Strengthening our students’ reading has been a target this year. All students at Hillside enjoy reading with their buddies. Every week the students find a comfortable spot and read together. This year all students also successfully completed the Premier’s Reading Challenge. The assist students who need the extra support in their reading our teachers implement the MultiLit program. MultiLit stands for Making Up Lost Time in Literacy and is an intensive reading program designed to increase children’s progress in reading accuracy, fluency, comprehension and spelling. It is a researched based initiative of Macquarie University.
We will be celebrating Book Week later this term when we hold our Book Fair. The students are looking forward to dressing up as their favourite book character and enjoying a variety of book based activities. This is always a favourite time in the school calendar.
We are looking forward to welcoming all our new Kindergarten students at our Orientation Days. It is a great opportunity for the students to learn the routines, meet their teachers and the other students at the school. The unique advantage of attending a small school is that all the students look out for each other and are happy to play together in the playground.
The students have been actively working on the painting of a mural depicting local landmarks on our library wall. The area in front of the library is being converted into a Yarning Circle, with seating and an edible food garden. The school was fortunate in receiving a Woolworths Junior Landcare Grant to assist in the purchase of materials and plants to establish the area. Everyone is involved in designing, measuring, painting, constructing and planting to ensure the area is completed.
Once again all of our students have completed The Premier’s Sporting Challenge. This involved in them recording all physical activity they participate in at school and at home. Last term and this term all students have participated in dance lessons and weekly sports lessons through the Sporting Schools Program. This term all students are learning the skills required to play hockey.
The school is currently able to take enrolments in all grades. We are fortunate to be able to consider out of area enrolments, as we have not reached our allocated limit of students.
If you are looking for a school where students are a name and not a number then please contact the school on 02 9652 1459 to organise a tour of our fabulous school.
