“We would like to acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people, the first people to dream, create, wonder, dance, play and learn on this breathtaking land. This land was cared for and respected for tens of thousands of years. The First Nations people lived in companionship with the animals and the life on this land. We acknowledge that this is stolen land and we pay our respects to elders, past, present and emerging.”

Rayma Atkinson (2023 Suzanne Peterson Award Recipient)

Welcome Back

Hello everyone, welcome back to Term 3! We hope all of our families have enjoyed a restorative two weeks and are feeling ready for the term we have planned, it’s going to be a great one! By the sounds of things, some of our spectacular students have continued their learning throughout the holiday break - we have already heard about our students learning to cook a new dish, learning to read the time and even learning a new instrument.

By looking at the Term 3 printed calendar, you will see there are lots of different events happening this term. If your child did not bring home the updated printed calendar last term, please feel free to collect one from the office or you can find a link to the PDF below. We do try to avoid printing here at school, but we know a printed calendar is a really useful way of keeping track of dates and events when life gets busy!

Now is also a good time to remind you all that we also have a digital calendar that is linked through Sentral, which we are able to update and include any new information as we receive it. If you haven’t looked at the Sentral calendar yet, make sure you check it out.

NAIDOC

NAIDOC Week often occurs in the school holidays, with it falling in the second week of holidays this year. NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee and can be traced to the 1920′s, when groups were formed with a goal to increase awareness in the wider community of the needs, experiences and mistreatment of Indigenous Australians. Today, we also include celebrations in NAIDOC Week - celebrations of history, culture and achievements.

The 2024 theme is “Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud”. The National NAIDOC Committee selected this theme to celebrate not only the survival but also the relentless spirit of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. “Keep the Fire Burning!” is a nod to the vitality and endurance of culture, and a nod to connection with Country and community, while “Blak, Loud and Proud” represents an unapologetic celebration of identity.

To celebrate NAIDOC Week, many of our classes and teachers take extra effort to incorporate Indigenous Perspectives to our learning and ‘Heal Country!’ is a fantastic theme for us to adopt. However, it is important to say that as a school, this is something we constantly strive for and we do not confine this learning to one week. Many of our teaching teams included Indigenous perspectives in Term 1’s topic of Community & Identity, while working with (not against) the earth is something we value dearly. Our classes each have their own Acknowledgement of Country that is shared each week and our partnerships with local Elders is something we feel exceptionally honoured to be part of.

Bek Tankard

We are pleased to announce that Rebekah Tankard will be returning to BNWPS this term, replacing Shalani Marasinghe when she takes her family leave. Many of you will know Bek by name, face or reputation, as she was one of our Senior school teachers last year. After working in another school for last semester, it is exciting to have Bek return with her enthusiasm, creativity and compassion. Shalani will handover to Bek to make sure there is a smooth transition for the students in her class. Welcome back Bek.

Becc & Michael

Continuing with a bit of a theme here, we are also excited to announce that Rebecca Ewer and Michael McLaughlan are expecting their third child later this year! Becc will continue working until the end of Term 3 and Michael will take some family leave in Term 4, when the baby is due. We are sure you will join us in wishing them both a happy and healthy pregnancy - oh how our BNWPS family continues to grow!

Semester 1 Reports

Semester 1 Reports will be published through Sentral this Friday. You will notice some small but exciting changes to the way our reports are presented this semester. These changes represent lots of work that has been happening in the background to help teachers plan for, observe and record student achievement at an extremely detailed level that remains with each child for the entire time they are here at school.

Keep an eye out for a QR code with the reports that will take you to a short video of Emma and Keir explaining these changes and how to read reports. We thank Libby Harper and the Education Committee for their input and engagement in helping communicate these changes.

Stick Shortage

Walking through the streets with my dog over the holidays, I noticed just how many gardens have piles of sticks from pruning trees and clearing gardens. I must admit that it is possible that I may have been on the lookout for sticks after our Foundation students informed me of a stick shortage at school… If you find yourself with sticks that you don’t need, please keep us in mind. We welcome most sticks to the yard - we only ask that they are not from poisonous plants (eg. no Oleander please) and that they do not have anything else attached to them (such as nails or netting). Sticks can be delivered to any part of the yard at any time that suits you.

Sprout

Kris Bidenko