A Message from Keir and Emma
“We would like to acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people, the first people to dream, create, wonder, dance, play and learn on this breathtaking land. This land was cared for and respected for tens of thousands of years. The First Nations people lived in companionship with the animals and the life on this land. We acknowledge that this is stolen land and we pay our respects to elders, past, present and emerging.”
Rayma Atkinson (2023 Suzanne Peterson Award Recipient)
Story Sharing Festival
On Thursday 30th October, BNWPS will be holding its Story Sharing Festival. At the festival, parents, carers and community members will be invited to move through the spaces in the school and immerse themselves in stories told by our students and our community. Visitors will be invited to tell stories of their own, and to share these back to the community in a variety of creative ways.
One of the important stories that we are proud to share at this event is the story of Yakai Barring which is celebrating its tenth birthday this year.
The festival will begin at 3pm, and the birthday celebration of Yakai Barring will take place at 4pm.
Students can be collected and signed out from their classrooms from 3pm. We would love to see all members of our community there! Please enter the festival through the front office (even if you are heading straight to your child’s classroom!) so that you can take part in our first story sharing activity.
Pause And Play On
Each day at the halfway point of lunch, a bell sounds in the yard and everyone is asked to Pause their play for a moment before Playing On.
What is a pause? A pause is any type of break in play that allows students to check in with themselves: students may go for a drink, go to the bathroom, change the game they want to play, remove their jumper, visit Sprout - you get the idea!
Why are you doing this? Our students spend 50 minutes in the yard each lunch. For some of our students, this can be a long time that is hard to navigate. By breaking up the time, it provides more structure to their break. For other students, lunch time can be a very intense experience - a pause reminds them to regulate their body and their emotions.
We ask all families to please have a chat about the ‘Pause and Play On’ bell at home, including some options of what the ‘pause’ might look like.
Students Leaving in 2026
To assist with the planning of the 2026 classes, we again ask any families who will not be returning to BNWPS next year to inform the school office.
SunSmart
A reminder that throughout the rest of the year we require all students to wear a SunSmart hat whenever they are outside; this includes during recess and lunch, during PE and other outdoor activities. SunSmart hats should either be a hat with a broad brim that goes all the way around the hat, or a legionnaires cap that has the brim at the front, and a flap at the back to protect the neck. Broad brimmed hats are available to purchase for $15 from the front office. If your child does not have a SunSmart hat, they will be asked by staff to remain in the shade, which may impact their play time and/or their learning time.