From the Principal
Dear Parents,
This week, I had the opportunity to speak with the Year 5 and 6 students regarding online safety and appropriate behavior. It’s a recurring topic because students in these grades often encounter challenges related to online communication and navigating the cyber environment responsibly.
The evolving landscape of the digital world has prompted concerns, with recent studies highlighting the detrimental impact of excessive social media and gaming on the mental health of tweens and teens.
I firstly acknowledge, there are no easy fixes to many of these issues. The difficulty these days is that many friendships for our tweens are intertwined based on common interests which often move into the online realm. Additionally, families have various standards and expectations, all of which vary.
Here are some key points I wish to underscore for our parent community to consider:
- Drawing from my experience as an educator and leader, I firmly believe that unrestricted internet access for primary school children is never a good idea. Regardless of their maturity level, the allure of curiosity will likely lead them to stumble upon inappropriate content, contrary to your values as a family.
- Social media fosters an unhealthy culture of comparison, robbing individuals of genuine joy. There have been several studies lately, linking excessive social media use with teenage depression and eating disorders. It’s crucial to instill in our children the value of authenticity and self-acceptance, steering them away from the trap of constantly measuring themselves against others’ curated online personas.
- The impact of excessive screen time on sleep cannot be overstated. Encouraging healthy habits, such as keeping phones out of bedrooms, is essential so our children are getting enough sleep.
- Platforms like TikTok and Snapchat have age restrictions for good reason, emphasizing the importance of age-appropriate online interactions and content consumption.
- Please know that people are more comfortable being rude and saying things in an online setting that they wouldn’t say in real life. Children seem to think that if they are behind a keyboard or a phone that more things are “fair game”. We do need to be having healthy conversations with our kids around what they say in an online setting is just as hurtful as in real life.
- Teaching children to exercise caution when interacting with strangers online, never agreeing to meet offline, and refraining from sharing personal information or photos is crucial in safeguarding their digital well-being. Whilst we think this will never happen to our child, unfortunately, these incidents albeit extremely rare, do happen.
I know that I am preaching to the converted, but remember that you are the parent. You have every right to take technology away from your child if they can’t be trusted with it. That is not cruel or denying your child an intrinsic right. Instead we are fulfilling the God given mandate as parents, so that we can effectively ensure we are providing a safe environment for them.
I also know that I am far from an expert in this field, as I found out this week, when our Year 6’s told me that “only old people have instagram”. I’m excited to announce an upcoming session for all of you as parents that we will be hosting in the next few months, featuring one of Australia’s leading experts in online safety and behaviour. This opportunity will provide invaluable insights and strategies to support our children in navigating the digital world responsibly. I will have the details in the next fortnight or so and I would greatly encourage you to come along.
Next Week:
Please note that I will be away from Wednesday-Friday next week at the annual NSW CSA principals conference. Mrs Davila will be assuming the role of acting principal in my absence, supported by Mrs Stevens. Whilst I hate being away from school, I think it is vital for you, our kids and our staff that I am up to date with what is going on in the broader educational landscape as this will always flow to our school.
Good luck:
Good luck to Joshua Denning, Levi, Boaz and Isaac Kaufmann, who are representing the school at the zone swimming carnival on Monday. We wish you all the very best and are proud of you!
My door is always open,
Joe Britton
Lunch Orders
Our Term 1 Lunch Orders are open! Thank you again to Georgette and her team for providing this service to our school community.
Lunch orders will take place every second Friday for Term 1, starting Friday the 9th of February 2024.
Please see below the menu and associated links for you to order lunches.
8 March: Ham, Cheese and Tomato Sandwich with a small Fruit Cup, with or without a drink (Click here)
22 March: Hamburger with Tomato sauce, Lettuce and Tomato, with or without a drink (Click here)
5 April: Chicken Pasta Salad with Peas, Corn, Carrots and Mayo, with or without a drink (Click here)
A reminder our orders close on Thursdays at 11am.
