Principal's Report
Principal's Report
It is almost the end of term 3 and everyone is eagerly awaiting the return to warmer weather and hopefully an improvement in everyone’s health.
The last two weeks have been extremely busy for all year levels.
The students in Year 6 attended the “High School Musical” by Beaumaris Secondary College students and the Year 5 students attended “The Addams Family” musical performance by Sandringham Secondary College students.
Our students are extremely fortunate being provided with these opportunities before they start secondary school. They really enjoy seeing many of our ex-students on stage and as members of the production crew.
House Athletics Carnival 2022
On Wednesday 24 August our Years 4 - 6 travelled to the Sandringham Athletics track to compete in 8 events for the House Carnival.
Thank you to all the parents who came along and supported both the students and the event.
Please see the P.E page for lots of videos, photos and the results of the day!
The Annual Primary Schools’ Debating Competition
On Tuesday 23 August, six students from Year 6 represented BNPS at The Annual Primary Schools’ Debating Competition which was held at Brighton Secondary College.
The students involved were given a coaching session from students at Brighton Secondary College to prepare and ready them for their first debate.
The first round topics were as follows:
Beaumaris North 1 - That letter grades should be abolished (Affirmative)
Beaumaris North 2 - That primary school aged children should not be allowed to watch reality TV (Affirmative)
The students came up against some experienced and well prepared teams and unfortunately Team 1 lost their first round by 3 points. Team 2 was successful in their first round debate and moved through to the Round 2 with the topic of ‘That the ABC should only show Australian made content’ (Negative). With only 15 minutes to prepare for this second debate, the team quickly got together to write their speeches. Unfortunately they lost their second round debate by only 1 point.
All students involved did an incredible job and should be extremely proud of the effort they have put in to this experience. They have all learnt a great deal about debating and thoroughly enjoyed the whole day.
Congratulations to the following students for their involvement in The Annual Primary Schools’ Debating Competition:
Jack S, Mason H, Orson L, Oscar E, Fletcher G and Hugh W.
Well done everyone!
Mini Olympics for Prep, Years 1 and 2
Last Friday the students in Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 participated in a Mini Olympics event. The excitement was clearly obvious as the groups of children moved from one station to another.
I would like to thank the Year 6 House Captains for managing each of the stations highlighting their wonderful leaderships skills.
Thank you also to Mr Dan Farmer for managing this special event for our students.
Please see the P.E page for lots of photos and videos of this event.
Year 4 Exhibition
On Monday 29 August the Year 4 students participated in their Inquiry Exhibition on the Human Body.
The students learning involved two parts
The first part was student driven and involved each student choosing a body system to research. They generated open and closed questions about the system to guide their research and then presented this information to a small group of peers and a teacher. As part of this process, students also learned to use Microsoft Sway, an Office 365 presentation app to create digital pages which can be viewed as a website on a variety of platforms.
The second part involved students collaborating in small groups, with expertise from different body systems. They brainstormed a range of major events/situations which would significantly impact human body systems, choosing one event to further research into such as an illness, disastrous event, extreme diet or exercise. The challenge was for students to apply their individual body system knowledge to a specific event, collaborate effectively with their group members and create a single presentation. Students then put their presentation skills to work, creating informative and engaging posters, models and diagrams to display for their exhibition.
Congratulations to all the Year 4 students and teachers for their involvement in such an impressive and informative exhibition. It was also lovely to welcome parents and special friends onsite to view and celebrate such wonderful learning.
BNPS Book Week
Book Week Parade
On Monday 5 September at 9.15 we will be having a whole school Book Week Parade under Sherril’s shed. We encourage all students to dress up as a book character of their choice. They may choose to also carry the book that their inspiration came from as they parade around.
We would like to extend an invitation to our parents to join our Book Week Parade.
BNPS will be celebrating Book Week during week 9 from Monday 5 to Friday 9 September.
Each year since 1945 the CBCA has brought children and books together across Australia through CBCA Book Week. During this time schools and public libraries spend one glorious week celebrating books and Australian children's authors and illustrators. Classroom teachers, teacher librarians and public librarians create colourful displays, develop activities and tell stories relating to a theme to highlight the importance of reading.
Since 1987 there has been a national theme which is chosen and voted on by the CBCA members. Artwork is developed by a winner of the previous year's CBCA Book of the Year Awards and used for CBCA Book Week promotional material and merchandise.
This years’ theme is Dreaming with eyes open. The Artwork was created by Jasmine Seymour. Jasmine is a teacher, author and illustrator.
Please click on the link below to learn more about the theme for Book Week.
Throughout this week our students will be immersed in a variety of rich literacy activities based on the shortlisted books.
BNPS Scholastic Book Fair
BNPS will be hosting a Scholastic Book Fair in week 9 from Monday 5 September to Thursday 8 September in the ACE Space, which is the room opposite our school Library.
