Principal Team Message

Hello BRPS Community,

As we approach the final day of Term Two,  I want to thank you for your support of your child/rens' learning and engagement at school, as well as participation in the many events and activities held throughout the term. 

From swimming programs, camps and excursions to the whole-school cross country, mini-markets and exhibitions, participation in the full breadth of school experiences by staff, students, and their families is commendable. 

Term 3 Major Events 

Term 3 is a nine-week term, commencing on Monday 21st July and concluding on Friday 19th September. There are no student-free days scheduled for the term ahead.

Major events include:

• Foundation 100 Days of School
• House Athletics Carnival
• 2025 School Concert
• Year 1/2 Swimming Program
• Year 4 Camp

Dates for major events and most happenings around the school can be found on the dates pages of this newsletter or the Compass Calendar at any time. 

Term 3 Staffing News

Cath Linsdell-Edwards - Cath has been on leave for the second half of this term. After a long career at BRPS in multiple roles, including major stints in Art and Physical Education, Cath has decided to step back from her permanent role at BRPS.  We expect to see Cath back at BRPS at times in the second half of the year. 

Stephanie Ruby - We are farewelling Steph from her Education Support role for next term. We sincerely thank Steph for her contribution to the learning and wellbeing of the students she worked with at our school

Sandy Bassoukos - Sandy is on LSL for Term 3, heading off for an exciting few months of international travel. Hannah Kemp has joined the Year 3 team and will cover 3B full-time for Term 3. Welcome Hannah! 

Margot Hudson - is transferring to a teaching position at the snow school for Term 3. We welcome Margot's replacement, Samantha (Sam) Van Zyl into 4A. Sam has attended for planning handover and to meet the class this week. Welcome Sam!

Bec Nolan - next term we also welcome back Bec Nolan from parental leave. Bec will be supporting multiple classes through cover for leadership responsibilities and professional practice support.

Concert - Dancing Through the Decades

Our biggest event of the year is the whole-school concert, which will occur on August 29th at Robert Blackwood Hall.  

Students have continued to have a ball practising their dance songs based on these decades:

Costuming

There is a buzz around the school about costumes already as levels are starting to get things together.  Please look for the details relevant to your year level and check in with your class parent rep if you require further information. 

🎩 Props The Art department are working very hard on developing the props, I think there will event be a 'props' working bee held by staff in the holidays!

Getting to School on Time

At the end of a long term it is understandable that fatigue is setting in for students, parents and staff alike. We are recording more late arrivals to school each day, with many students arriving between 9.00 am - 9.15 am, after learning has commenced. 

Missing a few minutes each day may not seem like a big deal, but your child may be missing more than you realise if they are continually late. Research shows that mornings for most children are the most productive time of the day. When children arrive late and take time to settle in, this can be disconcerting for them and distracting for the teacher and other students. Establishing good morning routines with checklists, reducing distractions such as televisions and devices and aiming to get to school ten minutes before the bell can all help your child get to school on time. 

Routines for Learning

As a school community, we have focused on developing and embedding routines that have students and teachers ready for teaching and learning on time. These include soft starts in the morning, three minutes of music before the end of recess and lunch bells, lining up and moving around the school routines, as well as calm and orderly classroom entry and exits. 

Parents can work in partnership with the school by talking about the importance of these routines with their child and discussing the positive impact on the classroom and learning environment that they provide. 

Conferences

Thank you to all parents, carers and students who attended the P/T Conferences last week. Along with the Student Achievement Reports they were a real celebration of learning and collaborative effort between students and teachers to help all reach their goals. 

NAPLAN 2025

We are incredibly proud of our Year 3 and Year 5 students for their outstanding efforts and results in the 2025 NAPLAN assessments. The preliminary outcomes reflect not only their hard work and commitment to learning, but also the strong partnership between students, teachers, and families.

This year’s results highlighted growth at the school level in all areas assessed at both Year 3 and Year 5 level, including reading, writing, numeracy and language conventions—showcasing the strength of our teaching and learning programs, and the dedication of our staff to provide adaptive, evidence-based instruction.

Well done to all students for approaching the assessments with confidence and a positive mindset. 

A special thank you to our teachers, leaders and education support staff who prepared and supported students throughout the process. Together, we continue to build a culture of high expectations, achievement, and care.

School access to full outcomes and Individual student reports will be available early in Term 3. We look forward to sharing those outcomes in detail with our school community, when available. 

Dogs on School Grounds

Thank You!

Sincere thanks to our school community for adhering to the new regulations regarding no dogs onsite at Black Rock PS. There has been a noticeable reduction in dog droppings across most areas of the school. 

Unfortunately, local reports and CCTV confirm that unleashed dogs continue to come onto the school grounds out of hours, particularly weekends. This means a continuation of dog droppings on the school oval in particular. If our school community could please support in sharing this message with other people that use our school facilities i.e. users of the school stadium for training, it would be most appreciated. We request that dogs are not tethered to the school gate as this creates its own safety issues. 

Year 5 Camp - "The Island" Phillip Island

Our Year 5 students enjoyed an amazing time at "The Island" Phillip Island from the 11-13 June.

The students visited the Fairy Penguins, Amaze 'n' Things and a Wildlife Park, and during the week there were many adventure activities such as a flying fox and the ever-popular giant swing.   

I really must extend an enormous amount of gratitude and thanks to the Year 5 teachers (Adam Littlehales, Jacqui Hutchinson, Cass Morgan, Steve Muller and Chris Badman, as well as Education Support Lu McCullagh and Sarah Hogan for their effort and commitment in planning such a successful and safe camp. We know that camp involves 24-hour responsibilities and duty of care to provide such a rich and rewarding experience for our students.  I thank all of the staff attending for spending a week away from their families in support of this experience for our students.  

2025 School Council 

School Council held it's fourth meeting and AGM on Thursday 26th June. A summary report of the meeting can be found 

The next School Council meeting of Black Rock Primary School will be held on Thursday 14th August at 6.30pm in the staff room. 

Contact details for correspondence with School Council can be found at the bottom of the School Council Report page. 

CEET (Parents) Meeting

Our next CEET meeting will be held in the staffroom at 7 pm on Thursday 14th August. BRPS Community members are welcome.

Update - Accessibility Improvement Project 

Accessibility Ramps 

We continue to be frustrated at the access delays and disruption caused at the front entrance of the school as the final accessibility ramp is completed. The revised timeline for completion is the July holiday period. Fingers crossed we have full access back at the beginning of Term 3.  

2026 Foundation Enrolments

2026 Foundation enrolments are due on Friday 25th July.  We have held three successful tours and two classroom open mornings so far this term. The next scheduled tour will take place on Tuesday 22nd July (Term Three/Week One). If you are aware of any families that are seeking a school for next year please direct them to our website or the school office for information about these events and the enrolment process. 

SIBLING ENROLMENTS

Sibling enrolments should be completed following the same timeline as new enrolments, we thank you for your prompt attention to this important process if your next child will be starting with us in 2026!

Please contact the office for enrolment forms and further information. 

We hope you have a wonderful break over the July school holiday period. Stay well, stay warm and we look forward to seeing everyone on the other side of the break for another fun-filled term of learning and exciting events. 

Sam Tyndall

PRINCIPAL

Emily Harvey

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL