2 May 2025

Acting Principal’s Report

Welcome to Term 2!

It has been a calm and settled return to school, and I thank our staff, students, and families for starting the term with such a positive tone. The classrooms are buzzing with energy, routines are strong, and a wonderful sense of connection and care continues to shine across the school.

I’d like to extend a warm welcome to any new families who have joined our community - we’re so glad to have you with us.

Already this term, I’ve had the pleasure of visiting classrooms and seeing some outstanding learning in action. From rich discussions in literacy groups to hands-on maths investigations, our students are engaging with their learning in meaningful and purposeful ways.

We’ve also seen some early highlights across the school:

• ANZAC Day March– Thank you to all the staff, students, and families who joined us at the Strand March last week. Our students marched with pride and respect, representing Hermit Park beautifully. Your presence made a powerful impression and was a meaningful way for us to show gratitude and reflect on the service and sacrifice of others.
• This week, we conducted a whole-school fire drill, and I was incredibly impressed with the way both staff and students responded. We were safely out, accounted for, and back inside in under nine minutes - a credit to the calm and efficient teamwork on display.
• Our Parkie Pacers Run Club launched this week! It was fantastic to see so many students, families, and staff up early and running together. What a great way to start the day with movement and connection!
• Clubs and extracurriculars are back in full swing - from French and Musical Club to sport, art, and lunchtime activities. Thank you to our dedicated staff for making these enriching experiences possible.

Celebrating Learning and Growth

This week, our teachers engaged in a review of student learning data from Term 1, and we are proud to share that Hermit Park is already meeting - and in many cases exceeding - our key targets and benchmarks. Our school has a long-standing reputation for strong academic performance, often producing results well above state standards.

This success is not only a reflection of the high-quality teaching in our classrooms, but also the partnership we have with our families.

The routines you maintain at home - ensuring your child sleeps well, eats well, and feels supported in their learning - have a direct impact on student success. The conversations you have about learning help spark curiosity and aspiration.

I feel incredibly privileged to lead a school where staff and families work together to deliver both equity and excellence for every child.

Looking Ahead – School Improvement and Review

We continue our work toward the final milestones in our 2022–2025 School Strategic Plan, with a strong focus on numeracy, inclusive practices, and building teacher capability.

We have now received confirmation of our School Review dates: Tuesday 12 to Thursday 14 August (Week 5, Term 3). The review team will visit the school to gather insights and feedback about all aspects of our teaching, leadership, wellbeing, and community engagement. Their findings will help shape the direction of Hermit Park for the next four years. Throughout the term, I’ll be sharing more information with you about this process and how you can be involved or have your voice heard.

Key Dates This Term

You’ll find a full list of events and important dates on our website, SZapp and in classroom newsletters, but here are a few events coming up this term:

• Interhouse Cross Country Carnival
• Mothers’ Day Stall
• Under Eights Day
• School Disco
• Year 6 Camp
• P&C Meeting
• Polling Day– Don’t forget to vote! A polling booth will be located in the Hall at Hermit Park State School on election day.

Stay Connected

We know that strong partnerships between home and school make a real difference to student success. If you have any questions, ideas, or would simply like to say hello, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. I’d be more than happy to arrange a time to meet.

Wishing everyone a smooth and successful Term 2. Thank you for your continued support of Hermit Park State School - it is a privilege to lead such a vibrant and caring school community.

Samara Koidis
Acting Principal

Deputy Principal’s Report

Welcome back to Term 2 everyone!

I hope you all had a relaxing Easter vacation enjoying a break from the rain 😊. The highlight of my holidays was watching “Shrek Junior”- The Musical. Hermit Park was proudly represented by some very talented students both past and present. Congratulations to all students – you acted, dance and sang like true professionals! Makes me very excited to see these students in our school musical in 2026.

What a fabulous return to Term 2 we have had. Students are focussed and settled ready for an action-packed term of learning and fun. Be sure to check out our calendar of events on SZapp to ensure you don’t miss important dates on our school calendar.

ANZAC Day

Thank you to 5G and our wonderful combined choir for a touching and memorable ANZAC Day parade at school. The parade was respectful as we joined to remember and honour the men and women who have served and continue to serve our country.

