Principal News 06/03/2026

Dear Banyan Fields Primary School Community,

As we continue through Term 1, it has been wonderful to see all students well and truly settled into the school year. Our Foundation students have now completed their first full week of full-time learning and have transitioned beautifully into school routines. Across the school, classrooms are calm, purposeful and filled with engaged learners who are building strong relationships and establishing positive learning habits for the year ahead.

Tenacity: We try, we learn, we never give up.

NAPLAN

NAPLAN will take place next week for our Year 3 and Year 5 students. This week, students participated in a practice session to familiarise themselves with the format and online platform. It was wonderful to see them demonstrate our school values of Tenacity and Synergy — persevering through challenges, supporting one another, and striving to do their very best.

NAPLAN begins next Wednesday the 11th, for Year 3 and Year 5 students. To help your child feel prepared and confident, we encourage families to ensure they have a good night’s sleep, a healthy breakfast, and arrive at school on time. Most importantly, we remind our students that their role is simply to try their best — that is all we ask and all we value.

Synergy: We listen, we learn, we grow together.

PLC

At Banyan Fields Primary School, we continue to strengthen students’ spelling knowledge through explicit teaching of spelling rules and word structures. Developing a strong understanding of how words work helps students improve their reading, writing and confidence across all learning areas.

This Week’s Focus: Closed Syllables

This week, students have been learning about closed syllables.

A closed syllable is a syllable that ends in a consonant, which “closes in” the vowel and makes the vowel sound short.

For example: cat (short a), bed (short e), sit (short i), hop (short o), sun (short u), basket, rabbit, napkin. In each case, the vowel makes a short sound because it is followed by a consonant.

Understanding syllable types helps students:

Decode unfamiliar words when reading
Spell more accurately
Break longer words into manageable chunks
Build confidence with writing

How Families Can Support at Home

You can reinforce this learning in simple, everyday ways:

Ask your child:

“Can you explain what a closed syllable is?”
“Why does the vowel make a short sound in this word?”
“Can you find a closed syllable in this word?”

School Concerts

Please note the change of date for our Year 4 and Year 6 concert: March 31st, 2026.

We are grateful to those who provided their feedback through our survey, and invite any last comments and input before Tuesday, March 10th. We will announce the final plan next week but, in the meantime, please be aware that the schedule for the students in Year 4 and Year 6 will run later than normal. They will arrive at approximately 11am and finish at about 6pm, depending on the final decisions.

Welcome Barbecue

Our annual welcome barbecue is scheduled for 3:10pm on Thursday, March 19th. All students and families are invited to join us for a chat and a sausage sizzle straight after school finishes on the day. The Parent Association will also be running a second hand uniform sale. We look forward to seeing you there.

Equity: We include, we respect, we support.

Harmony Week 2026 – Different Together: Everyone Belongs 16th–20th March

Harmony Week provides a valuable opportunity for our Banyan Fields community to celebrate diversity, strengthen inclusion and reinforce a strong sense of belonging for every student and family.

Rather than recognising multiple separate awareness days throughout the year, Harmony Week allows us to intentionally focus on diversity and inclusion during one cohesive and meaningful week. It is a time to reflect on who we are as a community and to celebrate the many languages, cultures and identities that make our school unique.

Throughout the week, our focus will be on:

Celebrating the diverse backgrounds within our school community
Demonstrating inclusion through everyday actions
Strengthening our shared responsibility to ensure everyone feels they belong

Harmony Week strongly aligns with our TESS values:

Tenacity – continuing to build an inclusive culture every day
Equity – ensuring every student feels valued, respected and heard
Synergy – recognising that we are stronger together
Stewardship – taking responsibility for the positive culture of our school

Each day will include a simple, meaningful classroom activity designed to fit within regular learning time (approximately 20–30 minutes). These activities will support age-appropriate discussions and reflections around belonging and inclusion. Students will be invited to wear a splash of orange on Wednesday, March 18th to mark Harmony Week, and crazy or mismatched socks on Friday, March 20th in recognition of World Downs Syndrome Day.

We look forward to celebrating Harmony Week together and continuing to build a school where Different Together truly means Everyone Belongs.

Stewardship: We care for people, places, and possibilities.

Working Bee

A huge thank you to all of our Banyan Fields families, students and staff who gave up their time on Saturday to support our Working Bee.

It was wonderful to see our community come together with such positivity and energy. From gardening and mulching to tidying outdoor spaces and completing maintenance jobs, the teamwork on display truly reflected our TESS values in action.

Tenacity was evident as families worked tirelessly throughout the morning.

Synergy shone through as parents, staff and students collaborated side by side.

Stewardship was on full display as we cared for and improved our beautiful school grounds.

And Equity was reflected in the way everyone pitched in to ensure our shared spaces are welcoming for all.

Thanks to your efforts, several garden beds were refreshed, outdoor areas were revitalised, and a number of important maintenance tasks were completed. These improvements make a real difference to the daily experience of our students.

There are photographs here if you want to include a couple

School Council

Our call for nominations for our new school council closed on Monday, March 2nd. We received one nomination and want to congratulate Laura O’Sullivan who has now been elected to school council. Laura joined school council in 2025 in a one-year term and has had a significant impact on our school culture and environment.

As there are two remaining seats on our school council, we will extend the nomination period into next week. All parents and carers are encouraged to self-nominate - it is a great opportunity to contribute to the governance aspect of our school community. If you would like a nomination form, please contact the school office or watch out for the Compass post next week.

Patrick Halpin - Principal

Jennifer Churcher - Assistant Principal

Sharleen Nason - Assistant Principal

Celebrating our learning

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

Auslan

Performing Arts

Student Empowerment