Hello BRPS Community,

Thank you to all families who took part in this week's P/T Interviews and student-led conferences.

The feedback from parents and teachers was very positive, helping to develop a stronger partnership between school and home.

Year 6 Leaders Presentation

On Monday I was delighted to officially introduce the Year 6 Leaders to the BRPS community at their badge presentation ceremony.

Student Leadership positions are held in high regard at Black Rock PS with all Year 6 students enjoying the opportunity to develop their leadership skills . We have every confidence that this year's group of Year 6 students will be outstanding leaders and role models for all students across the school.

Thank you to our local MP, Mr Brad Rowswell, for sharing his thoughts on leadership and presenting the students with badges. Thanks also to Mrs Timms and SC President Mr Steve Martin for their involvement. That's not to forget our brilliant Year 6 team's support and mentoring of our senior students, which is outstanding and goes a long way towards their leadership development throughout the year.

Keep up to date with newsletters throughout the year for contributions from our 2020 student leaders.

House & District Swimming Sports

Thursday 27th February

I was so disappointed to miss the House Swimming Carnival last week, although I heard it was a marvellous day with a great team atmosphere and many wonderful performances.

Thank you to Sports Coordinator John Fox, BRPS staff and parent volunteers who all contributed significantly to make this event such a success. Thanks also to the parents who came along to support all of their children, I'm sure you would have been impressed with the talent on display.

District Carnival - Wednesday 5th March

We have a very talented group of swimmers and yesterday the best performers from the House Sports competed at the Seaside District Swimming Carnival at MSAC. Congratulations to our team who finished 6th overall and best of luck to our competitors who qualified for the next level of competition.

Welcome Picnic & Running Colour

What a stunning night for our second annual "Welcome Picnic and Running Colour" event. It was wonderful for so many families to catch up with faces new and old from across the school throughout the evening.

Thank you to those students and families who so generously contributed sponsorship and donations to the event. Also to Jayne Timms and the parent committee for the planning, organising, gathering of donations, cutting of fruit and sausage sizzling that ensured a super evening for everyone. As always, thanks to our wonderful staff who really got into the spirit of the event and ensured they were nearly as colourful as the students!

Cybersafety Parent Evening

Keeping children safe in an online environment is a priority that all parents and school staff share. With a significant percentage of students at Black Rock PS having access to connected personal devices, we aim to work in partnership with parents and provide you with access to the most up-to-date information in this space.

Our school will be hosting a ThinkUKnow presentation on Tuesday 17th March from 6pm-7.30pm in the BER and all parents, carers and teachers are encouraged to attend.

ThinkUKnow Australia is a cyber safety education program that educates parents, carers and teachers how young people are using technology, the challenges they may face online, and how to help them overcome these in a safe and ethical way.

ThinkUKnow Australia is a partnership between the Australian Federal Police, Microsoft Australia, Datacom and the Commonwealth Bank. The program is delivered in collaboration with policing partners New South Wales Police Force, Northern Territory Police, Queensland Police, South Australia Police, Tasmania Police, Western Australia Police, as well as Neighbourhood Watch Australasia.

The presentation will be delivered by a local law enforcement member and an industry volunteer. The presentation covers issues relating to children and young peoples’ privacy and security online, their relationships with other users and their online reputation. It provides insight into the devices young people are using, as well as the popular websites, apps and social networking sites they’re accessing.

This is a fantastic opportunity for you to learn more about young people and the online environment, and how you can help them to be safe and responsible users of technology.

For more information, you can visit www.thinkuknow.org.au or contact Adam Littlehales (eSafety Coordinator).

2020 School Council Elections

Nominations for vacancies in all categories for election to membership of the 2020 Black Rock Primary School Council election have been received. In both the DET and parent member categories the number of nominations was equal to the number of vacancies. I therefore congratulate the following nominees on their election onto the Black Rock Primary School Council for 2020:

Parent Members
- Bridget Elliot
- Sarah Skinner
- Cait Eves

(joining Steve Martin, Andrew Phillips and Kristen Hilton)

DET Members
- Davina Dibbs
- Emily Harvey

(joining Sam Tyndall & Jayne Timms)

I would like thank each of the nominees for their interest in contributing to the school in such a significant way.

The first meeting of the newly elected School Council will take place on Monday 23 March. I look forward to working in partnership with the School Council to continue its strong governance and to help positively shape the future of Black Rock Primary School.

COMPASS School Manager

Compass School Manager, through private and secure family portals, is our primary platform for communicating with families. We strongly recommend that parents install the native app on their mobile device (Apple iOs or Android) and set it up to receive notifications. This will allow instant and convenient access to all relevant school communications.

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With many optional education events such as excursions, incursions and sporting events across all year levels commencing early in the year, I encourage all parents to log on to Compass at your earliest convenience and ensure that all details and payments are up-to-date. Parents are also encouraged to check the Compass Calendar and News Feed often.

Casual Clothes Days

Reminders

Casual Clothes Days are held on the last Friday of every month when it coincides with a school day.
If events such as excursions or sports fall on a casual clothes day then students are expected to wear full school uniform when representing the school on those days, unless otherwise advised by teachers.
Wearing casual clothes on the designated days is optional, however we ask that each child dressed in casual clothes please bring a gold coin donation on the day to support The Uluru Children's Home in an Indian community, with whom we have a long standing relationship.

Our next casual day is Friday 27th March, which also happens to be our Easter Hat Parade and the final day of Term 1.

2020 Dates

The 2020 Term, Public Holidays & Event Dates page, including curriculum days, camps, fete and swimming programs (where known) have been placed on the following pages. Of course, these dates can also be found on the Compass Calendar which will be updated regularly.

Our remaining student free curriculum days will be held on the following dates:

Friday 24th April
Monday 2nd November (Melbourne Cup Monday)

Sam Tyndall

PRINCIPAL

Camp Australia

Welcome Back!