We were also very proud of the staff and students who represented us at the community march. We marched along the Strand with pride and honour whilst representing our school.

Another touching moment on ANZAC day was our very own Charlie from Year 3. Charlie was invited to perform the National Anthem during the Anzac Day Dawn Service at HAMEL Lines, the new home of Army Aviation on RAAF Base Townsville. In attendance was current serving, retired, family and friends of 16 Aviation Brigade Headquarters, 1st and 5th Aviation Regiments, 16 Brigade Aviation Support Battalion and the School of Army Aviation. Additional guests included family of our Fallen and the Gold Coast Titans NRL team. In the presence of all these personnel Charlie stepped up to deliver a beautiful rendition of both verses of the National Anthem. Mum and Dad are incredibly proud of Charlie. For her efforts, the Brigade Sergeant Major presented Charlie with a 16 Brigade Headquarters Challenge Coin in appreciation for impressive achievement.

Mothers’ Day Stall

Mothers’ Day has quickly crept up on us all! Next Tuesday and Wednesday we will be holding a stall selling items from $2 to $5. Please see the attached flyer below for more information. I hope all of our mother figures have a great, relaxing day on Sunday 11 May with family.

🎁 Mother’s Day Stall – Volunteers Needed! 🌸

Help students pick the perfect gift for their Mum this Mother’s Day!

We’re looking for volunteers to support our amazing Year 6 Leaders as they run this year’s Mother’s Day Stall. It’s a wonderful opportunity to get involved and help students make thoughtful choices, all while supporting a great cause.

Sign up here: https://signup.com/go/JPrQFja

School Photos & Uniform

Just a reminder our school photos are next Thursday and Friday. Our photo schedule (below) has been sent home and will also be posted on Facebook. We do not give specific times only the session your child’s class photo will take place. Be sure to order photos as soon as possible.

School uniform is required for school photos. Please ensure you child has a clean school polo. Shorts/skort, white or black short socks, school coloured hair ties and small earring or studs as per our uniform policy. Please also make sure hair is neat and tidy.

P&C School Disco

Our wonderful P&C are very excited to host our school disco on Friday 16 May! Stay tuned for more information around this groovy event. We even have the very best DJ ripping out the dance tunes. Would be great to see parents on the dance floor also 😉

Cybersafety

Today’s youth are growing up in a world where online is a big part of their everyday life. They are more connected than any other generation. This online life comes with many challenges. We encourage you to regularly speak and monitor their online activity. Some rules to remember:

• Keep all personal information – full name, address, school and passwords secret. (Especially Mum & Dad’s credit card details)
• Stranger Danger is real online too!
• If it feels weird, stop and tell an adult
• Limit online activity day and night. It is important for students to switch off early in order to get a good night’s sleep.

In Term 3 we will be welcoming Cybersafety guru Mr Brett Lee to our school to speak to students around staying safe online. Brett will also hold a presentation for parents. Be sure to keep an eye out for the date, lock it and join us in keeping our kids safe online.

Sharon Pecchiar
Deputy Principal Year 3-6

Early Years Deputy Principal’s Report

Welcome back to term 2! I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter break enjoying some well-deserved family time. Our staff and students have settled in with learning being well under way. This term is going to be very busy with a variety of events occurring.

Rule of the week

Our rule of the week for week 3 is – Be Respectful in the classroom. This rule relates to our Respect and Trustworthy values. The students are encouraged to respect others’ right to learn, be a good listener and talking in turns.

Our rule of the week for week 4 is – Be Respectful in the playground. This rule relates to our Respect and Trustworthy values. Students are expected to play fairly, follow game rules, show good sportsmanship and care for their environment.

Easter Bonnet Parade

Thank you to all of our amazing parents/caregivers for assisting their child/ren in creating their outstanding Easter Bonnets. Another successful parade was held with great attendance from our school community. The students looked very colourful and bright and sounded beautiful singing their songs (despite the many technical difficulties that proved challenging). I may delegate that job to a teacher next year 😊. A big shout-out to the Easter Bunny hopping in before his big day of deliveries.

