A Big Thank You for a Wonderful Term

As we move towards wrapping up another great term at Bimbadeen, we want to extend our gratitude to all the staff, students, and families for your ongoing support in making this term a success. Your contributions to learning, well-being, and the many fun activities have been invaluable.

This term has been packed with exciting events, including two camps, Hooptime competitions, Book Week, swimming sessions, Parent/Teacher Interviews, SRC meetings, celebrating Foundation students’ 100 days of school and our Year 6’s 100 days left of school, Student Excellence programs, our annual Trivia night fundraiser, NAIDOC Week, cyber-safety incursions, and visits to our local secondary schools to watch their productions - just to name a few. And there are still events to come, with our Year 2 Puffing Billy excursion, our final Term 3 SRC meeting and Year 5/6 Hooptime!

Last Term 3 Assembly – Thursday 18 September

A quick reminder that our final Assembly for the term will be held on Thursday 18 September, starting at 1:45pm. At this assembly, we will be presenting the final Aussie of the Month Awards, along with the final Values Awards for the term.

The assembly begins at 1:45pm, in the Hall.

Welcome to our new members of staff

Throughout this term, we have welcomed several new staff members to our community, in either Classroom Teacher or Education Support Staff roles.

We are pleased to share the following introductions to our new members of staff.

If you see them around the school, please stop and say ‘hello’ and welcome them to our community:

Jaimee Cook - Occupational Therapist

Hello, Bimbadeen Heights community!

My name is Jaimee, and I’m excited to introduce myself as your school’s new Occupational Therapist. I’m thrilled to be stepping into this role and working alongside students, teachers, and families.

Occupational Therapists (OTs) help children develop the skills they need for everyday life and learning. This can include building independence with daily routines, improving focus and attention in the classroom, supporting emotional and sensory regulation, strengthening social skills, and developing fine and gross motor skills for things like handwriting, playground activities, and self-care. I use a strengths-based approach, which means building on each child’s existing abilities and interests to help them succeed and grow in confidence.

My role will include implementing evidence-based strategies within the school, collaborating with teachers, staff, and education support, and providing evidence and reports for student support plans and Disability Inclusion Plans.

Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my giant fluffy dog, Humphrey, going camping with friends and family, travelling, going out for brunch, and baking.

I look forward to meeting you all and working together to support our students!

Kiri Briggs - Classroom Teacher – 6BB, 0AJ and general teacher release

Hello Bimbadeen Heights Community! My name is Kiri Briggs, and I am excited to be a part of the Bimbadeen community for the rest of the year. I started during Term 2, teaching 3DM, and I will be in 6BB on Wednesdays, Thursdays and every second Friday for the remainder of the year. The other days I will be working in various classes across the school - I feel very lucky that I get to meet and connect with so many of the Bimbadeen community through these days.

I have taught previously in the UK and Spain, before returning home to Melbourne 4 years ago. I loved the opportunity to teach students from such a wide variety of backgrounds and different cultures. I am passionate about creating a strong sense of community within my classroom, where my students feel safe and supported. I enjoy watching my students make connections with their learning, challenging themselves and celebrating their successes.

When I’m not at school, I enjoy going on adventures with my husband and our 2 beautiful boys, aged 4 and 1. We love trips to the zoo and exploring new parks and playgrounds.

I am so excited to be a part of this special time in the year 6’s lives and look forward to an action-packed rest of the year!

Lauren Wayth - Education Support Staff – Integration Aide

Hi, I'm Lauren and I'm excited to be joining the Bimbadeen Heights Primary School community as part of the Education Support team! I have a background in working with children with disabilities, with a particular focus on supporting students on the autism spectrum. I’m especially passionate about helping children develop their life skills and grow in confidence, both in and out of the classroom.

I love learning new skills and discovering interesting facts about the world – you’ll often find me chatting with students about everything from animals to geography to how things work. I believe that every day brings a new opportunity to learn, and I enjoy encouraging that same curiosity in the students I work with.

Outside of school, I’m a big fan of travel. My favourite place so far has been South East Asia – I love the culture, food, and people – and one day I hope to travel through Europe. At home, I have a dachshund named Luna who keeps me on my toes and always makes me smile.

I’m really looking forward to getting to know the students, staff, and families at Bimbadeen, and to being part of such a supportive and welcoming school community.

Monique L - Education Support Staff – Integration Aide

I am thrilled to be part of the Bimbadeen team. With a passion for education and wellbeing I am excited to help each child grow and develop emotionally and academically to reach their full potential.

Outside of school I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, travelling around Australia, and spending time outside with my doggos.

