Dear Parents,

Today we had our School Photos. Thank you to all our families on the beautiful and proud way in which the children were presented. The children looked amazing. Our Kinder and School Captains photos were also taken for the ‘Big Steps, Little Feet’ and ‘School Leaders’ Western Advocate feature today. As soon as we know the publication date for these articles, we will let parents know. Thank you to the many parents that came to our first K-2 and 3-6 Assemblies yesterday. It was a lovely recognition of a great and settled start to the new school year.

We have submitted our actual numbers to the Department of Education this week and have 399 children enrolled K-6. Classes are settled and children are happy and working hard with their teachers.

Last Thursday, we started the sporting year with a BANG! Our school swimming carnival was one of the loudest, most enthusiastic and encouraging carnivals in a long time at BPS. The races were exciting, and we had many fantastic swims. Congratulations to Addison Jones who set new records in the 50m Freestyle with a time of 34.37 and 50m Backstroke with a time of 44.01. The races were not the only exciting thing at the carnival. The house captains and their houses battled it out for points with their cheering and war cries. There were some very red faces alongside the pool!

Well done to all our competitors, supporters and house captains. Our Champion House was Hargraves. Congratulations to everyone involved with the Hargraves house. Our Swimming Champions for 2025 were;

• Junior Girl – Jasmyn Ferrier
• Joint Junior Boys – Ethan Jones and Ashwin Buttsworth
• 11 years Girl – Addison Jones
• 11 years Boy – Ewan Long
• Senior Girl – Isla Barnes
• Senior Boy – Jack Hair

Competitors who qualified for District will be announced in the coming days. The District Swimming Carnival will be held next Friday, 28th February. 

Band - Band lessons have commenced for 2025. It is not to late to enrol your child in the band program for the year. Band lessons are taught by teachers from the Mitchell Conservatorium, will be 30 minutes in duration and occur each week. The school has many instruments we can loan children so they can participate in the band program and to assist in reducing the cost. If any parent is interested in having their child taught an instrument and having lessons, please contact Mrs Ivory at school.

Parent/Teacher Interviews have been organised for Thursday 27th February for the Support Unit classes and Tuesday 4th March - Thursday 6th March for all other classes. These meetings will allow parents to meet teachers, talk about what is to be taught this year and how your child has settled into the 2025 school year, plans for the school year, class expectations and parent expectations. Interviews can now be booked on the Sentral Parent portal.

The timetable for Parent/Teacher Interviews in week 4 and 6 is as follows:

                  Wednesday 26th February - K-6R and 3-6J                  

                  Thursday 27th February – K-2H, K-6R, 3-6J, 3-6R and 3-6B

                  Tuesday 4th March – 5/6D, 5/6C, 5/6B and 5/6L

                  Wednesday 5th March– KD, KM, 1/2M, 1/2G, 1/2W, 1/2S and 1/2I

                  Thursday 6th March – 3/4F, 3/4T, 3/4GW and 4/5W

P&C - Last night we held our first P&C meeting for the year. Thank you to all parents for attending. The next meeting will be the Annual General Meeting (AGM) followed by the March meeting. This will take place on Wednesday 19th March commencing at 6.30pm in the staff room at school. We hope to see lots of parents at the meeting.

Food Allergies - We do have several children at our school who have peanut and nut allergies and have severe reactions if exposed to this food. Parents are asked to be mindful of this when packing recess and lunch and are encouraged not to send products that contain nuts in them to school.

General Reminders:- 

• All items of clothing and personal belongings should be clearly marked with your child’s name.
• All children require a broad brimmed hat each day as our school has a “No Hat, No Play” policy.
• All gates around our school are kept closed during the day. This is a to ensure our children and staff are able to learn and play in a safe and happy environment. When parents and friends come to the school during the day, please come to the gate in George street and press the buzzer. The office staff will then open the gate. Please ensure you QR code in (QR code on the gate area). All parents and visitors should present to the front office on arrival.  This is a Legal and Workplace Safety requirement and is followed for the safety and security of all children and staff.
• We continue to encourage parents to make appointments to come and talk about your child’s progress, problems that may arise, ideas etc. It is reminded that the education of your child is a team effort with teachers and parents being the main stakeholders. It takes a village to raise a child! With this in mind, it is an important reminder that parent/teacher relationships always need to be cohesive and supportive and one of mutual respect. I am sure we will all continue to work with one another in a positive and productive manner.
• All notes are sent out through the Sentral Parent portal. Permission and payments for activities occurs through the portal as well. If at any time you need support with the Sentral Parent portal, please contact the school.

If any parent has any concerns regarding any aspect of school life, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kate White

Principal