Dear Parents and Guardians,

The air of excitement was evident on everyone’s faces as the children arrived at school last Tuesday. We have had a smooth start to the new 2024 school year and the children quickly adapted to the return to school routines.

I would like to sincerely thank the staff for returning to school prior to the official commencement date. The staff have been busy preparing their learning spaces in readiness for the children to arrive on 30 January.

The classrooms are not only bright and inviting, but also clean thanks to the persistence of our Facilities Manager, Lee Skaftouros, who maintained a close watch over the cleaning of the school facilities.

During the holidays we had new air conditioners installed in the large learning spaces of the Year 5 and 6 Learning Centre. This new addition will ensure a wonderfully comfortable environment for both students and staff. Funding of these air conditioners was made possible by the many families who supported our Facilities Fund - thank you all very much. Air-conditioning in our school is not Department funded.

We have also recently had all our gutters and drains cleaned in an effort to minimise flooding in extreme wet weather.

A staff board is in the foyer of the main office for you to view the photographs of our wonderful BNPS Team, including Wally, our therapy dog.

Communication

Communication is essential for all members of our school community. Our fortnightly newsletter provides an insight into the many activities and events your children are experiencing at our school. Words cannot portray how are students really feel about their learning, but the movies and photographs provide an insight into how they really feel and what they enjoy at school.

The Compass app is used for family reminders, year level and specialist class updates and all school information. Compass is used for communication for our whole school community. School staff will post family reminders, year level and specialist class updates and all school information via the platform.

During the school term parents will also be able to access ongoing student feedback provided by teachers via the use of Learning Tasks. End of semester reports will also be sent through Compass.

For ease, we suggest downloading the Compass Application on your mobile device and signing in with your personal credentials. Compass can also be accessed via the Compass website. If you need any further help signing into Compass, please see our wonderful Office Ladies for assistance.

DET’s values are Responsiveness, Integrity, Impartiality, Accountability, Respect, Leadership and Human Rights. Every decision and action implemented at Beaumaris North Primary School adheres to, and is guided by, the Department values.

As an accredited International Baccalaureate World School, we also adhere to our IB Essential Agreement which states:

We will CARE for others, showing EMPATHY, compassion and RESPECT towards the needs and feelings of others. We will show RESPONSIBILITY to our own learning and belongings, showing self-discipline and commitment. We will show TRUST acting with integrity, honesty, and a strong sense of fairness. We not only have a whole school essential agreement but also a Staff Agreement and a Student Agreement.

Smoking Ceremony

Monday 12 February at 9.30am - All Welcome

We are thrilled to be having the enriching experience of hosting a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony, a profound and culturally significant event led by the Bunurong Peoples, our traditional owners of the land on which our school stands.

In our commitment to fostering inclusivity for all and respect for Australian Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander cultures, we are honoured to have the traditional custodians to conduct a Welcome to Country on the oval here at Beaumaris North.

This age-old practice is a ceremonial way of acknowledging and paying respect to the traditional owners of the land, recognising their deep connection to the country and its history. The ceremony will begin with the Welcome to Country, during which the Traditional owners share stories, songs and dances that have been passed down through generations. This ceremonial welcome not only honours the ancestors but also serves as a powerful reminder of the resilience and rich cultural heritage of our Australian Indigenous communities.

Following the Welcome to Country, we will take part in a Smoking Ceremony, an ancient practice aimed at cleansing and purifying the space. Traditional leaves and plants will be burnt, and smoke will be dispersed. This is symbolising the removal of negative energy and the renewal of positive forces. During this experience, the students are surrounded by smoke, so they are most likely to come home smelling like smoke.

School Council President

Message from our School Council President

Welcome to 2024 at BNPS!

I am Mary Sheargold, President of School Council. My son Josh is in Year 5 and his brother Marcus is in Year 3 at BNPS.

2024 promises to be an eventful, action-packed year with the return of our bi-annual school fete and a groundswell of grass roots action to ensure we can secure government funding for necessary upgrades and building developments at our school.

If you have any questions or concerns about anything to do with school life at BNPS, please feel free to reach out to me at any time - I am always up for a coffee, chat, or a walk around the block. I look forward to meeting many more of you over the course of this year.

2024 is our Fete Year

The countdown to the 2024 Fete is now on!!!!!

Our first Fete in 6 years will be held on Saturday 23 March 2024. Please put the date in your diary!

To make the day a success we really need the whole school community to be involved.

We will keep you up to date with donation requests, pre-purchasing of ride wristbands, stalls, raffles and more via Compass, our social media and website.

Fete t-shirts are currently on sale via Qkr. Once received these can be worn as part of the school uniform prior to the Fete. T-Shirt sales close on Friday 9 February at 12.00pm.

Please follow us on facebook.com/bnpsfete and @bnpsevents or go to our website: www.bnpsfete.com.

Let's all get together for our 2024 Fete!

Nat Northey

Curriculum

BNPS is an International Baccalaureate world school authorised to teach the Primary Years Programme and is the framework for implementing the Victorian Curriculum.

The PYP focuses on the development of the whole child as an inquirer, both in school and in the world beyond. The PYP offers a transformative experience for students, teachers and whole school communities and delivers excellent outcomes by providing an education that is engaging, relevant, challenging, and significant.

The PYP offers a transdisciplinary, inquiry-based, and student-centred education with responsible action at its core, enabling students to learn between, across and beyond traditional subject boundaries.

At BNPS, our learners are encouraged to take ownership of their learning, collaborating with teachers to deepen understanding and increase their confidence and self-motivation.

The core curriculum programs for enrichment that we provide at Beaumaris North Primary School are based on the student data and achievement levels of our students. Programs are introduced and implemented at the point of need of our students.

School Improvement Team (SIT)

Our school is led by members of our School Improvement Team (SIT), including our Principal Class Officers and Learning Specialists. The SIT team meet weekly and manage the Department’s required accountability platforms including the Strategic Plan, Annual Implementation Plan and Data Management, as well as our school’s curriculum planning based on our student data and achievement levels.

Our School Council not only endorses our Strategic Plan and the Annual Implementation Plan but provides valuable input into our accountability requirements. The partnership between the parents and staff is greatly respected by all stakeholders.

Meet and Greet Sessions

All staff are looking forward to meeting the parents of their students at the upcoming ‘Meet and Greet’ sessions. This is an opportunity for you to tell us something about your child so that we are better placed to understand the needs of your child. I too look forward to connecting with families as I see you arrive for these sessions.

BNPS Newsletter

Issue 1 · 08 Feb 2024

In this issue