Principal's Report
Parent Surveys
Early next week, parents and carers will receive an invitation to participate in a Parent/Guardian Survey via Compass. We’d really appreciate you spending the time to complete that survey if you can.
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 19.
Surveys are conducted online, only take 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones.
How to participate?
You will receive a Compass message early next week which will include a link to the survey portal (Orima) as well as a generic PIN. Please note that there is a separate PIN for each campus.
Thank you in advance and if you have any questions, please contact the office and we’ll be able to assist you.
Thanks to Buninyong Community Bank and Buninyong & Mt Helen Lions Club
We’re fortunate to live in a such a strong and supportive community and recently have seen more examples of that with support being provided by the Buninyong Community Bank and the Buninyong and Mt Helen Lions Club.
Recently the Community Bank confirmed a grant of $2,500 to fund a complete makeover of our vegie gardens and greenhouse at our Scotsburn Campus. This will include:
The purchase of some new raised garden beds (complete with soil), which will replace the current raised beds which are now very tired and starting to fall apart.
Re-lining of our greenhouse and the addition of shelving and potting benches inside this structure. This will boost opportunities for the kids to garden throughout the winter months.
We greatly appreciate the ongoing support of the Buninyong Community Bank, which on this occasion will help support the garden program at Scotsburn.
The Buninyong and Mt Helen Lions Club have donated $1,000 to support our Ready Set Go Program, enabling us to fit out the new greenhouse with pots, tubs, and a substantial amount of potting mixture. The Ready Set Grow program is gaining momentum, is fabulous for the kids involved and is attracting a growing number of volunteers. A big thank you to the Buninyong and Mt Helen Lion’s Club for helping us sustain this initiative.
Master Chef Excursion
The leaders of each of our scholarship programs are always on the lookout for opportunities that broaden the experience of our students and expose them to real life applications in their particular field.
Yesterday I was lucky enough to join the Master Chef scholarship team on an excursion to meet with, and learn from, Tim Bone at his Tim’s Toasties business. Tim was generous with his time and spoke at length with the kids about his cooking journey and his learnings along the way. This included encouragement for the kids to be brave and to give things a try, even when it can be daunting. The kids had prepared some great questions for Tim and listened intently to his responses.
As you’d expect, doing some cooking with Tim was an integral part of the session, where kids were introduced to a variety of ingredients and were encouraged to experiment. In the end, we all enjoyed a delicious lunch and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
2026 Prep Enrolments
A reminder if you have a child to enrol in prep for 2026, 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.