Hill Street News

 A Connected, Creative, Caring Learning Community. 

Term 1 Week 7

Acknowledgement of Country 

We would like to pay respect and acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land and pay respect to Elders both past and present and future.

Our students have had another successful fortnight at MHPS with lots of learning and connecting occurring K-6. On Friday 24 February, our students enjoyed a picnic lunch with their buddy from another grade. Many thanks to our teachers who ensured our buddy picnic was a great success! 

We are very proud of Moses, Isaac, Antonios and Amir who represented MHPS at the Zone Swimming carnival. Congratulations to Amir and Antonios who achieved their personal bests in the 50m freestyle!

Our students participated really well in Clean Up Australia Day. Thank you to Mrs Labos and Ms Withers for organising a very successful event!

It is important that we all remain sun smart. Remind your child to protect themselves from sun and heat exposure by: 

• Reducing their exposure to the sun wherever possible by playing in shaded areas particularly during peak UV levels. 
• Wearing their school hat in the playground at all times
• Drink plenty of water 
•  Use broad-spectrum water-resistant sunscreen. 

Your child will meet and make new friends at their school, and so will you. Help your child build strong relationships and learn how you can play a role by connecting with the school community, and especially other parents and carers.  

Helping your child make friends  

Starting school is a big step towards greater independence for children and making friends on their own is part of that. Parents and carers can do the following outside school hours to help the process along.   

• Teach them a few social strategies, like introducing themselves and saying their name.  
• Engage with other parents so you can organise playdates when friendships do start to form.  
• Talk to your child and offer any advice you may have about social situations. 
• Share stories about the different friendships you have – how some of them might have been slow to form and others were quicker.  
• Understand how your own child likes to make friends and support them in that. Do they like to make contact through sport, by joining the same clubs or reading similar books?   
• Encourage your child to take part in school based extracurricular activities like sport, band, choir or dance.  

Childhood friendships are different  

When thinking about your child’s friendships, it helps to understand how these may differ from your own; childhood relationships don’t necessarily follow the same rules as adult ones. Researchers have identified five developmental stages gradually progressing towards full adult friendship.  

• Stage 1 (3 to 7 years): shifting friendships with children who happen to be nearby.  
• Stage 2 (4 to 9 years): one-way friendship with someone who can help achieve goals.  
• Stage 3 (6 to 12 years): reciprocal friendship  
• Stage 4 (11 to 15 years): mutually close, supportive friendship  
• Stage 5 (12 to adulthood): friendships which respects the autonomy of each individual even though they may share similar interests and deeper feelings.  

Every child is different and there is no precise formula or timeline for how their social life will develop. It is useful to be aware of the above stages when trying to advise or help your child with the complications and conflicts that inevitably occur.  Sometimes they might not be ready for the approach you have in mind and alternative strategies will have to do until they mature. On the other hand, it is important to support clear boundaries for your child and help them reset or end friendships that damage their trust or wellbeing.  

Dealing with friendship problems  

If your child seems anxious, reluctant to attend school, or eat their lunch, it may be a sign they’re having trouble with friends.   Talking to your child is key to helping them and, to start with, it’s helpful to know who their friends are and how their efforts to make new ones are going. That way, if problems emerge, discussing them can be part of an ongoing conversation.  If your child is reluctant to open up, try sharing some of your own childhood experiences and ask if theirs are similar or different.  Your child’s class teacher may also be able to help. In fact, they may know what’s going on and already taking steps to address it.  Please let your child's teacher know if you are concerned about your child. We are all here to help.

For the safety of all school children please do not stop or park your car on or near any pedestrian crossing and ensure you observe all road signs and are safe. A child’s perception, judgement and awareness of potentially dangerous situations is generally not sufficiently developed to properly cope with the road environment until they are much older. 

Children need adults to set a good example and to supervise them closely in and around traffic including roundabouts, traffic lights and car parks. Remember that watching children is never enough. Keep your children safe by holding their hands as you cross any road. Please remind your child that crossing the road should always be done with care. Important things they should remember are: 

• Always cross the road at a pedestrian crossing or traffic lights. 
• Always look right, then left and right again before crossing the road to check there are no cars coming.
• Remain alert of your surrounding when walking on the footpath

The National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 & 9. The tests will held during the period of Wednesday 15 March to Tuesday 28 March. In 2023 tests will be conducted online, excluding Year 3 writing. 

NAPLAN is made up of test in four different areas. These include: 

• Reading 
• Writing 
• Conventions of Language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) 
• Numeracy

We wish all our students sitting the NAPLAN tests this year the best of luck! 

