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.
This weekend, all eyes will be on the Formula 1 Melbourne Grand Prix, and one of our very own staff members had an unexpected brush with racing legend Sir Lewis Hamilton!
Matt, our talented Guitar teacher, also works as a surf instructor at Urban Surf. On Wednesday night, he received an unexpected call to give a surf lesson to a special client. Little did he know, the entire Ferrari Team was already there for a surf session, and the "special client" was none other than the F1 superstar himself—Sir Lewis Hamilton!
Matt had the incredible opportunity to give a one-on-one surf lesson to the racing icon, adding an unexpected twist to his week. It's not every day that you get to teach one of the world’s best drivers how to catch some waves!
We’re sure this will be an unforgettable experience for Matt, and we look forward to hearing more about it. As we all get ready for an exciting weekend of Formula 1 action, let’s remember that even in the world of motorsport, some of the best moments happen off the track! Check out the selfie of Matt and Lewis Hamilton, a memory they’ll both surely cherish. Go team Ferrari!
On Friday 1 March, Year 5/6 students excitedly participated in the annual Lilydale District Primary Schools Sports Association Athletics Carnival at the Mount Evelyn Athletics Track. The Year 3/4 carnival was held today! These sporting events are a considerable organisational achievement, and we must recognise the work of Mr Munnecke and the Physical Education teachers from the Lilydale District schools who work tirelessly to pull it all together.
Thank you to our wonderful parents and carers who assisted as volunteers and spectators at the event, along with our teaching and support staff who attended. Bimbadeen achieved a 5th place in the Year 5/6 competition, and at the time of printing we are eagerly awaiting the results from our Year 3/4 students. We are very proud of the incredible efforts of our students and the way in which they conducted themselves, demonstrating our school values and good sportsmanship behaviour throughout the carnivals.
Our STARS (Student Teams Are Really Special) Program started on Friday 21 February. Every student at Bimbadeen belongs in a STARS group with other students from the same house. This program aims to build a sense of belonging and connectedness between students at different year levels and is an integral part of our whole school wellbeing program.
Each group has students from Foundation to Year 6 who develop a special relationship with each other as they meet throughout the year. We are really pleased to have class teachers, specialist teachers, and the school principal team as our leaders, which allows us to have almost 30 smaller groups. The sessions will take place every second week throughout each term, in place of assembly. The students will stay in the same STARS group throughout their years at Bimbadeen.
Building peer connectedness through STARS is an anti-bullying strategy. It builds a student’s school network and often children will go to older members of their STARS group for assistance or affirmation. The younger children respond to the high fives, and hellos given by their STARS friends, and it helps them to feel safe in a busy playground.
STARS sessions involve social and emotional learning activities where students share their interests and hobbies, their skills and talents and their feelings, worries and joys. As they learn more about each other, they realise that although every student is different, they are alike in many ways. The activities take place within a circle, which symbolises unity and co-operation. It indicates that the group is working together to support one another. Every student is important within the group and their contribution is valued. Whole school special events such as Harmony Day are celebrated through STARS.
We are thrilled to announce our fundraising events for the 2025 school year at BHPS! These events are a wonderful way to bring our school community together while raising funds for our students.
However, we can’t do it without the support of our amazing teachers, parents, and volunteers.
Here’s a sneak peek at what we’ve got planned for this year:
Term 1:
Term 2:
Term 3:
Term 4:
Some events, such as the Mother’s Day Stall, Father’s Day Stall, and Colour Run, are marked as "Pending parent support in coordination." This means we need your help to ensure these events go ahead!
Last year, we faced challenges with organising the Colour Run, but we are passionate about bringing it back in 2025. It’s a fun, active event that everyone can enjoy—but we need volunteers to make it happen!
If you are interested in helping with any of these events, please complete the Fundraising Form in your ‘Back to School Kit’ and return it to the office. Alternatively, you can email Lizzie Henderson, our Head of Community Links (Fundraising), at Elizabeth.Henderson@education.vic.gov.au to express your interest. Ms Henderson will reach out to you closer to the event dates with more details.
We look forward to making 2025 an exciting year for our school, and with your support, we can make these events truly special for everyone involved. Let’s work together to create lasting memories for our students and families!
Thank you for your continued support!
Following the call for nominations for vacancies on our School Council, I would like to congratulate Tristan Aumann, Jamarl Scase, Michelle Garvey and Carly Bullock who have been elected as parent members on our School Council for a two-year period. Congratulations also to Bree King and Lizzie Henderson who have been elected to the school employee positions on our School Council.
Thank you to each nominee for their enthusiasm and desire to contribute to our school through School Council membership and for their commitment to help make Bimbadeen Heights Primary School the best it can possibly be.
The first meeting of the new School Council will be held on Wednesday 19 March.
