Big (Toilet) News

I am beyond ecstatic to announce that from Monday, our brand-new toilet facilities will officially be open for use!

This has been a long time coming, and I want to thank our community for your patience and support throughout the process. While there are still some minor paint defects to be rectified, these will be attended to at a later date and won’t affect use of the facilities.

It’s a huge step forward for our school, and I’m so proud that our students now have access to modern, clean, and safe toilets that reflect the standard they deserve.

Cross Country

Seven of our students had the chance to compete in the Macedon Ranges Cross Country event at Hanging Rock last Tuesday! The weather was absolutely perfect for running, and our students gave it their all, representing Bolinda Primary School with our trademark determination.

The journey to this event started with our cross-country trials at school, where students raced to secure their spot based on their times. From there, we were thrilled to send seven of our runners on to the next stage.

It was a fantastic day filled with effort, teamwork, and plenty of valuable experiences. Our students may not have come in first place, but they showed resilience and pride in their performance, and that’s what truly matters.

A huge thank you to the students for their hard work, and to the families for supporting them along the way. We’re so proud of everyone who took part and can’t wait to see what they can do next year!

Signage

You might notice a few changes happening out the front of the school over the coming weeks! We’re doing a little refresh to help make Bolinda Primary School easier to spot and to proudly show off who we are.

A brand new sign will soon be installed where the old one once stood. Our original sign — the one that proudly shows Bolinda was established in 1870 — has been moved into the carpark and now faces the road to help people find us more easily. Please take care when moving around that area.

We’ve also popped up an Enrol Now banner on the front fence, and we’re in the process of getting some more banners and teardrop flags to add a splash of colour and show our school pride.

Softfall Installation

Over the break, we topped up the softfall under our playground to make sure it remains a safe and inviting space for our students. The fresh installation looks fantastic—while most of our students haven’t noticed the change (they’re too busy having fun!), we had quite a few community members voting here during the election who commented on how great it looked. It’s always nice when our efforts to keep the school safe and welcoming get noticed!

ANZAC Day Service

This year, our Year 6 leaders had the special privilege of supporting the ANZAC Day service at the Lancefield Cenotaph, organised by the Romsey-Lancefield RSL. Our school captains, Issy and William, played key roles in the ceremony, with Issy reading a poem and laying a wreath at the base of the cenotaph, while William raised and lowered the flags. Their involvement in this meaningful event was a powerful reminder of the significance of remembering those who served.

We were also honoured to have John and Reinhard from the Romsey-Lancefield RSL join us for our own ANZAC Day service at school run by our Junior School Council. Every student participated in the service by placing a poppy on our wreath and reflecting on the meaning of the day. The service included a moving rendition of the Last Post and Rouse, followed by a minute's silence to honour the fallen.

Our Year 5/6 students contributed to the reflection by reading letters they had written from the perspective of an Australian soldier. We are incredibly proud of our Year 6 leaders for their commitment to ensuring everything ran smoothly. It was a wonderful way for our school community to come together, reflect, and pay our respects.

Mary-Anne Thomas' Visit

Today, Miss Rapetti, our School Council Vice President Krystal, and I met with our local Member of Parliament, Mary-Anne Thomas, to continue the important conversation about bringing our school facilities in line with others across the Macedon Ranges.

Our School Council recently wrote to Mary-Anne seeking support to address the clear inequities in what Bolinda Primary School receives compared to other schools in the region. While we know that buildings don’t define a child’s success, the disparity in facilities is becoming harder to ignore.

I also raised our ongoing concerns about fencing. This has been something I’ve been working on for over a year through several different channels, including a recent attempt to secure funding in the same way we did for our new toilets — which, unfortunately, was not successful.

Despite these setbacks, today’s conversation with Mary-Anne was very encouraging. She listened, asked thoughtful questions, and provided some clearer answers and direction moving forward. Importantly, she expressed a strong belief in our school and a commitment to help advocate at the next level.

We’ll keep pushing — and it’s heartening to know we have her support behind us.

Whole School Events

We’ve got two whole school events coming up this month, and we’re really hoping to see lots of families getting involved — they’re both wonderful chances to spend time together and be part of the school community.

Whole School Reading Morning – Thursday 22nd May

We’re inviting all our families to come along for a relaxed morning of reading with the kids. Bring a favourite book from home or pick something new to enjoy together in the classroom. It’s a lovely way to share stories, spend some time in your child’s learning space, and celebrate the joy of reading.

To finish off the session, we might even have a few surprise guest readers!

Whole School Athletics Day – Friday 23rd May

Our Athletics Day is always a great one. It’s all about having a go, cheering each other on, and being part of something fun. For our older students, it’s also a chance to qualify for the next level in Bendigo.

The PFA is helping out on the day, and we’d love some extra hands to help run events and make sure everything goes smoothly. If you’re free and would like to help out, just let us know at school.

We’re really excited for both of these events and can’t wait to see our school full of families.

Community Garden Cleanup

Donna has started a Community Garden Cleanup Group, meeting every second Wednesday. Over the holidays, our garden was sadly decimated by rabbits, and now we’re beginning the job of reseeding and tidying things up so it can thrive again.

The garden is a much-loved space at our school, and we really value the produce it brings throughout the year. If you're able to help out, we’d love to hear from you.

Many hands make light work — and it’s a great way to connect and contribute.

Happy Mother's Day

On behalf of all the staff at Bolinda Primary School, we’d like to wish a very happy Mother’s Day to all the special people in our students’ lives. Whether you’re a mum, step-mum, grandmother, aunty, carer or another important figure, we see the love, care, and support you give every day—and we thank you.

We hope your weekend is filled with moments of joy, appreciation and connection—and that you enjoy a special gift from your child. Mr Steere has put in a mountain of work this week to ensure the children have something magical to share with you.

You make a world of difference.

Bolinda Birthdays