Under Eights Day

Another one of my favourite events is happening this term. Under Eights Day will occur in week 5 on Friday 23 May from 9am-12pm. All students in Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 are invited to attend as well as their parents/caregivers and younger siblings. A note will be sent home next week with further information. This year’s theme is – “Unleashing Scientific Thinking through Play”.

HELP REQUIRED We would love to provide a sausage sizzle at this year’s Under Eights event. Could you please let your classroom teacher or myself know if you able to assist with either cooking or serving sausages. Any amount of time would be greatly appreciated.

Pre-Prep Transition 2026

We have begun our transition program for our 2026 preppies. This term we have another school tour, Athletics Carnival and Under Eights Day that our pre-preppies can participate in. If you have a child who is eligible to start school in 2026, please see the office for an enrolment form.

Playgroup

Playgroup is Friday 9 May with Ms Cody.  It will be held on the EYC. Please phone the office to book your spot. Playgroup is an opportunity for families to build relationships within the community and become familiar with the school environment. We encourage all ages to attend, particularly those children who are entering Prep in 2026 assist their transition into the school environment.

Date claimers:

• Monday 5^th May – Labour Day public holiday
• Tuesday 6^th May – Interhouse Cross Country (students to wear their house colours)
• Tuesday 6^th May – Friday 9^th May – Mothers’ Day stall
• Thursday 8^th & Friday 9^th May – School photos
• Friday 16^th May – School Disco

Looking forward to a great term ahead!
Jody Ross
Deputy Principal Prep – Year 2

Sport Report

 Term 1 Recap

🌧️Rain, Resilience & Representative Sport 🏃‍♀️🏉

Despite the wet weather throughout Term One, it was still a busy time for representative school sport trials. A big congratulations to all students who were successful in their selections – your commitment and enthusiasm are to be celebrated!

Unfortunately, the significant rainfall also brought with it a number of postponements and cancellations across various sporting events. We appreciate that this created some uncertainty, and we want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all the parents and families for your patience and understanding as we navigated changes and communicated updates.

Here’s hoping for clearer skies in Term Two!

Term 2

🏃‍♂️Get Ready for an Action-Packed Term of Sport! 🏃‍♀️

There’s plenty to get excited about in Term 2, with some fantastic events coming up on the school sport calendar!

🏅 HPSS Interhouse Cross Country
Mark your calendars – our Interhouse Cross Country will take place on Tuesday 6 May. Students are encouraged to show their house spirit by wearing red, yellow or green!
Make sure to check out the attached Cross Country Information Sheet for all the details.

🌄 Parkies Pacers – Every Wednesday Morning
Join us on the oval from 8:00am to 8:30am each Wednesday morning for Parkies Pacers! Every lap you complete earns a house point – it's a great way to start the day and support your team. All are welcome!

🏃‍♀️ HPSS Interhouse Athletics Carnival
Rounding out the term will be our exciting Interhouse Athletics Events. More information will be shared soon – stay tuned!

With so many opportunities to get active and involved, Term 2 is shaping up to be full of fun, fitness, and friendly competition!

Representative School Sport

Rugby League

Kai and Seth participated in the 10-11 years Townsville District School Sport Rugby League trials and were successfully selected to represent Townsville at the Northern Regional trials in April. 

Basketball

Milani recently represented Townsville at the Northern School Sport basketball trials and her performance was nothing short of exceptional. Out of the 40 players selected from Townsville, Burdekin, and the Whitsundays, Milani made it to the Possible and Probables team—a significant achievement in itself. Though she narrowly missed out on a spot in the final 10, we are incredibly proud of her efforts. 

Hockey

Matilda and Gillian participated in the Townsville District School Sport Hockey trials and were successfully selected to represent Townsville at the Northern Regional trials. The girls both performed admirably and enjoyed the experience. 

Nate recently represented Townsville District School Sport at the Northern Regional Hockey Trials, where he was successfully selected for the Northern Regional 10-12yrs Boys Hockey Team. He will be travelling to Toowoomba to compete in the State Championships from June 5th to 8th. Despite the rain, Nate performed exceptionally well during the trials. This is his first year at the NQ level, and he is thrilled for the opportunity. 

Swimming

Zara and Alice recently represented Northern Regional School Sport at the State Swimming Championships in Brisbane. They each competed in their individual events – Alice in 50m backstroke, and Zara in 50m freestyle and 50m breaststroke – and also teamed up for the freestyle relay and medley relay. Both girls performed admirably and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. 