Ben Morgan - Classroom Teacher – 34F during Ms Frank’s absence

Hello, Bimbadeen Heights community! My name is Benjamin Morgan and I’m very excited to introduce myself and rejoin this wonderful community as a new CRT (Casual Relief Teacher). Having been a former student here a Bimbadeen Heights Primary School, graduating back in 2012, I am very happy to now be giving back to this community as a member of the teaching staff. In the past five years I’ve been working across all year levels, working in OHSC and running a holiday program at a local primary school. I love teaching all subjects, especially History and Humanities which I’ve earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in back in 2022. I am very passionate about working with young people and aspire to nurture independent, resilient, and motivated learners who strive to be the best versions of themselves, both academically and personally.

When I am not teaching, I spend my time looking after my two-year-old nephew, Charlie, being with my family, hanging out with friends, and running a DND campaign. I look forward to meeting you all soon.

Father’s Day Stall Thank you

Last week our school was filled with a wonderful buzz of excitement as students carefully selected a special gift for their Dad, or another important person in their lives, at our Father’s Day Stall. The joy and thoughtfulness shown as students made their choices was lovely to see, and it was clear how much this tradition means to our community.

A huge thank you goes to our amazing parent volunteers who helped with pricing and setting up the stall, supporting students as they made their purchases, and packing up afterwards. Your time and effort made the stall run so smoothly.

We would also like to give a very special thank you to Sarah Huxley for her incredible work in coordinating the stall, purchasing and sorting gifts, and ensuring everything was ready for the day.

Your organisation and dedication are so greatly appreciated.

We hope our Bimbadeen Dads enjoyed a wonderful Father’s Day this year!

Congratulations, Mikayla and Sophie!

Recently Mikayla and Sophie from 6BB competed at the Cheercon Competition with their dancing team from Vibe Studios. There are some other students from Bimbadeen that also competed at this event. Mikayla and Sophie have both been dancing for about 9 and a half years. Mikayla spends 15 hours a week practising her dancing and does hip hop, pom, jazz, lyrical and cheer. Sophie spends 10 hours a week dancing and does pom, jazz and lyrical with Mikayla, as well as exams. They still try to get their homework done, even though they are very busy! 😊

For the Cheercon Competition, Sophie woke up at 3:50am to get ready with hair, make up and costumes and then she drove to the Convention Centre in the city. Mikayla stayed in a hotel nearby but still had to wake up at 5:00am to prepare. The girls performed their first dance together at 7:15am. This was a pom dance, and they were so tired but showed our school value of resilience and tried their best. It was a big weekend of dancing, one day was even 17 hours long with lots of waiting in between dances and awards. During the dance both girls felt nervous and excited for their dancing.

Mikayla and Sophie came first for their jazz performance, second for lyrical and second for pom. Mikayla also came second for cheer and third for hip hop. They came home with a combined total of 8 medals! Some of their highlights included Mikayla doing an aerial in hip hop and cheer. She was very proud of successfully completing two over one weekend, even though she was very nervous beforehand. Sophie’s highlight was watching some of the older girls dancing and getting inspiration. They both have lots of medals from previous competitions but felt like this was a great accomplishment, especially placing for every dance! Everyone at Bimbadeen is super proud of them!

Sophie and Mikayla thank their parents for all their hard work for taking them and supporting them. It is great to see their hard work and efforts paying off with such great results!

A special thank you to Mikayla and Sophie for their input into this article and for doing so during their lunchtime!

Looking Ahead to Term 4

Next term is shaping up to be just as busy! Be sure to check the Sentral Calendar to stay informed about what is coming up. Some key events to look forward to in Term 4 are our Year 6 Camp and Year 2 Day Camp, Spring Fair, Book Fair, a host of incursions and excursions, our end of year Christmas Concert, and the Year 6 Graduation ceremony!

Please check Sentral for key dates and mark them in your calendar now.

Term 4 is a SunSmart Term!

Bimbadeen is a SunSmart school, where school hats are compulsory in Terms 1 and 4. Children will not be allowed to play out in the sun without their hats next term (or in Term 1 next year). Students without hats will be asked to remain under the veranda in front of the hall, or in the shade outside their classroom doors during recess and lunch times. If you child has misplaced their school hat or requires a new one, new school hats can be purchased from our uniform shop via the link on our school website.

Wearing sunscreen is another important way to protect your skin from harm. Students will be provided with time in their classroom to apply sunscreen prior to recess and lunchtime. Students must apply their own sunscreen at school. We encourage parents and carers to apply sunscreen to their children before school, include personal sunscreen in their child’s school bag, and encourage their children to reapply sunscreen prior to lunch play. Sunscreen is always available at the office for staff and students who do not have their own at school and wish to access it.

