21 May 2020

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From the Principal

Dear Families,

Here we are, almost in the middle of Term 2! Thanks to the hard work and extra effort from our Hillcrest Primary School staff team, and the patience and commitment from our school community, we have had a positive start to the term. We understand that this has been a tough period for most, and we want to thank you for staying connected.

I am absolutely delighted to announce that I have been appointed to Hillcrest Primary School through to the end of the year. It is fantastic to be able to provide some stability for our students and families in times where there has been uncertainty. I look forward to continuing our important work together.

Below is a snapshot of our engagement taken from May 4 through to May 11 of Term 2.

This week our staff have been busily preparing for ‘return to school’ and are really looking forward to seeing you all on Monday, May 25th. Over the past few days you will have noticed our return to school plan featured on our Facebook and Seesaw sites. Please ensure that you continue familiarise yourself with this important information and follow the advice. This will help support the safe operation of our school.

Physical Distancing in Schools During COVID-19

Public Health advice is clear – it is safe for schools to be open. This is because we have a low rate of Coronavirus (COVID-19) community spread in Tasmania and there has been increased and expanded testing. To reduce the risk even further, schools have hygiene and physical distancing measures in place.

While it is safe to send your child/ren to school, we still need adults to maintain a distance from other adults, whilst on site.

To help us with adult physical distancing, we are asking all parents/carers to:

• Stop, Drop and Go for all drops offs and pickups. We will have additional staff to help children make their way to classes. This means you will not need to get out of your car.
• If you need to talk to your child’s teacher, please call the school office on 6424 5211 or send a message via the Seesaw app.
• If you need to contact the school office, please call on the above number or email us at hillcrest.primary@education.tas.gov.au
• If you would like to contact me directly, please email susan.barnard@education.tas.gov.au

We want to make school as safe as possible for everyone. Feel free to ask questions if you require any further information. These procedures won’t be forever, but we all have a shared responsibility to act in a way that supports everyone being safe.

See you safely soon!

More information is available on the Department of Education website below:

Susan Barnard - Principal

School Association AGM

The Hillcrest Primary School Association is a group of parents, school staff and members of the broader community. The primary role of this group is to support staff with the development of directions and values of the school, through communication and by providing feedback on policy and priorities. It is a great opportunity to work together for the benefit of all children who attend our school.

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) for the Association is to be held on Thursday, 11 June commencing at 7 pm. All school community members are invited to attend, even if you are not interested in joining the committee.

This year due to social distancing restrictions the meeting will be held online using Microsoft Teams. Teams is a simple video conferencing platform, allowing attendees to meet from remote locations. You’ll just need an internet connection and a device (phone, tablet or computer) with a camera.

If you would like to attend, please phone the school office to let them know by Friday, 5 June to register your interest. You will then be emailed a link with instructions prior to the meeting.

Susan Barnard - Principal

5-6 Kelly

Well, it has been a lot different to what we are all used to, but students in 5/6 K (aka The Kelly Gang) have been continuing their Learning at Home…and being quite creative in how they are showing us their learning. They have been continuing with their spelling, learning about reading and understanding a procedural text and then having a go at writing their own. They have also been building, cooking, measuring around the home and taking in some of the sunshine and creating Art from what can be found around us. Here is just a small selection of some of what we have been doing whilst we have been Learning at Home.

I can’t wait to have the Gang all back together again at school next week.

Cheers, Mrs Kelly

Hillcrest Tuckerbox

A revised menu will be sent home with students next week when everyone returns to school. This Term Two modified menu will be printed on blue paper so please dispose of any other menus you might have left from Term One. Please find this menu below as well as on Facebook.

Lyn Aherne – Canteen Supervisor

Tuckerbox Tips

While you’re staying home with a little more time on your hands, why not head to the kitchen and update your old recipes? Get the kids involved and try these ways to ‘green up’ muffins and cupcakes for lunchboxes and morning teas:

• Go for a fruit or veggie-based recipe - blueberry, raspberry, carrot, apple, pear or zucchini.

• Think smaller - consider making mini muffins or smaller cupcakes
• Swap the frosting, icing or cream for a dusting of icing sugar, cocoa or sliced fruit
• Swap some ingredients in the recipe:
   -   Flour - add more fibre by using half wholemeal flour and half white flour
   -   Fats & oils - swap butter for margarine and use mono or polyunsaturated oil (e.g. canola or sunflower) to reduce the saturated or ‘bad’ fat
   -   Dairy - choose reduced fat rather than full cream
   -   Sugar - reduce the amount by aiming for a ratio of 1/2c (or less) sugar to 2c of flour

Lyn Aherne - Coordinator

Move Well Eat Well

Fun Fresh Fruit Facts

• Did you know that a banana is considered both a fruit and a herb?
  The banana tree is not a tree at all as its stem doesn’t contain woody tissue, which makes it a herb. And, by definition, a fruit develops from a flower and contains the seeds of that plant, which is exactly what a banana does. Now, we don’t really see seeds in commercially grown bananas, but wild bananas are almost inedible as they contain loads of big black seeds!

• Knowing your fruits & vegetables:
  We all know that tomatoes are fruits and not vegetables, but did you know that other vegetable-like fruits include capsicums, cucumbers and even chilis?
• We’ve all heard the saying ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’ right?
  Well, it’s not far from the truth. If you include fresh fruit and vegetables every day - at breakfast, in your lunchbox, after school and at dinner time - all your organs will thank you by functioning at their best and making you as well, strong, fast and smart as you can be!

MWEW Team