11 June 2025

Acting Principal’s Report

As we approach the final two weeks of Term 2, I’d like to extend my thanks to our school community for the continued support, energy, and engagement you’ve shown throughout the Semester. It’s hard to believe how quickly the term is passing, and yet so much has been achieved since our last newsletter.

Reflecting on the Term

Over the past five weeks, I’ve seen tremendous growth across classrooms – from academic progress and student confidence, to teamwork and kindness in the playground. Our school has been a hive of activity with excursions, community events, and consistent focus on high-quality teaching and learning. I continue to be proud of the way our staff and students strive every day to make our school a better place to learn and grow.

Semester 1 Reports

With Semester 1 reports coming home in Week 10, now is a timely reminder to ensure your contact details are up to date – particularly your email address. Reports will be emailed to families on the final Friday of term 2 (Friday 27 June), and you will receive a text message when they are sent. If you do not receive your child’s report, we encourage you to check your junk or spam folders before contacting the office.

These reports are an opportunity to reflect on student achievement, and the effort and learning behaviours that underpin success. While we maintain high expectations around academic achievement, we also recognise and celebrate the determination, focus, and positive attitude students bring to their learning. Please join us in acknowledging not just the result, but the journey.

Staffing Update

This term, we farewelled Trina Dubbeld, a much-loved teacher aide who has made a lasting impact on our students and staff. We thank Trina for her dedication and care, and we wish her all the very best in her future endeavours.

I’d like to thank the many families who reached out with kind words during my recent reapplication process. I am pleased to share that I was successful in the recruitment and will continue as the principal of our wonderful school while Natalie Taylor fulfils other roles. It’s a privilege to lead such a vibrant and dedicated community.

Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) Review

Our leadership team has recently reviewed our progress towards the Annual Implementation Plan, and I’m proud to share that we are well on track. Looking ahead to Semester Two, our next steps include:

• Quality assuring our numeracy assessment tasks at a regional level
• Strengthening student voice in how tasks are designed
• Developing consistent protocols for collaborative walk and talks
• Enhancing our approach to providing meaningful pedagogical feedback

These priorities align with our shared commitment to excellence and improvement.

School Review Preparation

Staff have also been engaging with the School Improvement Tool as we prepare for our upcoming school review. Together, we’ve reflected on the nine domains:

1. An Explicit Improvement Agenda
2. Analysis and Discussion of Data
3. A Culture that Promotes Learning
4. Targeted Use of School Resources
5. An Expert Teaching Team
6. Systematic Curriculum Delivery
7. Differentiated Teaching and Learning
8. Effective Pedagogical Practices
9. School-Community Partnerships

Staff have identified affirmations and future steps in each of these areas. The pride our team takes in our school and their ongoing commitment to improvement, is both inspiring and reflective of our school’s vision: to make a better world through inclusive, engaging, and impactful learning.

Key Events Ahead

As we close out the term, here are some key events to be aware of:

Week 8:

• P-2 Parade (Friday 13 June)

Week 9:

• Brett Lee Presentation – Year 6 (Monday 16 – Tuesday 17 June)
• Honeybees Playgroup (Friday 20 June)
• Ronald McDonald House Free Dress (Friday 20 June)
• No Parade

Week 10:

• P&C Meeting 6:30 (Tuesday 24 June)
• Senior Interhouse Athletics (Wednesday 25 June)
• Junior Interhouse Athletics (Thursday 26 June)
• Interhouse Athletics Presentation Parade Yr3-6 2:15pm (Thursday 26 June)
• Rugby League and Netball Gala Day (Friday 27 June)
• Semester 1 report cards distributed (Friday 27 June)
• Last Day of Term: Friday 27 June

Thank you again for your ongoing support. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if there’s anything we can do to support your child’s learning journey.

Kind regards,

Samara Koïdis
Acting Principal

Deputy Principal’s Report

Hello everyone – how lovely is this weather? We are having a great term and well into our final weeks which are focussed on assessment and Semester One report cards as well as many extracurricular events. Attendance is very important over the next few weeks to give your child the very best chance of showing what they can achieve in the classroom. In saying this there is a lot of sickness around so please remember to notify the school if your child is absent.

Last week we finally got to attend our wonderful action-packed camp at Kinchant Dam. I had the pleasure of attending the camp along with Mr Harrison, Mrs Balanzategui, Mrs Blood, Mrs Gross, Miss Franich and Mr V. Thanks to our wonderful staff, parents and P&C for helping make this camp such a huge success. As you could see from the pictures of Facebook – we created some wonderful memories with this incredible group of students.

