Henley Beach Primary School Newsletter

This week I attended the Department for Education Leaders’ conference and the key theme covered was the purpose of public education, both now and into the future. The department has commenced a consultation process with a range of stakeholders to help inform future directions and decision making and in today’s newsletter is a letter for families that invites you to provide feedback. Students in years 5 and 6 at our school have also had the opportunity to share their thoughts on a range of topics related to this area, including responding to the questions:

·        What are you hoping for, what are you excited about, what concerns do you have, if any, about your future?

·        And what can school/preschool do to help?

Along with providing their own unprompted responses, students could also select from a range of given options. Some of the aspects that were prominent in student responses included:

Hopes                                                                                                                    

·        To have a successful transition into high school

·        To be happy, healthy and have lots of family and friends                                                                      

·        To find a good job                                                                                                               

·        To get into university, or follow another pathway, so I can have an interesting career

 How school can help                                                                                         

·        By giving me heaps of opportunities and ways to explore what I love                                         

·        By teaching me different skills that will help me throughout life                                  

·        By pushing me out of my comfort zone so that I can be more successful                     

·        By teaching me how to be social, communicate and build relationships       

The department will work towards consolidating the feedback received to inform their policy development. During the conference a range of interesting contextual information was shared, including the ongoing priority of enhancing children’s connectedness to school as this is associated with greater academic achievement and wellbeing. Results from a business industry survey was also shared; when asked to rank a range of school leaver qualities, the area prioritised highest by businesses was ‘developing competencies for an uncertain future: how to learn, problem solve and collaborate’. This information is re-affirming for our school as our teachers are very proactive in enabling opportunities for all students to develop these qualities as a part of their everyday learning experiences.             

Parent Teacher Interviews

Parent-teacher interviews will be held across weeks 9 and 10 later this term. Information and booking slots will open at 4pm today which will be sent via Skoolbag.  All families are encouraged to make an appointment as interviews provide an excellent opportunity to discuss your child’s progress at school.

NAPLAN

A reminder that students in years 3 and 5 will be participating in NAPLAN Online that commences next week. The NAPLAN Online test window is 15 to 27 March (weeks 7 and 8). Whilst we encourage all students to participate in NAPLAN there are options for families who do not want their child to participate. This can be done through seeking either an exemption or withdrawal. Please speak to your child’s teacher by Friday 10 March if this is something that you want to discuss further or if you have any other queries regarding NAPLAN.

 Assembly

Our next school assembly is planned for Thursday 16 March. We look forward to announcing our 2023 student leaders to the school community at this assembly.

No school this day.

Thursday 6 April  - Early Dismissal @ 2.00pm for Easter Long Weekend

Friday 14 April - Early Dismissal @ 2.00pm for School Holidays

Dear families,

It is hard to believe that we are halfway through term 1! It has been great to see children engaged in their learning, promoting the school values and doing their best.

School crossing monitors

A huge thank you to the 50 students who have supported our school so far in keeping our crossings safe. The roster has been completed for term 1, and as we receive more returned consent forms we will be looking to develop a roster to include all people who have nominated. It has been wonderful to see the diligence that the crossing monitors have displayed the level of commitment apply to their role as school ambassador. When crossing monitors have been absent, other students have willingly stepped into support which is greatly appreciated. Keep up the great work crossing monitors!

Wellbeing at HBPS

Belinda, our Youth Worker, is available to meet with parents from 9:00-9:30am Tuesday and Thursdays in the Wellbeing room (next to the front office). There is no need to book, feel free to drop in and have a chat.

As a part of our commitment to supporting the social and emotional development of our students we implement wellbeing groups for small groups of students. These groups are designed to support the development of social skills, engagement and interactions with peers, managing emotions and regulation. Activities in these groups complement classroom practices faciltated by teachers.

We have consistently had strong attendance at our chess, lego and art/drawing clubs this term which are held during lunch times. Students have made a number of suggestions about changes and improvements to these groups which is supporting student voice across the site.

Reading Presentation

Our Reading Presentation session as part of our acquaintance night was a huge success. A warm thank you to all families who made time to attend. We are actively encouraging all families to support reading at home. The difference for children who read just 10 minutes per day compared to students who read 1 minute per day is significant. Listening to your child read at home is one of the most powerful ways families can support their child's learning progress at school.