Scholarship Opportunities

Scholarships are available for eligible students in Grade 4 to Year 11, and for Year 12 students planning to do tertiary studies in 2026.

The Department of Education administers a number of scholarships that are available to eligible students who are enrolled in Grade 4 to Year 12 in 2025.

Applicants for these scholarships will be evaluated on their:

participation in school activities
community involvement
academic achievement.

Scholarships are either one-off payments or cover the duration of the student’s course or annual study.

Many of these scholarships have specific eligibility criteria, so please refer to individual applications for more information. Applications open on Wednesday 1 October 2025 and close on Monday 2 February 2026.

For more information and a list of available scholarships, refer to the Student scholarships for Grade 4 to Year 12 fact sheet.

For information on how to apply, refer to Student scholarships.

Prep bags 2025 survey

Each year, the Department of Education gives every Prep student attending a Victorian government school a bag full of goodies to celebrate this milestone in their education journey. The educational resources and information in the bags are aimed at helping Prep students and their families have a great start to the year.

The department is inviting parents and carers of current Prep students to complete a short survey about the 2025 Prep bags, by 11:59 pm on Sunday 26 October 2025.

Your feedback will help the department learn what families liked and what can be improved in 2026.

You can have your say at Prep bags 2025 evaluation survey.

The survey takes 5 to 10 minutes. It is voluntary. Responses are anonymous and will not be shared with third parties outside the department.

For more information about this year’s Prep bags, refer to Prep bags.

Child Safety and Wellbeing at Bimbadeen Heights PS - Information for families and the school community

As part of our Child Safety processes, we regularly review and update our child safety policies and procedures. These are available to view on our school website https://www.bimbadeenheightsps.vic.edu.au/

We are committed to continuous improvement in our approach to child safety and wellbeing and welcome feedback from families and members of our school community on ways we can further strengthen our child safety policies, procedures, and practices.

If you have any suggestions, comments, or questions about Child Safety and Wellbeing at Bimbadeen, please contact a member of the school’s leadership team.

National Child Protection Week - Every Child in Every Community Needs a Fair Go

National Child Protection Week is all about the ways that we can all work together to build communities that support children and families. Children are safest when they are listened to, respected, and believed.

The National Child Protection Week message is ‘Every child in every community needs a fair go’, that is complemented with the theme ‘Every Conversation Matters: Shifting Conversation to Action’.

Conversations are powerful tools to keep children and young people safe and well. Conversations can help us understand issues, craft solutions, value community knowledge, and build the brains and social connections of children and young people.

National Child Protection Week is a great time to start conversations that help to keep children and young people safe and well.

When talking with children about safety:

Support children to identify trusted adults (both within the family and outside) they can talk to, if they are worried, upset, or don’t feel safe. Make sure these adults know they are on your child’s list.
Remind children that they can talk to you or a trusted adult about anything, no matter how big or small their worry might be.
Talk to children about how they know when they feel safe or unsafe. Help them to listen to their early warning signs (how their body feels), and to trust their feelings and instincts.
Use everyday activities as opportunities for conversations (e.g. preparing meals and snacks, going for walks, playing, shopping). If children are used to having lots of communication, it can make it easier to talk when big or tricky issues come up.
Be open to talking about all kinds of feelings, including anger, joy, frustration, fear and anxiety. This helps children to develop a ‘feelings vocabulary’.

2026 Parent Payments Information

It may seem a bit like seeing Christmas things in shops too early, however, we prefer to think of it as just being well organised and giving parents and carers as much notice as possible to help with managing the family finances. We are referring to the Parent Payments for next year that you will receive details about in a letter sent to families in the second week of Term 4. This is very important information so please look out for it. Once you have received the letter and forms you will be able to pay for next year’s Curriculum and Other Contributions so that you are ready and organised for school next year.

End of Term Arrangements

Friday 19 September is the final day of Term 3, with students being dismissed at 2:30pm. Please make appropriate arrangements for your children to be collected. The final assembly will be held on Thursday 18 September. Therefore, there will be no assembly on the final day of term. Students will be dismissed directly from their classrooms at the end of the day.

TheirCare will be running an afterschool care program on this day, beginning at 2:30pm to cater for the early finish. They also have a comprehensive holiday program planned for the school holiday break. Please contact TheirCare directly for bookings.

If you child will be absent on the final day of term, or at any time in the final week, please ensure you enter your child’s absence in Sentral at your earliest opportunity.

We hope you all enjoy a wonderful weekend, and we look forward to a fabulous final week of term.

Warm regards,

Adele Gregson, Marty Gill and Bree King

Year 5

Walk to School Incursion