Hallett Cove East Primary School

We would like to acknowledge and pay our respects to the Kaurna people, the traditional custodians whose ancestral lands we gather on. We acknowledge the deep feelings of attachment and relationship of the Kaurna people to country and we respect and value their past, present and ongoing connection to the land and cultural beliefs. 

• Friday 27th February - Clean Up Australia Day
• Tuesday 3rd March - HCEPS Annual General Meeting 
• Monday 9th March - Adelaide Cup Public Holiday
• Tuesday 10th March - Student Free Day
• 11th - 20th March: NAPLAN for Year 3 & 5 Students
• 23rd - 27th March: R-4 Swimming Week

Dear families,

Student Leadership

We were delighted to host our first assembly of 2026 last Friday, where we proudly announced our Year Six student leaders and introduced our leadership groups: Nature Nurturers, Digital Citizens, Charity Champions, Wellbeing Leaders, Literature Lovers and Physical Activity Leaders. We are very proud of our student leadership program as an important aspect of student development in our school.

Congratulations to all of our student leaders. We look forward to seeing the many great things you will achieve this year. We know you will represent our school with pride and uphold our values in all that you do.

It is my pleasure to announce our Lighthouse Leaders to the school community. This year’s Lighthouse Leaders are: Noah, Kaden, Erin, Izzy, Maidie, Mia H, Isla, and Willow. They led the assembly and are warmly congratulated on their new roles.

Throughout the year, our Lighthouse Leaders will work with me in supporting the school’s goals and connect with student leaders from other schools across South Australia. They will have many opportunities to represent Hallett Cove East Primary in the wider community, and will also play a vital role in supporting our school tours, assemblies, community events and forums.

During this week’s school tour, a prospective parent commented on how inspiring it is to witness the wonderful young people our students become during their years at HCEPS. This feedback truly reflects the old saying, "It takes a village to raise a child," and highlights the collective effort and care within our school and wider community.

Congratulations to the three prize winners from our Acquaintance Night passport raffle. We had a lot of fun spinning the wheel at assembly to find our winners. Each student won a bakery voucher, thanks to Bake Bakery.

Student–Parent–Teacher Learning Discussions

We are pleased to announce that Student–Parent–Teacher Learning Discussions will be held during Weeks 9 and 10 of Term 1. Based on parent feedback, we have moved these discussions to earlier in the year to ensure families are well-informed about their child’s progress. Our reporting schedule for 2026 will be as follows:

·         Term 1: Student–Parent–Teacher Learning Discussions

·         Term 2: Midyear Written Reports

·         Term 3: Learning Discussions (available on request)

·         Term 4: End of Year Written Reports

Parents and teachers are welcome to request a meeting at any time throughout the year to discuss learning and wellbeing progress. We hope that this adjustment provides families with timely information and supports each student’s growth.

And finally…..

A reminder that the Annual General Meeting of our Governing Council will be held on Tuesday 3rd March 2026 in the Resource Centre from 7pm. Thank you to the many people who expressed interest in joining the council. We look forward to receiving your nomination form. Please put your nomination form in at the front office. We would love to have your voice on our governing council this year!

With regards

Matthew Chapman

Principal

Celebrating Literacy Instructional Routines at Hallett Cove East Primary School

At Hallett Cove East Primary School, we are proud to have established consistent and effective literacy instructional routines in every classroom, from Reception through to Year 6. Each morning, our students engage in explicit, structured literacy learning, underpinning their reading and writing development and setting them up for success throughout the day.

Routines in Action

Our daily literacy sessions follow well-established routines designed to maximise student engagement and progress. Every class begins its day with focused activities targeting key areas such as phonics and spelling. These routines provide a predictable and supportive framework, helping students to feel secure and confident as they build their literacy skills.

Benefits for Every Learner

By ensuring that these routines are a regular part of each morning, we are able to:

• Build strong foundations in phonemic awareness, decoding, and fluency
• Support vocabulary expansion and accurate language use
• Develop comprehension strategies through modelled, shared, and independent reading
• Foster enthusiasm for reading and writing
• Promote consistent high expectations across all year levels
• A Commitment to Explicit Teaching

Our new Reception students are already demonstrating strong engagement in instructional literacy routines each morning. Despite being at the very start of their school journey, they are participating enthusiastically in foundational literacy activities, including phonemic awareness tasks, shared reading, and letter-sound recognition exercises. This early involvement is fostering positive literacy habits, laying the groundwork for future learning, and helping students develop confidence in a structured and supportive environment.

Explicit literacy instruction means that teachers clearly explain, model, and practise key concepts together with students before moving to independent application. This ‘Gradual Release’ approach is embedded in our morning routines, guiding students step-by-step as they learn to read, write, and communicate with increasing sophistication.

Supporting All Students

Our set routines also ensure that all students, regardless of their needs or starting points, can access the curriculum and experience success. The structure of our literacy sessions helps students stay focused, while allowing for targeted support and extension where needed.

