Principal's Message
Our apologies for the delayed publishing of this newsletter. Technical issues with the online platform that hosts our newsletter were resolved today.
There is a lot happening at Ben Venue. In the past fortnight, we have had Kindergarten gymnastics, the K-2 cross country, Stage 2 athletics workshops, Stage 2 Thalgarrah visits, our debating students participated in a training workshop, our netballers played Sandon PS, Stage 3 students enjoyed a science day with UNE Discovery, all students participated in our Olympic Day, and enrolment interviews for Kindergarten 2025 commenced.
K-2 Cross Country
Thank you to everyone who was able to attend the K-2 Cross Country in Week 2. Congratulations to all runners. There was a great spirit of participation from all students. All runners earner points for their houses and additional points were awarded to the first 15 students in each year level. Congratulations to the following students who finished in the top 10 of their year groups:
| Kindergarten Girls | Kindergarten Boys | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Layla (KG) | Kaylan (KG) |
| 2 | Maisie (KG) | Frank (KR) |
| 3 | Piper (KR) | James (KF) |
| 4 | Mae (KG) | Flynn (KR) |
| 5 | Issy (KG) | Finn (KG) |
| 6 | Isabelle (KE) | Fletcher (KF) |
| 7 | Tarjerai (KE) | Xavier (KR) |
| 8 | Astrid (KE) | Charlie (KR) |
| 9 | Maddie (KR) | Oliver (KG) |
| 10 | Evie (KE) | Mason (KE) |
| Year 1 Girls | Year 1 Boys | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rosie (S1M) | Ollie (S1C) |
| 2 | Kapowi (S1F) | Darcy (S1S) |
| 3 | Maddi (S1L) | Loki (S1B) |
| 4 | Rosie (S1C) | Reed (S1S) |
| 5 | Piper (S1F) | Harvey (S1C) |
| 6 | Lyla (S1S) | Toby (S1C) |
| 7 | Millie (S1C) | Archie (S1M) |
| 8 | Mabel (S1L) | Marcus (S1L) |
| 9 | Addison (S1M) | Ollie (S1C) |
| 10 | Anjali (S1S) | Archie (S1L) |
| Year 2 Girls | Year 2 Boys | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Natasha (S1S) | Angus (S1F) |
| 2 | Dakota (S1C) | Harvey (S1C) |
| 3 | Remy (S1S) | Tommy (S1C) |
| 4 | Ember (S1L) | Patrick (S1C) |
| 5 | Sophia (S1F) | Tobias (S1L) |
| 6 | Eva (S1M) | Liam (S1F) |
| 7 | Ava (S1M) | Finn (S1B) |
| 8 | Blossom (S1F) | Oscar (S1F) |
| 9 | Ruby (S1B) | James (S1B) |
| 10 | Izzy (S1F) | Aiden (S1F) |
Recognition assembly
Families are invited to an assembly at 2:15 pm on Wednesday 5 June, to recognise the work that has been occurring in classrooms, as well as students who have represented Ben Venue in cultural, academic, sporting and service fields.
Courteous parking
As in the past, I acknowledge that parking around the school for afternoon pickup is limited. However, following requests from the local community, I ask that families parking in streets surrounding the school take care not to park across residents' driveways.
Adjustment to school budgets
Schools received confirmation of 2024 funding levels on Thursday last week. In the past days, we have been reviewing our financial plan in the context of savings measures introduced by the Department of Education.
An increase in the number of students enrolled at Ben Venue from the beginning of the year has effectively offset a reduction in funding levels and we have been able to adjust our planned expenditure to ensure that teaching, learning and student support continues to be prioritised and resourced at existing levels. There will be no budget related change to classes or learning support in 2024.
As part of the measures introduced by the department, schools no longer have access to previously unspent funds that accumulated in previous years. Ben Venue has not accumulated unspent funds in the past few years, but has had access to funds that were unspent prior to this time. This resource has been incrementally allocated in our financial plan over recent years to supplement the school's recurring budget, supporting programs, initiatives and projects that benefit students. Ben Venue had a plan to deplete this fund by the end of 2025, at which time any remaining amount would be reabsorbed by the department. A change to NSW school budgets at the end of last term includes the removal of these unspent funds from schools. These funds were planned to facilitate a number of projects commencing this year, including some to which I had previously committed in this newsletter, in P&C meetings and in conversation with members of our community. With teaching, learning and student wellbeing remaining our priority, each of these projects is likely to be impacted upon.
Academic Reports
Academic reports are distributed to families at the end of Terms 2 and 4 each year. This year, reports will be provided via email and the School Bytes Parent Portal. As well as being a step in the right direction for our environment, electronic distribution will smooth the process for students who are absent in the final week of term.
We have also improved our reporting format to provide more useful information in each key learning area, including additional information on your child's strengths and next steps in learning.
Data collection on communication & recognition of achievement
Having implemented our new approach to recognition and awards for over a year, now is a good time to check in on the perceptions of our community. More information and a greater response rate from our community is required to help us evaluate our approach and inform our next steps. Often the feedback we receive is from a minority with strong beliefs in either direction, and we miss the opportunity to develop an understanding of the average perception and opinion. The more representative the data we can collect, the more our decisions as a school will meet the needs of all our families. I ask everyone reading this newsletter to please complete a 2-5 minute survey on experience with, and perceptions of Ben Venue's approach to recognition of student effort and achievement.
This survey will remain open until the end of Term 2. Results will be shared only if the minimum response rate is achieved.
Cam Pryce
Principal