If you have any questions, please email or speak with Mrs Jordaan (pa@hpcs.nsw.edu.au).
Our 2024 Student Leaders.
Each week we will introduce one of our four sets of captains:
- School captains
- Vice school captains
- Christian Service captains
- Co-curricular captains
This week we are pleased to introduce our two Christian Service Captains: Ezekiel Godoy and Princess Janaiah Hular. We asked them a few questions and these were their answers:
Question 1: What do you think you are good at?
– I think I am good at Bible studies, soccer, maths, electric guitar, taking care of my family, including my dog Dash, help with stuff at church and build Lego.
Question 2: If you had to live with a cartoon character, who would you pick?
– If I had to live with a cartoon characters it would be Tom and Jerry.
Question 3: What is something you would like to learn how to do?
– I would like to learn 15 electric guitar songs.
Question 4: What is one thing you would like to do at school in your leadership role?
– I would like to start a students only band for chapel and for students to dive deeper in God’s love.
Question 1: What do you think you are good at?
– My opinion n on what I’m good at is, is to encourage others with kindness and respect.
Question 2: If you had to live with a cartoon character, who would you pick?
– If I could live with any cartoon character, I would pick Gwen from Spiderman.
Question 3: What is something you would like to learn how to do?
– I would love to learn how technology works.
Question 4: What is one thing you would like to do at school in your leadership role?
– The one thing that I would like to do at school as a Christian Service Captain is to teach people about God.
Daily Life at HPCS
Can you find all the words in the words search? If you are a true HPCS student all these will have a great meaning to you.
SPORT
CHAPEL
LIBRARY
HANDBALL COURT
PRINCIPAL
HOPEPOINT
BIBLE
MUSICAL
MERIT AWARD
CLUBS
PLAYGROUND
Crossword puzzle answers.
Here are the answers from last week’s cross word puzzle.
Across:
2. Levi
3. Truth
5. Verandah
6. Music
9. Coffee Cart
12. Burgess
Down:
1. Calvary Chapel.
4. Homestead
7. Spirit
8. Bible
9. Chapel
10. Four
11. Possum
Students of the Week
Congratulations to the following students for receiving Merit Awards this week:
Kindergarten – S
Joshua F. for showing excellent listening skills!
Mia G. for being a kind and respectful students!
Kindergarten – G
Joshua H. for creating block patterns.
Miguel I. for great illustrations for “Where’s the Gold?”
Year 1
Oscar B. for his creative character description in Writing.
Ariana K. for being a great leader in Year 1.
Elysse M. for increasing her confidence and participation in class.
Year 2
Ava A. for her kindness and helpfulness in class.
Helena O. for showing courage when answering questions in class.
Sarah B. for always giving things a go and trying her best.
Year 3
Ana Clara G. R. for creating a beautiful landscape drawing is Visual Arts.
Isaac P. A. for using movement and coordination skills in Sport lessons.
Rosie G. for using a range of action verbs building tension in writing.
Year 4
Leon K. for his detailed predictions in English.
Rai B. for her thorough understanding of whole numbers.
Mia C. for her thoughtful answers in PDH.
Year 5
Josephine K. for an excellent effort in reading!
Tahlia M. for a brilliant effort in creative writing!
Emily H.for consistently completing classwork to an outstanding level!
Year 6
Princess Janaiah H. for handling challenges in a mature manner.
Julia T. M. for her enthusiastic, resilient and hardworking attitude.
Pen licenses:
Jonathan G.
Lucy W.
Josephine K.
Save the Dates: Upcoming Dates
26 February: Zone Swimming Carnival
1 March: Year 3 Chapel
8 March: Year 2 Chapel
15 March: Kindergarten S Chapel
22 March: Kindergarten G Chapel
28 March: Easter Chapel
28 March: Easter Hat parade
5 April: Year 6 Chapel
12 April: Year 5 Chapel
12 April: End of term 1