Partnering with Families

We encourage families to reinforce these routines at home by engaging in regular reading and writing activities. Working together, we can help every child develop into a confident and capable communicator.

Thank you for your continued support as we maintain our strong, school-wide focus on explicit, high-quality literacy instruction each morning. Together, we are building a community of lifelong readers and writers.

Kind regards,

Robyn Physick

Deputy Principal

Wellbeing Corner

It has been a great start to the term in the wellbeing space, with several initiatives already underway across our school.

Reminder – Harmony Week & Wellbeing Hub Website Last week, an Audiri message was shared with families and staff highlighting two important updates.

As we prepare for Harmony Week (Week 8) and the theme “Everyone Belongs,” we are inviting families and staff to complete a short Google Form to help us ensure the cultures within our school community are visible, valued and celebrated. The information provided will be used for representation and celebration purposes only.

👉 Please submit your response by next Monday 23 February (Week 5): https://forms.gle/owNWZWbvPz3dJd6w6

We also encourage families to explore our Wellbeing Hub website. This online space provides accessible resources, tools and information to support the social and emotional wellbeing of students and families. You will also find a QR code on the homepage where you can suggest topics you would like included.

👉 https://sites.google.com/halcoveeps.sa.edu.au/hcepswellbeinghub/home

Introducing Our 2026 Student Wellbeing Leaders Congratulations to our 2026 Student Wellbeing Leaders: Oliva J, Layla C, Dane U, Amayla W, Max G, Evan S, Hunter K, Niamh M, Natasha S and Bodhi S on their appointment to this important role. This week, we were proud to hold our first meeting, and from the outset these students demonstrated enthusiasm, responsibility and a genuine commitment to supporting others - qualities that reflect strong leadership.

Throughout the year, they will play an important role in promoting inclusion, strengthening student voice, and supporting wellbeing initiatives across the school. One of the major projects they will be working on this term is developing a shared language around our school values. Stay tuned for updates as this work progresses. We look forward to the positive impact they will make within our community.

Breakfast Club Launching in Week 5 We are pleased to announce that Breakfast Club will begin next week and run on Wednesdays at 8:30am in the room between the staffroom and computer room.

Toast will be available for students, with options including butter, Vegemite or jam.

• Reception – Year 3: Beginning Week 5 and every odd week thereafter
• Year 4 – Year 6: Beginning Week 6 and every even week thereafter

Breakfast Club is a wonderful opportunity to foster belonging, connection and readiness for the school day, and we look forward to welcoming students along.

Thank you for your continued support in helping us nurture a positive and inclusive school environment.

 Warmest wishes,

Katrina Leucuta

STUDENT WELLBEING LEADER  (Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday)

Welcome to the 2026 School Year. 

A poll of the school community was conducted at the end of the 2025 school year which overwhelmingly resulted in our families agreeing to the 2026 Materials and Services Charge being set at the core charge of $370 for Reception to Year 7 students, this amount is known as the ‘prescribed sum’.

In week 3 families should have received via email, their 2026 materials and services charge invoice of $370, an incursion/excursion levy invoice for $60 and a STATEMENT of your account.  SA families with children attending public school will receive a $200 discount per student on their annual M&S charge.

Please read your STATEMENT CAREFULLY and pay only the balance of your STATEMENT.  We will apply your discount (as well as balance of credits from prior years) to your invoices on payment.

If you intend on applying for School Card in 2026 please do so NOW and do not pay your invoice. You will be notified of your eligibility.  The 2026 school card applications can be submitted online, please click here to complete your application ASAP.

To allow us to provide the quality program and resources that we have planned for the students in 2026, we ask for these invoices to be settled within 14 days. We provide several payment options, QKR App (our preferred option), EFTPOS, cash or a 24/7 BPOINT payment option via our school website.  We also have an online direct debit payment option which allows our families and caregivers to selecta  regular payment option to be deducted from a selected bank account or credit card on a weekly/fortnightly or monthly basis. If you would like to take up this option please complete the application online via the school website. Details on how to access the Qkr App are available via the school website https://halcoveeps.sa.edu.au/parents/qkr/

Should you have difficulty with settling your account please contact the school finance officer to put a payment plan in place.

Kind Regards

Imelda Jolly

Business Manager

Volunteers are important to our school community. Our canteen relies on help from volunteers to deliver a meal service to our pupils.

To enable us to provide a varied recess and lunch menu offer to our pupils we really do need your help.   

If you have a spare hour or more we would welcome your support.

Not registered with the school as a volunteer?  Volunteer application packs are available from the front office containing all the information you need to submit your registration as a volunteer...... WE NEED YOU

The shop is stocked with a variety of second hand uniform items. The money raised is given back to the school and utilised in fundraising projects.

Remember that if you have any unused uniform items in good clean condition, we'd love to receive them.  They can be left at the office anytime. Thank you.

Qkr App (pronounced quicker) is Hallett Cove East Primary School and Out of School Hours/Vacation Care preferred form of payment. 

Please click for more details Qkr App

Download on the App Store or Get it on Google Play