A survey was recently sent home to parents regarding the annual Book Fair and PSSA sport. The results are in!

The Book Fair should be held in 2023: 

Yes 87%

No 12%

PSSA

Yes 72%

No 27%

The majority of respondents circled Oztag, and softball as the preferred sports to play.

Our students enjoyed Art club at lunchtime last Thursday. Our greatest thanks to Mrs Batalis who started this wonderful opportunity for our students.

The Home School Liaison Officer (HSLO) visited MHPS recently to complete a roll check and to check in on the attendance data of our students. It is a requirement that students attend school and all non-attendance days must be explained. If your child is away from school, please make sure that you communicate with the office about the reason for this. Some of the reasons may include:

• sickness – with identification of what type of sickness not just ‘sick’ 
• medical appointment 
• travel  
• attendance at urgent or exceptional family circumstances. 

It is also important that all children are at school by 9am. The diagrams below show the lost time and its cumulative affect on missing out on school.

International Women's Day occurs every year on 8 March. On this day we celebrate women's achievements and acknowledge their contributions across all aspects of society. Happy Women's Day to our strong, intelligent, talented and simply wonderful women at our school and in our community!

Yesterday our school participated in an emergency onsite evacuation drill. Staff and students regularly conduct evacuation, lock down and lock out drills to prepare everyone in case of an emergency. We were very pleased with the mature way our students conducted themselves and the success of our onsite evacuation procedures.

Next Tuesday we will have a special Harmony Day celebration. Parents and carers are invited from 10.30-11am to visit classrooms and then join their children on the futsal court for recess. If you have time and can join us, you are encouraged to wear your National Dress or the colour orange. Please bring your own picnic blanket and food. 

Looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday and sharing another wonderful fortnight with you all.

Kindest regards

Elizabeth Markovski 

The School Community Charter outlines the responsibilities of parents, carers, educators and school staff in NSW public schools to ensure our learning environments are collaborative, supportive and cohesive. 

We all play a part

Parents and carers play an important role in the school community. The School Community Charter informs parents and carers on how to engage with NSW public schools. Read the School Community Charter (PDF 1.4 MB) to ensure you understand how important it is to create a positive learning environment for our students.

Parents and carers can expect:

• to be welcomed into our schools to work in partnership to promote student learning
• communication from teaching staff will be timely, polite, informative and solutions focused
• professional relationships with school staff will be based on transparency, honesty and mutual respect
• to be treated fairly. Tolerance and understanding are promoted as we respect diversity.

Our staff will find a time to talk to you when they can give you their full attention. Please remember that while our staff are in class or dealing with other matters, they may not be available to answer your questions immediately.

Respectful communication is a right

In all workplaces, people have the right to feel respected. Unacceptable and offensive behaviour has no place in our school communities. To ensure the safety and wellbeing of students, staff and the community in our schools, steps will be taken to address unacceptable behaviour. This may include restricting contact with the school community or, in more serious cases, referral to NSW Police.

Unacceptable behaviour in schools

Unacceptable behaviour may include but is not limited to:

• Aggressive or intimidating actions, such as violence, threatening gestures or physical proximity.
• Aggressive or intimidating language, including the use of obscenities, making sexist, racist or derogatory comments or using a rude tone.
• Treating members of the school community differently due to aspects such as their religion or disability.
• Inappropriate and time wasting communication.

We look forward to connecting with our community to ensure we have a collaborative, cohesive and supportive culture that has positive outcomes for all

Our preferred method of payment is online, this can be accessed through our school app or website. Feel free to contact the front office if you require any help with this.

If you are unable to make payment online and wish to pay cash, please ensure you have placed all money in an envelope or zip lock bag clearly marked with your child's name and class and what the payment is for.

PARENT ONLINE PAYMENTS.pdf

TERM 1 CALENDAR 2023

It has been another fabulous couple of weeks in KC, KD & K/1S. Cleanup McCallums Hill was a huge success with students wearing gloves, carrying plastic bags or buckets and using all sorts of tools to pick up rubbish from around the school grounds.

As part of the Creative Arts Program, students have been learning about the use of colour during visual arts. The students have been investigating the different kinds of colours, for example, warm and cool. Students are currently in the process of making their very own Rainbow Fish, using different art making techniques and experimenting with colour. 

In English, over the last couple of weeks students studied the books, 'We're going on a Bear Hunt and Alexander's Outing'. Students are learning how to identify a narrative as a real or imaginative story with characters and events, that can be told through words, images and actions. They are learning to retell a story with a beginning, middle and end and using drawings to tell a story.

