17 March 2022

Newsletter Articles

Dates to Remember

2022

From the Principal

It has been a very settled term so far and I have been impressed with students’ positive approach to their learning. If you have any concerns about your child’s progress, please do not hesitate to speak with their class teacher.

As we move into the second half of the term, it is timely to remind everyone to continue to be Covid aware. We are still required to physically distance and use hand hygiene, but masks are no longer required, whilst outdoors at school. Please continue to follow Public Health advice and if you require any RATs, these can be sourced from the office. Don’t forget to stay home if you feel unwell.

A reminder that Thursday, 7th April at 7.00pm is the date set for our School Association AGM. Nominations are now open for positions on the committee. If you wish to nominate, please contact the office for a nomination form. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact the office.

Students and staff recently enjoyed an afternoon of AFL, courtesy of the Hawks, Tigers and Kangaroos. Students had the opportunity to take part in some skills-based training and got the chance to ask some questions of the players. Thanks go to everyone who helped make this visit a success.

It is always great to share student success! Melanie, Tahj and Lawi had a great weekend playing for their club in the recent National SAP (Skill Acquisition Phase) Carnival. Tahj and Lawi were also selected to play in a Tasmanian team, against NSW. Well done to all, what a great effort!

Jerome Pape - Principal

Hilly Kids Are Friendly Kids

Our Hilly Kid for last fortnights topic ‘Respecting the Environment’ was, Tamyin, Congratulations!

Well done to our other class representatives:

Respecting People

Our current Hilly Kids focus topic is Respecting People.

As adults, we are our children’s best role models and it is important that we lead by example. Being respected by important people in our lives while growing up teaches us how to be respectful toward others. Respect means that you accept somebody for who they are, even when they're different from you or you don't agree with them. Respect in your relationships builds feelings of trust, safety, and wellbeing.

Harmonious and respectful relationships come when we are showing respect for people. We all have equal rights and responsibilities. Neither gender is more important or better than the other. All people have the right to achieve their potential, knowing that they are supported by respectful relationships and friendships from everyone around them.

We can learn from each other. We all have different strengths and things we are good at! We don’t need to compete but can support each other and learn from each other so that we complement each other with our skills.

When we understand and accept each other for who we are, the world is a better place. Everybody is unique. We all have different personalities, thoughts and backgrounds. It is important to be sincere and choose friends who are respectful and trustworthy and accept you for who you are by not making judgements about you.

Look for similarities. We all have feelings, hobbies, sports, music, things we like to do that we are interested in and can share and participate in together.

NWPSSA Penguin Athletics

The NWPSSA have decided that at the current time they will be postponing the inter-primary athletics and plan to have the carnival in Term 4 (date to be decided).

Launching into Learning

EXCITING NEWS… LAUNCHING INTO LEARNING IS BACK!

STARTING FRIDAY 18th MARCH

Monday: 9:00am - 9:30am
Story-time and outdoor library
Where: Kinder courtyard

Come along and listen to a story and have the opportunity to read a story with your child. This is a great opportunity to encourage an early love of books and reading.

There will also be a book borrowing tub and fun activity game packs available to take away.

Monday 1:30-2:45AM:
Outdoor play, stay and explore
Where: Kinder playground/Hillcrest Primary nature playground

Outdoor play and stay allows children to exercise and explore their fine and gross motor skills in a fun outdoor setting. There will be a range of sensory experiences, climbing equipment and other games to develop gross motor skills.

These sessions will give you a chance to get to know our school community and develop friendships with other families.

Friday 9:30-11:00AM
LIL on Location
Where: Various locations around Devonport

These sessions encourage learning through play and provide children with a rich variety of play experiences which will help them to discover, create, improvise, and imagine. It will also provide opportunity to visit and discover new places and form connections with other families. The location of each session will be advertised weekly on the Hillcrest LIL Facebook and Seesaw page.

All Launching into Learning sessions are open to families with children from birth to five years. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

For more information, or to sign up to our Launching into Learning page, please contact the school office.

Kinder Lewis

Meet Our Kinder Artists!

In Kinder Lewis we have been talking a lot about our similarities and differences and what it is about us that makes us so special and unique. As part of our activities around this, we looked into a mirror and discussed our facial features. We then used a black marker to draw a self-portrait. We practised using our correct pencil grasp and practised our hand control as we drew. We added lots of detail to our portraits, using the mirror to help us.

We think our portraits look amazing – just like us!

Arts News

Prep to Grade 6

In Arts we will be using Indian ink and paint over the next few weeks. Indian ink is permanent ink, so the stains will not come out. Could your child please bring a smock or old t-shirt or old shirt to cover their nice yellow uniforms please. Just something old from up the back of the cupboard will be fine. Thank you.

Mrs Smallbon

Art and Music

It's been a busy start to the year with Grades 1 to 6 learning about the Chinese New Year. We learned about the lantern festival and some students made lanterns with the Chinese symbol for luck, courage, strength, etc on them. We made Chinese dragons from paper plates, egg cartons, paints, colour slicks, feathers, and crepe streamers. Some of these are on display in the office. We also learned about the Chinese Zodiac and how this year is the Year of the Tiger. Our Grade 6 students were born in the Year of the Tiger.

Prep/1's have started an Animals unit in Arts, focusing on dinosaurs. We used clay to make dinosaur fossils, made some dinosaur handprint art and used some plastic dinosaurs to make footprints across the page. We also learned a Dinosaur Stomp song and used instruments to represent the sounds 'stomp', 'chomp', 'wriggle' and 'giggle'.

In Music Grades 3 to 6 are using the new Electric Drum kit. The students are learning to read drum kit notation and learning to play along with a backing track.

Mrs Smallbon

Soccer News

We are holding a ‘Second-hand Soccer Boot Sale’ - Friday 25 March 2.45pm-3.15pm

We invite families to bring in any used soccer gear they wish to exchange/sell on Thursday 17 & Friday 18 March (this week).

Families can drop off items - boots/shin pads etc to the Front Office.

You will be provided with a label to add your name, price and size to the item.

On Friday 25 March between 2:45pm-3:15pm items will be on sale on the Primary basketball court.

What a great opportunity to pick up a bargain in preparation for the season ahead!

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 lunchboxes, 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 – Canteen Supervisor

Move Well Eat Well

How to Care for Water Bottles

When water bottles are not cleaned and stored properly, they can get smelly, slimy or mouldy. To prevent this from happening:

• Fill water bottles with fresh water only
• Tip unused water out at the end of the day
• Wash water bottles thoroughly with soapy water - the warmer the water the better
• Store empty water bottles with the lid off

• If extra cleaning is needed the following agents can be used: a sanitiser such as Milton or baby bottle sanitiser, vinegar or baking soda. Bleach is not recommended as it is not safe to consume and leaves an odour
• Water bottles can deteriorate over time - regular replacement is recommended (at a minimum at the start of the year)

MWEW Committee

School Health Nurse

Friday, 18th March is World Sleep Day!

Quality Sleep, Sound Mind, Happy World - Sleep Well to Learn Well!

Did you know that

• on average we spend 30% of our lifetime sleeping!
• just like your phone, your body and mind need to be recharged each day – for us it’s through a good night sleep!
• getting enough sleep is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. When we sleep our bodies have time to repair and grow. Sleep helps us manage our mental health, helps us learn better, boosts our immune system, and improves our memory.

How much sleep do children need?

Primary school aged: 9-11 hours
High School and College age: 8-10 hours

For sleep tips and further information, visit:

School Health Nurse Bianca can help our learners with sleep concerns – feel free to contact Bianca via the school office.

#WorldSleepDay