From the Head of Junior School
Welcome to our new school year! There has been a lot happening over the break. As I have previously communicated, the demolition of Higgs Hall is well underway. You will see that the wall along Vine St has been re-bricked. The ground levels inside the MacKenzie Oval will soon be rectified after the COLA build and the re-laying of the turf will commence over the break. The demolition and rectification work has created challenges in terms of class locations and play space but our students are just treating it as business as usual. We are hopeful that the majority of the works will be completed by the end of term so that we can move back into Thomas Building and the front playground can be opened up again.
Over the break the Junior School Library was also recarpeted and the soft fall in the back playground was removed and replaced with a rubberised surface. Work was also done on some of the damaged pittosporums in Greenland. New plants have replaced the damaged trees and a reticulation system was installed. New edging was also installed in the Greenland Garden beds. The Maintenance staff have been working hard over the break in very hot conditions to improve the facilities for our students. At assembly this week I spoke with our students about doing our bit to keep the yards rubbish free and respecting the work that the Grounds and Maintenance staff have put into improving our spaces.
Over the break we also had an increase in demand for places in Junior School with quite a few families coming in to interview for a place in the weeks before school came back. We now have 470 students in Junior School with Wait Lists in Year Two and Five. Prep, Year One and Year Six are also very close to capacity. Some parents have asked what our maximum numbers are in Junior School. With our current class configurations our maximum number would be 505 students. This is if every class that we currently have was at capacity. Our capacity for our classes in Prep to Year One is 20 per class while Year Three to Year Six is 25 per class.
New Bell Times
A reminder that we have new Bell Times in Senior School this year. We also have a new bell system which plays music as a 5-minute warning before the actual bell. This allows students to have time to grab a drink or go to the toilet before the bell goes to return to class.
This year we will also be trialling new bell times in Junior School. The main change from a parent perspective is that classes will now commence at 8.40am rather than 8.45am and our Friday assembly will commence at 2.15pm rather than 1.30pm. The duration of the classes and break times remains the same as does school finish time.
| Junior School Bell Times | |
|---|---|
| Roll Marking | 8.40-9.20 |
| Period One | 8.50-9.20 |
| Period Two | 9.20-9.50 |
| Period Three | 9.50-10.20 |
| Period Four | 10.20-10.50 |
| Recess | 10.50-11.10 |
| Period Five | 11.10-11.40 |
| Period Six | 11.40-12.10 |
| Period Seven | 12.10-12.40 |
| Lunch Time | 12.40-1.25 |
| Roll Marking | 12.25-1.45 |
| Period Eight | 1.45-2.15 |
| Period Nine | 2.15-2.45 |
| Period Ten | 2.45-3.15 |
In-water starts introduced for Junior School Swimming Carnival
Our Junior School Swimming Carnival is fast approaching, and our students have already taken part in Swim Trials last Friday to prepare for the big day.
This year, there will be a change to how our competitive events begin. After discussion with Bendigo East Swimming Pool and in line with Swimming Australia and Royal Life Saving Society of Australia (RLSA) safety guidelines, all competitive races will now start in the water rather than from a dive.
Under the RLSA Guidelines for Safe Pool Operations, students may only dive into a pool if they have received formal training in safe diving techniques and competitive starts from an accredited swim coach or technique instructor. While we know that many of our students who swim with local clubs have received this training, it is not feasible for the school to verify each child’s instruction, obtain written confirmation from coaches, check accreditations, and then manage permissions on the day.
To ensure fairness, consistency, and the highest level of safety for all students, we will use in water starts for all Junior School swimmers at the Carnival.
For students who progress beyond the school level, we will undertake the appropriate verification and accreditation checks to enable diving starts at the next stage of competition.
We appreciate your understanding as we prioritise the wellbeing and safety of every child participating.
Fire Fundraiser
Over the break I received an email from some of our Junior School students requesting permission to raise money to support recovery from the recent fires in Harcourt. They had been planning to run some activities outside of school hours to raise money but asked if they could sell Zooper Doopers at school to raise a bit more. Of course we were happy to support their efforts.
With the support of their families they brought in Zooper Doopers, arranged eskies, freezers and trestles and made some flyers to advertise. They weather was perfect and the support from our school community was excellent. They raised almost $1000 with more to come when they run their out-of-school projects.
Well done to those students who saw a need and did something about it. Thank you to their families and the wider Junior School community for supporting their community mindedness!