Hallett Cove East Primary School

• March 28th & 31st - Footsteps Dance Harmony Day Cultural Celebrations
  

Dear Parents/Caregivers,

CONGRATULATIONS TO STUDENT LEADERS

Congratulations to all our Year 6s who have been chosen for the following student leadership roles:

Lighthouse Leaders:         Jake, Grace, Jacob, Cooper, Lewis, Pippa

Wellbeing Leaders:           Aarish, Layla, Jonah, Dustin, Olivia, Keira

Physical Activity Leaders:  Oliver, Xavier, Olivia, Luke, Ruby, Gemma, Georgia, Evan

Charity Champions:          Jasmine, Joshua, Tom, Levi, Olivia, Oliver, Harry, Brenton

Literature Lovers:              Xavier, Carrick, Roxaun, Toby

Environment Leaders:      Kialee, Tilly, Ivy, Jessica, Reuben, Noah, Charlotte                    

Digital Citizenship Leaders:  Logan, Alex, Joshua, Samuel            

We wish all these students good luck as they commence working with staff mentors developing programs during this term for the remainder of the year. A special thank you to Ms Hayden, Mrs Pudney, Joey, Mr Charlton, Ms Burford, Mrs Clews, Ms Taylor, Mrs Gully, Mrs Burgess, Mr Marks and Mr White who will be the mentors for these leaders.

Today the student leaders were presented to all other students, described their roles, said their pledge and received their certificates.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND 2021 ANNUAL REPORT

Thank you to the parents who were able to attend the AGM on Monday night.

The new Governing Council was officially endorsed. Thank you to new council members for your future work for and commitment to the governance of our school. The members of the 2022/2023 Governing Council, including a list of office bearers and other positions, will appear in the next newsletter, after our first meeting of the new Governing Council.

We still have a couple of vacancies on Governing Council and are able to accept further nominations. So if you are interested, please contact the school.

The 2021 Annual Report was presented and approved by attendees at AGM. The report is now available to view in the school’s website.

COVID UPDATES

This is the end of week 8 and this week we were due to receive an update on further lifting of restrictions in Department for Education sites for weeks 9-11. We did receive an update late yesterday afternoon. It stated  that although some lifting of restrictions were originally flagged for week 9 onwards, due to the current situation, the existing restrictions will remain in place for the remainder of the term. You would already be aware that Professor Nicola Spurrier announced this week that 5 cases of COVID in a class across a week would lead to a request for all students in that class to have a PCR test and that if the numbers increased to 10+ over the week, the class would be closed for a brief period of time to allow for infection control. To date, we have already had 3 classes where parents/caregivers have received SA Health information requesting that students undertake PCR testing. So we are certainly involved in these protocols at the moment. This is why it is still very important for us to follow the department restrictions closely until we are told otherwise. This means that we will continue to minimise adults on site to only those who are volunteers supporting programs that could not otherwise run and those who need to meet with leaders for urgent and specific reasons. We will update you as soon as there are any changes to this.  Please also remember to keep children who are at all unwell at home and have them tested as we are seeing a wide variety of symptoms from those who are testing positive. I continue to thank the school community for your support. I know this is a challenging, frustrating and quite scary time but it is great to know that we are all working together as a team towards minimising the risks for everyone in the school community.

NAPLAN

In Term 2 in Weeks 2 and 3, (starting May 10th), we will be participating in the NAPLAN testing program. All students in Years 3 and 5 are expected to participate in NAPLAN tests. NAPLAN tests give you information on how your child is progressing against national standards. This information can be used to identify areas in which your child may benefit from additional assistance. NAPLAN does not replace, but rather complements assessments run by your child's classroom teacher throughout the year. NAPLAN assesses literacy and numeracy skills that students have already learnt through the school curriculum. Teachers will ensure that students are familiar with the test formats and will provide appropriate support and guidance. Excessive preparation is not useful and can lead to unnecessary anxiety.

NAPLAN tests are constructed to give students an opportunity to demonstrate skills they have learnt over time through the school curriculum, and NAPLAN test days should be treated as just another routine event on the school calendar. The best way you can help your child prepare for NAPLAN is to reassure them that NAPLAN tests are just one part of their school program, and to advise them to simply do the best they can on the day. A nutritious breakfast each day and a good night’s sleep will also help them do their best.

ACARA does not recommend the use of commercial products, such as booklets and practice tests, to help your child prepare for NAPLAN tests. None of the commercial products currently on the market were endorsed by ACARA. The use of services by coaching providers is not recommended.

This year, we will again be participating in NAPLAN online and there was a national practice test day. This practice is not to test student learning, but rather to test that our electronic devices and the online platform are ready and capable both across Australia and within our site.

If you have any questions about your child's preparation for NAPLAN, please make a time to speak with your child's teacher. Further information can also be found at www.nap.edu.au/naplan/parent-carer-support. 

With regards

Anne Rathjen

Principal

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Firstly a big thank you to all our families for the way that they are supporting the school during these times of changing conditions. We have tried to minimise impacts of staff absences but appreciate your understanding. I know I have answered the front office phone and have got myself tongue tied trying to work out if it is an internal or external call! We are constantly monitoring updates from the department and trying to adhere to the changing requirements but if you have any questions please ask your class teacher or contact the front office.

On Monday 21st March the staff in the front office had a delightful visit from our music teacher Mrs Bailey and students from 3N. They stood outside Mrs Rathjen’s office and sang an inspiring song about Harmony Day. The message was very thoughtful and the rendition was very touching. Thank you again to these members of our school community.

