Principal’s Page

It has been our busiest fortnight of the term, and what a fortnight it has been! From Book Week and Athletics to Father’s Day celebrations and our Junior Campus Sleepover, there has been plenty happening across Banmira.

We’re also starting to enjoy some warmer Spring weather and, somehow, there are now just two weeks remaining until the Term Three holiday break!

Last Day of Term Three

A reminder to families that our final day of Term Three is Friday 18 September.

School will finish at the earlier time of 2:00pm, which means all school buses will run approximately one hour earlier than usual.

Please make a note of the earlier finish and ensure arrangements are in place for your young person that afternoon.

A Symphony of Stories: Book Week 2026

Last week, our Junior Campus welcomed students and staff from across the whole school for our major Book Week 2026 celebration.

Our students and staff donned costumes inspired by their favourite characters and spent the day participating in shared stories, sensory experiences, arts and crafts, and activities celebrating this year’s theme, ‘Symphony of Stories’.

There was a wonderful energy around Parkside Drive as our two campuses came together, culminating in our whole-school parade. Most importantly, it was a day centred around something we want every student at Banmira to experience: the joy and love of reading.

Upper Primary and Secondary Athletics Carnival

Our older Junior Campus students joined our entire Senior Campus at McEwen Reserve for our annual Athletics Carnival.

It was fantastic to see students getting involved, challenging themselves, supporting their peers and enjoying the opportunity to come together outside the classroom.

There is plenty more to see in our Athletics Day feature later in this newsletter, but a massive thank you must go to Ash from Junior Campus and Matt from Senior Campus for the enormous amount of organisation that went into making the day possible.

Celebrating Our Dads and Special People

On Wednesday morning, we had the pleasure of welcoming Dads, Grandfathers, Uncles and Special Guests to both campuses for our Father’s Day Breakfast.

More than 50 families joined us for a freshly cooked brekky and a coffee alongside their students. It was a simple but really special opportunity to welcome families into our school and celebrate some of the important people in our students’ lives.

To all of our Dads and special people, thank you for everything you contribute to the lives of our students outside of school. We hope you have a wonderful Father’s Day this Sunday!

A Big Night at Junior Campus!

Last night, around 15 Junior Campus students traded their beds at home for a classroom floor as part of our Junior Campus Sleepover!

The adventure began with an afternoon at Rebound, providing the perfect opportunity to burn off plenty of energy before returning to school for the evening and, eventually, settling in for a good night’s rest.

For many of these students, this was their first night away from home, making the experience about much more than just having fun. Opportunities like this help students build independence, confidence and important life skills in a familiar and supportive environment.

We are incredibly grateful to our families for the trust you place in our staff to care for your loved ones during experiences like these, and to the staff who gave up their own evening and night to make it possible.

We Want to Hear From You!

We are incredibly grateful to the 54 families who have already completed our 2026 Parent/Carer Opinion Survey, but we would absolutely love to hear from more of you!

The survey only takes a few minutes and is one of the best opportunities we have to hear directly from families about what matters most to you, what you think we’re doing really well, and where we need to focus more of our attention.

Importantly, your feedback doesn’t disappear into a report.

Last year’s survey directly influenced our continued focus on improving communication with families, creating more opportunities to welcome families into our school and classrooms, and providing clearer information about student learning through our ongoing IEP progress assessments.

Your voice genuinely helps shape what we do next.

Complete the Parent/Carer Opinion Survey

School/Campus PIN: 316867

Looking Forward: Our Biggest Deb Yet!

As we head towards the end of Term Three, we still have one of the biggest events on the Banmira calendar to come: our 2026 Debutante Ball!

This year, 14 of our students are ready to shine as part of our biggest Deb yet.

We’ve said it before and we’ll happily say it again: the Debutante Ball is one of the most incredible highlights of our school year. The sense of community, celebration, style and inclusion is second to none, and seeing our students proudly take centre stage surrounded by their families, friends and school community is always something special.

We cannot wait to celebrate with everyone and look forward to sharing some of the highlights and photos in our next newsletter!

Jesse Whittaker

Principal

Outside School Hours Care (OSHC)