Principal's Report
We acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the land on which we work, learn and play. We pay respect to Wurundjeri elders past, present and emerging and extend our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and families of Bimbadeen Heights Primary School.
As we near the end of Term 2, we wanted to extend a big thank you to our school community for your contributions to our classrooms and learning programs throughout the term. Our staff greatly appreciate the assistance and support our classroom helpers provide through this assistance in our classrooms, and our volunteers who have supported our many excursions and activities. Many of the opportunities we provide our children outside their classroom programs would not be possible without the generous support of our parents and carers and community members. Thank you for all you do to support these programs and experiences for our students.
The school was buzzing with budding scientists on Monday and Tuesday when our students in Year 4 and Year 3 presented their science investigations and projects as part of their Science Unit of work. The individual projects were the culmination of many weeks of learning about scientists, experimenting with scientific processes, conducting scientific research, developing their own experiments, and writing scientific reports.
The annual Science Expo is a highlight for many students across the school, including our younger year levels who visit the Expo and interact with our Scientists. Many classes returned so inspired by our scientists and excited about their own learning about science, that they ditched their work programs and launched into their own class experiments for the afternoon.
Thank you to our many parents and carers who visited the Year 3 Expo to see our scientists in action!
There was an abundance of excitement last Friday as we held our House Paper Plane Competition. It was wonderful to see all the students cheering each other on and willing on each plane thrown with a loud ‘whoosh’ as they sailed into the air, toward the far end of the hall. Our finalists from each Year Level competed on the day, with a winner from each
Year Level decided, and a Whole School Champion crowned.
Congratulations to our winners:
Foundation – Laken H – 0AJ
Year 1 – Eva W – 1TJ
Year 2 – Logan F – 2MR
Year 3 – Carter R – 3TW
Year 4 – Tom H – 4AK
Year 5 – Gabby E – 5OM
Year 6 – Micah R – 6EM
And to our School Champion for 2024 – Logan F 2MR!
Certificates will be presented to our Year Level winners and Whole School Champion at the final assembly this term. A big thank you to Ms. Sam Tallentyre and Mr. Josh Gray for coordinating this wonderful event on the House competition calendar!
We’re thrilled to announce that we have received a 2024 Woolworths Junior Landcare Grant for our project, Our Yarning Circle – Wurundjeri Seasons Garden. Bimbadeen Heights Primary School is one of 1,041 primary schools and early learning centres across Australia to receive a Woolworths Junior Landcare grant to help grow our next generation of environmental champions.
A big thank you to Ms Erin Murphy for her leadership of our Gardening Club, and for leading the way with our Junior Landcare Project. Our children and teachers are looking forward to getting their hands dirty and learning from this project – we’ll keep you updated! Click on the Woolworths Junior Landcare Grant map to read more about our project and others.
Refugee Week is an annual celebration to recognise and showcase the contributions of refugees in enriching our communities and culture. Our multicultural society is a unique feature of Australia and it is wonderful to see so many cultures represented at Bimbadeen Heights.
Refugee Week 2024 will run from Sunday 16 June to Saturday 22 June. This year’s theme is ‘Finding Freedom: Family’. The theme highlights the importance of family, near and far. This includes extended and chosen families, neighbours and support systems in Australia that make the journey to safety possible and give hope in times of uncertainty.
During the first weeks of Term 3, students and staff will be engaging in activities and discussions through our STARS program. These learning tasks provide a rich opportunity for our students to reflect and build their understanding around Ethical Capability in the Victorian Curriculum. It would be wonderful if you could take some time at home and explore refugee contributions.
(Information reprinted from https://www.refugeeweek.org.au/)
Enrolments are open for Foundation in 2025. We encourage prospective parents to complete an online tour via the school website where you can learn about our wonderful school and meet our staff and students. Prospective families can also attend an in-person tour where we can show you our wonderful school and answer any questions you might have or discuss your child’s individual needs.
This year our school is using an online system for 2025 Foundation enrolments called VicStudents. VicStudents is available for students who are enrolling in a Victorian Government School for the first time. This includes Foundation (Prep) enrolments for 2025.
VicStudents has been assessed by the Department of Education to a high degree of security in line with the Victorian Protective Data Security Standards and is compliant with ISO 27001, the leading international standard for information security.
For more information about enrolling your child into a Victorian government primary school, visit Enrolling in Foundation (Prep).
Please contact our school office on 9726 9989 or via email to Bimbadeen.Heights.PS@education.vic.gov.au should you need any further information or help to complete your child’s enrolment application.
Throughout this term we have seen a decline in the standard of uniform across the school, with more and more students wearing items of clothing that are not part of the official school uniform. We seek the support of families to ensure their children attend school each day, wearing full school uniform.
We understand that families across our community may require support with uniform items through either the second-hand uniform supplies and/or State Schools Relief. Bimbadeen families who are experiencing financial difficulties may be eligible for support with uniform through State Schools Relief. Please contact Sabrina George for a confidential discussion if your family is currently experiencing financial difficulties and would like support with school uniform.
We hope you all enjoy a safe and happy school holiday period, and we look forward to seeing you all back for the first day of Term 3 on Monday 15 July.
Adele Gregson and Sabrina George