Uniform

I have noticed, as the mornings have become colder, that some students are arriving at school not dressed fully in the governing council approved uniform. More information can be found on the website but I would draw your attention to the following excerpt:

 “The following items are also part of the school uniform and can be purchased at a number of stores that supply school uniform clothing. · Grey school pants\cargo pants, double knee trousers · Maroon or grey track pants · Maroon shorts – micro-fibre, rugby knit shorts · Grey school shorts, cargo shorts · Maroon/Grey skirt – appropriate length · Maroon/Grey skirt/ netball skirt (worn with black or maroon sports underwear or shorts) · Maroon/Grey skorts · Grey leggings when worn under a skirt, pinafore or dress”

You will note that black leggings or tracksuit pants are not part of our uniform nor are any leggings worn on their own. The skirts, and shorts, are requested to be of an appropriate length.

Should you wish to have any part of the uniform policy altered you should contact any member of governing council to ask how you would go about this.

Second Hand Uniforms

Please see the good news further on in the newsletter.

Canteen News

Although we won’t be having a special lunch this term do be on the lookout for information from Helen, our canteen manager, about recess time Hot Cross Buns in the last week of term. I believe they will be able to be ordered on the Qkr App but Helen will provide more information closer to the time.

Information From SAPOL’s Media Section

The SA Police Road Safety Centre is a leader in road safety education and contributes to a reduction in the frequency and severity of road trauma in South Australia.

Recently Hallett Cove East PS year 5/6 classes took part in School Crossing Monitor Training. This training is delivered to students aged 10 years or older, teachers and school volunteers who want to operate a school crossing or pedestrian-activated traffic lights. We have a pedestrian-activated crossing on Quailo Ave that has monitors from 8:30am until about 8:42am and from 3:05pm until 3:20pm or until all students have left the school.

This training was provided by a member of the South Australia Police Road Safety Centre and educated students on how to safely stop vehicles approaching a school crossing to facilitate the safe crossing of pedestrians. All participants have received a certificate issued on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, authorising them to be school crossing monitors.

We ask all parents/guardians to take the time to talk to their children about road safety. It is important that all parents/guardians are good road safety role models and we encourage you to discuss with your child what they learnt from the road safety session.

For more information on school crossing monitor training or on road safety please visit www.police.sa.gov.au/road-safety/resources

Kind Regards,

Andrea Hayden

Deputy Principal

We are now half way through the first half of term 1 and planning and preparation is being carried out for Class Excursions with one happening on Monday.  A timely reminder that incursions/excursions/camps etc must be paid prior to students attending and participating.

Please make sure you have cleared your accounts to allow your child to attend and participate in all planned activities.

Please call the Business Manager if you are having difficulty settling your school accounts.

MATERIALS AND SERVICES FEES/INCURSION EXCURSION LEVY/SCHOOL CARD

 Materials and services fees together with the 2022 incursion/excursion levy invoices of $60 should now be cleared,

 if you have overlooked settling your account we urge

 you to pay the $60 incursion/excursion levy as soon as possible. 

We provide our community with several payment options, cash, cheque, EFTPOS, a 24/7 BPOINT payment option via our school website, alternatively

fees can be paid via the Qkr App which is our preferred form of payment.

We also have an online direct debit payment option which allows our families and caregivers to select a regular payment option to be deducted from a selected bank account or credit card on a weekly/ fortnightly or monthly basis. If you would like to take up this option please complete the application online via the school website. Details on how to access the Qkr App are available via the school website.

Please note this year school card applications should be submitted online, please read the attached information and click this link for step by step instructions to lodge your application online

If you do not qualify for the 2022  School Card but you are experiencing financial difficulty with settling your account please contact the school finance officer to arrange a payment plan.

Imelda Jolly

Business Manager

Joey Traeger

Pastoral Care Worker at HCEPS Wednesday and Friday

Joey.Traeger704@schools.sa.edu.au

On the 17th of March 2 North and 2 South made butterflies for Harmony Day.  We wrapped some wool around two pop sticks that were stuck together with a hot glue gun.  For the body we wrapped wool around in a crisscross shape, put a pipe cleaner on, some googly eye's and voila!

By Elsie G and Ella M 

2N

Volunteers are important to our school community. Our canteen relies on help from volunteers to deliver a meal service to our pupils.

To enable us to provide a varied recess and lunch menu offer to our pupils we really do need your help.   

If you have a spare hour or more we would welcome your support.

Not registered with the school as a volunteer?  Volunteer application packs are available from the front office containing all the information you need to submit your registration as a volunteer...... WE NEED YOU

Great news – the Second-hand uniform shop is back up and running and loaded full of clothes of all sizes.

It will be run a little differently until parents/caregivers are allowed back on site.

If you are wanting something from the shop, either please email hcepsfundraising@gmail.com what you are after or contact the school office and let them know.

Items will then be left at the office to be placed into your child’s class pigeon hole once payment is made via the Qkr app under Payments – Optional Payments.

If you have any uniform items in good condition that are now surplus to your needs our volunteers would appreciate donations.  

Donations can be left at the administration office. Thank you.

Volunteers are urgently needed to help with next terms Mother’s Day stall. Week 1 - Thursday 5th May morning (8.30-10.30). Even if only an hour or so - it will help out enormously. This is a fun event to help out with, helping the kids choose gifts for their loved ones.

You must have completed all the volunteering requirements & shown proof of double vaccination or willing to do so.

If interested or have any questions please email hcepsfundraising@gmail.com. 

Qkr App (pronounced quicker) is Hallett Cove East Primary School and Out of School Hours/Vacation Care preferred form of payment. 

Please click for more details Qkr App

Download on the App Store or Get it on Google Play