Dear Parents and Carers,

Book Week and Reading at BEPS:

We recently celebrated Book Week, a fun and wonderful week aimed at inspiring a love for reading in our students and showcasing the importance of literacy in everyday life. Reading is key to academic success, expanding horizons, nurturing creativity, and enhancing critical thinking skills.

Our goal at BEPS is to build a school-wide culture that values and enjoys reading. We firmly believe that fostering a love for books from an early age can greatly influence a child's academic journey and personal growth. Encouraging regular reading is one of the most valuable habits parents and educators can instil.

Reading is essential for children's development in many ways. It stimulates creativity and imagination by transporting children to different worlds and exposing them to various characters, settings, and ideas. It enhances language skills by enriching vocabulary, improving grammar, and broadening language abilities; the more children read, the more they encounter new words and expressions, which helps them become better communicators. Reading supports cognitive and emotional growth by engaging the brain and improving functions such as memory, concentration, and critical thinking while also helping children develop problem-solving skills and empathy as they learn to understand complex ideas and relate to the experiences of others. Additionally, strong reading skills are fundamental to academic success, as children who read regularly tend to excel across all subjects due to better comprehension skills and the ability to grasp new concepts more effectively. We hope you and your child enjoyed the various Book Week activities and shared in our celebration of reading.

Fathers’ Day

We hope all the fathers in our school community felt celebrated and cherished last Sunday. Whether you received some cozy new socks or spent quality time with your loved ones, we hope you enjoyed your day. We extend a sincere thank you to our parent volunteers who helped make the Father's Day stall a successful event.

2025 Enrolments:

We recently sent out enrolment confirmation letters to the families of our 2025 Foundation students. We are eagerly anticipating and preparing to welcome our new Foundation cohort as they begin their transition sessions with our Foundation teaching team next term. Their arrival is a moment of great excitement for us all.

Springtime and Hats:

Spring has finally arrived after a long, cold, and wet winter! With the flowers already blooming and the sun shining (somewhat) more often, the UV index is also rising above 3. Starting this week, as a reminder, students must wear hats during outdoor activities to stay sun safe.

Numeracy at BEPS:

We have some exciting events coming up. This week, BEPS hosted the Whitehorse Numeracy Network Meeting, an essential platform, that brings together several local schools to collaborate and share best practices in Mathematics and plan for Mathematics Version 2.0—Victorian Curriculum. This is a great opportunity for our Leading Teachers to learn and contribute to developing the new curriculum.

Meal Deal:

Next week, we have organised a yummy special meal deal for students to enjoy on 12th September, in conjunction with the Specialist Fair. The meal will include a choice of a savoury roll (either Cheese, Cheese and Tomato, Cheese and Bacon or Cheese, Tomato and Bacon) and a sweet roll (either mini custard tart or finger bun). Students will also receive a packet of popcorn and a bottle of water. We're sure the students will love it! We are asking for parents to help package and distribute the lunches. If you are able to help, please let us know via email at parent.association@burwoodeastps.vic.edu.au . Orders must be made by 5 pm Monday 9th September. No late orders can be accepted. Please order via CompassTix.

This is a great opportunity to join our Parents’ Association. If you can assist in any way, please email Louise (Parents’ Association President) on the above email.

RoboCup:

Next weekend, Saturday 14, some of our students will participate in the next RoboCup Robotics event at Genazzano College. Thank you to Cherry, and Jim, parents of two students attending the competition, for volunteering as key representatives for this exciting event. We wish our students all the best!

Lacrosse Clinics:

Our Year 4 to 6 students are participating in a 3-week lacrosse clinic at school. This is a great opportunity for them to try out a new sport, develop new skills, and learn about teamwork and sportsmanship. Thank you to Rocky and the Camberwell Lacrosse Club for organising.

Camps:

This week has been full of excitement, with our Year 6, Year 3 and Year 4 students (next week) holding camp briefings and our Year 5 students embarking on their much-anticipated 3-day camp in Week 10. These camps are always eagerly awaited and filled with adventure, including team-building activities, bushwalking, and challenging rope courses. We look forward to hearing about these events as they come to fruition.

Reading Initiative next term:

In Term 4, we are happy to announce that Story Dogs will join us as BEPS. This literacy program assists children, particularly reluctant readers, to learn to read. This program will target selected students in our Year 2 cohort who will meet with a fully trained handler and their dog to read one-to-one every week. During these weekly meets, the dog will listen to students reading aloud, with the dog handler there to provide reassurance and assistance in making strides in their literacy skills, including fluency, confidence, and motivation.

Story Dogs aims to make reading fun and encourage confidence in children to become lifelong readers. Research has shown that a certified reading therapy dog can empower reluctant readers and help all students make huge strides in reading. If you would like to learn more about Story Dogs, please speak with Leanne, visit the website https://www.storydogs.org.au/ or watch the YouTube clip https://youtu.be/mIa6UrYgpC4. What a woofderful initiative!

Thank you for your continued support.

Teri and I look forward to more exciting events and learning opportunities!

Have a lovely weekend.

Teri and Edwina

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