I apologise for the delay in getting this newsletter out. Being a teaching principal means that time is not something I always have an abundance of. With our Athletics Day on Friday and me attending the Principal's Conference in Melbourne yesterday, I'm only now able to send this out. Larger schools often have office staff to put their newsletters together, but at Bolinda, we don’t have that luxury.

We've had an awesome start to Term 3, and it's been fantastic to see the children getting back into the swing of things. The energy and enthusiasm they've brought back to school is truly wonderful.

It was also great to see so many families here for the recent parent/teacher interviews. Your involvement and support are so important to our students' success, and it was lovely to catch up with everyone.

As we move through this term, please keep up to date with the latest events and announcements. We've got plenty of exciting things happening, and we don't want you to miss out on anything. Remember that the calendar in Compass will always help you out if you are unsure whether an event is on a certain date.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support. Let's make the rest of Term 3 amazing!

Bunnings BBQ

On Sunday 21st of July, we held our Bunnings BBQ fundraiser which was a massive success! Thanks to some fantastic support, we raised an amazing $1826.05.

For me, the day started at 6:30 am as I gathered all the supplies needed. After lots of running around, we prepared to cook 600 sausages. The day turned out great, with lots of people stopping by to grab a sausage in bread and help out. This fantastic effort means we can subsidise the Phillip Island camp and also plan a fun event for our Prep to Year 2 students while the older kids are away.

A huge shoutout to these awesome families for their help:

Noah's Family
Liam & Owen's Family
Holly's Family
Emelia & Lucas' Family
Abbi's Family
Lily & Abby's Family
Carter's Family

Special thanks to Bek for rallying support from local businesses and getting donations for the day.

Thank you to the following businesses for their kind donations:

Foodworks - Riddells Creek

IGA - Romsey

Woolworths - Horne Street, Sunbury

Coles - Sunbury Square

And a massive thank you to our amazing staff who volunteered on that weekend:

Anna, Leighann, Katie, and Keith

New Clevertouch TVs

During the holidays, we were delighted to have two new interactive televisions installed, which we had recently purchased. For a while now, the Prep/1/2 classroom has been enjoying the benefits of these fantastic TVs, and now we are excited to announce that all of our classrooms are equipped with them.

These new televisions replace our outdated and cumbersome interactive whiteboards, which were no longer fully functional. The interactive TVs provide our students with engaging and interactive learning experiences. They also offer our teachers modern tools to enhance their lessons, making learning more dynamic and effective.

We are confident that these new additions will significantly benefit both our students and teachers, fostering a more interactive and enjoyable learning environment.

Student Wellbeing Officer

At the end of last term, we selected Juliarna Clark as our Student Wellbeing Officer. I asked Juliarna to write a brief introduction for this newsletter which you can find below. If you see Juliarna at school, please don't hesitate to introduce yourself. She is looking forward to getting to know our school community.

Hello students, staff and families in the Bolinda Primary School community!

My name is Juliarna Clark and I am delighted to be joining Bolinda Primary in the role of Wellbeing Officer. I have a long history (13+years) working in schools within Student Support Services in Allied Health, but here at Bolinda, my role is exclusively wellbeing. Which is very exciting for me as I recently completed some graduate studies in Wellbeing and Positive Mental Health and it has given me lots of wellbeing ideas. I am very excited about working with the school staff in this space.

You may find your child occasionally comes home and talks of a mindfulness activity, or a breathing sequence, or they sang in a choir for fun at lunchtime, or they joined in with a short guided nature activity, or had a chat to me about how they think about a challenge- all these and more fit within the broad umbrella of supporting and developing wellbeing.

I will usually be onsite from noon on Tuesdays and from recess on Fridays, including floating around at Tuesday pickup, so please do come and introduce yourself. It’s been lovely meeting the wonderful students and staff over the last few weeks, and I now look forward to getting to know the wider community.

I live nearby in Clarkefield, with my husband, James, my 2 children (10 & 12), an old dog, a young dog, 5 chickens, a big horse, a medium horse, a small horse and a mini!

Whole School Athletics

Last Friday, our school held a fun Athletics Day, with students from Prep to Year 6 competing in a variety of events. While the day served as a trials day for our Year 3 to 6 students to qualify for the Bendigo District Athletics Carnival, our Prep to Year 2 students also participated in the same events and had a fantastic time.

The events included running, long jump, discus, and shot put, giving all our students a great chance to show off their skills. Despite the windy and cold weather, our students knuckled down and participated without hesitation. Sharon heated up some "dog bones" that our students made last term for recess, which made for a warm and delightful snack that was much appreciated.

The day wrapped up with the exciting relay events. The highlight was undoubtedly the Prep to Year 2 relay, where the children gave it their all and showcased their enthusiasm and team spirit. The best part of the day was seeing the joy on the students' faces as they received their ribbons.

This fantastic day couldn't have happened without the support of the PFA. A huge thank you goes to Meryn, Justine, Amy, and Paige for their fantastic organisation and ensuring everything ran smoothly. It takes hours to organise an event like this and it does not happen without a dedicated team. I am also incredibly appreciative of our staff for their support throughout the day. Our staff always go above and beyond to make sure our students have a memorable experience.

It was also wonderful to see so many spectators throughout the day, cheering and supporting all the children. Overall, I would call the Athletics Day a huge success, filled with fun, competition, and team spirit.

Staff Learning on Curriculum Day

On the first day of this term, our staff participated in an enriching professional development session focused on teaching students diagnosed with autism. Leighann and Adele attended a very informative two-day professional learning session in Term 2 and shared their insights with us in a highly interactive way.

The day allowed us to reflect on how we support all our learners across the school in every space. It was a rewarding experience, and it’s always wonderful to have the whole staff together, collaborating and learning from each other.

We’re committed to providing the best support for all our students, and days like this help us grow and improve as a team.

Swimming Program

Our annual swimming program will take place in Term 4. From October 28th to November 1st, all students will have the opportunity to participate in a week-long swimming program held at Gisborne. This comprehensive program is designed to improve water safety skills and swimming techniques, ensuring a fun and educational experience for all.

Further information, including details on schedules and requirements, will be circulated at the beginning of Term 4.

Event	Date
CDSSA Basketball	Tuesday August 6
Bendigo Athletics	Friday August 16
Book Week Dress-Up	Wednesday August 21
Year 3 - 6 School Camp	Wednesday September 18 - 20

Calendar