Principal's Report

Off and Running for Term 3

Welcome back to everyone and hope you had a nice break.  Well done if you were able to escape the wintry blast, but at least the sun did manage to show itself in Buninyong from time to time.

We certainly have plenty going on in the term.  Obviously, the concert is our big-ticket item for term 3, but other key events on the calendar include:

• The 5-6 Camp to Halls Gap in week 4.
• Principal for a Day, which will be fun as always (more information on this in next week’s newsletter).
• Mr Skilbeck has the band performing the Moorabool Kid’s Day Out event in Bacchus Marsh.
• EBT training will no doubt kick up a gear as the event draws closer.
• Swimming lessons commence in week 8.
• We have our Father’s Day Breakfasts and stalls happening in week 8, which is also ES Appreciation Week.
• Our Japan trip crew will be taking off on September 7.

• We finish off the term with our popular Celebration of Learning event, footy colours day and another sausage sizzle.

   

That will all keep us on our toes and make the term fly by.

Welcome Miss Panozzo and Miss Reese

We had two new teachers have their first day with us yesterday, those being Miss Panozzo who has taken over from Miss Cummins in grade 4 and Chloe Reese who is working in the Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader role, previously filled by Will Georgiou.  A big welcome to Bella and Chloe and we know they are great additions to our staff team.

Facility Upgrades

As always, it was great to get some jobs done over the break, making sure we keep our school looking good and working as it should.  We actually got quite a bit done on this occasion, with the key projects being:

• Painting – Five of the classrooms in the junior quad (grade 1 & 4 classrooms) were painted.  The blue in those rooms was quite outdated and the rooms are now looking very fresh.  Over the next break we plan to have each of the quad classrooms (grade 3 & 2KG) painted.

   

• Carpet - We had quite a few boxes of carpet squares to lay in the BER.  These were left over from when the VSBA (Victorian School Building Authority) carried out repairs following a flood in that building.  This means 5-6TC no longer has a mix of new and old carpet. The plan is to purchase more of the new carpet squares and replace all of the remaining old BER carpet in the coming 12 months.

• Cleaning of Synthetic Turf - A contractor came in to pressure wash, brush and add sand to the soccer pitch and the area in front of the BER.  This looks much better, and slippery areas are now safe under foot.  Getting an excavator in to re-shape the soil on the north side of the soccer pitch, directing storm water down to the botanic garden rather than on to the soccer pitch.  Our maintenance man Simon has added some stone to tidy up this area.

• Pressure Washing Concrete and Paved Surfaces - Simon spent a day (including a frosty morning) on an industrial pressure washer to clean some paths and paved areas to clean them up and make them less slippery.

   

• Electrical Work - Our electrician spent significant time at the school and caught up on a number of jobs that have been on our schedule, which is great.

It was great to get all of those jobs done, especially since we have quite a large project on the horizon that will span both campuses.  

We have a number of ramps across both campuses that no longer meet code.  The VSBA (Victorian School Building Authority) have commenced a project to bring each of the ramps up to code.  

In most cases, this means completely pulling out each ramp and replacing it.  Over the break contractors were on site to scope out these works and come up with a delivery plan.  These works will be quite significant and will at times impact on how we move around the school.  We will keep you posted as these plans evolve.

Scholarship Update

This week we are featuring the Visual Art Scholarship. Thanks to Liz Morgan for this update.

Although we are missing the beautiful Scotsburn Campus this year as our Art Scholarship location, we are making the best use of time in our sessions at Buninyong and have begun with what has become a bit of a tradition- Aprons and Murals. 

With a bit of a new spin on textile embellishment this year, students were exposed to the techniques and processes associated with screen printing, practising on bags before moving on to use screen printing on their aprons. They also had the opportunity to explore a range of other textile embellishment processes, with some fabulously unique results. The focus for this task was on self-expression and experimentation, and it is great to see the students wearing their aprons each week and adding the occasional and (mostly) unintentional splash of paint to them as they work!

Mural painting is by now a highly anticipated part of our program, and students have been challenged to work in pairs or threes to brainstorm a message of positivity that could be visually represented. After much discussion about the purpose of mural art and how murals could be installed along Simpson St to create a vibe of warmth, hope, happiness and growth mindset, students were encouraged to choose a specific message that they wanted to share with the school community. 

As we know, the design process is rarely linear, and I am so proud of the way our students have solved problems, pivoted directions, sought to upskill their techniques and most importantly, honoured their teammates at every stage of the process. It has been fabulous to observe the teamwork behind the mural creations, and our artists have gained a lot from having the opportunity to bounce their ideas and seek feedback from fellow creative minds. Show and tell of artworks made at home are also a weekly favourite! The creative energy humming in the air has been the best part of being involved in this program from a teaching perspective, and I feel lucky to work with such an inspiring group of kids!

Good Luck Milla

On Thursday we have Milla competing at the state cross country event in the Yarra Valley.  Milla has been doing lots of training and is very determined, so we know she will be very competitive.  We wish Milla all the best and know she will do an excellent job of representing our school.