Message From Bev and Kim 

Welcome back everyone, and a warm welcome to our new families.

It has been a wonderfully smooth start to our year, and we thank you for adhering to COVIDSafe operations within our school. When onsite please drop and go or pick up and go. A reminder that students are not permitted on the play equipment at the beginning or end of the day. Toddlers and younger siblings can of course play while waiting for student siblings to leave the building. We really appreciate all parents/carers supporting us as we continue to operate within the social distancing and time limit parameters. 

Our students and staff have begun their year with a renewed enthusiasm, excitement for the year ahead and a focus on building strong communities of learners. The seniors have embraced the chance to practice their swimming strokes in readiness for the BBPS 3-6 Swimming Carnival.

COVID UPDATE

Following the Government’s announcements regarding new statewide restrictions that came into effect at 11:59pm on Wednesday 3 February, there is new guidance for schools regarding the wearing of masks. People aged 12 and over must wear a fitted face mask when in public indoor spaces unless there is a lawful reason not to. 

Children under 12 years of age and students at primary school or attending an OHSC program are not required to wear face masks.

School staff are not required to wear face masks while teaching or caring, but those who wish to do so, can. Staff must wear face masks in indoor areas of the school when not teaching or caring. 

Parents and Visitors – please ensure that you do not enter our buildings, and that if you go to the Administration Office that you wear a mask. All adults must have a mask on them at all times in case social distancing is not possible. 

Newsletter Update

This year our newsletter will be circulated every two weeks – we thank Benita for the brilliant job that she does putting it all together.

If you have anything for the newsletter please email your advertisement to brighton.beach.ps@education.vic.gov.au by Tuesday 1:00pm, once it is approved your payment needs to be made prior to publishing.   The cost of advertising in our electronic newsletter is as follows:

$88.00 – ½ page advert for one issue

$110.00 – Full page advert for one issue

Our payment option is direct deposit into our bank account

BSB 313140

Account No: 1201 2442

Account Name: Brighton Beach Primary School

Please put in the description – The business name and the date your ad is to be advertised and email us confirmation of payment.

We also like to highlight any student/s achievements in Little Athletics, Swimming, Karate, Ballet, Gymnastics, or any ball sports etc. Please send a photo through to Benita on such occasions.

Assembly

At this stage Assembly is a staff and student only event. We will be Zooming it live for parents whose students are presenting.  The link will be shared via Compass each week. Assembly is 2:45-3:15 each Monday. See our Compass Calendar to find out when it is your child’s class share.

(For new families, each week a different class has the opportunity to share with the whole school – this term we begin with Grade 5 and 6). 

Safety Tips for coming to school

As we return to school it is timely for parents to have open conversations with your children to help them to make the best safety choices as they to and fro from school. Teachers will also use circle time to check in with students about the ways they come and go from school and the possible choices they can make to keep safe, using role plays and scenarios.

• Personal Safety: please remind your children to not talk to unknown adults when travelling to and from school; and remind them to tell you or a trusted adult of any interactions that might take place. For further information go to: http://learning.istaysafe.com.au/ , a good resource to use to prompt or initiate dialogue.
• Bike Safety: all children riding to and from school must wear a helmet and follow road rules safely. Please remind your children of the importance of using hand signals, not weaving between cars, and walking their bikes when using the pedestrian crossing. There is a bike shed at school where students can leave their bike for the day. Students are not permitted to ride, scoot or skateboard in the playground.
• Pedestrian Safety: all families need to use the pedestrian crossings when crossing the road to and from school. If you are picking your child up across the road, please remind them to use these crossings. There is a crossing on both Exon Street (Libby) and Windermere Crescent (Rod). The traffic lights at New Street are also supervised.
• Road Safety: Our Two Minute Zone on Windermere Crescent is a well-oiled stream-lined process designed for the safety of ALL our students. Students being picked up from here are released at 3:20pm, regardless of surname. Please do not leave your car unattended. Students should only access stationary cars in the designated waiting area from the sign to the white fencing. Otherwise parents are asked to park and enter the grounds on foot to collect their child/children.

Whole School Events this term – diary dates and details

Feb 8 – Feb 11: Swimming continues 3-6

Could all swimming bus helpers please make sure that our Admin Office has a copy of your Working With Children’s Check card. All helpers must register using the QR Code located just outside the Administration Office, prior to getting on the bus, for contact tracing purposes.

Feb 12: 3-6 Swimming carnival – please see notice in this week’s newsletter with details based on COVID restrictions. We have had to think differently about our carnival this year due to the density quotients currently in place. Please be sure to consent and pay for your child to attend the carnival via Compass – the Compass Event will be out to families tomorrow. 

Week 4 (starting Feb 15): Meet & Greets will take place at some point this week, either across the week or Tuesday, 16th commencing in the afternoon. Details will be confirmed, and sign up options via Compass released early next week. Thanks for your patience as we confirm details based on our DET COVID Guidelines and the ever-changing circumstances. 

For our new families, Meet and Greets is an opportunity for you to meet your child’s 2021 teacher. They are 10 minute meetings where you can share any information deemed important for your child and their success as a learner this year. Parents are invited to sign up for these meetings via Compass Conferences. More information on how to do this when the time comes. 2021 Prep Parents your Meet and Greet is incorporated into the Wednesday Appointments.

Friday, 19th Feb: Prep Welcome BBQ. 

Unfortunately due to current social gathering restrictions we are unable to have our annual whole school BBPS Welcome BBQ. Instead, we will be holding a Prep only event, 5-7pm, as an opportunity to welcome our new cohort of learners, COVID restrictions pending of course. 

The Parent Association will be working closely with the Dad's Dreamers to come up with alternative options for other class year levels as an opportunity to meet and reconnect.

Week 5, Friday 26th February: New BBPS Parent Meeting

As we are unable to have our whole school Welcome BBQ, we invite our parents new to BBPS with students in Years 1-6 to meet with us from 9-10am as an opportunity to touch base and connect. More information to come closer to the time.

Week 6, Tues 2nd – Wed 3rd March 5pm: Parent Expo – via Zoom

This is an opportunity for parents to immerse themselves in the learning that takes place at BBPS, and gain a greater understanding of our curriculum priorities at each grade level for 2021. 

Week 9, Tues 23rd March 6pm: The Resilience Project Parent Session

We have worked closely with TRP for the past six years, and last year the team and their program played a central role in the support structures we provided to ensure the mind safety of our community throughout the COVID lockdown period. This is a session not to be missed by both familiar and new families. More information to come, but put the date in the diary.