Internet Safety

On Tuesday 17 June students in Years 4 -6 will be participating in an Internet Safety session with Mr Brett Lee. The aim of the sessions is to create awareness and to help provide a productive and safe online environment for all students.

Topics covered by Mr Lee are as follows:

Year 4 - Online rules & my safety network

 Year 5 & 6 - The Internet is the same as a noticeboard, choose kind online and stop & think

Mr Brett Lee will also provide a session for parents and guardians on MONDAY 16 JUNE in the HALL from 6:00pm – 7:00pm. All welcome!

Brett will deliver four key messages:

• The internet is a safe and valuable place
• Our children need to be part of that world
• As parents we already possess the skills
• We must be a part of that process

Numeracy & Mathematics

Aligned with our school priority of building strong foundations in mathematics to develop highly competent and confident learners, our staff have engaged in professional learning focused on Mindset Mathematics pedagogy. This approach emphasises visualisation, play, and investigation as key strategies to support deep and lasting mathematical understanding. As part of developing a whole school approach to numeracy & mathematics classrooms have had a firm focus on VPI. What is VPI?

These strategies are embedded in our everyday Maths program, where students are encouraged to visualise, play, and investigate as they learn. Visualisation helps children "see" maths through drawings, models, and mental images, making abstract concepts easier to grasp. Play invites students to explore maths in fun, meaningful ways using games and hands-on materials. Through investigation, students pose questions, test ideas, and discover patterns, developing confidence and curiosity as mathematical thinkers. This approach encourages children to make connections, think critically, and build a strong foundation for future mathematical learning.

We invite you to visit our year-level bulletin boards, which proudly showcase some of the incredible maths learning happening across the school. You'll see examples of students visualising their thinking, enjoying playful, purposeful maths experiences and engaging in hands-on investigations.

Sharon Pecchiar
Deputy Principal Year 3-6

Early Years Deputy Principal’s Report

Our students have been working super hard over the past few weeks. Our teachers are continuing to provide quality teaching and learning to ensure our students are achieving their potential. Over the next few weeks, you may find your child/ren extra tired and emotional. End of term brings a lot of extra cognitive load due to demands of curriculum and assessment.

Year Two students have been learning to use punctuation, simple and compound sentences, noun groups and editing their work. Here are some samples of the amazing writing 2A are producing:

Under Eights Day

On Friday 23May, we held our annual Under Eights Day and what a magical day it was! I would especially like to recognise and congratulate Ms Storm Cody on meticulous planning and organisation of the day’s events. Acknowledgement to our amazing staff for their efforts. Their imagination, input and hard work allowed our students and families to enjoy the morning. A big thank you to our parent helpers and volunteers, especially Mr Liam Mooney for his contributions toward the sausage sizzle and thank you to the crew who sizzled our sausages!  Thank you to Hermit Park Woolworths for their kind donation of fruit for Under Eights Day!

Parade

Junior parade is an opportunity to discuss school expectations (i.e. rule of the week), reminders about upcoming events and to celebrate the achievements of our wonderful students. We are fortunate enough to have so many parents and families join us for parade. A friendly reminder that if you have younger children with you, to please remind and encourage them to stay with their caregiver and not to run around to avoid the distraction of students on parade.

School Spirit Award

We have decided to introduce a “School Spirit Award” on our Junior Parade. Students can be nominated by any staff member for outstanding behaviours that demonstrate our school values. Last week, Hevani in 2A, received our first school spirit award for being caring, trustworthy and responsible. Congratulations Hevani.

Parent-Teacher Communication

At Hermit Park State School, we endeavour to maintain an inclusive and respectful culture across our community. Our teachers are very responsive and demonstrate an open-door ethos. Please be mindful that before and after school can be quite busy and teachers are either preparing for the day, responding to their students’ needs or having to attend to other situations that may be planned or unplanned. If you need to communicate with your teacher, please be respectful of the above; perhaps sending them an email or message to arrange a meeting time. Teachers are encouraged to ‘switch-off’ during outside hours so please allow up to 48 hours for correspondence.

Things to talk to your child about after school

How often does your child respond with “nothing” when you ask about their day? Here are some suggestions to spark their memory:

• “Who did you play with today?”
• “What was your favourite part of the day?”
• “What phoneme (sound) and grapheme (letter) did you learn today?”
• “What teacher did you work with during reading groups today?”
• “Show me something you do from blue/yellow book”
• “What made you laugh today?”
• “What was your favourite food (from lunch) today?” “Did anybody else have the same thing as you?”

Afternoon Collection

On the EYC we kindly open Freddy fire truck playground for 10 minutes after school finishes to allow children to have one final play. Even though there is a staff member of duty, the expectation is that parent/caregiver(s) diligently supervise their child/ren on the playground.

