From the Principal
Dear Parents,
I hope this message finds you well.
One of the things that makes our school special is the close relationship between our teachers and our parent body. Every year, in our survey, the overwhelming feedback I receive from you is about the genuine care and support our teachers provide to your children. This strong sense of community is what sets us apart from other schools, and it’s something we deeply value.
I remember being so blown away by the generosity of our parents when my kids were born. Presents, well wishes, prayers, etc. This is something that all of our teachers have experienced on the journey of being a HPCS employee and something that I’ve always loved about our school. The strong sense of togetherness, support through challenges and the bond that comes from a shared faith, it really is a wonderful partnership.
As we move forward together let’s continue to maintain appropriate boundaries, by ensuring the following guidelines are met.
- Please refrain from contacting teachers on their personal phones. If you need to communicate with a teacher, please use the official channels provided by the school. I know many of you have relationships with our teachers, through church or kids friendships, etc. However, it is not appropriate for you to contact a teacher through social media, or send them a text message at night about a school matter.
- If you happen to attend the same church as a teacher, please remember that on a Sunday, they are trying to enjoy time worshiping with their family. While casual conversations about school are fine, please avoid discussing specific student matters, or big picture discussions. This should be done by booking an appointment with a teacher.
- Understand that teachers may not always be able to respond immediately to emails. Please allow 24-48 hours for a response. Unless the matter is urgent (which happens very rarely at our school), in which case you can phone the school or email me directly.
- We are getting continual pressure from families who decide to take holidays during the year to provide large amounts of work. If you decide to take your child on a trip during the year, it is not a realistic expectation that teachers will plan weeks worth of personalised work.
- When speaking with teachers after school, please consider making an appointment if you need to discuss a matter in depth. A quick chat is fine, but anything more than a few minutes should be a scheduled time. There are also parent teacher interviews that occur in Term 2.
As I mentioned last year, there is a nationwide shortage of teachers, particularly Christian teachers. The responsibility is on all of us to ensure that we are creating the best possible environment for our staff. We are extremely blessed at our school to have a group of committed and caring teachers. They embody the values and mission of the school and are excellent practitioners.
I also want you to feel supported and that if something arises you should contact the school; by following the above guidelines, I believe that we will ensure we get the best possible outcomes together.
Our school community thrives on the strong relationships between staff and parents, and I’m confident that by working together, we can continue to maintain these positive connections.
Parent Information Session
There is information below about the cyber safety parent session we are hosting next term. I’d encourage all of you to come to it. It will take place after chapel in Week 2, Term 2.
High school information
The principal of RPCS Les Barnard came and handed out some flyers for our year 5 and 6 students today. The time is coming for you as parents to think about where you will send your children to high school (I know it is hard to believe!). If you need any thoughts or advice in this area, please let me know.
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 link for you to order the last lunch order for the term.
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).
Easter Celebrations Reminders.
- Easter Chapel will be on Thursday 28 March @ 1pm
- Easter Hat Parade will follow after Chapel
- Easter Colour-in Competition closes on Tuesday 26 March
Exciting new merchandise available.
Our new Sport House Shirts have arrived. They are available at the uniform shop for $20 each.
These shirts cannot be worn on Wednesdays for sport but only for the following occasions:
-Swimming carnival
-Athletics carnival
-Cross country
The shirts are not compulsory to buy, students can still wear any appropriate item of their sport house colour.
After some rainy days, HPCS has gotten branded umbrellas! They are extra large and have a wind vent for extra windy days.
They are available for purchase from uniform shop at $50 each. Hurry we have limited stock available!
Uniform Appointments.
The colder weather is fast approaching.
A two week turnover period will happen in Term 2. During this time either the complete Summer or the complete Winter uniform can be worn, but not a mixture of the two. Full winter uniform needs to be worn by after these two weeks.
Currently the uniform shop operates Tuesday and Friday mornings from 8:15 until 10:00. Staring next week, appointments can be booked on Tuesdays to Fridays during office hours by sending an email to uniforms@hpcs.nsw.edu.au.
HPCS Musical Save the date.
This year we are excited to announce that our school will be putting on a production of ‘Jonah: A Fishy Tale‘ in September. This modern Jonah And The Whale musical adaptation has a balmy, summertime feel to it. It contains an exhilarating mix of sea-themed songs featuring sun, waves and a bunch of scurvy pirates, while telling the story of Jonah from the Bible.
Every student from Kindergarten through to Year 6 will be performing as part of the cast for this musical. They will be learning a musical item (including singing and dancing) to perform in their music class across Term 2 and Term 3. It is such a great opportunity for kids to be a part of something like this and gives them valuable learning experiences.
Musicals have been an exciting part of our school for a number of years and we are excited to once again participate in this process.
Please forward any questions about the musical to mrsbritton@hpcs.nsw.edu.au.
The musical will be help on 12 and 13 September 2024. Further information will follow.
Online Safety Parent Session
Mr. Britton previously 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.
Therefore the school has arranged a Online Safety Parent session for all parents wanting to join this presentation after Chapel.
We have booked a Year 5 and 6 session that will take place after the parent’s presentation.
Please find all the information below.
Students of the Week
Congratulations to the following students for receiving Merit Awards this week:
Kindergarten – S
Rafael R. for his fantastic effort in Guided Reading!
Lucca R. for his positive attitude towards learning!
Kindergarten – G
Jude G. for being an independent student with a great love of learning.
Natalie M. for her helpful and enthusiastic attitude in class.
Year 1
Amaris N. for producing neat work in all KLA’s.
Kathlyn S. for making excellent predictions in Literacy.
Roman L. for consistently displaying the value kindness.
Year 2
Serenity L. for taking pride in the presentation of her work.
Aleksa K. for her outstanding effort in class!
Year 3
Valeti T. for showing kindness and respect to her peers.
Lavina T. for writing an engaging narrative using action verbs.
Hannah G. for working cooperative and fairly in group work.
Year 4
Aurora F. for being a great team leader in Spot.
Jonatas B. for his wonderful effort in handwriting.
Theoni Y. for her active participation in class.
Year 5
Patrick O. for an outstanding effort in learning about factors in Maths!
Meyana-Miracle N. for insightful and mature contribution to class devotions.
Year 6
Jason A. for having an optimistic and resilient attitude when learning something new.
Bella P. for her observant and meticulous approach towards learning.
Pen Licenses:
Alannah T.
Save the Dates: Upcoming Dates
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