Students will have the opportunity to visit the Book Fair and create a written wish list that they will bring home for you to view. Parents will have the chance to visit the Book Fair to purchase books from their child’s wish list or start some early Christmas shopping.
Both Eftpos and cash sales will be available. Please refer to last week’s Compass post indicating the timetable for parents to visit the Book Fair.
Fathers’ Day Celebrations
Our Prep fathers looked very dapper with the colourful ties designed by their child on Wednesday. Having Dad or a special friend at school is always a highlight for our Prep students. I wonder if the ties remained on for the duration of the day!
Father’s Day Stall
Tomorrow we will be holding the Father’s Day Stall. I would like to sincerely thank Anna Holmes, Claire Kirk and Ros Wells for the enormous amount of work that they have put in for this stall to be held tomorrow.
Jack - State Schools Spectacular
Jack S to perform at John Cain area on Saturday 10 September.
After many days and nights of rehearsals the time is almost here for the State Schools Spectacular to perform.
The program showcases and unites government school communities through working towards a common goal of more students reaching the highest level of achievement in the arts, ensuring kids are happy, healthy and resilient, and building pride in our schools.
The Spectacular has become an invaluable rite of passage for Victoria’s top young talent, and a cherished, memorable education experience for all participants.
Good luck Jack.
Wellbeing Week
The theme is - ‘We all have the right to feel safe at all times’.
All students will be focusing on the theme ‘I feel safe’ as part of our wellbeing theme.
As part of our commitment to Child Safe Standards, we will be encouraging students to develop confidence and feel empowered to speak up when they are feeling unsafe.
Our Child Safe Policy states:
“To support child safety and wellbeing at Beaumaris North Primary School, we work to create an inclusive and supportive environment that encourages students and families to contribute to our child safety approach and understand their rights and their responsibilities.”
It is a requirement in all government schools that the teaching of ‘consent’ is taught in an age-appropriate way.
In the lower grades, students will be learning to identify feelings and learn to be the boss of their bodies by recognising things that make them feel ‘safe’ or ‘unsafe’. In the middle grades, there will be some discussion around body boundaries and personal space. In the senior grades, students will discuss respect, consent and signals in our body that show we are feeling uncomfortable.
We will be referring to and discussing with students the ‘My Body Safety Rules’ poster, which is attached for your reference.
This will enable us to review and discuss with our students who are 5 trusted adults they can talk to if they are feeling worried or unsafe.
We encourage you to access the ‘Body Safety Skills: A Guide for Parents and Carers’ to give you some tips and ideas on further discussion at home.
Michael Grose has also written a great article about teaching your kids consent - https://www.parentingideas.com.au/blog/teaching-your-kids-about-consent/
If you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the Wellbeing Officer – Jess Patane.
BNPS Student Dress Code Review
BNPS Uniform Public Consultation (UPC)
As part of the School Council’s activity of reviewing the student dress code on a regular basis, in accordance with the Department of Education’s policy, we are currently investigating including new items in the Uniform Range. As part of this activity the School Council will have a Uniform Public Consultation (UPC) to gather feedback from the school community.
Uniforms are an important aspect of school life ensuring the dress code meets human rights and anti-discrimination requirements, includes exemption processes and addresses health and safety concerns.
Our BNPS uniform is an important part of the school identity and safety, it helps to identify students as they go about their daily learning from incursions to excursions, and as they travel to and from school. It allows choice based on their preference of uniform combinations related to activity, climate, season, gender, identity, culture and religion. It ensures health and safety issues such as sun protection and weight distribution of ergonomically-designed bags protect their developing bodies.
Student voice is an important element to this and as such the Student Agency Team (SAT) with representatives from Years 3 to 6, is gathering feedback from all students regarding their preferred option of a knitted beanie to include in the uniform range for Winter 2023.
As part of this public consultation we will undertake the following activity for the school community to engage in;
Thursday 1 Sept – Newsletter advice of activity to school community
Friday 2 Sept – Compass notification to school community of foyer display
Monday 5 – Friday 9 Sept – Foyer display of mannequins and samples for viewing and feedback
Tuesday 13 Sept Evening, time to be advised – Webinar session for face-to-face consultation with School Council representative and BNPS Uniform Co-ordinator
Beginning Term 4 – Advice of the outcomes to the School Community
Please see attached the current BNPS Dress Code Policy and Uniform Combinations of Summer and Winter.
We look forward to your involvement and feedback. If you have any queries please email our School Council Representative, Mary Sheargold, using the school email Beaumaris.north.ps@education.vic.gov.au and/or Annie Thomas, Uniform Shop Co-ordinator uniform@beaumarisnorthps.vic.edu.au
SHERRIL DUFFY
PRINCPAL