• children are not permitted to run in or around the playground area
• only one child on the monkey bars at a time
• children to go down the slide
• children not to use any playground equipment
• children are also not permitted to run on the deck or under the umbrellas

The basketball hoops and big playground are out of bounds due to no supervision. I appreciate your support on this matter.

Using road crossings

There are still several parents and children not crossing at the designated road crossing areas. Both morning and afternoons are very busy times with heavy traffic. I encourage you to model safe road behaviours and use our experienced crossing supervisors to cross the road safely.

Junior Athletics Carnival

On Thursday 26 June, we will be holding our annual Junior Athletics Carnival. The carnival will take place on the senior campus oval, and we invite all families to attend if they are able to. The children will participate in sprint races as well as a variety of different sporting activities throughout the morning. If you have a younger sibling (not yet attending HPSS) don’t forget about the sibling race after the main sprints.

Pre-Prep Transition

Our pre-prep transition is well and truly underway with the commencement of interviews and tours. We had an amazing turn-out of families at last week’s school tour. Rachel will be in contact early term 3 to schedule future interviews. If you have a child who is eligible to start school in 2026, please see the office for an enrolment form.

Playgroup

Playgroup is on Friday 20 June with Ms Cody and Mrs Goldburg.  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 to assist their transition into the school environment.

Yours in education

Jody Ross

Sport Report

PE Term 2 highlights

This term has continued to be a busy and exciting one, with plenty of representative school sport taking place across various sports. We've been fortunate to have limited rain interruptions, allowing students to enjoy full participation in their events.

Both the Junior and Senior Cross Country events were a big hit, showcasing fantastic effort, determination, and school spirit. A big thank you to all the parents who came along to support and help make these events a success.

Looking ahead, we’re excited for the upcoming Junior and Senior Athletics Carnivals in week 10. Students have been preparing during PE lessons and are ready to show their skills and sportsmanship as we head toward the end of the term.

Please note that the postponed Rugby League and Netball Gala Days will now take place on Friday 27 June, the last day of the term—a great way to wrap up a wonderful term of sport!

Representative School Sport

Cross Country

Well done to all our Hermit Park State School students who represented our school with pride at the Townsville District School Cross Country Trials held at Bicentennial Park. With over 100 competitors in each race across the 2km and 3km events, it was a fantastic display of endurance and determination.

A special congratulations to Alice (1st place), Zara (2nd place), Ziggy (2nd place), and Lachlan (10th place), who placed in the top 10 of their respective age groups and progressed to the Northern Regional Cross Country trials.

At the Northern Trials our students continued to shine. A huge congratulations to Alice (2^nd), Zara (5^th), Ziggy (10^th) and Lachlan (13^th) in their respective age groups. Alice and Zara will now represent Northern Regional School Sport at the Queensland Representative School Sport Cross Country championships in Brisbane. We will be cheering them on!

Touch football

Congratulations to Oscar and Kai, who recently represented Hermit Park State School at the Townsville District Touch Football Trials. Both boys have now been successfully selected to represent Townsville at the upcoming Northern School Sport Touch Football Trials – a fantastic achievement! Well done, Oscar and Kai!

Tennis

Congratulations to Carissa who proudly represented Hermit Park State School at the Townsville District Tennis Trials. Her strong performance earned her selection to represent Townsville at the upcoming Northern Regional Tennis Trials. Well done, Carissa, and best of luck at the regional trials.

Soccer

Congratulations to Georgia and Ziggy, who recently represented Hermit Park State School at the Townsville District Football (Soccer) Trials. Both students impressed selectors with their skills and sportsmanship, earning a place to represent Townsville at the Northern Regional Football Trials. Well done, Georgia and Ziggy.

Rugby League

Congratulations to Kai, who has been selected to represent Northern School Sport at the upcoming Queensland Representative School Sport Rugby League Championships in Brisbane. This is a fantastic achievement and a well-deserved opportunity. Best of luck Kai!

Weekend Warriors

Congratulations to Ziggy, who recently competed in a challenging trail run and delivered yet another outstanding performance. He placed 1st in the Under 16 category and finished 4th overall among male competitors—an incredible achievement against strong competition. Well done, Ziggy!

HPSS Under Eights Day

Our Castle, Melton and Stanton House Captains demonstrated outstanding leadership and enthusiasm during the recent Under 8s Activity Day. They took charge of organising and supervising the ever-popular egg and spoon races and sack races, ensuring that everything ran smoothly, and everyone had fun. With encouragement, teamwork, and plenty of energy, the House Captains helped make the day a memorable experience for our youngest students. Well done to all involved!

