From the Head of Junior School

Last weekend Dr Elissa Drew took four BMGS teams to the Regional Round for Tournament of the Minds. Both Junior School teams, AND both Senior School teams came first in each of their categories! All of our teams will be competing in the Nationals on Sunday 10 September. We are enormously proud of the work our children have done and grateful for the hours and hours of dedicated work put in by Dr Drew. A full report by Dr Drew appears elsewhere in this Newsletter.  We look forward to visiting UNSW with the students to see them compete at the highest level and we’ll let you know how they go!

We also had the Parent's & Friends' Association Annual Trivia Night on the weekend, which is an important fundraiser for the school. The theme was iconic Australian television and the costumes and table designs were fabulous. Thank you to all of the parents and friends who came along, and to the outstanding (but not winning) table of Junior School staff who came along and joined in. 

At both campuses this week we ran helpdesk opportunities for parents to get better acquainted with the Sentral Portal for Parents and MyBMGS. Parents who came along have found it really helpful and we ask parents to reach out, through our office staff, if you still need help. Our communication is delivered via MyBMGS and we don’t want parents missing vital information.

It’s the season for Parent Teacher interviews and Student-led conferences. These happened at the Springwood campus this week and have been scheduled for next week at Wentworth Falls. Students in Stage 2 and Stage 3 look forward to sharing their learning with their parents. If you are unable to make the advertised times for either Parent Teacher interviews or Student-led conferences, please contact your child’s teacher to find a mutually convenient time to catch up.

As we head down the Term 3 hill towards the school holidays, I am talking to children about staying focused on the important things – how we treat our friends, being respectful to the teaching and support staff at our school, keeping on working through challenges in the classroom. 

Everyone is feeling a little bit tired but we have been really encouraged by our Well-being theme of Kindness. Both campuses have had the children come up with ideas about how to practically show kindness to others and it has been wonderful to see this in action. I am appreciative of the lead that both Mrs Mackin and Mrs Spohr have take with Well-being this term. 

Mrs Rachael J Newton

Head of Junior School