VALE LYN BROMAGE

It is with deep sadness that we inform the Bimbadeen Heights community of the passing of one of our much loved keyboard teachers. Mrs. Lyn Bromage passed away last Friday after a fall at home.

Lyn had been teaching piano and keyboard for the past fourteen years at Bimbadeen Heights after a successful Music teaching career at Methodist Ladies College (MLC) and in the UK. Lyn was a friendly, fun, vibrant person, always on the go and involved to the maximum throughout her community with both people and music. She cared for and encouraged the students she taught and some continued learning from her after they left Bimbadeen. Lyn was one who really lived life to the full. At the time of her passing, Lyn was working towards a Masters degree, one of many she already held, and preparing for exams with the AMEB. Lyn certainly engaged in lifelong learning with great enthusiasm.

This week, Mrs Burt has contacted a number of parents of Lyn’s students to inform them of her passing. We sincerely apologise if we have missed anyone. Funeral arrangements are unknown at this stage and with current restrictions only family members can attend in person. We would like to send a collection of condolences from the Bimbadeen community to Lyn’s family. If any families would like to write a personal card or letter, please forward this to the school via post or digitally via Sentral to Mrs Burt and we will collate and send them on your behalf.

Lyn will be deeply missed by the Bimbadeen community and we send our sincere condolences to her husband, Alan, and her family, including Miranda Bromage, Lyn’s granddaughter, who was a past pupil of Bimbadeen Heights.

(Written by Mrs Lynne Burt)

100 Days Smarter!

Congratulations to our amazing Foundation class of 2020 on completing their first 100 days of learning. This is a time to reflect on the beginning of a great educational journey (at Bimbadeen and beyond).

Think about how much you have all learnt and the way you have handled an incredible year with strong levels of resilience and big smiles on your face.

We are so proud of every single one of you and we cannot wait to celebrate with you when we return to onsite learning. We loved dropping into some of your WebEx sessions on Thursday to admire your collections of 100 and Mrs Gregson even joined in the 100 dance with OBD. We would also like to send out a huge thank you to our amazing team of Foundation teachers and all the parents/carers, siblings and grandparents who have put in so much work to support your learning.

Whilst it is a first 100 days of school have been unlike any we have seen before, the work habits, resilience and love of learning you are developing puts you in a great place to overcome all the challenges that may lay ahead.

Congratulations for being 100 days smarter, Founders!

Fathers’/Special Persons Day

This year we are unable to hold our usual Fathers’ Day stall at school. We know that our students will acknowledge this occasion with cards, gifts and big hugs but we would also like to say a big thank you to all those dads and special people who are supporting our students through this tough time.

The school, with the support of the Wellbeing Team, will be running a free raffle. Students are encouraged to nominate a dad or special person and in a few sentences let us know why this person deserves to win one of our raffle prizes.

Prizes will be drawn on Friday, September 4th and winners notified.

To enter the raffle, please click on the link below. If the link does not work, copy and paste it into your internet browser:

https://forms.gle/ntspjEVr8gMVuQ5G7

State of Disaster and Stage 4 Restrictions now in place

The current State of Disaster and Stage 4 Restrictions came into place on Wednesday 5 August and no doubt, will be felt deeply across our community. Whilst we support the government’s push to bring the numbers of COVID-19 infections down and protect the health and safety of all Victorians, the impact these restrictions will have on families in our community could last much longer than the current six week lockdown period.

As the pressures on our families increase, and the consequences of Stage 4 Restrictions directly impact our community, our resilience will tested more than ever before. During this time, we ask that all community members demonstrate respect and courtesy towards each other. We are doing our absolute best to support our students, staff and families, while ensuring we comply with Department of Education and Victorian Government regulations and restrictions placed on our school. Many of our staff are parents/carers themselves, juggling working full-time from home and supporting their own children’s learning. The home learning challenges our school community is experiencing are not isolated to our parent/carer community.

It is more important than ever that we work together and support each other the best we can, to help our community reach the other side of these restrictions in a good place and maintain the strong, positive relationships we have worked so hard to develop.

Changes to Eligibility for On-site Attendance

With the new Stage 4 Restrictions, the eligibility for on-site student attendance has become increasingly complex. As a school, we are under very strict instructions with regards to students attending on-site and must ensure we comply with the regulations and restrictions in place.

There has been some confusion within our community around the eligibility of children to attend childcare services and the eligibility of children to attend school. We would like to reiterate that a school is not a childcare service and information pertaining to childcare is not relevant to schools.

There has also been some confusion about the eligibility for onsite attendance for children of parents/carers who are permitted workers who are working from home during this time. Parents/carers who are working from home are able to make an application for childcare/kinder but NOT school. Schools are not considered a ‘childcare service’ and parents/carers are expected to manage both working from home and supervision of their school aged child/ren.

We understand that these new changes will cause additional challenges for families however we must all work together to do what is best for not only our school community but for Victoria. As mentioned previously, we do not make these rules however we must comply with Department of Education and Victorian Government regulations and restrictions placed on our school. We would like to thank parents/carers for the consideration and understanding that has been expressed through the many recent conversations we have undertaken to clarify eligibility for on-site attendance.

