Engagement & Wellbeing

Bunjil Awards

Bunjil awards recognise student achievement and those who display our school values of being respectful, responsible and kind. Well done! All of our weekly winners enjoyed a hot chocolate or zooper dooper with a principal. This process is always a great chance for us to hear from the kids and ask them some questions about our school.

Principal for a Day 

We were once again inundated with applications for our 2026 Principal for a Day, with so many students keen to put their hand up and experience what it’s like to help run the school for a day!

Our successful applicants stepped into the role on Friday and had a very busy day working alongside Mr Conlan, Mrs Phillips and Mrs Sullivan. They had the chance to experience plenty of the different things that make up a principal’s day, including:

• helping to run assembly
• visiting classrooms and chatting with students and staff
• completing yard duty
• helping with jobs and tasks around the school
• taking part in meetings and discussions
• joining Mr Conlan on the morning school bus run

• and plenty more along the way!

   

It was a fun day, and our student principals did a fantastic job, throwing themselves into every opportunity and giving us some great ideas and feedback along the way.

A big congratulations to our 2026 Principals for a Day, and also to everyone who submitted an application. We love seeing so many of our students willing to have a go, take on something new and get involved in the life of our school.

Stay tuned… next week our Principals for a Day will share their own reflections on the experience!

No NUTS please

As we’ll be sharing holding rooms and other spaces at the theatre, we ask that NO NUTS or NUT PRODUCTS are sent with students during concert rehearsals and performances.

We have students with severe allergies and anaphylaxis, and with so many classes sharing spaces throughout the week, we appreciate everyone helping us to reduce the risk and keep all students safe.

Please check snacks and lunchbox items carefully before sending them along. Thank you for your support.

FOOTY COLOURS DAY - proudly supporting the Mphatso Children’s Foundation

On the last day of Term 3, students are invited to come dressed in their favourite team colours for our annual Footy Colours Day!

Usually on casual dress days, we ask students to bring a gold coin donation to support a good cause. For Footy Colours Day, we do things a little differently – we encourage students to collect and bring along as many coins as they can!

Students can deposit their coins into their favourite team’s container, with the team collecting the most coins by volume (not value!) crowned the winner of the Buninyong Cup!

Why all the coins?

5c coins have long been synonymous with the Mphatso Children’s Foundation, as 5c was once enough to provide a child in Malawi with a bowl of porridge at school. For many children, this may be the only meal they receive that day.

Unfortunately, inflation has also hit Malawi and the cost of providing a bowl of porridge has now risen to around 10c.

Students can bring as many coins as they wish, of any denomination – every coin helps!

All money collected will be donated to the Mphatso Children’s Foundation on behalf of our school.

Buninyong Primary School has had a special connection with Mphatso for many years. Former Buninyong PS parent Robyn Casey established the Mphatso Children’s Foundation in 2004, with its mission to:

FEED THE CHILDREN • GROW THE COMMUNITY • IMPACT THE FUTURE

Thank you for continuing to get behind this wonderful cause – and start saving those coins!

For more information, visit the Mphatso Children’s Foundation website or Mphatso Children’s Foundation on Facebook.