Recount of Camp

On Wednesday the 15th of February my class went to camp, it was called Arbury Park Outdoor School, where you stay and learn about nature and wildlife. We went with Miss Izzy’s class and half of Tracy’s class. 

One fun game we played was called Web of Life. It was a game where there was one top predator, five other predators and the rest were herbivores. We played in a forest and the top predator could catch anyone, even the other predators, but the predators could only catch the herbivores. The herbivores could not catch anyone, their objective was to hunt for food and water that was hidden around the forest without getting caught by the predators. Everyone had eight life cards in a sack and if a herbivore got caught then they would hand over a life card to the predator that caught them. It was the same for the predators, if they got caught by the top predator then they would hand over a card. If you ran out of life cards then you would go to the hospital and they would give you more life cards. The predator’s objective was to catch the herbivores and collect water. There were two teachers and they were a natural disaster and a man-made destruction, if they saw you and called your name you would have to hand them one life card. We counted all the life cards at the end and I ended up with thirty-eight because I was a predator. I really liked Web of Life. It was one of my favourite things that we did.

The dorms were really cool with all the bunk beds around, as soon as we got there, we quickly got a bed that we liked. I got a top bunk next to the door and Jack M was below me. Lewis was across from me on the top and Andre was below him. Behind me was Jett on the top and Lucas on the bottom, and across from them was Hudson on the top and Max below him. The beds were a bit small but they were pretty comfy. We were only allowed in there if we were getting something or we were sleeping. When we slept it was pretty hard to get to sleep because it was very, very hot, sometimes we would sneakily whisper to each other. We were also the closest dorm to the showers so we could get a shower most of the time. Overall the dorms were nice and I liked them a lot.

Food was a big part of Arbury Park Outdoor School, they fed us five times a day. The meals were breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. The food they made was so delicious. They made all sorts of food and drinks like wraps, burgers, milkshakes, juices and much more. My favourite was breakfast. We had cereal, a choice of milo or orange juice, boiled eggs and toast. But I also liked the lunch and the strawberry milkshake (you can’t forget the dessert). We would have food every hour and a half, and I would always be excited to see what we had next to eat. There was a menu up near where we got our food and it would tell us what we would have for the meal. The building for the food was called the dining room and that’s also where we did the talent show.

The most fun thing we did (in my opinion) was orienteering. You have a map and there are locations on the map and you have to find the locations. We did orienteering on the first day and the map was pretty easy. My group finished it and then we had to unscramble the letters that we found. The words were air, water, energy and habitat, it was fun trying to find the letters. On the last day we did a lot harder map. It was explained to us and then we went off. I partnered up with Ruby, and we had trouble finding the first one but managed the rest. We had completed the first map so we went back to the teacher. On the way to one location, a kangaroo hopped in front of us and scared us. It was right near where our next checkpoint was, so we sneakily went passed it and got the next checkpoint. When we were about to leave the kangaroo started hopping toward us. It scared us and we thought it was going to attack us but it ran right past us. We sprinted as fast as we could because we were horrified. It kind of gave us a boost because we were running so fast. We had finished the map so the man gave us another one to complete and we completed that. But there were only three minutes so we waited for the end.

Freshwater ponds were one of the fun activities we did.  We started off by looking at some bugs in a microscope that the teacher had found. He told us what we needed to do which was basically going to a pond with a net and we would see what we could find in the pond. I had no clue what we would find and we found some really cool things. There were a couple of small jetties that we could stand on and fish out what was down under the pond. We were all catching bugs and putting them in the nets until I caught a slug thing and he said it was a tadpole, I was the first one to catch something interesting. But afterwards, everyone started catching them and we even caught one with legs. He said he was looking out for the needle bug and soon after we found one, it looked like a stick insect. After we had enough we looked at the interesting things we found. We even caught a yabbie! It was really cool and I liked looking at all the things under the microscope. This activity was one of the best.

In conclusion, I really liked camp and I made lots of good memories. I would definitely go there again. 

Archer L.

Year 5 J

Year five Arbury Park camp

15 February 2023

On Wednesday there was an excited feeling buzzing through the year five class because it was the day of camp! So, when we hopped on the bus we were so surprised... there was a movie on board! It was Monsters Inc. I was sitting with Gabby. Finally, we got to camp and the first thing we had to do was practice the fire drill. Once we got our bags we went to our dorms. In my dorm was Charlotte, Gabby, Alisa, Paige, Sabra, Alaia Selma, Scarlet and Abbie.