It is wonderful to see our students who have embraced active travel and who are now walking to school, or riding their skateboard, scooter, or bike to school. Active travel is a great way to beat the traffic congestion while getting a dose of healthy, heart-pumping physical activity.
We would like to remind everyone that bikes, skateboards, and scooters must be walked in the school grounds, to ensure the safety of all community members before and after school. Families are welcome to visit the school from 4pm or on weekends to ride their bikes, skateboards, or scooters around the yard.
In our first newsletter for the year, we reminded our community that the official on duty time at school is 8:45am for our staff. We understand that traffic flow and other challenges sometimes means an earlier arrival, however, we ask that parents and carers avoid dropping off their children any earlier than 8:45am. There is no formal supervision of students until this time, and we are obviously conscious of student safety.
Each day, our classroom doors open at 8:50am so students can settle themselves and get organised for the start of the school day. Please plan to arrive at school on time for a 9am start. Our teachers have developed strong, positive routines at the beginning of the school day to support our students to settle-in and engage in learning as soon as the bell rings. This includes marking the roll at 9am and beginning our teaching and learning activities straight away.
We have implemented this approach of opening our classrooms 10 minutes before the bell to support the wellbeing and engagement of our students. When students arrive to school late, they take longer to settle into learning, and this can be unsettling for both them and their peers. Please support your child to enjoy a positive start to the school day and their learning by planning to arrive on time.
When students arrive at school after the bell, they will be marked as a late arrival. As we are now over the hallway mark of Term 1, we hope that our families have created morning drop off routines to support your children to arrive at school on time. Please note, when a student arrives after 9am, a parent/carer must sign them in at the office. This is to provide a reason for the student’s late arrival and ensure our attendance records are up to date. We have duty of care for all students, and it is imperative that we know when our students are at school and maintain accurate records of attendance. The Department of Education requires us to have documented reasons for all late arrivals and absences.
Student Resource Funding is determined by parent codes taken from the self-nominated category on student enrolment forms. This means that funds from the Government are taken from the parent/carer occupations. We take this opportunity to remind families to advise the school of any changes to employment. As always, any information is confidential.
In the case of an emergency, we will attempt to contact parents, and if there is no response, then we move to the emergency contacts. It is important that the office has the most current and correct contact details for any parent, to help ensure this will happen.
Please take this time to check your details on Sentral, and if you find them incorrect, email the office at bimbadeen.heights.ps@education.vic.gov.au and we can amend these for you.
Neurodiversity Celebration Week is from Monday 17 March to Sunday 23 March, and Autism Acceptance Month is in April. These are great opportunities to celebrate the strengths of our autistic students and other diverse learners, recognise challenges they may face and learn more about how we can support them.
Our school is committed to understanding, including and celebrating our diverse learners and we value the contribution they and their families make to our school.
About Neurodiversity Celebration Week
Neurodiversity Celebration Week is a worldwide initiative that celebrates the strengths and talents of people who think and learn differently. It also reminds us of the importance of being kind, accepting and inclusive of everyone.
About one in 5 children has variations in their brain development. These variations include those seen in autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia and dyscalculia. These children can be described as ‘diverse’ learners.
Autism Acceptance Month in April is a chance to celebrate, support and include autistic students. It is an offshoot of the United Nation’s sanctioned World Autism Awareness Day on Wednesday 2 April 2025.
To mark Neurodiversity Celebration Week and Autism Acceptance Month, we would like to share some resources that support inclusion that have been developed for the Department of Education by autistic-led organisations and lead researchers in autism and neurodiversity:
More Support for Autistic Students
The department has established the Diverse Learners Hub to meet the needs of diverse learners. The hub provides evidence-based advice and resources on best-practice inclusive teaching practices for supporting autistic students and other diverse learners.
Bimbadeen Heights Primary School is committed to child safety and upholding the Child Safe Standards.
Bimbadeen Heights Primary School has zero tolerance for child abuse.
We are committed to providing a child safe environment where children and young people are safe and feel safe, and their voices are heard about decisions that affect their lives. Our child safe policies, procedures, strategies, and practices will be inclusive of the needs of all children, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, children with disabilities, LGBTIQA+ students and children who are vulnerable including students who are in out of home care.
Every person involved in Bimbadeen Heights Primary School has a responsibility to understand the important and specific role they play individually and collectively to ensure that the wellbeing and safety of all children and young people is at the forefront of all they do and every decision they make.
Please see the Child Safe Standards page on our school website for up-to-date information, including direct links to the Child Safe Standards and the website for the Commission for Children and Young People.
We hope you have a wonderful weekend and feel free to pop in for a chat with us should you wish to discuss anything. Our doors are always open!
Kind regards,
Adele Gregson, Sabrina George and Marty Gill
