From the Principal Team

Welcome to this week's edition of the Banyule Bulletin. While it's hard to believe that we are almost halfway through the term, it's even harder to believe that we are already starting our planning for the 2026 school year!

Prep 2026...

2026 Planning started when our Prep 2026 enrollments were finalised last week. We have so far hosted two kinder play dates and it has been wonderful welcoming lots of excited new families into the BPS community. Both sessions have been well-attended, with children and parents enjoying time on and around our new playground and sand pit, some sporty activities in the gym and the opportunity to be part of some Wombat Stew story telling and deliciously disgusting stew making! We look forward to our final play date in the coming weeks. 

Teachers as Learners...

Our staff professional learning time has continued to be dedicated to the Department’s new initiatives. We have built on our extensive work with the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model 2.0. 

A reminder to families that Monday September 1st is a pupil free day. 

We will build on our last Curriculum Day's learning about, attention focus and regulation, knowledge and memory, retention and recall learning undertaken by Leading Teacher Fiona Catton, Learning Specialist Jessica Ray and Assistant Principal Claire Johnston before delving further into the new English 2.0 curriculum and its resources. Our Student Engagement Leader (Matthew Tanswell) will also work with staff as we continue building our knowledge of the elements of the Positive Classroom Management Strategies.

It is reassuring to know that our existing explicit instructional model and teaching and wellbeing practices align very well to the elements identified within the Department's new model. Our teachers are well ahead of the curve at BPS with their implentation of evidence-based teaching practices, which means for our staff its not so much as implementing some thing new but identifying where our practices align within the VTLM and refining anything that may be needed. Teachers will continue with this focus for the remainder of their professional learning time this year.

North East Link Grant

Just because it's been 10 minutes since our last building project finished, we thought what can we do now? Alas! We are pleased to announce that we have been successful in obtaining $40,000 from the North East Community Fund for fitness stations/play equipment area to be installed in the area adjacent to the eastern boundary (near the rebound wall) see image below). Congratulations and thank you to Claire Johnston for putting together this grant application. We are looking forward to this project coming to life later in the year. 

Did someone say 'Building Project'?

Why stop at one new project when you can have two! As such, we are also pleased that our application through the Accessible Building Program for funding to make our oval more accessible and inclusive to all has been approved! The Victorian School Building Authority has begun the process of engaging project partners to design and construct a ramp. Initial brainstorms suggest the ramp might sit below the new embankment works at the Banyule Road end of our school. It's still early stages and we look forward to sharing more as the project gets underway, as well as those with mobility challenges and prams  having better access to our oval.   

Enjoy this early taste of Spring! 

We'll see you around, 

-Natalie, Sam and Claire. 

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