Wednesday afternoon

Wednesday was by far the best time ever because we played Web of Life and it was so much fun. There were green and blue cans hidden in the Stringy Bark Forest and there were predators trying to catch us. Each of us had 8 lives. After we finished the game, it was time for lunch, we had wraps for lunch and they were the best! After lunch we had free time till afternoon tea in the nature play area.

Thursday morning

It was Thursday morning and just after breakfast we sorted into our activity groups and my group did orienteering. First Charlotte and I were together and we finished the course in time so we did the year ten course, but we weren’t allowed to go to the number 5 and 6 areas because there was bushfire danger. We had morning tea which was strawberry milk and chocolate cake.

Our next activity was nesting boxes. Charlotte, Gabby, Mia, Alisa and I made one together and we got to use a drill, hammer and saw!

Friday morning

After breakfast we had animal survival and I did not enjoy this though many other kids loved it. I was craving for morning tea because I was so hungry. We had carrot cake and strawberry milkshake with a fruit platter. After morning tea, it was time for activity three. We collected some creatures from the pond with nets and went to the microscope room and put the creatures under the microscope and watched them, it was amazing.

Friday afternoon

There were sooo many bags being rolled into the luggage area as it was time to get on the bus. The bus driver set all these rules but luckily Isabelle and I got to go on the other bus because there was no room on the smaller bus.

By Sia

Year 5 IR

Last Friday, everyone was out and about for Clean Up Australia Day efforts! Our big, beautiful yard was divided up into sections that individual classes were responsible for cleaning and we all then dashed about scooping up a surprising amount of rubbish. Well done to everyone who took part.  

Nominations are now open for both Soccer and AFL Footy.

Please nominate via skoolbag eforms.

It was exciting to see our year 1 students and volunteers starting their Grub Club sessions at the garden last week We still need volunteers for other classes and to assist with garden maintenance. Please get in touch if you can help! The more volunteers we have, the more students have the opportunity to participate in Grub Club. No gardening experience is necessary.

Last week we also harvested several kilos of tomatoes which were used in the canteen to make a delicious pasta sauce. With more volunteers in the garden we hope to be able to supply the canteen with lots more fresh and locally produced fruit and vegetables!

Did you miss school Photo Day?

Catch up Photo Day - Thursday 16 March

If you did not pay online or cash on the photo day you will need to bring exact money in an envelope on catch up day to give to the photographer.

Playgroup is on each Friday from 9.00am to 10.20am.

Cost is $3 per session and payment is via Qkr. 

Dress your kids in clothes that are appropriate for wet, sandy, messy play! I’ll meet you on the Metcalfe Lawn this Friday.

Any queries please email HBPS.playgroup982@schools.sa.edu.au

Below are some important dates for families to be aware of. Please refer to the school calendar available on our website for the full overview of the term.

SCHOOL PHOTOS CATCH UP DAY

School photos Thursday 16  March

NAPLAN

The assessment period is from Wednesday March 15 through to Monday March 27.

Parent-teacher interviews 

Monday 24 March – Friday 6 April. Bookings will be available from Thursday 9 March

Sports Day

Friday May 5 (week 1 of term 2)

Early Dismissals

Thursday 6 April @ 2pm (Easter Long Weekend)

Friday 14 April @ 2pm (School Holidays)

Public Holiday 

Monday 13 March

2023 Pupil Free Days

Monday 15 May

Friday 23 June

Friday 8 September (Adelaide Show)

Monday 11 September

Friday 3 November

The April Vacation Care Program is now available! Get your bookings in fast as days often fill up quickly. To book in, either return the booking slip to the OSHC Director or email Andrew with your requested days at henleybeachps.oshc917@schools.sa.edu.au

Hi Henley families,

The hot weather recently saw our homemade ice block sales go through the roof. We loved seeing the excited children cooling down with all the delicious flavours that we created. We have some over the counter specials coming up in the next couple of weeks so please refer to the flyers for more information. We have changed our banana bread to a new and improved recipe and the kids seems to love it.  If you would like to see us making banana bread or any of our other yummy recipes please come and volunteer with us. We would love to meet you even if it is just for an hour. Pop in and say hi or email us on canteen.canteen878@schools.sa.edu.au