Principal's Report 

What a fantastic start to the term, with our students settling in quickly, and diving right back into their learning! We have an exciting, action-packed term ahead, so please ensure you check Sentral for regular updates about events and activities across the school. 

Term 4 is a Sunsmart Term!

Bimbadeen is a SunSmart school, where school hats are compulsory in Terms 1 and 4. Children will not be allowed to play out in the sun without their hats this term (or in Term 1 next year). Students without hats will be asked to remain under the veranda in front of the hall, or in the shade outside their classroom doors during recess and lunch times. If you child has misplaced their school hat or requires a new one, new school hats can be purchased from our uniform shop via the link on our school website. 

Wearing sunscreen is another important way to protect your skin from harm. Students will be provided with time in their classroom to apply sunscreen prior to recess and lunchtime. Students must apply their own sunscreen at school. 

We encourage parents and carers to apply sunscreen to their children before school, include personal sunscreen in their child’s school bag, and encourage their children to reapply sunscreen prior to lunch play. Sunscreen is always available at the office for staff and students who do not have their own at school and wish to access it.

Whole School Excursion to the LUME

There is a buzz in the air as we prepare for our whole school excursion to THE LUME at the Melbourne Convention Centre to experience the Connection exhibit. Born from an idea to celebrate First Nations art and music and give back to its artist communities, this experience tells the story of our country's rich cultural history. The most expansive tapestry of First People's art ever assembled, Connection brings to life over 650 works from 110 visual and musical artists in the world's largest digital art gallery, making it an unmissable experience for all ages. 

You can view further information about this exhibit on the website https://www.thelumemelbourne.com/ Please check Sentral for further information. We are also looking for some parents/carer volunteers to help with supervision on the day. Please note that helpers will need to hold a Working with Children's check. Please let your child’s teacher know if you able to assist.

World Teachers Day

Friday 27 October is when we in Victoria celebrate World Teachers Day. This is the community’s chance to thank our teachers and acknowledge the wonderful work that they do each day to support the learning and development of our students. Everyone, no matter how old, can remember a great teacher who made a difference in their lives. It would be wonderful if our community could take the time on Friday 27 October to say thank you to your child’s teacher as we can assure you it will be greatly appreciated and will make their day.

Student Enrichment Update

Throughout this year, students at Bimbadeen Heights Primary School have demonstrated their amazing skills, passions, and talents through a range of enrichment opportunities. The following report was compiled by Alec Baroni, Student Enrichment Coordinator.

Tournament of Minds

One of our Tournament of Minds teams headed to the Victorian Finals, where they competed against teams who had won their regional finals. 

Our students performed exceptionally well, being awarded Tournament Honours, and coming in 2nd Place in Victoria in the Social Sciences – Primary Division.

This is a sensational result, recognising the complex teamwork, problem solving, creativity and ingenuity requirements of Tournament of Minds.

Science Talent Search

The Science Talent Search is a competition where students can either work independently, or with a partner to develop a science project (that will be completed at home) and present it to a panel of judges. This year’s topic was ‘Innovations: Powering Future Industries,’ and we had 9 students across all year levels complete and present projects to panels of judges. The results are in, and the following students were awarded the following:

Addison G – was awarded an Acknowledgement for her creative writing project.

Amelia P and Shayla P – were awarded a Merit for their experimental research.

Phoebe LP and Miranda M – were awarded a Distinction for their science photography project.

Jackson B – was awarded a Distinction for his scientific poster.

Lincoln B – was awarded a Distinction for his scientific poster.

Alyssa C and Lucas C – were awarded a Minor Bursary for their scientific game.

All students will be awarded their certificates and feedback at an upcoming assembly, with our bursary winners awards and medallions to be sent to schools towards the end of October This information will be provided to those students when it comes to hand. 

APSMO Maths Olympiad and Maths Explorer

The Annual Maths Olympiad and Maths Explorer competition has completed. This year 18 students from Years 4, 5 and 6 competed in the Maths Olympiad, as well as 27 students from Years 3 and 4 who competed in the Maths Explorer. Overall, we performed extremely well; the achievements of individual students, as well as overall team performances, demonstrates how amazing the students at Bimbadeen Heights Primary School are. 

More details are to come. 

We will be excited to present all Olympiad and Explorer students with their certificates, pins or patches when they arrive later in the term.

Victorian High Abilities Program

This term we have three students across years 5 and 6 who have been selected to take part in Virtual Schools Victoria’s Victorian High Abilities Program (VHAP). This program is designed for students who excel in either literacy or numeracy and are selected through a range of data sets – including NAPLAN. The VHAP runs over eleven weeks through synchronous online sessions with expert teachers.

Dr Karl – Q&A Session

On Tuesday, the Year 5 and 6 students gathered in the BER for a one-hour Q&A session with ‘Dr Karl’ Kruszelnicki. Dr Karl has worked as a physicist, labourer, roadie for bands, car mechanic, filmmaker, biomedical engineer (when he designed and built a machine to pick up electrical signals from the human retina), TV weatherman, and medical doctor at The Children’s Hospital in Sydney. 

Dr Karl is currently the Julius Sumner Miller Fellow at Sydney University, where his ‘mission’ is to spread the good word about science through his TV and radio shows and 40+ books. Karl joined us online and was thrilled to answer around 20 questions from the students ranging from ‘If you are born blind, do you dream?’ to ‘Does pineapple go on pizza?’ 

The students were really engaged and loved the opportunity to meet the self-described ‘answer looking for a question.’

We hope you enjoy a wonderful weekend, and we look forward to another fantastic week of learning at Bimbadeen. 

Kind regards,

Adele Gregson and Sabrina George