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.
On Wednesday this week, our Student Leadership participated in the Halogen Australia National Young Leaders Day. The following report was written by our student leaders Rose, Ella, Chloe and Jacob:
The school leaders had the opportunity to participate in the National Young Leaders Day Conference which took place in the Melbourne Exhibition Centre on Wednesday 23rd March. We attended this day to learn more about leadership and the qualities that a young leader has. We were very fortunate to have four inspiring leaders share their stories with us:
We were also very lucky to have Ezra Bush and his best friend, Dan Long, from the Dance Curriculum program, to give us dance lessons throughout the day. They also debuted their new song, ‘You Know’.
Bimbadeen’s school leaders were very fortunate to meet and have a photo with Cate Campbell. The leaders were also lucky to purchase a Halogen pin that is to remind us that leadership is about you making a contribution and together we can shine brightly.
In conclusion, our Student Leadership Team learned a lot about Leadership and had a fun experience (as well as learning some groovy dance moves).
Individual Highlights
Jacob - It was a fun and engaging experience and I learned a lot from the inspiring speakers.
Ella - I had a fun time learning about the inspiring peoples’ lives
Chloe - I was really excited to get the opportunity to go to the National Young Leader’s Day and I learnt a lot about how to be a better leader.
Rose - I really enjoyed experiencing the inspirational leaders’ stories and achievements.
Kobe – I had a fun time seeing all the speakers and something I took from the day is that all leaders start at the same place and that there is no easy way to success.
Archie – I had a fun time learning new dance moves and I liked when they talked about setting goals so that you can prove to your friends the importance of never giving up.
Tia – I had a fun time meeting new people, learning dance moves and I learnt that being a leader involves listening and always being open to learning.
Evie – I had a really fun time dancing and listening and having a photo with Cate Campbell.
Pat – Being inspired!, learning new things and how it is important to always set goals and never give up on them.
Cooper – Learning about Lachie Smart’s adventure around the world.
Mr Gill – Hearing what the speakers had to share. My favourite quote from the day was ‘seek out the challenges but do it with support’
Mrs Gregson – My favourite part of the day was listening to Lachie Smart’s presentation. The most important lesson he shared was to learn from your mistakes and be grateful for the learning that those mistakes give you.
This week, students and staff at Bimbadeen participated in classroom activities and discussions to help celebrate, share and embrace cultural diversity as part of Victoria's largest multicultural celebration, Cultural Diversity Week.
Cultural Diversity & Harmony Week invites us to reconnect, share and express ourselves creatively through this year’s theme: Connecting Through Culture.
As part of Cultural Diversity Week celebrations, students (with their siblings and/or parents/carers) may like to consider entering the Victorian Multicultural Commission’s 2022 Multicultural Film Festival competition. The annual festival showcases short films that explore stories of diversity and inclusion.
The competition includes two sub-categories for Best Young Filmmaker:
Films entered must be specifically produced for this competition and can be:
Entries close on Wednesday 20 June 2022. Information about the competition is available from the Victorian Multicultural Commission 2022 Multicultural Film Festival competition.
Congratulations to our students and staff who represented our community at the Celebrate Mooroolbark Festival last weekend. Our school participates at this event each year with children entering the various competitions and/or participating in the parade. Selected students spent time preparing for their Chinese Dragon performance to open the Festival with Mrs Sarah Cherry, our Chinese (Mandarin) teacher. Congratulations to all students who performed and represented our school at the event and thank you to our community members and staff who volunteered their time to support the event as well.
A highlight each year for our children is the annual Junior School Council Easter Raffle. Each family is asked to donate an Easter egg or Easter treat of some sort that will be put with others and packaged for the raffle prizes.
Each year we have around 30 prizes, so excitement levels are very high at the final school assembly before Easter when we announce the winners. Thank you for your support in sending along Easter treats for the raffle and for buying raffle tickets to support our school. We hope that your family is a recipient of a prize!
The first meeting of the new School Council was held last week. The meeting included the election of office bearers and the following members were duly elected to specific roles on our council:
The membership of your School Council this year is as follows:
Parent Members
School Employee Members
We were pleased with the interest from our parent/carer community in nominating for council. We are also very pleased with the calibre of people on our School Council who are all great supporters of our school, and we look forward to working with them as we continue our journey with a focus on improving student learning outcomes.
Our School Council sub-committees provide an excellent opportunity for our parents/carers to contribute to our school community. Members of our community, including parents/carers, do not need to be on School Council to be a member of a sub-committee and we warmly invited you to consider joining one or more committees to help lead the work of our council this year.
