21 September 2022

Newsletter Articles

Important Dates

Principal’s Report

Term 3 has managed once again to live up to its reputation as the busiest term in the school calendar. It only seems like last week when I told all the children at the assembly that Term 3 was a hard work term. I was told on Sunday that it is only 98 days till Christmas. As you read this that is now down to 94, scary thought, the year is nearly over.

I will be on long service leave for the first three weeks of next term. Ben Ker will be the Principal in my absence. Mike Lee will be Acting Deputy, Tanya Druzianich will be the phys ed teacher, except on the Monday when she will be doing other duties.

Athletics Carnival

Wow, what a wonderful day we had on Friday 9 September. The weather was perfect for a carnival day. The atmosphere at the carnival felt terrific too. A huge thank you to Mr Lee in particular, as well as all staff, for their teamwork in preparing for the carnival. There is a lot to be done before the day commences. I love the effort the staff put in to dressing for the day in their appropriate colours and the non-bias of the team of judges with their colourful tutus.

The children participated well in all the activities, and the parent, student and staff events were a big hit again. The pre kindy race is always adorable to watch and I am glad we had time in the timetable for this to occur.

Thank you to Keisha, the Fundraising Coordinator from the P&C, for organising the food trucks. The roast truck had very tasty food and the ice-cream van was a big success. It was unfortunate that the coffee van that was booked had a breakdown the day before and consequently was unable to attend.

Thank you to the magnificent canteen staff and volunteers who produced 201 student lunches on the day. Outstanding effort and they tell me they had time to watch the carnival too. Great work.

Special thanks to Josh Cable, who is an ex-student and was back here doing work experience. Josh changed his school timetable around to be here on the day and was a terrific help to Mr Lee.

Lastly, congratulations to the outstanding students, to the many champion boys and girls from each age group, overall winners Forrest faction and to O’Connor for receiving the spirit award. Thank you all for making the day FUN!

Constable Care Safety House

Last year the P&C voted to sponsor all the classes to travel to the Constable Care Safety House in Maylands. This is very generous of the P&C and it emphasises their commitment to support the students at Hampton Park. Road safety and awareness are components of the Health curriculum, under the section ‘contributing to healthy and active communities.’ I have always thought that visiting the Safety House would be an outstanding excursion, as it gives a practical ‘hands on or feet on’ experience, of bike safety and pedestrian safety on the roads. As it is quite expensive, I was always reluctant to have a school excursion there. However, as the P&C are supporting the whole excursion buses included, it means every child from Pre-Primary to Year Six will be able to participate. The Safety House provides bikes and helmets for everyone as part of the training. Unfortunately, the Safety House doesn’t take Kindergarten aged children.

Letters for individual classes will go home next term with a date for the permission slip to be returned. Apart from Room 7, all classes are going with the other class in their year group. The safety house is capped at 60 per session. The session is from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm daily. The excursions will commence in Week 4 and finish in Week 6.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the P&C’s fundraising activities as these excursions are only possible because of you.

Musical Appreciation

Our students will have two opportunities to experience listening to music at the commencement of next term. These are both free incursions for all classes. The woodwind section of the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO), will be performing here on Thursday 13 October and on Wednesday October 19, the John Forest Secondary College Band. These are terrific activities to raise the children’s musical appreciation which is a component of the Music curriculum.

Public Holiday and Return Dates

As you will be aware, the Prime Minister has announced a public holiday as a national day of mourning for the late Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday 22 September.

This means that Hampton Park Primary School will be closed on this day. I appreciate that this may cause some inconvenience but given the circumstances I appreciate your understanding.

It is important to note that the school term officially ends on Friday 23 September and students are expected to attend school on this day. All previous arrangements for the last day of school remain in place and it will be 'business as usual.' We will be having Values Day activities as we normally do at the end of term. Children are encouraged to wear their faction t-shirt for the day.

We will be welcoming students back in Term 4 on Tuesday 11 October, as Monday 10 October is a professional development day for staff.

Merit and Values Awards

Congratulations to the following students who received a Merit Certificate or Values Award at our last assembly.

