Foundation 2027

School tours are now underway for prospective 2027 enrolments, and have been very well subscribed. It is such a pleasure to show families through our school to see our bilingual program in action. Our Welcome Ambassadors greet our visitors so proudly, and do a wonderful job explaining their learning and what they enjoy about being a member of our very special school community.

If you have a kindergartener starting Foundation with us next year, or if you know someone who does, please book a tour via our website and collect an enrolment pack from the office. Applications can be submitted to the office from April 20th.

Nominating for School Council

Grazie mille to outgoing Council parent members, Alex Blaszak and Stef Zunga for their generous contribution to our school community during their tenure. There are now two openings available, and we encourage parents and carers to consider nominating. The Council plays a key role in guiding strategic direction, overseeing governance, and ensuring decisions reflect the needs and values of our community.

You don’t need special skills, and there is not a large commitment of time required; just a willingness to collaborate and act in the best interests of all students. It’s a valuable opportunity to contribute, build connections, and have a voice in key decisions.

Nomination forms are available from the office, or can be downloaded via Compass. There is a newsfeed notice with more information, and you can also refer to the Community Notices section of this newsletter to find out more. Please chat with Mary or Sanae if you have any questions and they’ll be more than happy to help.

Road safety

Following on from previous newsfeeds regarding upgrading pedestrian safety measures in the Lygon St/ Barkly St vicinity, thank you to those who have reached out to let me know you share this concern. I have contacted MP Tim Read’s office to request his support in advocating for a safety review and upgrades to pedestrian safety measures in the area, and have also contacted Transport Victoria and Cr Adam Pulford at Merribek Council requesting the same. BSPS families may like to pass their concerns along directly to signal that this is a genuine and pressing safety priority for our community. Transport Victoria Tim Read MP Cr Adam Pulford

In the meantime, please continue to have regular conversations with your child about being safe on the way to and from school.

Would you like to be a Story Dogs Coordinator?

We’re keen to introduce the Story Dogs program at our school this year, where a trained adult (human) and their trained doggo volunteer to read with junior students. We had a great response when Cate put the opportunity to volunteer out to the community last year, but unfortunately, the Story Dogs organisation does not currently have a coordinator for our region, so there’s no training available just now.

If you are keen to get involved as a community volunteer, have a mild-mannered dog and some time, please consider becoming a Story Dogs Coordinator! The process is to undergo the training with your dog, then to volunteer reading with students for at least one term here at BSPS, after which time you can be endorsed to train future Story Dogs volunteers - thereby growing this wonderful program at our school and in our local community.

Please see the attachments for all the details. If you’re interested in getting involved or know someone who is, please let us know by emailing the office and we’ll help you with the first steps.

Ciao for now,

Kristie

Resource Smart School