Remote and Flexible Learning

With the current Stage 4 Restrictions likely to be in place until the end of Term 3, we are now faced with five more weeks of remote and flexible learning. Everyone is working hard to maintain a strong, positive disposition during these challenging times. Some days, this is easier than others. For each of us, children and adults, parents and education staff, there’s no greater skill needed at the moment than resilience. We are living through a tough time. It requires us to dig into the depths of our reserves to ensure we have the energy and positivity to support our children to get up each day, no matter the bumps and roadblocks each of us are facing.

Each week, we are tracking the engagement levels of all students in our remote and flexible learning program. Ideally, students are expected to attend their scheduled WebEx session each day. This, of course, can vary for each family depending on circumstances. To support us, we ask that you please notify the school office via Sentral (preferably) or a phone call, if your child is not going to be participating in the

remote and flexible learning program on any given day. Recording this absence is critical in helping us to follow up only necessary concerns and ensure that our students are all doing ok.

Our staff continue to meet on a weekly basis in order to fine tune the school’s remote and flexible learning provision. We understand the many challenges associated with remote and flexible learning and as always, invite your feedback and observations over the coming weeks. Through our positive collaboration, we can work together to ensure the best outcomes for our students; which is even more paramount during this extraordinary period.

School Access

It is now more important than ever that we remind parents/carers of current regulations, such as access to school premises. Until further notice there is no access to the school premises by parents/carers. We are unable to open the school for parent/carers or students to collect equipment or resources and the school office is not unattended during this time, as the team is working remotely.

If you need to discuss a school related matter or have any questions about your child’s learning, please contact your child’s teacher as the first point of call. If you are unable to get in contact with your child’s teacher, please then contact the office on 9726 9989 and a member of our Administration team will assist you the best they can.

Health and Wellbeing Supports

With the introduction of Stage 4 Restrictions and remote and flexible learning, it’s only natural to hold greater concern around your child’s wellbeing. The Department of Education have produced information for parents/carers that outlines tips and information about looking after your child’s wellbeing during this time. Please see the information below:

Please reach out to your child’s teacher if there is anything we can do to further support you and your children in navigating these challenging times. If you would like to access the support services that Bimbadeen Heights Primary School can offer, please contact Cath Buckland (Wellbeing Coordinator) Catherine.Buckland@education.vic.gov.au or Anne Lawry (School Chaplain) annelawrybhps@gmail.com.

If you or a family member is struggling with their mental health, please consider the following resources as well:

Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636 (24 Hrs)
Lifeline 13 11 14 (24 Hrs)
Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 (24 Hrs)
Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (24 Hrs)
Blue Knot Foundation Helpline information, support or referral for adult survivors of childhood trauma and abuse. Call 1300 657 380, 9am-5pm / 7 days a week.
Butterfly Foundation's National Helpline counselling and treatment referral for people with eating disorders, and body image and related issues. Call 1800 33 4673 8am-9pm / 7 days a week.
eheadspace mental health and wellbeing support, information and services to young people aged 12 to 25 years and their families. Call 1800 650 890.
MensLine Australia telephone and online support and information service for Australian men. Call 1300 78 99 78, 24 hours / 7 days a week.
MindSpot Clinic telephone and online service for people with stress, worry, anxiety, low mood or depression. Call 1800 61 44 34 AEST, 8am-8pm (Mon-Fri), 8am-6pm (Sat).
QLife telephone and web-based services to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people. Call 1800 184 527, 3pm-12am (midnight) / 7 days a week.
PANDA (Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia) telephone information, counselling and referral service. Call 1300 726 306, 9am-7:30pm AEST (Mon-Fri).
SANE Australia support, training and education enabling those with a mental illness to lead a better life. Call 1800 18 7263, 9am-5pm (Mon-Fri).

The health and wellbeing of you and your family are incredibly important to us, please do not hesitate to reach out if in need.

Assembly

During this period of remote and flexible learning, our Assemblies will be held weekly and will be filmed via Zoom. A direct link to the video recording will be sent out to parents/carers via Sentral every Monday afternoon.

Our Assemblies begin with the Australian anthem and school pledge, then focus on student learning achievements and the celebration of student birthdays.

They also include community announcements and information relevant to our school community. Please take the time to watch our Assembly video each week and we would love to hear your feedback and ideas to improve our assemblies while we are learning from home.

Principal Challenge

During this week’s assembly we shared our first Principal’s challenge where we asked our students to write a letter or a note to someone special in their lives to help them stay connected during this challenging time. We shared the wonderful letters we have received from students and how they have helped us feel connected and made our day every time we have received one. These letters are now proudly on display in Mrs Gregson’s office (see photo below).

More than anything, we miss seeing our students at school each day, but we enjoy hearing about their adventures at home in the letters we have received. If your child would like to write to us, they can send a letter to Mrs Gregson or Mrs George c/o Bimbadeen Heights Primary School, 118 Hayrick Lane, Mooroolbark, Vic 3134.

Newsletter Contributions

During this period of remote and flexible learning, we would love to continue to celebrate student learning and achievements in our fortnightly newsletters. If you would like to share an image of your child engaging in learning at home or a special piece of work they have produced, please send a photo to your child’s teacher so these can be included in our next newsletter.

We hope your family continues to be safe and well, and you enjoy a wonderful weekend.

Adele Gregson and Sabrina George

Remote Learning Heroes