Engagement & Wellbeing

End of Term: Attendance Celebration 

We are incredibly proud to share that Buninyong Primary School’s attendance across Term 1 has reached a fantastic rate of 93%. This is a shared celebration and a clear example of our students truly enjoying their time at school, and we want to thank our families for their immense support and effort in ensuring students attend consistently. 

We know the vital importance of coming into school every day, as missing just one day per fortnight quickly adds up to four weeks of lost learning across the year. 

A massive well done goes to 4KM, who were our class leaders with a phenomenal 96% attendance rate across the term - what an amazing effort, and one that will be hard to beat! 

We look forward to sharing more attendance celebrations at our assemblies next term, but in the meantime, if your child is having difficulty attending school, please reach out to their teacher or our Wellbeing Team - Jarrod Rodgers, Narelle Sullivan or Will Georgiou, to discuss how we can provide support. 

We know that parents and carers can be juggling challenges daily to get your children to school. If your child must miss school, notify us as soon as possible via Compass, so we can work together to support them.

For more information about the importance of everyday attendance, see Attendance and Missing School.

Remember, Every Day Counts.

Orange Door: Support for Families 

Our school cares about the safety and wellbeing of our students and their families.

Sometimes things at home or in a relationship are not OK or families can be worried about the wellbeing of their children or young people.

The Orange Door can help you to get the support you need, quickly and easily. It’s free and you don’t need a referral.

The Orange Door can help families. They provide support for concerns with parenting, relationships, and family violence.

The Orange Door is a free intake and assessment service for:

• families requiring support for their child or young person’s wellbeing or development
• families needing parenting support
• young, isolated, or unsupported families
• individuals and families experiencing family violence
• adults using family violence

• young people using violence in the home.

   

If you contact The Orange Door, they can help by:

• working with you to identify the help and support you need
• supporting you with the wellbeing and development of your child or young person
• helping you make a safety plan if someone is making you feel unsafe
• connecting you to services that can help like counselling, accommodation, mental health and drug and alcohol services, parenting support groups, services for children, financial help, or legal assistance
• supporting you to access funding for basic living expenses and some other costs

• supporting you to change abusive or controlling behaviour.

   

Each Orange Door location across Victoria has their own phone number and email. Students and their families can also visit their local Orange Door in person for support, Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm for support. No appointment is needed. To find your local service, see: The Orange Door – Support near you.

Central Highlands

1800 219 819 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday (closed public holidays)

cha@orangedoor.vic.gov.au

• 21 Armstrong Street North, Ballarat 3350

• 52 Grant Street, Bacchus Marsh 3340

   

How schools connect with The Orange Door

Our school might talk to a family about The Orange Door. We might encourage them to contact their local Orange Door to get advice and help if needed.

Ideally, a family will get in touch with The Orange Door to seek advice and support. 

Sometimes, schools might make a referral to The Orange Door without the family’s knowledge or consent. Schools will do this if:

• informing a student and/or family increases the risk to their safety or wellbeing
• not linking a student to support increases the risk of their safety and wellbeing.

Bunjil Student Awards

Congratulations to the following students who received a Bunjil Award at last week’s 5/6 Assembly.

Bunjil awards recognise student achievement and those who display our school values of being respectful, responsible and kind. Well done! All of our weekly winners enjoyed a hot chocolate or zooper dooper with a principal. This process is always a great chance for us to hear from the kids and ask them some questions about our school.

Victoria Park: Play Space Excursion

Last Friday, we had the incredible opportunity to partner with the City of Ballarat for a special excursion to the Victoria Park inclusive play space. 

A group of our students visited the park with a dual mission: to enjoy the equipment and to provide expert feedback on the sensory spaces and overall environment. Their insights will help the City of Ballarat determine how suitable the playground is for everyone, specifically focusing on the needs of our neurodivergent community.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable day, and the City of Ballarat’s Community Liaison Officer was blown away by the sophisticated level of detail in our students' feedback, which she is now sharing with her wider team to inform future planning. We are so proud of our students for using their voices to help make our local community more inclusive!

This was such a fun and enjoyable day, and the City of Ballarat’s Community Liaison Officer was blown away by the detail of the feedback that was given and was sharing it with her wider team! 

This partnership with the City of Ballarat aligns perfectly with our ongoing commitment to inclusion at Buninyong. By participating in the review of the Victoria Park play space, our students are helping to ensure that community hubs are truly accessible for all. Activities like this reinforce the work we do within the school to ensure every student feels seen, heard, and catered for in the environments where they live and play.