AFL

A huge congratulations to Oscar, Lincoln, and Kai who have been successfully selected to represent the Northern Regional AFL Team! They will be competing at the Queensland Representative School Sport 10–12 Years AFL State Championship, which will be held in Maroochydore from 4th–8th June. Well done boys - we will all be cheering for you!

Weekend Warriors

Athletics

Charlotte and Mitchell recently competed at the Little Athletics State Championships in Brisbane.

Mitchell participated in the Long Jump, Discus, Shot Put, 70m, and 60m Hurdles, achieving personal bests in several events. His experience was made even more memorable by competing alongside his cousin in the Long Jump.

Charlotte competed in the Long Jump, Triple Jump, Javelin, 100m, and 80m Hurdles. In the Hurdles, she ran a speedy personal best of 13.86 in the final, earning a well-deserved bronze medal.

What a fantastic weekend of athletics! 

Trial Run

A huge congratulations to Zig, who competed in the recent Elliot’s Revenge Trail Run! Ziggy placed 1st in the Under 16 Male category and finished an impressive 4th overall in the 6km race. Well, done, Ziggy!

Mrs Tracey Stanieg
PE Teacher

Music Notes

We’ve had a wonderful start to Term 2 with our combined Senior and Junior Choir contributing to our very special ANZAC parade.  As usual, we have a busy term ahead in the music program, so please keep an eye on email, Facebook and the SZapp to stay up to date!

Choral Festival 2025    

During Week 10 last term, Hermit Park hosted the annual Townsville and District State Schools Choral Festival.  Our Senior Choir, together with over 100 students from state schools across Townsville learned, sang and had lots of fun working with visiting conductor, composer and educator Will Brown.

Our students represented our school wonderfully.  The respect and kindness they showed visiting students was admirable, and they led the way in showcasing Hermit Park’s high standards of behaviour.  Their musicianship skills shone in rehearsal and on stage in the final performance which was a joy to watch!  It is a unique experience to sing as part of a 150-strong choir, and we are so grateful our students were able to be a part of it.  Congratulations to all Senior Choir members involved!

Choral Fanfare NQ Regional Heats

In Week 7 this term (Friday 6^th June), our Senior and Junior Choir will perform at Choral Fanfare at Pimlico State High School (Denise Glasgow Performing Arts Centre). 

Information regarding this event will be sent to parents of choir members.  A timetable has not yet been provided; however, parents are welcome to attend to watch the performance.  Details of when our choirs will be performing will be shared as soon as we have been advised.  Until then, please save the date!

Mid-Year Music Showcase

Our mid-year Music Showcase will be held in the school hall on Tuesday evening 17^th June.  The concert will commence at 6pm and run until approximately 7:30pm.

All instrumental and choral students will be performing at this concert, so please lock this date into your calendars.  Every student is an important part of their ensemble, and we need everyone there to ensure each ensemble can perform at their best.

If your child is unable to attend the Showcase, please contact your child’s instrumental teacher or ensemble director.

Senior Band – Mike Rander (mrand16@eq.edu.au)
Junior Band – Kelly Clarke-Flesser (kclar205@eq.edu.au)
String Orchestra and Junior String ensemble – Carla Mulligan (cjmul1@eq.edu.au)
Percussion ensemble – Ian Brunskill (ibrun2@eq.edu.au)
Senior Choir and Junior Choir – Julie Sullivan (jesul0@eq.edu.au)

Note-worthy Performers

A number of our dedicated and talented students have been spending their holidays ‘treading the boards’ and shining on stage in local musical theatre productions at the Townsville Civic Theatre.

Olivia sang and danced her way through the Christmas holidays as one of the ballet girls in Billy Elliot, performed by the Townsville Choral Society in January.  This was an amazing production which had the audience laughing, crying and cheering in equal measure throughout the performance.  Congratulations Olivia on a stellar performance!

