Principal's Report

Hosting the Buninyong Playgroup

For a long period of time our prep team has built a strong relationship with the local kinder, which has helped with the transition across to us.  For some time, we have thought about the potential of hosting a Play Group, which typically has the 3 year olds, as a means of establishing an earlier connection with families.

Two weeks ago, we met with representatives from the Buninyong Play Group to discuss the potential of their program being based at our school. Turned out they were keen and wanted to make the switch as soon as possible.  As a result, Buninyong Playgroup ran their first session at BPS on Friday morning.  They are very happy with their new home, so hopefully this will be a long-standing relationship.

Debating

Last Tuesday I had the pleasure of accompanying our student debating teams to the South Street Competition, held at ACU in Ballarat.  The kids did an amazing job and whilst our teams didn’t come away with the chocolates, they were impressive.  

Events like this see the kids pushed way outside their comfort zone, which is a credit to all that participated.  And of course, being part of the debating team results in learning how to construct an argument, how to present in front of an audience, and how to think on your feet.  Most of this year’s team is made up of grade 5s, so our team will be much more experienced and confident in 2024.  

Well done to Mrs Cray who did an excellent job guiding our debating teams and she’s keen to learn from the experience and go again next year.

Parent Surveys

By now all families have received an invitation to participate in a Parent/Guardian Survey.  We’d really appreciate you spending the time to complete that survey.

The survey is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour and student engagement. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies.

All responses to the survey are anonymous. This year, the Parents and Caregiver Opinion Survey will close on Friday September 8.

The survey is conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones.  

 2024 Prep Enrolments

A reminder if you have a child to enrol in prep for 2024, please access an enrolment form from the website or from the office, fill it out and send it in ASAP.  Once your child is enrolled, you’ll be on the mail out list for transition updates, which includes information about our Preschooler Program and Orientation Day.  Please pass this message on to anyone else who may be in the same situation.  Please feel free to give us a call if you have any questions.