In mathematics, we have been focusing on patterns, for example, ABABABABA or ABBABBABBABB this is called a repeated pattern, something that repeats over and over and over again. Students are learning to describe a pattern by referring to attributes such as colour, size, shape and length.

2MC have been working hard this week in mathematics. We have been learning about 2D shapes and patterns. 2MC created their own symmetrical mandalas as well as created different patterns using 2D shape resources.

Stage 2 had an outrageously fun time exploring the Sensory Garden and the new outdoor classroom area with their buddy group. Year 3 met up in the Sensory Garden and Support Unit Playground with students from K-6 and Year 4 met up with Year 2 students in the new outdoor learning space, just outside the office building. Many students continued playing with their new friends after eating time, enjoying new connections and of course, the new spaces available at our school. There was an air of excitement across the school as students connected with other students in grades they may not have met before. We have to say that spending time in two of the newer parts of the school certainly ignited a sense of adventure and joy - the perfect environment for building friendships across the school. 

Year 3 students have spent time these last few weeks revising and refining their skills in reading for understanding, writing and mathematics in preparation for their NAPLAN assessments which will begin in Week 8. 

Congratulations to our newly elected SRC members. These students will enjoy having the opportunity to share their ideas from their classmates at meetings with Ms Markovski. 

Students are encouraged to discuss their ideas with their class SRC member in order to make MHPS the best school ever.

This week, students in Stage 2 were sent to the Principal’s office - for great work in history of course! We are learning about the history of our community. Our first few lessons focus on describing the deep connection Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have with the environment and how ‘country’ means more than a place. 

An exciting few weeks for students in Year 6 as they begin the events moving towards their transition to high school in the not too distant future. The high school transition process has begun! Kingsgrove North High School recently held an Open Day and past students, and their teachers visited us from Beverly Hills Girls High School to share their initial experiences of high school life. 

Teachers from local primary and high schools have begun meeting to discuss ways to give all students the best possible start to their high school journey. They are arranging opportunities for students to connect with other students and are encouraging students to become familiar with high schools through Open Days and visits across the community. 

Our school, as a part of the Community of Schools, have planned activities throughout the year that will support students in their transition to high school, with the intention of supporting students and their individual needs when they and their families arrive at their high school. Students will be able to become familiar with the physical environment of high schools, other students, teachers and programs that they will certainly come across as they prepare for a new world beyond the primary school gates. 

Stage 3 have been working hard in Math learning all the different strategies to add, subtract, multiply and divide. Students have been applying these different strategies and really enjoying new ways to solve problems. It is great to hear the excitement and enthusiasm of students when they find new ways to do things.    

K-6 Kookaburra enjoyed using the interactive whiteboard to learn about three dimensional objects in mathematics.

In 3/4M, we are learning about addition. We are learning to roll the dice, make two groups of counters and add them altogether. We are learning that 'altogether' means we count all the counters when adding.

Students in 1-2S have been exploring telescopes in sciences! We have been practicing how to use them and identifying what we can see. We created our own telescopes out of recycled materials that are out of this world! 

Spriggy_Schools_Flyer_DL_Bleed.pdf

Spriggy Schools Canteen Guide_ Adding Menu Items & Options (1) (1).pdf

Spriggy_Schools_Posters_A4_Bleed.pdf

App checklist for parents.pdf

There is a large collection of clothing left behind from last year. Please ensure all belongings are clearly labelled so that items can be returned. Lost property is placed on the verandah behind the office. Parents are encouraged to go through this to check for lost property at drop-off or pick up time. The lost property has recently been washed, please come and check for your items in the next two weeks as any non-uniform items will be sent to charity at the end of the term.

On Tuesday 21 March 2023, McCallums Hill Public school would like to invite all parents and caregivers to a special Harmony Day celebration. 

10:30-11:00 am. Classroom visit 

During this time parents and caregivers will have the opportunity to actively participate with their child in a range of activities. 

11.00-11.20 Family Picnic 

Picnic on the futsal court. 

We would love to see children, parents and caregivers wearing their national costumes or wearing something orange to celebrate the diversity of Australia. 

Harmony Day in Arabic (1).pdf

Please see images below of driving offences in school zones.

As you would be aware, the bus zone has been moved further down McCallum St and there is now a 10-minute park from 8.00am-9.30am and 2.30-4.00pm on school days. Please note the new signs and make sure you keep to the 10-minute limit. 

02 9759 4396
mccallumhi-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au
McCallum Street, Roselands NSW 2196
mccallumhi-p.schools.nsw.gov.au