Principal's Report

There is a shared community joy in being able to walk to the park without a mask and to hear each other say hello and share a smile to fill our cup for the day. We have kept each other safe by committing to a 112 day lockdown and we can now extend our kindness to each other in person. There is definitely a skip in our step and a smile on our face as we begin to see your beautiful children and you in-person at the school.

This will be my final newsletter for the year and I would like to take this opportunity to have a huge ‘shout out’ to each and every one of you in getting through to the other side of this challenging year and maintaining a strong focus with the support you gave your children through Remote Learning and returning back to on site learning. We all deserve a well-earned break and I hope you can enjoy some special time with family and friends over the Christmas break.

2021 School Captains 

We have now finalised our process for selecting our 2021 School Captains. It was a very comprehensive process and I would like to congratulate all of the students who were involved. It was wonderful to see the students standing up in front of their peers delivering well-prepared and rehearsed speeches. The hard part was selecting the students for the positions, as the calibre of students who applied was very high. All students are a credit to themselves, their families and the staff at our school. 

It gives me great pleasure to announce that our 2021 School Captains and Vice Captains are:

School Captains:

                                             Evie Windfeld -Lund           Jack Simpson

Vice Captains:

                                                 Laura Powell                       Luke Smith

Congratulations to all students who have been successful in gaining a leadership role for 2021.

Farewell to our 2020 Year 6 Students 

This Year 6 students will be attending their Graduation Celebrations on Tuesday 15th December. This is a celebration of their stories, recognition of the journey that each of them has walked to be here, a celebration of the accomplishments, the sacrifices, the tears and disappointments, the friendships and the camaraderie. It is a recognition of the support of families, friends and of the many teachers they have had along the way. It is going to be a wonderful celebration and a chance to say congratulations and well done to our graduating class of 2020.

I would like to congratulate our Year 6 students on completing their Primary School education and graduating from Boronia Heights as mature and responsible students who are now ready to begin the next exciting chapter in their lives. I would like to wish them all every success and happiness in the future and hope that they make the most of every opportunity that comes their way. Remember to always try your best, have fun and keep smiling. You should all be very proud of your achievements and the fabulous students that you have become. 

The organisation that staff and parents put into celebrating the end of year graduation is huge. I would like to thank staff and parents who have worked with absolute passion and enthusiasm to support our graduation day. Thank you to our parent committee who have supported year 6 staff and to Prue Baum for supporting the staff and students in Year 6 with photography and videos in preparation for their graduation ceremony.

Oval and Garden Project

I hope that when we return we will be able to see our gardens and ovals taking shape.  At this stage the completion date is the beginning of May, as we have had a few downpours that have disrupted the demolitions on site. Let’s pray for great weather for the remainder of the project. 

BHPS Artist Legacy Award

Every year a BHPS artist is awarded the Artist Legacy Award. This student is chosen from our yearly Monet if the Week award winners. Their artwork is purchased by the school to keep on display, as inspiration for future artists to aspire to. 

Our winning recipient for 2020 for this award goes to Celeste Yu for capturing the landscape of the Australian bushfires at the beginning of this year in her oil pastel artwork. Congratulations Celeste well done.

State Schools Spectacular

A very special congratulations to all the students who performed in the State Schools Spectacular last Saturday.  I was extremely proud of our students who performed beautifully and with confidence.  A huge thank you to Mr. Fox who continued to work with our students throughout remote learning and who supported each student throughout the process.  I have just received a letter thanking Simon and our students for an outstanding performance.  Thanks to everyone involved. 

2021 Curriculum Days 

Provision is made by the Department of Education for four student free days per year to allow for professional development, curriculum planning and reporting. School Council approves the date of each of these days and students do not attend school on these days. School Council have approved our 2021 Curriculum Days and they will be as follows: 

Wednesday 27th January 

Friday 19th February 

Friday 23rd April 

Thursday 6th May

School Council and Sub-Committees 

I would like to say a special thank you to all of the members of our School Council. It is a big commitment being on Council and being involved in making decisions that impact upon the education of the students at our school. Their dedication and overall input into school operations is greatly valued and appreciated. The team has worked extremely hard this year during COVID and we have been able to achieve a great deal for the school. 

I would also like to say a special thank you to the School Council sub-committee members. These committees include, Finance, Education, Buildings and Grounds and Hubsters. School Council members, parent volunteers and staff make up these committees and they attend regular meetings throughout the year. 

All of these people volunteer their time to contribute in numerous ways to improving the education of the students at our school. 

Thank You to our School Council Team in 2020: 

School Structure

We will be operating 23 classes in 2021 with approximately 530 students. The classes and teachers are as follows:

Tutoring Initiave

You may be aware that the Education Department has allocated a range of funding to all schools to employ tutors who will provide students with extra small group support to catch up with learning they may have missed as a result of Remote/flexible Learning. 

We have employed three tutors (teachers that are already known to our school community) to support our students. They have been allocated to Years 1, 2, 3, and one small group in Year 4 to support in reading. The tutors will be working alongside the classroom teacher, implementing focused strategies to meet student’s point of need. All 3 tutors have been employed at Boronia Heights for the entire school year. We have collected whole school data to initially identify students in need of tutoring support. Students will receive two or three 60 minute sessions each week in small groups within the classroom. Students will be assessed for their growth and when deemed appropriate those students will exit from the program and other students in need of support will then be working with the tutor.  The parents of the students that will be initially involved in the tutoring program will be contacted by the tutors early in 2021 so they can work in partnership with the classroom teacher and the tutor. This is an exciting initiative and we aim to support as many students as possible. There will be more information on this program from me in 2021.

