Dear Parents/Caregivers,
My apologies for the lack of an article from me for the previous newsletter. As you may have guessed I had COVID and was rather unwell, so I ‘lost’ almost a fortnight of school. We are all so busy at this time of the year that we don’t have time to read anything much, let alone lengthy newsletters so I’ll endeavour to be concise.
Thank you
I just wanted to say thank you to all the groups who make up our wonderful school.
Firstly I would like to thank the parents and families.
We would also like to acknowledge the many volunteers who help in the classroom, on excursions, in the uniform shop, the canteen and in a myriad of ways. Your contributions are invaluable and we say “thank you”. During week 9 you should receive a certificate of acknowledgment. I would like to have organised a “Thank You Morning Tea” but events have made this too difficult this year. Who knows, maybe next year!
A major parent volunteer body is our Governing Council which is very ably led by Amber Pellerin. Without the guidance of the Governing Council we are not able to operate the school. I would strongly encourage any parent who is interested in joining the council from 2023 onwards to please contact the school or one of the council members. I would like to thank Amber Pellerin, Yvie Eglington, Melissa Vlachos, Rachel Peake, Nadia Hodgson, Leanne Craig, Nikki Dopson, Sally Matthews, and Jessica Chaplin for all your efforts this year and in the past.
So to our Governing Council of 2022 I say thank you.
Congratulations to Jessica Chaplin who has been awarded the 2022 Volunteer of the Year Award for her service to the school. Jessica’s oldest boys, Mitchell and Jack, started at HCEPS in 2011 and her youngest son Tom is about to graduate from year 6 so Jessica’s contributions have been far reaching.
Thank you to our students. Our four school values of Respect, Responsibility, Excellence and Fairness are displayed by all our students across the year levels. I would particularly like to thank our Year Six Leaders who have done a wonderful job in so many ways. I would also like to wish them well in their future endeavours and have every confidence in their ability to thrive. I am looking forward to the Graduation Ceremony.
I would like to acknowledge and thank all the staff of HCEPS. We are very fortunate to have so many high quality educators and all round wonderful human beings! I would particularly like to acknowledge Renee Fisher for her outstanding work as Deputy Principal and Aaron Charlton for his excellent contributions as Well Being Leader.
Just as we have students moving on so we have some staff members who have new adventures for 2023. We have been so fortunate to have had Sarah Clews, Zac Schenkel, Jessica Dyer, Joey Traeger and Kimberley Chamberlain working with our students and families this year and in past years. Whilst there is always an element of sadness to say goodbye we know that this means other children, in other settings, will get the opportunity to experience their many unique qualities and vast expertise. We wish them well in their future endeavours.
We have some new staff coming but this is still being finalised so we will introduce them next year.
I would also like to say ‘thank you’ to the many staff, students and families who have supported me during my time as Principal this year. I have enjoyed so many interactions and have learnt a great deal. I am returning as Deputy Principal during term 1 whilst Matthew Chapman will be Principal.
We will have a very brief assembly on the final day where we will say thank you to the students and staff who are not returning in 2023.
Concert
I hope you enjoyed the concert as much as I did.
Thank you to our marvellous performers who were also an excellent audience!
We learnt that we can’t dial up the weather and just, because the music worked via one method during the day, that doesn’t mean that system will work in the evening so we always need a plan A, B and C. We also learnt how wonderfully resilient our students are!
Thank you to all those staff who contributed. It was such a team effort behind the scenes and on stage. The hundreds, if not thousands, of hours that go into producing an hour and a half concert are made worthwhile by the memories that are made.
It was wonderful to see so many families at our end of year concert, thank you so much for supporting your children.
Week 9
On Wednesday of this week we will meet with our 2023 classes for a brief time during the morning. In the afternoon students will bring home their reports and a letter indicating which class and classroom they are in next year.
Please remember that we have early dismissal on the final day (2:05pm). Students are also welcome to wear casual clothes. They just need to be appropriate for school activities and sun safe. This day will not be a fundraiser. Year 6 students are allowed to get their school tops signed, if they have permission from their parents. The writing on or signing of the school tops only occurs after the assembly on the final day.
Holidays
To help prevent vandalism and other crime in the school during the holidays, we seek your support to please report any suspicious behaviour you may observe in and around the school to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or direct to Police on 131 444. I thank you in advance for doing so.
OSHC will be open as advertised.
The Front Office will reopen on Monday 23rd January, however there will be some staff on site during the week prior for any urgent queries.
Teachers will be on site on Tuesday 24th and Wednesday 25th January. On the Wednesday afternoon teachers will contact parents of students with significant health concerns and identified students with disabilities. If you need to contact your child’s teacher before the start of the school year please email the front office and they will pass the message on when teachers return. Otherwise we plan to have all parents on site and able to go into classrooms from 8:30am for the First Day for Students which is Monday 30th January 2023.
Advance Notice for a Pupil Free Day
We have received approval from Governing Council to have a Pupil Free Day on Thursday 23rd February 2023. OSHC will be open for bookings on this day.
I hope you all have a wonderful time with family and friends over the next few weeks. I also hope we will all be reinvigorated ready for the challenges of 2023.
With regards
Andrea Hayden
Principal
