Teaching and Learning 

Professional Learning Day

Last Friday on our pupil-free day, classroom and specialist teaching staff were involved in a professional learning day to build knowledge and skills related to explicit instruction.

Staff visited schools in the local Ballarat area to observe explicit instruction in action in classrooms and hear from practitioners in schools who are a little further along in their journey of explicit instruction that we can learn from.

The afternoon consisted of a session where staff reflected on and discussed high-impact techniques that they had observed. They worked with their teaching teams to determine next steps in building their professional knowledge and skills and identified key focus areas to develop in the coming months.

We sincerely thank our colleagues at Pleasant St. P.S and Mt. Blowhard P.S for hosting us and for their generosity in sharing their professional knowledge. We also thank the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership for hosting us for the afternoon session.

A special thanks also to the Western Autistic School in Laverton who hosted our education support staff team for the day as they participated in a school visit to further their knowledge, skills and understanding of the following focus areas:

• Creating a Positive, Safe & Inclusive Environment 
• Routines and Transitions
• Task Sequence and Difficulty 
• Supporting Regulation

Ballarat Young Authors’ Program 2025         

The Ballarat Young Authors’ Program is now in its tenth year and throughout that time, BPS has been proud to support many students to take part in this opportunity.

The Young Authors’ Program is aimed at high abilities students in the area of writing and provides them with an opportunity to extend their skills and work with other like-minded students from other schools within the Ballarat area.

Students are selected based on meeting the following criteria: 

• Currently in Year 4 or 5
• 12 or more months ahead according to Victorian Curriculum in the area of Writing in their end-of year report and/or achieving in the ‘Exceeding’ proficiency in their NAPLAN results (year 4 only)

Students will take part in a program launch this Thursday, 22nd May and will subsequently participate in three workshop days throughout the year and an end of program celebration.

This is a wonderful opportunity for our BPS students, and we congratulate the following students who will take part this year:

We look forward to sharing details of the students’ experiences with the school community throughout the year.

National Simultaneous Story Time

National Simultaneous Storytime is an annual event organised by the Australian Library and Information Association, where a picture book by an Australian author and illustrator is read aloud at the same time across the country. It promotes reading and literacy in a fun, engaging way and aligns with the Foundation–Year 6 curriculum. 

This year’s book, Truck Cat, is a heartwarming and adventurous picture book about a curious cat who finds a new home in the cab of a long-haul truck. As Truck Cat travels across the country with the driver, they discover new places, make unexpected friends, and learn the true meaning of belonging.  

We have registered to be involved. This year National Simultaneous Storytime takes place tomorrow, Wednesday 21 May at 12:00pm. 

Many classes across the school will get involved and some activities will also be on offer during Lunchtime Club throughout the week.

Education Week 2025

As mentioned in previous editions of the newsletter, this week is Education Week. 

Education Week is an annual celebration of public education in Victoria. This year’s theme ‘Celebration of Cultures’ highlights the diversity of our communities and the importance of every child feeling safe and welcome at school.

Thanks to Gaye and Claire B who will be offering some activities at Lunch-Time Club throughout the week that tie in with this year’s Education Week theme of, ‘Celebration of Cultures’. 

To find out more about Education Week 2025, visit Education Week | vic.gov.au. 

STUDENT REPORTING          

Mid-year reports will be available to parents and carers via Compass on Friday, June 27th. 

An opportunity for a parent-teacher interview will be available on Monday, June 30th (4-6 pm) and Wednesday, July 2nd (1:30-5pm).  

Bookings for parent teacher interviews will open via Compass on Tuesday, June 17th and will close on Thursday, June 26th at 4pm.  The details below provide a summary:

Important Dates:  

• Bookings open on Compass for Parent Teacher Interviews- Tuesday June 17th
• Bookings close on Compass for Parent Teacher Interviews- Thursday June 26th
• Reports available on Compass - June 27th
• Parent-Teacher Interviews- 

June 30th: 4-6pm 

July 2nd: 1:30-5pm (students dismissed 1pm)

As always, please give the office a call if you have any questions or require support to make your bookings.

The Victorian Premier’s Reading Challenge is in full swing. Many of our students are actively participating and are enjoying reading a wide range of books. Here are some numbers you may find interesting

• 567 students eligible to enrol
• 564 students currently enrolled
• 485 books have been read and verified
• 77 the number of days the challenge has been running for
• 110 the number of days remaining in the challenge
• 2005 the year the Victorian Premier’s Reading Challenge began

Well done to all the students who have made a start to get involved. 

If you want to get involved, it’s not too late! Please contact your child’s classroom teacher for login details if you are unsure of where to find them.