In 2022, we have five sub-committees of School Council:
Each sub-committee meets once a month (approximately 6-8 times per year), in the week prior to each School Council meeting. Meetings are usually held in the early evening and to ensure accessibility and inclusion, all sub-committee meetings include a Webex option for members of our school community to attend meetings virtually, when they are unable to attend in person.
If you are interested in joining one or more of our sub-committees for this year, please
contact the relevant convenor via email:
Our School Council Student Learning Sub-Committee regularly review and update our school policies that fall under the umbrella of the Child Safe Standards. In 2022, we will be discussing and reviewing the Child Safe Standards at each meeting, with the aim to continue to improve how we address each standard and improve the structures and processes we have in place to help keep our students safe from harm.
Over the coming Term, we will be sharing an overview of each of the Child Safe Standards in the newsletter to help build community awareness of the standards and to seek feedback around how the standards are addressed at Bimbadeen.
A vital component of reviewing and updating school policies is parent/carer involvement and feedback. Whilst there are several avenues for this, the most effective way is to attend a Student Learning Sub-Committee meeting. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday 9 May at 7pm, in the staffroom at school. All attendees are required to be double vaccinated and provide evidence of vaccination upon arrival and sign-in. If you would like to join the Student Learning Subcommittee or attend our next meeting, please contact Michelle Franks in 9726 9989 or Michelle.Franks@education.vic.gov.au
Future Student Learning Subcommittee meetings for this year are:
Please continue to be ultra-cautious and safe around our school at drop-off and pick-up times. Also remember to be courteous and respectful. We have continued to receive reports from neighbours and members of our school community who report dangerous driving and illegal parking.
The Traffic Control unit was seen outside our school this week, along with parking inspectors from the Shire of Yarra Ranges. Please remember, if you want to avoid traffic congestion in the mornings and afternoons, active travel is a great option. Walk with your children, get them to walk with friends, or park a few blocks away from the school and walk the rest of the way to school. The children will be exercised, socialised and much more ready to learn when they get to school and you won’t have to deal with potential traffic infringement notices, or other hazards related to trying to drop your child off at the front gate.
Enrolments are now open for 2023!
Mrs Gregson, Mrs George and Mr Gill have started providing personalised school tours for interested families and we are accepting enrolment requests for next year for Foundation and (any other year level). Enrolment request forms are available at the office and prospective families can book a school tour through the office on 9726 9989 or via email to Bimbadeen.heights.ps@education.vic.gov.au
Designated neighbourhood schools and school zones
Children of compulsory school age are guaranteed the right to enrol in their local school by the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic), specifically S 2.2.13 (1), which states, “A child of compulsory school age is entitled to be enrolled at his or her designated neighbourhood Government school.” The designated neighbourhood school is generally the school within closest proximity to the student’s permanent residential address. Parents/carers with children living outside a school’s zone still have the choice to request enrolment at their preferred government school. If the school has sufficient capacity, the enrolment may be accepted.
The Placement Policy continues to prioritise children and young people living within the school zone and the siblings of students already attending the school. The Department’s Placement Policy sets out:
More information is available online: https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/enrolment/guidance/placement-policy
Our annual ANZAC service will be held on Friday afternoon of the first week back at school next term, April 29, at 2:30pm. The service will be held on the netball court in front of our Gallipoli mural, weather permitting. We love to have parents/carers and other visitors attend the ceremony. On this day each year, many children also like to bring along medals or photos of relatives who have been service people. Teachers will give their students the opportunity to show these cherished items to classmates and talk about their significance. It is always pleasing to see how Bimbadeen students show great respect and honour the past in this way each year by participating in our school and other local ANZAC services. We will share more information about our ANZAC Ceremony in our next newsletter.
Friday 8th April is the final day of Term 1.
A final assembly will be held virtually at the end of the day, with students being dismissed at 2:30pm. Please make appropriate arrangements for your children to be collected. OSHClub will be running an afterschool care program on Friday 8th April, beginning at 2:30pm. They also have a comprehensive holiday program planned for the school holiday break. Please contact OSHClub directly for bookings.
We hope you have a wonderful weekend and a great final fortnight of term. Feel free to give us a call or pop in for a chat with either of us or any other member of our Leadership team should you wish to discuss anything.
Our doors are always open!
Kind regards,
Adele Gregson and Sabrina George
