We would like to acknowledge and honour the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation as the traditional custodians of the land on which our school stands. We pay our respects to all First Nations elders, past present, and emerging.

Book Week

Thank you to each of you who helped your child put together a costume last week. We know that school dress ups can be an additional stress for families, but truly appreciate the energy, creativity and excitement that our community brought to the parade on Thursday! It was fantastic to hear so many conversations about special books and favourite characters.

Check out some staff costumes below!

Spring Family Day (Friday)

This Friday our school celebrates Spring Family Day. We are inviting families to join us for the last session of the day (2:30 - 3:30pm) to participate in activities and see what we have been working on in class this term.

Plant & Produce (Friday)

After school on Friday we will have a plant and produce market - brilliant timing when we will have many parents and carers at school for Spring Family Day! In the lead up we are calling out for any bakers or makers who would be able to make something to sell at the market - sweet treats are always a popular draw card for kids and we hope to have some produce available. Small plants and gifts for special family members this Sunday are also a welcome addition.

SunSmart Hats (next week)

September means SunSmart here at school. Starting from next week, all students are asked to have a broad brimmed or legionnaire’s hat at school for recess, lunch and outdoor activities. Anyone not wearing a hat will be asked to play in the shade of the undercover area.

Tips for surviving SunSmart Season:

Please write your child’s name on their hat so it can be returned if lost. Avoid naming the label/tag as they can fall off.
Check our Lost Property pile regularly (or ask your child to!) as lost and found items are typically stored there.
Decorate your school hat. Our school hats are well priced, safe and convenient! But also common - if your child wears a school hat, we recommend to decorate it so it’s easily identified even when someone is wearing it.
If you buy a hat from somewhere else, we strongly recommend you look for hats with quick release attachments on the chin strap. Playing tag or on monkey bars can become dangerous if a chin strap gets caught; quick release attachments significantly reduce the chance of choking or neck injuries.

5/6 Philosophy Camp Expressions of Interest

We have been offered an exciting opportunity to partner with the Victorian Association for Philosophy in Schools (VAPS) who are running a three-day multi-school Philosophy Camp in term 4. A total of 60 students will attend from 6 different schools, in mixed groups from years 5-8. The camp has been fully subsidised by the Department of Education - families of students attending will not be asked to pay.

We have ten places available for our students to go to this camp, attending with Hannah as the supervising adult.

We are seeking expressions of interest from families and students to gauge the level of interest by Friday 1st September. We already have interest from more than ten students, so we will select names from those who have submitted an expression of interest.

When considering if this opportunity is right for your child, please take into account that there will be multiple schools (including high schools) attending and that the students may be in a group with a teacher from another school for a portion of the camp.

The camp will not clash with any senior school activities scheduled (such as the 5/6 camp or end of year activities). VAPS has put together some early information on the camp location and intention as well as a draft itinerary for the camp, which may be revised before the end of November.

If you have any questions prior to submitting your expression of interest, please contact me via hannah.reid@education.vic.gov.au

Parent & Caregiver Opinion Survey

So far we have received 28 responses to the Parent & Caregiver Opinion Survey. With it remaining open for two more weeks, we are hoping to see more responses come through over the next few days.

All parents and caregivers are invited to give anonymous feedback on your perception of our school climate, student behavior, and student engagement. The survey is optional but we encourage all families to participate so we can consider as many different family experiences as possible.

The Parent Opinion Survey will be open until Friday 8 September 2023.

The survey is completely anonymous,will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete.

Unfortunately we are not allowed to publish the link in our public newsletter. To access the survey, families received a Sentral message a few weeks ago including the school’s PIN and instructions. If you can’t find the message, please contact the school office so they can resend the information to you.

The Nor'Wester

BNWPS is committed to Child Safe Standards and prevention of child abuse

Issue 26 · 28 Aug 2023

In this issue