A Message from Keir and Emma
“We would like to acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people, the first people to dream, create, wonder, dance, play and learn on this breathtaking land. This land was cared for and respected for tens of thousands of years. The First Nations people lived in companionship with the animals and the life on this land. We acknowledge that this is stolen land and we pay our respects to elders, past, present and emerging.”
Rayma Atkinson (2023 Suzanne Peterson Award Recipient)
Open Day
Thursday of next week (4th June) is our BNWPS Open Day. We are running two very special sessions for any prospective 2027 Foundation students and their families. The daytime session will take place at 9:30am, and the evening session will take place at 5.30pm. The sessions will begin with a story time in our beautiful library and will be followed by an exploration and treasure hunt activity that will be lots and lots of fun. We would love any prospective 2027 students to come along and take part. If you are interested in coming along, please use this link to book your space through Humanitix. Feel free to share the link with other families and friends who are interested in coming to BNWPS in 2027. We would love to see you all there!
Student Free Day
Friday 5th June is a student free day. Our teachers will be engaging in their Teacher Professional Practice day - a day for teachers to focus on improved delivery of high quality instruction through planning, assessment, collaboration, curriculum development and more. This date was endorsed by School Council and leads into the Kings birthday long weekend. OSHC will be available on this day for those families who require the support and supervision.
Semester One Reports
We will be providing student achievement reports for Semester 1 this year as usual. The reports will be distributed through the Sentral platform in the last week of term 2.
The reports will provide important details about student learning attainment, but full descriptive comments will not be included as a result of industrial action taken earlier this term by the Australian Education Union.
Teachers will be happy to discuss your child’s progress with you at our next three way conferences, which will take place in term three and are scheduled for Thursday 23rd July, or, as always, you can contact your child’s teacher through Sentral if you have any questions about your child’s report or progress.
Parent/Carer Respect for Staff
Unfortunately, over the past few weeks, there has been an increase in the number of incidents where parents/carers have been disrespectful to school staff - particularly Education Support Staff.
As professionals who work with children, BNWPS staff understand that sometimes student behavior escalations, unpredictable interactions and even changes to routine can cause parents/carers to feel pressured, embarrassed or unsupported. We would like to remind parents/carers that blaming, threatening, or making emotional or unreasonable demands of staff ‘in the moment’ is not a respectful, collaborative or helpful way to find a solution.
BNWPS must be a safe and supportive workplace for everybody everyday. The school values of Authenticity, Respect, Connection and Creativity are a great lens to use when engaging with any member of the school community in any way. If parents/carers are feeling emotional or unable to contain themselves in a moment, an interaction or a meeting we recommend stepping away and starting the conversation again when you are feeling more grounded.
If parents/carers have questions about the work, engagement or scheduling of Education Support Staff, we ask that you follow the specific Communication Trees (always at the top of this page in the newsletter) to direct you to the appropriate member of leadership who can help you navigate your way through questions and wonderings.