WELCOME TO THE 2023 SCHOOL YEAR

Welcome back to everyone and hope you had a nice break. Largely we had good weather for everyone to enjoy, although the remainder of this week is not going to have a ‘February feel’.

We have lots to look forward to this year, including a Fete, the refurbishment of our junior toilet block at the Buninyong Campus, the introduction of STEM as a specialist subject, getting to use the new kitchen at our Scotsburn Campus and the replacement of our Grade 3/4 Adventure Playground Equipment at our Buninyong Campus. In 2022 schools were able to return to the events and routines that featured prior to the covid pandemic and we look forward to the continuation of these as well.

Our staff engaged in planning and professional learning on January 27 and 30 and have done an excellent job in making sure we were ready to hit the ground running this morning. As a result, we’ve had a lovely day at both campuses. The students were excited to be back at school and classes across the school were very settled. We’re very proud of the way the preps managed day 1.

Quite a few new families have joined our school, with a number of families moving into the area and of course lots with their eldest child starting in prep….a special welcome to you all.

We had 85 preps start with us today, 77 of those at Buninyong and 8 at Scotsburn. The photos attached give you a sense of how the preps and others have settled in.

We welcome a number of staff to the team, those being Rachel Middlin, Bryan White, Hayley Inglis, Abra Gould, Shauna Muller, Sarah Tuddenham, Kirsty Robinson, Jess Donald, Julia McGregor, Camille Hunter and Jonelle Barber. Each has done an excellent job preparing for their new roles and we know they’ll quickly establish themselves in our school. And of course, we welcome Dave Young back into the Assistant Principal (Teaching and Learning) role. After much of the previous school with Delacombe PS as principal, Dave will bring a whole new perspective set of skills and it’s good to have him back.

Many of you will have already met with the relevant classroom teachers, but if not, hopefully you will get an opportunity to come along on the ‘meet and greet’ evening on Feb 15.

SCHOOL FETE

It’s fantastic that we are back in the position to hold major events, meaning we can return to the routine of holding fetes and concerts. Obviously, these major events raise valuable funds for the school, but they also build community spirit and create great memories. Fetes and concerts also provide a great opportunity for parents to get involved and help us take these events to the next level.

In term 4 we gave students the opportunity to vote on which major event we’d start with, and a fete was the resounding winner. The fete will be coordinated by an organising committee made up of staff and parents. We’re now calling for parent volunteers to join that team. This team will meet on Mondays at 3:45pm, starting next week. If you’d be willing to help out, please let us know by contacting the office.

We have scheduled the fete to run from 5-8pm on Friday March 3, which is just over a month away. Each class will run an event or stall of some sort and over the coming week we’ll be figuring out who is doing what. Your child’s class teacher will let you know what event they are running and how you can help.

Attached are some photos from our last fete to give new families a sense of what to expect.

FINAL ASSEMBLY OF 2022

The final assembly in any given year is a big event and presents a nice way of celebrating the year and thanking everyone for helping to make Buninyong PS a special place.

As is tradition, there was a focus on our grade 6 students who were heading off to secondary school. To finish the occasion, the grade 6s performed their grade 6 dance before walking through an avenue of honour, throwing their hats in the air and signing polo shirts. The assembly is a nice way for all staff and students to acknowledge the group, thank them for their efforts and to say farewell.

CATHERINE KING COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD WINNER 2022

Our local Federal Member of Parliament offers an annual community service award for someone in the community who has made a strong contribution to the school. For 2022, the award recipient was Mark Jones.

A few years ago a Mark asked if he could help out with our vegetable gardens. Mark brought along a few friends and their work has included:

· working in the gardens during the school day and inviting interested children to join them at break times

· running cooking sessions using produce from the garden

· pottering about during the holidays keeping things watered and doing some weeding and

· running sessions for the kids at Vacation Care

The garden in front of the cottage, which is largely vegetables, is looking amazing and has been an ongoing project for Mark.

We very much appreciate Mark’s efforts and he was a worthy winner of the award.

Base 1270

Well done to our Base 1270 Team who once again ran a successful Vacation Care Program. Typically there were mid 30s in attendance, and the feedback from students has been very positive.

2023 Financial Assistance Information for Parents

Buninyong Staff