More recently, a number of our students performed as part of the cast of Shrek the Musical, presented by Townsville’s Broadway Academy.  It was a fun show full of toe-tapping numbers, hilarious one-liners and a heart-warming message. The show played for sold-out audiences and showcased the enormous talent of Townsville’s young performers.  We are very proud of the Hermit Park students who participated.  Congratulations to Ella, Olivia, Elliot, Evelyn S, Evelyn M, Archer, Lucille, Evelyn G, Eve and Charlie!

Julie Sullivan
Music Teacher

Student Inclusion Report

Challenge games - save the date!

More information and consent letters will be sent out to eligible students towards the end of this term.

Sound Scouts

This year our school is excited to offer free hearing screening for our 2025 Prep students. Hearing screening tests will be conducted using the screening App Sound Scouts. The App has been developed by Sound Scouts in collaboration with Australia’s National Acoustic Laboratories. Students will play a game on an iPad using a set of headphones under the supervision of the Inclusion Team, our Department Speech Language Therapist and our Department Advisory Visiting Teacher for Hearing. Hearing assessment is encouraged due to the importance of early intervention of hearing issues. Optimal educational outcomes are dependent on good hearing.

Prep parents - please look out for your child’s consent form – which will be sent home next week. More information will be provided with the consent form, however if you have any questions – please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me via amcdo222@eq.edu.au or 4421 2222.

Exciting Donation from Ant Park!

We are thrilled to share that the Boys' Friendship Group, which meets every Friday with our Year 4 boys, has received a generous donation from Ant Park! The donation includes 3 starter kits filled with everything the boys need to learn about ants, including ant food, nectar, stickers, and an activity book.

This wonderful contribution will help enrich our social skills program, providing the boys with a fun and educational experience while fostering teamwork, responsibility, and connection with their peers. A big thank you to Ant Park for their support and for helping make our group activities even more engaging!

We look forward to seeing the boys enjoy their new learning ant-ventures!

First Nation News

National Reconciliation Week will be held from May 27 till June 3.  The school will be participating in activities relating to this year’s theme Bridging Now to Next.

Harmony Day

Congratulations to our Cultural Leaders for all their hard work in helping organise and celebrate Harmony Day.  We held buddy classroom activities where students from the older grades went and visited a younger grades classroom.  Harmony Day activities involved colouring in, games, reading and arts and craft.  Thank you to all the students and staff who dressed up in orange or their traditional/cultural clothing. The money raised from our Harmony Day free dress day will go towards a project our Cultural Leaders have been working on.

Regards
Corrina

P&C Report

Hello and welcome back after the Easter break!

It’s always a tricky time of year with all the public holidays, short weeks and knocking routines out of whack so I hope you’re all coping well with this fun, but turbulent time.

We held our AGM last term and it was so wonderful to see so many people come along to the meeting, with a great mix of both new and returning members. We have also filled all of the executive roles for the first time in a while and I’d like to welcome Anne McClure as our new Vice President. We’re also lucky to have Karina Lantry and Caroline Chandler agree to remain as our Treasurer and Secretary for one more year, although it will be the last year for them both. I’d like to extend my gratitude to all the members of our sub-committees, for the Uniform Shop and OSHC, for volunteering your time to ensure we can provide both of these services to the school. I don’t know what we’d do without you! 

I also want to thank Allisen and her team of Volunteers for putting on our annual Big Breakfast at the end of last term, it was another brilliant event (despite the challenges with the weather) and a lovely way to welcome new families into the Hermit Park community.

We have lots going on this term and we’re excited to announce the return of our School Disco on Friday 16 May. I want to give a shout out to Heidi for taking the lead on this project, she’s doing a fantastic job and I know it’s going to be an incredible evening of fluoro-fun for all the students. We also have a very special guest DJ lined up so make sure you look out for information about that soon! 

We also have the Mother’s Day stall next week and I want to extend a huge THANK YOU to Frankie and Petra for their generous donation of some amazing paint by number kits that will be on sale. 

As always, I will end this newsletter with an offer, encouraging you to add your voice to the work we do. Feel free to ask questions or come along to a P&C meeting. We’re always keen to have new faces, and I promise these is no obligation if you come along. 

We’re here to represent you and your family, to be a voice for you within the school, so if there is an issue you’d like to discuss or if you’d like to find out more about the school, then please reach out as we’d love to hear from you.

Thanks
Al

P&C Uniform Shop