programs! They are: Breanna, Zak, Saxon, Maya, Ryan, Spencer, Matilda, Mia, Gemma, Logan, Toby P, Colby, Aisha, Lillian, Ayla, Oliver and Noah.

David Carter - PE

Crazy Hair Day

On Thursday, December 6th, we held a Crazy Hair Day. All the money we raised was given to Chaz and Kai’s Shave for Piper. Thank you to the parents who helped. We had some really great hairdos!

We raised $176 to support Camp Quality.

U13 Girls Football

AFT Tasmania is keen to try a 6 week U13 Girls Footy competition in Feb/March 2019. A Friday night competition for four teams (starting 22nd Feb) is being set up for the Devonport area and will coincide with next season’s AFLW competition. Girls who are born in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and are interested to play AFL or want more information, please contact Doug Green on 0418 141 474.