Principal's Report
We acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the land on which we work, learn and play. We pay respect to Wurundjeri elders past, present and emerging and extend our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and families of Bimbadeen Heights Primary School.
Each year at Bimbadeen, we celebrate and acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day. This year, the day falls on Sunday 4 August, however we will celebrate this day during week 3 and 4 in our classrooms, specialist programs and through our multi-age STARS groups to support our students to engage with elements of First Nations culture and develop a strong understanding of this year’s theme.
This year’s theme is Strong in Culture, Stronger Together! This elevates the intention of Children’s Day, focusing on the strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children that comes from their connection to culture and mob. We hope that this year’s theme and our school-based activities empowers our First Nations children, making them feel proud of who they are and where they come from. If our children are strong in culture, then they are strong in their identity, and this is important for future generations to come.
At BHPS, we are proud of our connections to our First Nations families and being able to represent culture in a respectful way. We want to continue to ensure that Bimbadeen is a safe and inclusive place and thank you for your support in doing so.
If you would like to know more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day or the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care, please visit https://www.snaicc.org.au/
Throughout the past term, we have welcomed two new staff members to our community, in either Classroom Teacher or Education Support Staff roles. We are pleased to share the following introductions to our new members of staff. If you see them around the school, please stop and say ‘hello’ and welcome them to our community:
Cyndi Grant
Education Support Staff – First Aid Officer
It’s a great privilege and joy to be joining the dynamic and wonderful staffing team at Bimbadeen Heights Primary School. As the new First Aid Officer at Bimbadeen I have the absolute privilege of getting to know many students and families while being able to support them.
As a mum of a Bimbadeen student I have loved watching him grow and hearing about all the great things happening at Bimbadeen, and now I get to play a part! When I am not working, I love going to the beach, learning new things and spending time with my family and friends, sharing a laugh and making lots of fun memories.
Anu Velamakanni
Education Support Staff – Integration Aide
Working at Bimbadeen has been fulfilling and professionally rewarding as it offers me an opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of students by helping them succeed academically and personally.
Outside of school I love nature, travelling, going on walks with my family, and cooking.
Keep an eye out in our next newsletter for more introductions!
Parent/Teacher Interviews were held last week and this week, with parents and carers of students across the school, meeting with their child’s teacher to discuss their learning and wellbeing growth during the first semester of this year. Parent/Teacher interviews are an important opportunity for parents/carers and teachers to partner and support the learning, wellbeing, and engagement of our students. If you have not had the opportunity to meet with your child’s teacher, please get in contact with them to arrange a suitable time.
Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents/caregivers/guardians think of our school. The Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education that is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, and student engagement. The survey is optional, but we encourage all families to participate. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies.
The Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey is now open and will close on Friday 30th August 2024. A direct link to the survey has been sent to parents, carers, and guardians via Sentral. The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time within the survey period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets, or smartphones. The online survey will be in English and 10 other languages including Arabic, Greek, Hakha Chin, Hindi, Japanese, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Turkish, and Vietnamese. Last year we used the survey results to support planning for the Annual Implementation plan for this year. This data also helps us to measure the impact of success alongside our current Annual Implementation Plan and School Strategic Plan.
Please speak to your child’s teacher or contact the office if you would like more information.
Please continue to be ultra-cautious and safe around our school at drop-off and pick-up times. Also remember to be courteous and respectful. Please remember, if you want to avoid traffic congestion in the mornings and afternoons, active travel is a great option! Walk with your children, get them to walk with friends, or park a few blocks away from the school and walk the rest of the way to school. The children will be exercised, socialised and much more ready to learn when they get to school, and you will not have to deal with potential traffic infringement notices, or other hazards related to trying to drop your child off at the front gate.
Bullying No Way Week, 12 to 16 August 2024, is Australia’s key bullying prevention initiative and connects schools and communities to find workable solutions to prevent bullying.
We are proud of our proactive methods to prevent bullying behaviours at our school. Our School Wide Positive Behaviour Support framework further ensures that we explicitly take time to teach compassion and respect which links directly to how we demonstrate care and kindness of everyone at school. We also implement key lessons from the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationship and the Berry Street Educational Model which focuses on important skills for personal and social development. Our follow up and support for students and communication to families follow a Restorative Practices approach to best understand the conflict at that time, form agreements to repair the relationship to move on in a positive way.
At Bimbadeen we take inclusion seriously and take a strong stance against any bullying behaviours. We have a clear policy and process we follow to prevent bullying. You are welcome to read and access this policy and other key documents from our school website. We have also attached a document that demonstrates the differences between bullying and teasing and what actions we can take to prevent this.
To acknowledge this week, we are asking everyone to wear a touch of purple, the hero colour to represent ‘Bullying No Way!’ on Friday 16 August. This could be socks, a headband, scrunchie etc. In our classroom and through our STARS program, we will further highlight the theme for this year – ‘Everyone Belongs’.
If you would like to know more, please visit the Bullying No Way website - https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/
We hope you enjoy a lovely weekend.
Adele Gregson and Sabrina George
