Principals' News 

Principal News 04/04/2025

Dear Banyan Fields Primary School Community,

Firstly, I want to thank you for your kind welcome and support as we have navigated Term 1. It has been a busy term for our community as we worked through the review process and this will set us up well for a productive 2025. The team will continue to build our strategy over the term break and will have an update for you when we return in Term 2. Please remember that the first day of Term 2 is Tuesday, April 22nd as Monday, April 21st is a public holiday. ANZAC Day is on the Friday that week so we have a short week to kick of the new term. 

Parent Teacher Interviews

Thank you to everybody who visited the school yesterday for our parent teacher interviews. This is an important opportunity to ensure we are all on the same page and supporting every student in our school appropriately. If anybody missed their child’s interview, please feel free to contact the relevant classroom teacher via Compass to arrange a catch up in Term 2. 

Orange Cards

All students at Banyan Fields Primary School have a right to come to school and learn in a safe and comfortable environment. We noticed this term that there is a minority of students who have begun to use inappropriate language in their day to day interactions and/or when they are working through challenging situations. I spoke to all of the students in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 over the past few weeks and have challenged them to find other ways to express themselves that does not involve swearing (including substitute words), name-calling, and put-downs. The response has been very positive with the students now more likely to stop themselves in the moment or acknowledge their mistakes when they happen. 

Several students have been given an orange card to take home when they have used inappropriate language. The idea behind the cards is to create an opportunity for discussion and learning. They first have a conversation a member of the school leadership team about what happened, how we can support going forward and other options they have in similar situations. They then take the card home so parents and carers are kept aware and can engage in a similar conversation, thus reinforcing the message. 

We appreciate your support as we continue to build a school culture that enables every student to learn every day. 

Democracy Sausage Sizzle

Banyan Fields Primary School will act as a polling station for our Federal Elections on Saturday, May 3rd. School Council are keen to use this opportunity to raise funds that will be used to install industrial scale ceiling fans in the gym. We are hoping to run a sausage sizzle on the day and would love your support. If you are available to volunteer an hour or two of your time, please let us know by completing this form. We can only run the sausage sizzle if we have enough volunteers so please consider supporting us if you can. 

We wish you and your family a very peaceful and safe break. 

Patrick Halpin - Principal 

Jacqui Sampson - Assistant Principal 

Jennifer Churcher - Assistant Principal 

Sharleen Nason - Assistant Principal