Mrs Tracey Stanieg
PE Teacher

Music Notes

Mid-Year Music Showcase

Our mid-year Music Showcase will be held in the school hall on Tuesday 17June.  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)

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.

Prep and Year 1 eligible students will attend the Wednesday program only. Prep and Year 1 parents are required to stay with their child for the day to provide supervision. Years 2-6 students will be allocated small groups with supervision from the Inclusion team. 

Sound Scouts

Sound Scouts Hearing screening for all 2025 Preps, Indigenous students and any identified by our Inclusion Support Team is in progress. We are working our way through nearly 200 students in this screening process. Results will be emailed out to parents as soon as possible after testing is completed. We are working with QLD Health on next steps for hearing referrals for those students who receive two “follow up” testing results. Stay tuned!

Yours in Inclusion

French Report

🎉 Bastille Day Breakfast – Celebrate with Us!

Join us for a Bastille Day Breakfast celebration filled with French flair, fun, and delicious food!

Date: Friday 25 July
Time: 7:30am – 8:50am
Location: Hermit Park State School, Basketball Court

Students are invited to come dressed in blue, white, and red or in French-themed outfits to show their spirit and join in the celebration of French culture.

Notes will be handed out shortly to all students. Orders must be handed in and paid for at the office.

For just $8.00, students will enjoy a delightful French breakfast that includes:
🥐 A French pastry
🍬 A macaron
☕ A warm cup of hot chocolate

Parents, we haven’t forgotten you! A coffee van will be on-site to serve freshly made coffee, perfect for a morning pick-me-up.

Let’s start the day with community, culture, and croissants!

Vive la France! 

Au revoir
Monsieur Vandommele
French Teacher

First Nation News

NAIDOC Week

Our NAIDOC Week celebrations will be taking place from Tuesday 15 July – Thursday 17 July. Our student leaders will be running lunch time activities, and our cultural leaders will be hosting our NAIDOC Week parade. The parade will take place in the hall on Wednesday 16 July 2pm. Everyone is invited to attend. If you are interested and would like to help with any NAIDOC Week activities, please reach out to your classroom teacher or contact me via email on cgold95@eq.edu.au

National Reconciliation Week

Lunchtime and classroom activities were held during National Reconciliation Week. The students had a wonderful time being involved in these activities. Thank you to 4G and 4B students who participated in the colouring in competition. Artwork was displayed near our Yarning Circle for all the students to see.

Regards
Corrina

Environmental News

On Friday afternoon's we have a dedicated group of students who have been learning about caring for our school environment. The students have been caring for the chickens, cleaning out the rainforest area and ponds, tidying garden spaces and keeping our school clean and tidy. The students have done a wonderful job over the last few weeks tidying the Junior Campus gardens and cleaning up the office entry. Congratulations to all the students who have been working so hard and taking care of our school grounds.

Regards
Corrina

P&C Report

I hope you’re all having a great Term 2 and you’re now in the groove for 2025.

We’ve had some brilliant stuff happen this term and it’s always such a pleasure to be able to share some of the great work that our committee members and volunteers have been up to.

We had our first school disco for a little while and it was a fantastic, flouro success. I want to say a massive thank you to Heidi for all the time and effort she put in to organising the event, as well as all the volunteers who helped on the day.

We also had our annual Mother’s Day stall, I hope you all got something lovely from your kids this year. I want to thank Frankie and Petra for their donation of the painting kits, I know they went down a storm, I also want to thank Kirsty for overseeing the stalls last month. We had so many painting kits that we were able to donate some of them to the residents at Parklands Residential Aged Care Facility. They were gratefully received as they have a very limited budget for activities, and I am immensely proud that our families and students are extending our support beyond the school.

I have been reflecting recently that my contribution to the school newsletter is so often to thank our volunteers and committee members for the things that they do. I feel very lucky to have such a dedicated, inspiring, and enthusiastic school community who work so hard to make good things happen at our school, and I’m sure you do too.

We’ve had lots of great correspondence coming in recently and I would encourage you to reach out to the P&C if you have any ideas, questions or concerns about things going on at Hermit Park. I can assure you that we read and discuss each email we receive from parents and carers, and your voice matters. I know that not everyone can come along to a meeting or have the time to join the committee, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have an opportunity to contribute to what happens at our school. I encourage you to email us, grab us at school pick up or talk to the school staff about how to contact us if you have something that is important to you or your child. We want to hear from you!

Finally, thanks to all the new faces at the meetings, it’s been lovely to see an increase in attendance…long may it continue!

Thanks
Al

P&C Uniform Shop

Free School Dental Services

The school dental van has arrived! Currently operating Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Fridays with staffed hours being 8am - 4:30pm on these days. If you haven't already registered via email, then please sign up via the QR code.