Principal's Report 

The day a wombat came to school

We had a very exciting day last week when a wombat came to school! 

While our students were not aware of the wombat’s adventures until after it had been caught and relocated back to its home, they enjoyed engaging in wombat themed activities throughout the remainder of the week. 

Check out the imaginative stories about the wombat’s adventures later in our newsletter. 

Somers Camp

An excited group of Year 5 and 6 students enjoyed 9 days at this year’s Somer’s Camp. Somers Camp is a Victorian Government School Camp which offers Year 5 and 6 students a range of outdoor and environmental activities. Bimbadeen Heights PS sends a group of students from Years 5 and 6 every second year to participate in this valuable experience. Our students were delighted when Mrs George visited them last Friday with a delivery of letters from their peers at school. The students were also treated with a visit from their families on Sunday. It has been wonderful to hear about their adventures upon their return to school this week. 

Lilydale District Primary School Athletic Sports

On Friday 1 March, Year 5/6 students excitedly participated in the annual Lilydale District Primary Schools Sports Association Athletics Carnival at the Mount Evelyn Athletics Track. The Year 3/4 carnival was held on Thursday 7 March. These sporting events are a considerable organisational achievement, and we must recognise the work of Mr Wait, and the Physical Education teachers from the Lilydale District schools who work tirelessly to pull it all together. Thank you to our wonderful parents and carers who assisted as volunteers and spectators at the event, along with our teaching and support staff who attended. Bimbadeen achieved a 3rd place in the Year 5/6 competition (an improvement of 2 places from our 5th place last year), and our Year 3/4 students achieved 2nd place. Many of our students achieved strong results across the range of events. We are very proud of the incredible efforts of our students and the way in which they conducted themselves, demonstrating our school values and good sportsmanship throughout the carnivals.

Elite Athletics Success!

On Wednesday this week, a select group of students from Years 3-6 participated in the School Sport Victoria Elite Athletics competition. Our students represented our school with pride, excellent sportsmanship, encouragement of one another, and resilience as they competed against the best student athletes in our District. There were many outstanding achievements on the day: 

Students who placed 1st and 2nd in their respective events, have been invited to participate in the next level of competition, Division Athletics. Thank you to our parent and carer helpers who assisted our students, Mr Wait for coordinating the event alongside his district colleagues, and to Miss Murphy and Gerry for assisting on the day. Congratulations to everyone who competed in the day and strived to achieve their personal best, represented our school with pride, and encouraged and supported each other. We are so very proud of you!

It was a wonderful day, despite the rain, with students showing respect and resilience, encouraging everyone to do their best. And it was great to see so many parents and grandparents stop by to cheer us on too!

Student Achievement outside of School - Congratulations Jordan!

Congratulations to Jordan O who participated in The Australian Maths Competition (AMC) at the end of last year. 

The AMC is Australia’s longest running maths competition for school students and involves solving unique and challenging maths problems designed by leading educators and academics. Jordan received a High Distinction, placing him in the top 1% in the State for his year level

Congratulations, Jordan, we are so very proud of you! 

If your child has achieved success in their personal endeavours outside school and you are happy to share their success with the broader school community, please send a short blurb and photos to bimbadeen.heights.ps@education.vic.gov.au so we can celebrate their achievements in our newsletter. 

Save the Date - ANZAC Day Service Wednesday 24 April 2:30pm

Traditionally, on the last school day before ANZAC Day we hold a special whole school ANZAC Day ceremony. This year’s ANZAC Day Service will be held on Wednesday 24 April at 2:30pm on the basketball court in front of our ANZAC Memorial. Our ANZAC Ceremony is one of the most memorable school assemblies that we hold at Bimbadeen each year and it always makes us proud to see the children showing such respect and learning about this important part of Australia’s history. The service features a guest speaker along with presentations by our School Captains and School Captains from Mooroolbark Secondary College. Please add this date to your diary and we look forward to seeing you there!

2024-2025 School Council

Following the call for nominations for vacancies on our School Council, I would like to congratulate Andrew Lanigan, Katie Rogers, Morgan Gardiner, Emma Dickman and Kelly Dwyer who have been elected as parent members on our School Council for a two-year period. Congratulations also to Sabrina George who has been elected to the school employee position on our School Council. 

