Welcome to this edition of the newsletter!

We've had another busy fortnight, one that began with an amazing event showcasing the great community spirit we love about Banyule Primary.

THE BIGGEST FREEZE!

Anyone arriving at school on May 19th may have be forgiven for thinking they were in a scene from 'Honey, I Shrunk The Kids!' when finding themselves in the shadows of a giant Big Freeze beanie towering over our new basketball court. Alas, they weren't! It was the handy-work of Renee Rawlinson, our very talented art teacher, and it was ready to oversee our Fight MND Big Freeze event, supporting a school family who recently found themselves directly impacted by the debilitating Motor Neuron Disease.

Year 5 student, Ameera Hazmir stole the show, sharing her family's story in a moving speech, before rallying to crowd with an inspiring "LET'S FIGHT MND!" chant. The over 700 strong crowd joined in the chorus, in the warmth of their new Big Freeze beanies, donated by Ameera and her family in a show of gratitude and a bid to spread awareness.

The morning finished with the now traditional ice bucket challenge! Ameera and her team, 'FIGHT THE FREEZE', challenged the teachers' 'ICE BANDITS' team to a relay race like no other, taking in turns to dunk each other with a bucket of ice on one of the coldest mornings of the year.

The kids won! But the real winner was FIGHT MND with our school community proudly adding $1821 to the cause.

If you would like to also support FIGHT MND you are able to do so at https://support.fightmnd.org.au/fundraisers/hazmirmohamadan/diy-bigfreeze?utm_source=qr&utm_medium=print

Play Time!...Almost:

The onset of winter hasn't deterred our landscapers and it's been another big fortnight in our playground construction with the area really taking shape. We've seen steps and planter boxes go in, beginning the link to the admin building, some bench seats, and garden edging. A big highlight was our climbing tower going up today, giving BPS its very own spire, a mini Eiffel Tower, ready for our kids to explore.

Traffic Report:

We've not just seen an influx of beanies as these cold, wet, wintry days set in. Winter tends to lead to an increase in traffic before and after school. As such, we seem to have a rise in complaints about driver behaviour around our school. Schools can't police or enforce driver behaviour around our school- that's the job of Banyule Council and Victoria Police. However, we can provide friendly reminders to our school community about what helps drop-off and pick-up work safely and smoothly around our school.

-observe parking signage (see below)

-do not perform u-turns on Banyule Road

-be ready to move cars up parking bays to allow other cars access

-refrain from double parking and allowing children to get in through other traffic

-discuss with your child where to wait, should traffic cause you to run late

-always use designated school crossings

-report any traffic concerns/driver behaviour to Banyule Council (9490 4222) or Heidelberg Police (9450 8000).

Lost in the Cold...

Winter means more layers. More layers means more clothes for kids to take off when they get warm after running around at playtime. This, inevitably means more lost property! We thank our volunteers who help sort and return lost items to their owners. A timely reminder that this is made easy when clothes are clearly labeled.

Stay warm everyone and we'll see you around,

-Natalie, Claire and Sam.

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