It has been an incredible term thus far, with the absolute highlight being welcoming our families on-site regularly for school and community events such as our Foundation Welcome BBQ, Open Night, the sausage sizzle held on election day, and having parent and carer helpers within our classrooms and on excursions.

Families coming together within our community, having fun, and learning together are incredibly important to help rebuild our community and support student engagement and wellbeing.

Our focus continues to be on supporting the wellbeing and learning of all community members and we look forward to continuing a range of activities and events that help reconnect our families and community after the disruption of the last two years.

Foundation Welcome BBQ

Our Foundation Welcome BBQ was held prior to Open Night, with our 74 Foundation families enjoying a Sausage Sizzle, games, activities, and networking. It was a wonderful opportunity to connect, meet and get to know other families in our community, and come together to celebrate their children’s first year of primary schooling. Thank you to our student leaders and staff volunteers who supported the evening, welcoming guests, cooking and serving on the BBQ, and supporting the games and activities on offer.

Thank you also to our wonderful Foundation Team for putting together such a positive and enjoyable event.

Open Night

Our Open Night was held on Wednesday 25 May. Classrooms were open from 5:30pm to 7pm, with fun maths activities to complete and a maths problem solving trail across the school. The school looked fantastic with student work on display, and there was an incredible buzz in the air as our families and friends enjoyed exploring our classrooms and learning environments and celebrating our community.

The Art show was a hit, with all students represented by one or more pieces of art featured in the show.

Thank you to all community members for attending the evening and a massive thank you to our wonderful staff for preparing and hosting the Open Night and sharing the wonderful learning and activities happening at Bimbadeen.

Election Day Fundraising BBQ

Thank you to our amazing community of parent and carer helpers for supporting our Election Day Fundraising BBQ. The building of our community is an ongoing priority for Bimbadeen, and it was wonderful for our school staff to be able to connect with our parents and carers who assisted with the BBQ on Election Day. We also had amazing support from our past-parents, students, and wider Bimbadeen community that came along to support us by purchasing a sausage in bread and a drink. None of this could be possible without our team of amazing volunteers that put so much love and time into planning, prepping, cooking on the BBQ, serving, setting up, packing up, cleaning and donating goods to support our fundraising efforts.

Sorry Day and National Reconciliation Week - National Acknowledgment of Country

On Thursday 26 May, the Bimbadeen community acknowledge Sorry Day and was pleased to be a part of the launch of National Reconciliation Week by taking part in the National Acknowledgment of Country.

Acknowledging Country shows you accept and understand that no matter where you are across this nation, you are on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lands, and you acknowledge ongoing connection to Country.

At 9am, we made the following Acknowledgement of Country on behalf of our school community:

This National Reconciliation Week, we acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Land on which we stand and come together to learn each day. We acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and extend that respect to other First Nations peoples present here today and who are a part of our community.

As a school, we plan and implement activities that help build on the respectful relationships we have with our indigenous families and the broader community. Our students participate in a range of activities and experiences that help build a respectful understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures, and contributions among the next generation of Australians that is critical to achieving reconciliation.

This afternoon, our students will participate in further activities during their STARS sessions to acknowledge National Reconciliation Week and Sorry Day. Sorry Day acknowledges the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities, which we now know as the Stolen Generations. Students reflected on the impact this would have had on our First Nations people, and created a shared display featuring Reconciliation hands, arranged around a yellow circle with the word ‘sorry’ in the centre, that you will see on display around the school.

Out of School Hours Care - change of provider

From the beginning of Term 3 2022 our Out of School Hours Care and School Holiday Programs will be delivered by a new provider. The new provider is 'TheirCare'. Over the last term school leadership and School Council have been meeting with a range of providers and receiving expressions of interest from them. Their Care was chosen as we were most impressed with their service, their commitment to delivering outstanding care for our students and the training and support they provide for their staff. We would like to thank OSHClub and their staff for their service over several years.

Below is a summary of key information from TheirCare about their program and how parents and carers can access their service:

Bimbadeen Heights Primary School has partnered with TheirCare to provide this service to your school commencing in Term 3, 2022, which includes quality care, booking flexibility, amazing programming for your children and commitment to deliver on our promise to your school community.

TheirCare provides adventurous and stimulating Before & After School Care Programs in a safe environment for all children. During sessions children develop life skills, friendships, confidence, and creativity through play.

We would like to welcome you to a Parent Information Evening on 16th of June 2022 at 6:30pm via WebEx so we can answer all your questions. Webex Link: https://meet141.webex.com/meet141/j.php?MTID=ma3dfc73f2b2e1ee216e9b03b391f355f

To enrol your child, visit TheirCare website: www.theircare.com.au and click on ‘Book Now’ in the top right-hand corner to register your child’s details.

Further information about the TheirCare program at Bimbadeen has been sent home with the eldest child in each family this week.