Thank you to each nominee for their enthusiasm and desire to contribute to our school through School Council membership and for their commitment to help make Bimbadeen Heights Primary School the best it can possibly be. 

The first meeting of the new School Council will be held on Wednesday 27 March.

No bikes, skateboards, or scooters on the school site between the hours of 8:30am and 4pm

It is wonderful to see our students who have embraced active travel and who are now walking to school, or riding their skateboard, scooter, or bike to school. Active travel is a great way to beat the traffic congestion while getting a dose of healthy, heart-pumping physical activity. We would like to remind everyone that bikes, skateboards, and scooters must be walked in the school grounds, to ensure the safety of all community members before and after school. 

Families are welcome to visit the school from 4pm or on weekends to ride their bikes, skateboards, or scooters around the yard.

Arrival Times at School

In our first newsletter for the year, we reminded our community that the official on duty time at school is 8:45am for our staff. We understand that traffic flow and other challenges sometimes means an earlier arrival, however, we ask that parents and carers avoid dropping off their children any earlier than 8:45am, unless they are attending Active Club or Breakfast Club. There is no formal supervision of students until this time, and we are obviously conscious of student safety. 

Classroom Doors Open at 8:50am, School Starts at 9am

Each day, our classroom doors at 8:50am so students can settle themselves and get organised for the start of the school day. Please plan to arrive at school on time for a 9am start. Our teachers have developed strong, positive routines at the beginning of the school day to support our students settle-in and engage in learning as soon as the bell rings. This includes marking the roll at 9am and beginning our teaching and learning activities straight away. We have implemented this approach of opening our classrooms 10 minutes before the bell to support the wellbeing and engagement of our students. When students arrive to school late, they take longer to settle into learning, and this can be unsettling for both them and their peers. Please support your child to enjoy a positive start to the school day and their learning by planning to arrive on time.

Late Arrivals

When students arrive at school after the bell, they will be marked as a late arrival. As we are now over the halfway mark of Term 1, we hope that our families have created morning drop off routines to support your children to arrive at school on time. 

Please note, when a student arrives after 9am, a parent/carer must sign them in at the office. This is to provide a reason for the student’s late arrival and ensure our attendance records are up to date. We have a duty of care for all students, and it is imperative that we know when our students are at school and maintain accurate records of attendance. The Department of Education requires us to have documented reasons for all late arrivals and absences.

Change of parent/carer or student details

Student Resource Funding is determined by parent codes taken from the self-nominated category on student enrolment forms. This means that funds from the Government are taken from the parent/carer occupations. We take this opportunity to remind families to advise the school of any changes to employment. As always, any information is confidential.

In the case of an emergency, we will attempt to contact parents, and if there is no response, then we move to the emergency contacts. It is important that the office has the most current and correct contact details for any parent, to help ensure this will happen.

Please take this time to check your details on Sentral, and if you find them incorrect, email the office at bimbadeen.heights.ps@education.vic.gov.au and we can amend these for you.

Child Safety

Bimbadeen Heights Primary School is committed to child safety and upholding the Child Safe Standards.

Bimbadeen Heights Primary School has zero tolerance for child abuse.

We are committed to providing a child safe environment where children and young people are safe and feel safe, and their voices are heard about decisions that affect their lives. Our child safe policies, procedures, strategies, and practices will be inclusive of the needs of all children, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, children with disabilities, LGBTIQA+ students and children who are vulnerable including students who are in out of home care.

Every person involved in Bimbadeen Heights Primary School has a responsibility to understand the important and specific role they play individually and collectively to ensure that the wellbeing and safety of all children and young people is at the forefront of all they do and every decision they make.

Please see the Child Safe Standards page on our school website for up-to-date information, including direct links to the Child Safe Standards and the website for the Commission for Children and Young People.

We hope you have a wonderful weekend. Please feel free to pop in for a chat with either of us, Mr Gill or any other member of our Leadership team should you wish to discuss anything. 

Our doors are always open! 

Kind regards, 

Adele Gregson and Sabrina George