Principal's Message

Welcome Back

I hope you enjoyed a restful break with your loved ones. We are excited to welcome everyone back for Term 2 and are looking forward to a busy and productive term ahead. Over the holidays, we had some maintenance work completed on our school buildings, and we continue to work on further improvements. A number of small jobs were completed over the holidays to our classrooms and we are waiting for new balustrades to be installed in the coming weeks.

This term is packed with many exciting events and activities. Our students will be participating in swimming lessons, which is a great opportunity for them to develop their water safety skills and have fun while doing it. We are confident that our students will enjoy this experience. This term also sees the teachers preparing mid-year reports to keep you informed of your child's progress. We encourage you to take the time to read the reports and discuss them with your child. This will help you understand their strengths and areas for improvement and support their learning journey. 

In addition to swimming and reports, we have a range of sports events scheduled throughout the term, including softball and soccer. Our students have been training hard, and we are confident they will make us proud with their sportsmanship and teamwork. I am also very impressed with the learning going on already this term. Our students have settled back into their routines quickly, and our teachers are working hard to challenge and engage them in their learning. As always, we appreciate the support and involvement of our families in our school community. 

Cross Country 

Last Thursday, nine of our students participated in a cross country event at Hanging Rock. The weather on the day of the event was nothing short of miserable, with heavy rain making for a wet and slippery course. However, our students kept their heads up. They showed incredible resilience and determination, putting in their best effort into their race. While our students did not reach the next stage they were a shining example of Bolinda Primary School. We are so proud of each and every one of them and look forward to seeing what they achieve in the future. 

Thank you to Meryn who helped transport and supervise the students on the day. We couldn't have done it without her. 

These are the students who participated in the event. 

Leadership

We are excited to announce that we have recently selected our student leaders for the upcoming school year. We had a record number of applicants who put themselves forward for leadership roles hoping to make a positive impact on our school community. The selection process was a rigorous one, with each student submitting a letter outlining their skills and explaining why they wanted to be a leader at Bolinda Primary School. 

We are pleased to announce that we have selected some outstanding student leaders, who we know will make a positive impact on our school. Our student leaders will now get to work on making a positive difference in our school community. 

In recognition of their achievement, we will be presenting each leader with a badge at an upcoming school assembly. We will inform the community when this event will take place. 

ANZAC Day 

As we reflect on ANZAC Day, we would like to take a moment to recognise the efforts of our student leaders, who recently attended the ANZAC Day service in Lancefield on behalf of Bolinda Primary School.

In addition to our student leaders' attendance at the Lancefield service, we held our own ANZAC Day service during our school assembly last Friday. During the service, our students had the opportunity to learn about the history of ANZAC Day, and we took a moment to remember and honour the sacrifices made by our service men and women.

As part of the service, students made poppies and took turns laying them onto a whole school wreath. 

Bunnings BBQ

I would like to say a massive thank you to Coles (Sunbury), Foodworks (Riddells Creek) and Woolworths (Sunbury) for their generous donations to our Bunnings BBQ on Saturday 13th of May. In the past, we've had to purchase all of the items for our BBQ fundraiser. This year is very different as Bek, who reached out to the supermarkets, has been able to secure the sausages, bread, onions, drinks, and sauces as donations. This is a massive win for our school and we're thankful for Bek and the businesses for making it happen. 

Grounds & Gardens

I want to share with you the amazing work that Sharon and parents of the school, Tammy, and Heath, have been doing at Bolinda Primary School over the holidays. They've been working tirelessly to get the edible garden ready, and it's looking absolutely terrific.

The students at Bolinda Primary School also got involved in the process. They helped to shovel dirt into the garden beds and the next job will be to plant everything. I was blown away by how terrific it looked. I even got to sample some of the delicious plants. 

We're thankful to Sharon, Tammy, Heath, and the students for all their hard work in creating this beautiful garden. It's not just a stunning visual display, but it also teaches the students about the joys of working with nature.

Instrumental Music Lessons

Music lessons are back at Bolinda in 2023, hosted by Jacob Petrossian. Make sure you read the page about the lessons if you are interested. 

Numeracy Professional Learning

We recently had an amazing professional learning day at our school, focused on numeracy. Our Senior Classroom teacher, Leighann Bloomfield, led the day and taught us about a new strategy to get children thinking called Number Talks.

Number Talks are a way for students to share their thinking and strategies with others about how they solve mathematical problems. It encourages collaboration and critical thinking, as students are able to see multiple ways to solve a problem. The students also use hand signals to demonstrate where they are at with their understanding. Leighann demonstrated how to run a Number Talk in a classroom, and it was very enjoyable to watch as the staff completed the tasks. 

We then spent the rest of the day formulating an instructional model for numeracy. An instructional model is a framework that guides teachers in how to teach a particular subject, in this case, numeracy. We worked collaboratively to develop a model that would be most effective for our students, taking into account their diverse needs and learning styles.

It was great to see the school working together, sharing ideas and strategies, and supporting each other to improve their teaching practice. There was a strong level of collaboration and engagement, and it was clear that everyone was committed to improving the teaching and learning of numeracy in our school.

Overall, it was a fantastic day of learning and collaboration, and we are excited to see the impact it will have on our students' learning. I've included an example of a Number Talk question for you all to have a go at. 

Dance Fundraiser

The Mechanics Institute Hall in Romsey is hosting a Sunday afternoon dance fundraiser on June 25th from 1.30pm to 5pm, and the proceeds are being donated to Bolinda Primary School. I would like to extend a huge thank you to the organisers for selecting Bolinda Primary School, we are incredibly grateful for their generosity, and we know that the funds raised will make a real difference to our school community.

So this is a fantastic opportunity to have fun, dance the afternoon away, and at the same time support our school community. The event is open to all members of the community, so please feel free to invite your friends and family along for a fun-filled afternoon.

If you would like further information about the event, please check out the community page. 

Senior Classroom

The Senior students have been engaging in various activities to learn about the significance of ANZAC Day. One of the activities involved writing a letter to a loved one from Gallipoli, imagining what it would have been like to be a soldier during that time. The letters were heartfelt and a lot of thought was put into them.

In addition to letter writing, the Senior students have been reading ANZAC Day picture storybooks, which have helped them understand the impact of war on individuals and families. The books have encouraged the students to reflect on the sacrifices made by our ANZACs and their families and have fostered a deeper appreciation of the significance of ANZAC Day.

I have been impressed with the level of respect demonstrated by the Senior students during this period. They have shown a great deal of interest in learning about ANZAC Day, and their engagement has been outstanding. They have approached the subject with curiosity, asking questions and wanting to learn more.

Jordan Chamerski

Principal