Yvonne Arnott
Principal

Faction Carnival

The weather gods shined upon us for the athletics carnival, in what ended up being a truly fantastic day for all involved. Medals and shields were won, tug of wars won and lost, flags placed in buckets and taken out again, races varying from 50 m to 200 m were run and won, many ribbons were given out and just as many ice creams and roast rolls with chips sold. The teachers regained the ‘Pass Ball Challenge Invisible Trophy’ from the parents and captains. No hamstrings or quads were blown in the 35 m parent race, although I did see one Dad hobble off the track before finishing. A huge thank you to all the parents, grandparents, relatives and ex-students for turning up and helping the 2022 carnival to be the day that it was for the most important people there, our students.

Winning Faction: Forrest (Blue)
Spirit Shield: Gardener (Gold)

Individual Medalists

Mike Lee
Phys Ed Specialist

Inter School Athletics – Day 1

Rain, hail, a running track underwater and threatening skies created the perfect storm for Day 1 of the Interschool Athletics carnival. A quick gathering of the minds and a decision was made to keep the carnival rolling but with some modifications to the jumps and throws. Both events were held inside the Anzac Terrace Primary School under cover area, the long jump became a standing jump (essentially a long jump without the run-up and no sand to land in) and the long throw was performed with a badminton shuttle cock, which really tested throwing techniques. Congratulations to all the students who took these minor, well major, modifications in their stride and put their all into doing well for themselves and their school.

The rain held off long enough to dry out the track and the 200 m, 400 m and 800 m events were held outside. The 800 m inside would’ve been a sight to see!

Results for Day 1 are below. 

A fairly successful day for Hampton Park. Now for our sprinters, relay runners, leader ballers, pass ballers and flag relayers to perform at their best and we can look forward to a good finish to the busy, busy, busy athletics term.

Mike Lee
Phys Ed Specialist

Staff versus Students – AFL

Last Wednesday the students played against the teachers in a game of AFL footy. The dramatic contest was made even more so with the students having a huge home crowd barracking with great vigour for their fellow students and even greater ferocity against the teachers. The teachers were represented by 9 brave souls who made a commitment to one another that the win streak would continue. Mrs Cunningham, Mrs Fraser, Mr Lee, Mr Rakimov, Mr Evangelista, Mr Higginbottom, Mr Radovic, Mr Barnard and Mr Ker applied themselves with great focus to the challenge ahead.

The ground was in immaculate condition for the epic contest and it was looking as impressive as some of the banter and confident chat that was coming from the Year 5/6 boys. However, once the ball was bounced the banter stopped from the students and the goals came piling on for the teachers. Ms Roberts, who was goal umpiring lost count and needed a new pen as the ink ran out as she was counting each goal that the teachers were kicking (lucky those teachers aren’t competitive). An honourable mention must be made for Bruce N who battled hard in the midfield but was ultimately overpowered by the hungrier and more desperate teachers. Andrew B must also be congratulated for kicking a score off a rare turnover from the teachers but then soon realised that tackling a teacher has its ramifications.

All in all it was another successful staff versus students sporting event. The teachers remain undefeated after success in; dodgeball, netball and football. Only basketball remains next term for the students to get a win. Keep practising students, you're going to need it.

Ben Ker
Deputy Principal

Chinese News

With the easing of Covid restrictions, the annual Chinese Language Teachers’ Association of Western Australia (CLTAWA) State Mandarin Speaking Competition was held at the Alexander Lecture Theatre, Arts Building at the University of Western Australia. On Saturday 3 September, primary school participants from more than 10 private and public schools, together with their families and teachers gathered for this event to showcase second language students speaking Chinese in a public arena. It was amazing to watch and listen to over 25 students deliver their prepared speeches that lovely, slightly chilly, Spring afternoon.

As for our 3 wonderful girls who took part, I must say their hard work had certainly paid off. Roxanna P clinched 1st in Category A for the Year 5’s whilst Shania M came 4th in Category B for the Year 6’s. The girls delivered their well-rehearsed speeches smoothly, with excellent expressions and engaging actions. They put in hours of work both in and out of school. Their achievement is sheer testament that confidence and persistence do pay off. The invaluable experience they had watching and listening to other contestants at the competition would have widened their horizons also, to ‘Fly High is to See Far’.

