Principal's Message

Regional Athletics 

A huge congratulations to Ollie, who represented Bolinda Primary School at the Regional Athletics Championships in Bendigo last Monday.

Competing in the discus against some of the best young athletes from across the region, including students who had travelled all the way from Mildura, Ollie did a fantastic job.

With three attempts to throw as far as he could, Ollie recorded a best distance of 19.5 metres.

While it wasn't quite enough to progress to the State Championships, we're incredibly proud of Ollie's efforts and the way he represented our school. It's a tremendous achievement to reach this level of competition, and we can't wait to see what he can achieve next year!

Light Up the Night – CFA Bonfire

What a tremendous night we had at the CFA's Light Up the Night Bonfire last weekend!

Once again, Bolinda Primary School was a popular place to be, with families gathering around our playground and enjoying the school grounds throughout the evening. It was particularly lovely to see so many new faces visiting our school and enjoying what we have to offer.

Our food stall was another great success! Sharon's famous Bolinda Beef Burritos were a hit once again. These were student-made so lots of love went into them. The Japanese Vegetable Curry and Potato and Sweet Corn Chowder were also very popular. Between Katie, Donna and Sharon, there was certainly no shortage of delicious food coming out of the kitchen!

We do have some leftover burritos tucked away in the freezer, so keep an eye out for some information next week.

A huge thank you to our parent community for your wonderful support. The sweets and treats donated by families looked absolutely amazing, and judging by the feedback we received, they tasted just as good! Thank you also to the families who generously gave up their time to help run the stall throughout the evening. We simply couldn't do these things without you.

A special mention must go to Donna and Renee, who put countless hours into organising, preparing and pulling everything together. Their efforts behind the scenes made such a difference, and we're incredibly grateful. 

Semester 2 Student Reports

You may remember that some changes were made to student reports in Semester 1 as a result of the Australian Education Union's industrial action. With an agreement now reached, that industrial action has concluded. At the same time, the Department of Education has announced changes to student reporting requirements for 2027.

Rather than make changes to our reporting format twice in a short period, we'll be adjusting our Semester 2 reports to begin aligning with the new requirements. Families will still receive information about their child's achievement against the Victorian Curriculum in the learning areas taught, an assessment against our four school values of Learning, Respect, Resilience and Responsibility, and a general comment from their classroom teacher.

Our aim is to ensure reports remain clear, meaningful and useful for families, providing a good picture of how children are progressing with their learning. We'll share further information about the format of the reports before they're released later this term.

Bringing Some Greenery to Our School

If you've been walking along our pathway recently, you may have noticed some new additions to the garden beds.

A couple of weeks ago, my family, along with our resident gardening guru Donna, spent some time planting a variety of new plants along the pathway. The aim is to bring a little more greenery and life to an area that has been looking rather bare.

One of the loveliest things has been seeing the children's interest in the new plants. Whenever I'm outside with the watering can, there's never a shortage of willing helpers wanting to give them a drink! They've also been keen to check on how the plants are growing.

I'm hoping that, with a little patience and plenty of watering, this space will eventually become just as green and inviting as the rest of our beautiful school grounds.

Fallen Tree and Fence Damage

There was some activity along our boundary fence recently following a tree coming down from the roadside and damaging a section of our fencing.

The tree, which was located on the other side of our fence line, fell overnight. Once the damage was identified, I reported the matter through MakeSafe, the Department of Education's emergency response service that helps schools manage urgent building, grounds and safety issues. MakeSafe coordinated a tree removal service to attend the school and make the affected area safe.

I was particularly impressed with how our students responded. They understood the importance of staying well away from the affected area and followed staff instructions beautifully. I'll also be following up with VicRoads, which manages the roadside area, to request further assessments of the surrounding trees. Given the proximity to our school grounds, it's important that we identify and address any potential risks before they become bigger problems.

Improvements to the Front of Our School

We've also had some positive developments at the front of the school following discussions with Macedon Ranges Shire Council.

During these conversations, I raised two issues that had been bothering us for some time.

The first was the double bus shelter at the front of the school. Having two shelters wasn't particularly necessary, especially when keeping them clean and maintained has proven difficult.

The second was the drainage along the road frontage. During heavy rain, water has been flowing off the road, through our car park and into the school grounds, creating problems that needed to be addressed. I'm pleased to report that Council has now attended to both matters, with works completed to improve the area.

These might seem like relatively small changes, but they're important first steps towards something much bigger. We have some exciting ideas for improving the front of our school, making it more attractive, functional and welcoming for our families and visitors.

There's still plenty we'd like to achieve, but it's great to see some progress being made.

Junior Landcare Bird Count

Last Wednesday, we were delighted to welcome Emma from Landcare back to Bolinda Primary School for our annual Junior Landcare Bird Count.

The activity forms part of the Aussie Bird Count, a national citizen science initiative that encourages people to spend time observing and recording the birds they see in their local environment. The information collected helps build a picture of Australia's bird populations and how they change over time.

Our students had the opportunity to explore the school grounds, keep their eyes and ears open for different bird species, and learn more about the wildlife that shares our beautiful surroundings.

Activities like this are a wonderful reminder of how fortunate we are to have such a natural environment right on our doorstep. They also encourage our students to slow down, observe the world around them and develop an appreciation for the importance of looking after our local environment.

A big thank you to Emma for continuing to support our students and helping make environmental learning such an enjoyable experience.