Principal's Report

Dear Bundoora Families,

I cannot believe that we have finished the second week of term three already! The prep, year one, and year two students are all settled into the new building, the old building is gone, and we are now looking forward to the completion of the grounds. 

Concert practice is forging ahead, and Mrs. Newell’s energy is limitless. She is dedicated to giving our students a ‘real’ performing experience. 

Thank you to all of you who have helped with costuming the children; the volunteer face painters and set decorators, the costume sorters, and the hours it took you to match each child to a costume, parents, and staff members alike.

You are all an invaluable part of our school community and what makes our community great. The concert is going to be a Grand Event and I hope you can come and watch it, if only to appreciate the work your children and our staff members have put into this event.

The concert is on Tuesday 1st August and Wednesday 2nd August and commences at 6:30 pm. Please read all notes from Mrs. Newell so that you know what time and day to drop your child at Loyola.

STAFF “SHOUT OUT” TREE

We have a new tree growing at school! You can see it in the library window! This tree is special as it has positive messages about our BPS staff on the leaves!  Thank you to anyone who has left a message on there and if you have a ‘shout-out’ for someone in our school please grab a leaf from the office, write your message and we will add it to the tree!  Big thanks to Amber Taylor (mum of James in Prep) and her mum Mah for making our tree!

TRAFFIC

Traffic on Bendoran Crescent and Balmoral Drive continues to be an issue. We understand that the construction is adding to the difficulty, but I am also alarmed at the near misses we see every day. Please remember that is not safe to do a U-Turn in either of these streets due to the congestion from parking and other traffic. The five minutes it takes to go around the block is not much and may save someone’s life. 

The Kiss and Drop Zone is supposed to be a moving line of traffic, with parents pulling in, children entering the car, and the car pulling out from the front of the line. The next car then moves up to the gate. If we follow this plan and avoid double parking, we will all get home faster and more safely.

I ask you that you avoid doing a U-Turn in the staff car park driveway, as children walk home that way, and it is impossible to see them when you are doing the turn or reversing out of the staff carpark. This carpark will be closed very soon as the original car park will be re-opening to staff.

If you know that your child is often slow to get to the gate, arrive five or ten minutes later than usual. There will be less traffic and you will get away earlier. We are on duty until 3:30 every day.

If you are a parent who walks in to collect your child, please do not park in the Kiss and Drop Zone. It is not really far to walk from a side street and it’s a few minutes you can spend talking to your child about their day as you walk together to the car.

I thank you for putting our children and their safety first.

STAFFING

We are pleased to welcome our new staff this term. Mrs Susan Winter has joined 1B and Miss Ella Ryan has joined 2A. Both teachers have settled into Bundoora Primary School and are working with their students to build connections. 

Mrs Karen Oke is working in Prep to two ICT. It has been a pleasure to see the new learning taking place with Mrs Oke.  Next week Ms. Heidi Smith is joining us as a new Education Support person.  

Ms. Jules De Angelis has moved over into the Prep to two tutoring spaces, left vacant when Ms. Chloe Connelly went to work on the snow fields. Mr. Kret is now teaching PE and grades three to six ICT. Please find more information over the next 2 issues of our newsletter in our "Meet our new staff section". 

STEM

I have been trying to recruit a new STEM teacher for about 8 weeks now. Unfortunately, as soon as we call to arrange interviews the person has already picked up a job at another school. 

If you know a good teacher looking for work, please share the news that we have a position for STEM teacher to teach grades prep to six, three days per week. We can be flexible with this if the right person comes along.

MONDO BIN

The Mondo bin is a fantastic way to donate to charity and raise money for the school at the same time. When the original staff car park was closed the Mondo bin was moved outside the bin enclosure (near the Bendoran Crescent playground). This has made it less visible. 

If you are doing a spring clean of your family cupboards, please consider dropping the surplus items into the Mondo Bin. Items of clothing are gratefully accepted, however, other items such a books and household furniture and dishes cannot be placed in the bin.

YARD PLAY SPACES UPDATE

As you know, the reduced play spaces due to the upgrade meant that we had to open the hall and library up. This arrangement is working well, with teachers setting rules for safe play with the students. Although the hall is open to all year five and six students, they do not have to play in this space.

The library has become a quiet haven for students who are struggling with the busy-ness and extra noise outside. I thank all our staff and students for their quick adaptation to the changed circumstances.

NAPLAN

We expect to receive and distribute the NAPLAN parent reports in the next ten days. Please remember that these reports are a snapshot of your student on one day for one hour, however, NAPLAN does give our teachers valuable data into areas we may be missing in our instruction, who needs extending, and who needs extra support. 

PARENTS AND FRIENDS

On Wednesday 19th July we had a great turn out for our Parents and Friends meeting. We are working to set up an official Parents and Friends under the Department of Education guidelines so that parents can have a say in what they are raising funds for and help to build our sense of community. The parents present voted in favour of going ahead with the official organisation and Interim office bearers were appointed. These people will now write the constitution, which I will submit to the Department of Education. Once we get official permission to form our Parents and Friends Association new office bearers will be elected for the following 12 months. 

I have received feedback that the time we held the meeting meant that some parents could not attend due to other commitments. Going forward we are considering offering an online option to attend, or staggering meetings so that the times vary from meeting to meeting. All parents are most welcome to join us at these meetings.

KINDY ART

On Tuesday 18th July we held our first Kindy session for 2023. Mrs. Allibon and our small group of visitors had a wonderful time messing about with shaving cream and taking prints of their work. 

These sessions are a fantastic way for your future prep child to get to know the school and staff members before transition begins. Please tell your friends about our school and these sessions as we have a wonderful school and fantastic staff members.

Wishing you all a happy and safe term three.

Warm Regards,

Sherrin Strathairn

Principal