Principal News 17/10/2025

Dear Banyan Fields Primary School Community,

Welcome back! We hope all families enjoyed a restful break and are ready for a positive and productive final term. Term 4 is always a busy and exciting time with learning milestones, celebrations and important transitions. Thank you in advance for your partnership as we finish the year strongly.

Our Focus: We are thriving at Banyan Fields and this term we’ll continue to emphasise our TESS values — Tenacity, Equity, Synergy and Stewardship — in classrooms, playgrounds and at home. You’ll see these values highlighted at assemblies and in weekly acknowledgements.

Tenacity: We try, we learn, we never give up.

Attendance Matters – Every Day Counts

Consistent attendance is one of the most important factors in supporting your child’s learning and success at school. When students attend every day and arrive on time, they build strong learning routines, stay connected with friends, and keep pace with classroom progress.

● On Time, Ready to Learn: The day begins at 8:45am. Being on time ensures students start the day calmly, hear important instructions, and settle quickly into learning.

● Minimising Disruptions: Late arrivals not only impact your child’s readiness, but also interrupt the flow of the classroom.

● Notifying Absences: If your child is unwell or unable to attend, please record the absence promptly via Compass or contact the office.

Every school day provides valuable learning opportunities. By supporting strong attendance, you are helping your child develop responsibility, resilience and tenacity.

Synergy: We listen, we learn, we grow together.

Transitions & Planning – Supporting Students for 2026

As we approach the end of the school year, our staff are carefully preparing transition processes to ensure all students move confidently into 2026.

Smooth Transitions: Each class will take part in structured transition activities designed to help students meet new teachers, explore new learning spaces and understand expectations for their next year level; this will include our incoming Foundation students.

Student Voice: Teachers are gathering insights about each child’s learning style, strengths and friendships to support balanced and positive class placements.

Year 6 to Year 7: Our senior students will take part in transition sessions with local secondary schools to help them feel ready for this exciting next step.

Class Formation for 2026: Staff are currently reviewing academic data, wellbeing needs and social connections to create well-balanced learning groups. Parents will be informed about class structures and teachers later in the term.

Our goal is for every student to begin 2026 feeling known, supported and ready to thrive.

Parent Teacher Association (PTA)

We are delighted with the response to our call for volunteers to establish our PTA. Our first meeting will take place this term so we will be fully set up for an official launch in 2026. We are hoping to have a core committee, supported by volunteers who can step in when required without having to commit to anything regular or onerous. Help us to thrive by contacting the office to express an interest and we will be in touch with the options.

Australian Teachers’ Day

October 31st marks Australian Teachers’ Day, a time for us to celebrate the incredibly hard work of our teachers and school staff. The theme is Hats off to Teachers and the students and education support staff have already begun preparing to mark the day. Please remind your child to thank their teachers on the day, and maybe spend some time over the next fortnight preparing cards and notes of gratitude for the people who support and educate them every day at school.

Equity: We include, we respect, we support.

SunSmart – Hats Required in Term 4

As a SunSmart school, we are committed to protecting our students from harmful UV exposure. Term 4 is a compulsory hat term, which means:

● All students must wear a broad-brimmed or bucket hat for any outdoor activities, including recess, lunch, sport and PE sessions.

● “No Hat, Play in the Shade” will be strictly enforced. Students without a hat will be directed to shaded areas and supervised to ensure their safety.

● We strongly encourage families to label hats clearly with the student’s name to avoid lost property.

● If your child needs a replacement hat, school hats are available for purchase at the office or through our uniform supplier.

By working together, we can help build healthy sun protection habits and ensure all students stay safe while enjoying outdoor play and learning.

Stewardship: We care for people, places, and possibilities.

Term 4 Professional Learning Community

We’re learning how to help students learn even better!

Our teachers have kicked off a new learning focus this term in our schoolwide PLC. We are exploring the latest science behind how children learn best, using current research and the Victorian Learning and Teaching Model 2.0

We’re working together to strengthen how students remember and really understand what they’re learning, not just for the test, but for life!

We’re growing together!

In 2023, 60% of families told us they felt comfortable approaching the school with concerns.

In 2025, that number has grown to 80%!

We’ve been working hard to strengthen our communication, build stronger family connections, and make sure everyone feels heard and valued.

Together, we’re creating a community where every voice matters

Online Engagement

Our students are engaging more and more on online platforms in the evenings and weekends. Our government has acknowledged the challenges associated with children engaging in social media by increasing the legal age to 16 from December. Recently, we have been working with the students in Years 5 and 6 following reports of inappropriate interactions as the students explore the social etiquette involved, and experiment with behaviours to test this virtual world. This has led to significant disruptions to learning at school. We strongly encourage our community to allow the children to be children. It is up to parents and carers to monitor social media use and to educate the children about how to interact appropriately. Unfortunately, the influence the school has once the children leave the school grounds is minimal but we are finding ourselves following up on online interactions and conflicts on a daily basis. We will always support students who are experiencing difficulties regardless of the context, but we appeal to parents to provide alternative opportunities for children to engage socially. Our recommendation is spending time in the physical presence of friends and family as opposed to the socially and emotionally confusing virtual world. We appreciate your support as we continue to thrive.

Patrick Halpin - Principal

Jennifer Churcher - Assistant Principal

Sharleen Nason - Assistant Principal

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