2021 Student Supplies Delivered

Thank you to our families that have picked up their child’s supplies for next year. If you haven’t yet paid, the supplies will be here at the school and can be paid for and collected until the end of day on Wednesday 16th December or on Wednesday 27th between 2-4pm, 2021. Please go through these items with your children, put names on them, and then store them somewhere safe so that they can come back to school on the first day of school next year, Thursday 28th January 2021. Students will require their books and stationary on the first day of school. If you need to speak with Lori or myself regarding parent payments please do not hesitate to contact us. 

Drop off and Pick up

Our morning drop off and after school pick up at school has been working exceptionally well, with students developing their independence and confidence walking into school on their own or with friends. Teachers also note that children are settling well into class, ready to learn. A reminder though, that students should NOT ARRIVE BEFORE 8:45am as the gates are not open and there are no teachers on duty before 8:45am. The afternoons are busier, and we remind parents to remember the guidelines around social distancing, by not congregating around the gates. These routines have been so successful, we will be keeping them in 2021, particularly while the oval project is continuing.  After the oval and garden project has been completed we will be able to open up all gates for students to enter and exit through. Please be mindful when you are walking your children home that you are careful not to allow them to go into our local resident’s homes and touch any Christmas decorations displayed.  We have been notified by our residents that students are entering onto private property.

Canteen

The final day for canteen this year is Monday 14th December for canteen orders.  In 2021 the canteen will be open the first week of February (February 1st). A huge thank you to Cathy and Andrea for supporting our students and families, we are grateful for their ongoing support of our school community.

Library Books

Just a friendly reminder to families that we still have over 50 books that have not yet been returned to the Library.  Could you PLEASE have a good look around your home and in bedrooms for those well-loved books that we need returned.  Thanking you in advance.

Thank you Ella Macnee

Ella Macnee who is in Year 5 this year has taken it upon herself to raise money for Cancer.  If you don’t know Ella she has the most stunning, luscious hair and today will have her hair cut to help raise money for this cause that is very close to her heart and to our school family.  I can announce that Ella has raised over $5,500 to help support research into this nasty disease.  Thank you Ella for supporting this cause in Riley’s memory. Thank you to our school community and beyond who have supported Ella in raising this huge amount for such a worthwhile cause. 

Assembly

As school gatherings on school sites are subject to gathering limits, we will not be able to have a whole school assembly either inside or outside on our final day for our whole school. Individual Year level cohorts will have their own farewell assembly in their classes. We will be having our final Year 6 assembly on Thursday the 17th December and will start at 3.15pm at the front of the school or in the school gym if the weather is of a concern, to farewell our Year 6 class of 2020. We are very happy to invite two parents per Year 6 student to join us onsite to be part of our final goodbye to our Year 6 students.  Our Year 5 students will also join us in farewelling our Year 6 students. All other Year levels will hold their own final assembly in their cohorts and will wave and say goodbye as our Year 6 students as they walk through the school for the final time.

School Production 2021 - STAR WARTS: THE UMPIRE STRIKES BACK

This week has certainly been a busy one. Thank you to all students who auditioned for Lead roles in our 2021 Production. I was thrilled with the persistence and the resilience of all our senior students, thank you Mr Fox for the time and dedication that was put into the audition process.

Our Production dates for 2021 are: 

Wednesday 28th July and Thursday 29th July….so keep these dates free

STAR WARTS: THE UMPIRE STRIKES BACK

LEAD ROLES

Farewells

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Josh Bride, Hugh McLaughlin, Ben Harris, Kristie Flanagan, Leon Omichi and Robyn Farkashazy for their dedication to our students over the years. They have all made an impact on students at BHPS and I know you will join in with me to wish them all the very best in the next stage in their journey. 

We would also like to welcome to BHPS staff for 2021:

• Ms Sajani Gammampila
• Ms Georgia Antoniou
• Ms Sarah Appleby
• Mr. David Torr

We would like to welcome back to BHPS staff for 2021:

• Ms Eli Gibson
• Ms Samantha Dunkinson
• Ms Ilusia Koronczewski
• Ms Kate Wardlaw

Term 1 Dates for 2021 

Please note the following important 2021 dates:

• Staff begin – Wednesday 27th January 2021
• Students begin (Year 1-6) – Thursday 28th January 2021
• Preps begin- Friday 5th February 2021

Thank you

As this is the last newsletter for the year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our staff, teaching and non-teaching for making this school the amazing educational environment that it is. I would like to thank the students because they are our top priority and have done us proud, and to our parent community, thank you for your ongoing support during such a challenging year. Schools are only as good as the people involved, our students and our parents are our best ambassadors. 

All students will be dismissed from their gate at 3.30pm. on Thursday 17th December. School will resume for students in Years 1 to 6 on Thursday 28th January. Preps will complete assessments and interviews at the beginning of the year and will begin full time on Friday 5th February.

Have a Safe and Happy Christmas with your loved ones, and take some time to enjoy some quality time with your family. I look forward to 2021, as we have many wonderful plans already in place. I look forward to see the progress to our oval/garden program with the introduction of our synthetic ovals, landscaping and kitchen garden around the STEAM centre. We are indeed a very fortunate school and have many things to be grateful for…

Take Care.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 

Leanne Jennings

Principal