Together with Delilah K who was awarded a participant certificate, Roxanna and Shania were presented with their respective trophy and medal at our school assembly on 7 September. Videos of Roxanna’s and Shania’s brilliant performances were watched by the entire school. Their parents have played a very significant part in their success. They have given these students their whole-hearted and invaluable support, as did their teachers. To all of them, I would like to extend a huge thank you once again.

At the same assembly, Mohid E, Mutahir E, Roxanna and Xavier P were also presented with their Regional Chinese Bridge Competition Certificates of Participation that they took part in just before the end of Term 2. This was an inaugural competition organized by the Confucius Institute at the University of Western Australia.

Some of our students also took part in the Writing Competition last month. Dorianna Z came 3rd in the E1 Category for background students whilst Neeve H Category A - Year 3/4, Roxanna and Shania in Category B - Year 5/6 were awarded Excellence certificates. They shall be presented with their certificates in due course. Andrew L and Delilah also submitted their writing entries for the same competition.

I would like to congratulate all our students who not only accepted these challenges but had committed themselves to journey on the path towards excellence. Well done! They, along with a few special guests, will be hosted to a well-deserved Chinese breakfast at school in the coming weeks.

Mrs C H Lee
Chinese Teacher

Planning for the 2023 School Year

Now is the ideal time to notify us if you are moving home or school. If your child/children won’t be returning to Hampton Park Primary School next year, please advise us via email at hamptonpark.ps@education.wa.edu.au

2023 Kindy Applications Closed – Limited Places Still Available

Kindergarten applications are now closed for 2023. We have limited places still available for children whose date of birth falls between the 1 July 2018 and the 30 June 2019. The Application for Enrolment form can be found on our website under Enrolment or you can collect a form from the office.

VacSwim - Swimming Lessons

Enrolments are now open for VacSwim swimming lessons during the October school holidays. VacSwim offers fun lessons in pool locations across WA. Not only is VacSwim a great school holiday activity, it also teaches valuable safety skills to help keep your child safe in the water. Your children can start as young as five years old. Places are limited, so get in early. Enrol your children in VacSwim now via the link below.

P&C

Hello Families and Friends,

A huge thank you to everyone who supported our Canteen Lunch Special for the sports carnival. We received just over 200 orders, profits from all canteen orders contribute to projects for our school so thank you for your support! A shout out must go to Lady Bee Ice Cream and Runnin' Roasts for coming down to join us this year with their tasty wares, their support for our school is very much appreciated.

The next P&C meeting will be on Monday 23 October in the Library at 2 pm, we will be focussing on plans for our end of year event!

Check out our social media for updates and events, follow us on Facebook and Instagram!

Community Notices

Stage Door School

Children 8 to 16 years are invited to join Stage Door School in Term 4 for its musical production. Auditions are on Saturday 8 October or Saturday 15 October or as arranged. All children accepted. These inexpensive classes take place on Saturdays 11 am till 1 pm. Phone 0416 251 265 for enrolments and audition time.

Midvale Hub Parenting Service

Athena Calisthenics Club

Are you looking for a sport or hobby to put your child into? Why not check out calisthenics with FREE trial classes. Calisthenics is an exciting sport that's a mix of dance, gymnastics, simplified ballet, singing and apparatus work. It is perfect for all ages to build confidence, improve stamina, make new friends and stay active.

We are a community based calisthenics club and not for profit organisation. Enquire via the link below for more details.

Volleyball Western Australia

NRL WA Free Holiday Clinics

GuitarWorks

GuitarWorks is holding free school holiday guitar workshops for anyone interested in learning guitar. These 90 minute demonstrations cover all aspects of guitar playing and styles. Bookings are essential, information and dates can be found at guitarworks.com.au or by contacting Stefan Cutri at guitarworks@iinet.net.au or phoning 041 444 8907.

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