Message from Bev and Kim 

Congratulations to Ari and Annabelle for their outstanding effort in this year’s Division Cross Country. Ari goes on to represent our school at the Regional level, and we wish him every success!

Daily tours were a success, and based on the interest and enthusiasm of our families to learn more about our classroom learning, we have decided to make these a regular offering. School Tours will be held on the last Thursday of every month at 9:15am (next one is Thursday 23rd June) for any parents interested. Please register with the Administration Office to reserve your place!

Education Week: What a thrill to have everyone join us last week for Education Week.

Our Grade 4-6 Respectful Relationships evening was well attended, and audience members responded with surprise about the insights and age appropriate content shared. See the reflections of our leaders below about the key messages …

"It was interesting how the children responded to what jobs were for boys and girls" Camille

"I was amazed that the boys overestimated their ability and the girls underestimated their ability, like their strength" Mia, Ati

"I think the key message was that it doesn't matter who you are, we all fit in and no one is better than anyone else" Alfie

If you missed the session but are interested in accessing the series, it can be accessed via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN5R2LWhTrY

Thank you for joining us for Open Classrooms, for celebrating the learning, listening to our outstanding performers (congratulations to you all) and enjoying a sausage sizzle, which was a hit. Big thanks to the PA and Dreamers for the team effort.

Illness and Clothing

Staff and student illness continues to impact schools state-wide and BBPS is no different. Thank you for keeping your children at home when they are unwell. Please see the First Aid section of this newsletter for useful information about how you can help your family stay healthy this winter season.

Please encourage your child to wear appropriate clothing to school now that the cold season has arrived. Many students are needing encouragement to wear long pants and jumpers – these are crucial in ensuring that illness is kept at a minimum. Many thanks to Marnie and Leah who this week re-stocked our Second Hand Uniform Store with additional winter uniform items. Please make your way there and see Benita at the Administration Office to make a purchase.  

Our staff continue to also fall subject to the terrible influenza-like illnesses going around. As you may be aware, casual replacement teachers remain in high demand with low supply, so at times we are having to be creative. Fortunately for us, our teaching teams plan their teaching and learning programs collaboratively so students are able to continue to learn regardless of what learning space they are in and small class sizes lend themselves to combining cohorts when we need to. This allows us to stay open and for our students to continue to learn face to face with their peers – a privilege that some other schools currently do not have. Please be aware that you will only be informed of staff absence if it is for an extended period of time – some times for us, absence confirmation is day by day. We thank you for your understanding, and ask you to encourage our staff to rest and stay off their computers when home unwell – their commitment is a testament to them, and can some times be at the detriment of their own health. 

School Council Update:

• The 2021 Annual Report was shared and endorsed, and will be available on our school website shortly for you to access. This document details our continued success and gains in student growth throughout 2021. A real celebration in a year of disruption, with highlights in the areas of writing, learning growth from grade 3 to 5, and interestingly, school connectedness.
• Our School Review process is about to begin, and we thank David Capps as School Council President for joining the review panel and representing our parent community. 
• Processes of governance were revisited, and plans put in place to further support our Parent Association in the planning of school events now that we are able to enjoy the possibility of forward planning again.
• The Parent Association are to be thanked for their outstanding fundraising efforts to date in 2022, raising a total of $20,961.32

Through the tireless efforts of our community, fundraising so far has contributed to:

• The purchase of furniture for our newly located STEAM Room, stay tuned for how we plan to use this space in term 3.  
• The completion of our asphalt resurfacing – due to take place in the coming weeks
• The installation of interactive playground activities – students will vote in the coming weeks on our chosen designs, so watch this space. In the meantime, check out https://www.edumarking.com.au/ for an idea of what we have planned!

What’s Coming Up?

• PA Meeting on tomorrow, 9am in the Library.
• Wednesday, June 8 – Toastie Truck Gr 6 Graduation Fundraiser – see flyer below

• Friday, June 10 is a student free day – TheirCare is open for the day.
• Three Way Conferences have been moved to week 1 of Term 3 due to the short term and quick turn around of semester 1 reports. For those new to Three Way Conferences, this is an opportunity for you to meet with your class teacher to discuss your child’s progress. At BBPS we value student voice and place the student at the centre of what we do, as such, our students are involved in this conference as an opportunity to share their learning and gain feedback on their learning goals. Prep will be holding their Three Way Conferences in week 8 and 9 of this term. We will share details shortly.

Religious Education: RE is again being offered to families, one lunch time a week, from Term 3. If you would like your child to attend, please fill in the attached form and return it to the school by Friday 3rd June

Sponsors:  Thank you to our sponsors who supported our Mother's Day lunch at Elwood Bathers.