COVID-19 Pop-Up and Free Flu Vaccination Clinic – Tuesday 7 June 3:30pm-5pm

On Tuesday 7 June, Bimbadeen Heights PS will be hosting a pop-up vaccination clinic for children and adults across our community. A question-and-answer session for community members who have questions about COVID-19 and Flu vaccinations for children, will be held in the library between 1pm-3:30pm.

The pop-up vaccination clinic will begin at 3:30pm and will be held in the First Aid Room. COVID-19 and Free Flu vaccinations will be available from 3:30pm until 5pm. Access to the vaccination clinic will be via the pathway around the Administration Building. Please ensure you follow the signage and do not enter the front office as there will be no access to the clinic from this entrance. Bookings are not required as this is a walk-in vaccination clinic.

COVID-19 vaccination clinics are also being held at other schools across our network. Please see the attached flyer for further information.

NAPLAN 2022

NAPLAN testing was completed a few weeks ago and our students largely took it in their stride, as it is just another assessment task. Results from the assessments will be received next term, when we will take the time to identify areas we are teaching well and areas we can make improvements in. Academic results are only one of the measures we use to assess our performance and we are keenly aware that enhancing the wellbeing of all students is just as important as ensuring they are highly literate and numerate.

2021 Annual Report

Earlier this term, we presented our 2021 Annual Report to School Council. The report shows that we have made strong growth in most areas of the curriculum, and we have others where we are still seeking to make further progress. As a school staff, we are strongly committed to the process of continual improvement and have made great leaps in deepening a culture of Professional Learning and the use of ICT that is driven by all staff members.

The 2021 Annual Reporting Meeting of School Council will be held in August where Adele Gregson (Principal and Executive Officer of School Council) and Troy Hovey (School Council President) will share a summary of the activities and achievements of council in the previous year, along with a summary of our 2021 Annual Report.

Further information about this Webex meeting will be shared with families at the beginning of Term 3.

Mid-Year Reports

Reporting to parents/carers about how each child’s learning is progressing supports the work of teachers and parents/carers in supporting our students to achieve their full potential. Our teachers are busily collating information about their students’ learning and are preparing to implement formal assessments in coming weeks that will assist with report writing.

Our mid-year reports are made available to parents on the Sentral Parent

Portal. Mid-year reports will be available in PDF form for parents/carers to read online or print out a hard copy for themselves. Reports will be available for parents/carers on Sentral on Wednesday 22 June at 4pm. For parents/carers to access these reports they will need to be registered for and be able to access the Sentral Parent Portal. If you have not yet registered or are having difficulties accessing the portal, please contact our Sentral co-ordinator Melinda Ruscitti on Melinda.Ruscitti@education.vic.gov.au or contact Shelley and Emma in the office for support.

Parent/Teacher Interviews

Parent/Teacher Interviews will be held in Week 3 of Term 3, with information being sent to families at the beginning of next term. Interviews will be booked online via Sentral and will be held either via Webex or in person.

2023 Foundation Enrolments (reprint)

Enrolments are open for Foundation in 2023. We encourage prospective parents to complete an online tour via the school website where you can learn about our wonderful school and meet our staff and students. Prospective families can also attend an in-person tour where we can show you our wonderful school and answer any questions you might have or discuss your child’s individual needs.

Parents/carers of 2023 Foundation students are encouraged to submit their enrolment form as soon as possible but no later than the state-wide Foundation enrolment due date of 12 August 2022. We will be notifying parents/carers of their child’s Foundation placement at Bimbadeen Heights PS by 26 August 2022.

Completed enrolment forms can be returned to the school:

directly, by dropping enrolment forms and additional documentation into the school office
via post to Bimbadeen Heights Primary School, 118 Hayrick Lane, Mooroolbark 3138
via email to bimbadeen.heights.ps@education.vic.gov.au (please scan and send all sides of the enrolment form, including additional documentation).

Victorian School Nursing Program (Primary) (reprint)

Jody Daff, a Visiting Primary School Nurse from the Department of Education and Training, will be attending the school to conduct Foundation student health screening assessments and to see children in grades 1-6 as requested by teachers and parents and carers (only with parent or carer consent).

The purpose of the visit is to provide all Victorian school entry aged children with the opportunity to have a health screening assessment, to link children, families, and schools to services available in the community, and to provide information and advice about children’s health and wellbeing.

Parents and carers are invited to contact the Visiting Primary School Nurse if there are any issues they wish to discuss; Jody’s contact number is 0412 081 846.

Parents and carers of students in grades 1-6, who request for their child to undertake a health screening assessment by the Visiting Primary School Nurse, must complete a Primary School Nursing Program Student Referral Form which is available at the school office. The completed Primary School Nursing Program Student Referral Form must be returned to the school office for collection by the Visiting School Nurse.

We hope you enjoy a lovely weekend.

Adele Gregson and Sabrina George

Year 6