Principal Report

Have a wonderful holiday! 

We would like to wish all of our students, parents and carers a wonderful holiday. 

It has been a huge year at Boroondara Park PS. 

We find ourselves packing up this school year and thinking about all we have achieved in 2023. 

Our staff spent time sharing their celebrations at our final staff briefing last Thursday. 

The things shared are quite the list. The focus was always on our students, the growth in them academically and socially. The work that students, families and teachers have put into the development of students this year. There were celebrations about individual student achievements, the work of teaching teams in new learning areas including the analysis of student data to continue to drive the learning program. 

The work to support each other as colleagues throughout the year has been celebrated in so many ways. 

This year our staff turned up each day, no matter what hit them, they bounced back and put one foot in front of the other for our students. I hope you are as proud of them as I am. 

Classes for 2024 

Graduation Speech 

At the point of leaving Primary School you are filled with wonderful potential. 

What will you do with your life?

Where will you go in your life?

Who will you be in your life?

Going to Secondary School is a chance to start again, to make new friends and new impressions. It is an exciting and frightening time all rolled up together. Your family and teachers all believe in you and don’t doubt that you will make a wonderful impression at your new schools.

Each of you will have a collection of memories of your time at Boroondara Park, for some of you that is seven years worth of memories and for some it might be one year of memories. Perhaps your memories are of adventures at camp, or of the friends sitting next to you tonight, or of the teachers sitting in the audience.

As you go forward into your life some advice – give people your time and consideration. We all spend time with family and friends and they always bother; they take time for us and look out for us. As you start making new friends at Secondary College or later in your life always be bothered, it will serve you well.

Don’t be afraid of having high expectations! Believe that you can do anything, and try whatever you wish, you might be really good at it or even better you might really love it! This is especially important for work; heading to work day after day is easier if you are in a job or profession that you love. If you don’t get it right the first time that’s OK, you can change your mind and try something else.

Don’t be scared to be different, your difference will be what sets you apart, what makes you special. The most interesting people and the ones you eventually keep in your life are those who are different, those who you feel a connection to. Life is all about joy, you will get joy from spending time and sharing experiences with your family and friends; you will get joy from all sorts of surprising places so keep an eye out for it. When it comes it can make your day, your week or even your year.

Look around you and notice the close friends who surround you, think about what brought you together as friends, and think about why you are friends. As you move through your life you will make friends, some for the time being and some for life. The ones you keep will make you laugh, will love you for you, will give you their time. They will take care of you when you need care, they will challenge you when you are being unreasonable, they will help you no matter what. These friends will be the key to you understanding who you are.

So take a breath and be brave in your life. Make choices that will mean something, they might mean something to the people in your life, they might mean something in terms of the local community, they might mean something in terms of the global community.

As you grow up, take time to reflect on your life, to wonder, to ask for help when you need it, to offer help when you see it is required, take time to find out what makes your heart sing and fills your soul and life with contentment. And when you find out what that is, give yourself time to experience it and enjoy it.

We have taught you to have a voice, to say what you think, to argue your point, to have a viewpoint and as you leave Boroondara Park and all it has meant to you remember to use your voice, build your opinions, argue for what you believe to be right, stand up for those who need your support and don’t be afraid to challenge what you know to be wrong.

As life takes you on many different paths in the years to come we hope that you fondly remember your time in primary school, with teachers and friends who admire you for being the individuals your parents have created.

As you head off into the next stage of your life, smile, be proud, know you are a good person and that there are people in the world who love you, who will look out for you, who will help you on your way into your future. As your teachers we are very proud of each of you and wish you well.

Awards 

Each year the school presents awards at Graduation. This year the following students won awards: 

Longmuir Award for Visual Arts - Jane Kim

Schwartz Excellence in Performing Arts - Maia Cusdin 

Eric Regester Sports Award - Daniel McLachlan 

Excellence in French - James Papadopoulos

Citizenship Award - Jane Kim and Alex Henry 

Overall Academic Excellence Award - Luke McLachlan and Isaac Huang 

MaQuarrie Award for Excellence - James Papadopoulos 

Graduation Thank you! 

We would like to say thank you to the Year 6 parents who supported graduation this year. They worked with the Year 6 teachers to make plans, source quotes, place orders, pick up items, decorate and construct. They ensured the evening ran smoothly. It was great to have our Year 5 parents supporting the event again and serving at the parent supper. Thank  you for volunteering.  Graduation was a success due to your direct input as a team. 

Our students had a great time at the disco! 

Thank you to our Year 6 staff for all of their organisation with Graduation, leading into the event and on the night. The work of Lisa, Jemmah, Jen and Nick ensured the event was a success for our students and something to remember and celebrate. Thank you to the staff who volunteered to assist (special mention to Llaaneath), the specialist staff, our MC Shannon Reeve and staff who attended the event to enjoy the graduation of students they had taught throughout the year.  

NAPLAN results 

The release of the NAPLAN school results last week will provide you with information about how Boroondara Park PS compares to many of the local schools. 

The focus of our staff is always on providing the most comprehensive education to all of our students. Educating the whole child is vital to us all, and was reflected in the results of our  Values Survey with a significant percentage of those who responded coming to BPPS because of this focus. The academic program of our school is also worthy of celebration. 

We are proud of the academic program we provide our students. Whilst the NAPLAN is not the only focus, results should be celebrated and promoted, especially when our students are not only competitive with but out performing many schools in our neighbourhood. 

Out of Hours Care Service at BPPS

All members of the community were sent a message by COMPASS this week relating to OSHC services at BPPS. 

Boroondara Park PS has always had before and after care services, pre COVID the program was thriving and the provider also ran holiday programs onsite.  

In mid Term 4 this year we were informed by OSHClub our current provider they would not be taking up the offer of another year on their contract and would not continue as our service provider. The School Council and I have worked to put together an Expression of Interest for OSHC services with support of the Department of Education. This EOI closes early February and then School Council will work through the process of evaluating the EOI submissions, meeting to hear presentations from the different providers who have submitted and then make a decision on the new provider. There is a very specific process the school follows set out by the Department of Education.  

The school aims to have a new provider in place at the start of Term 2, 2024. 

OSHClub have offered service for Term 1, 2024 but will only do so as a single staff member service, whilst this is not ideal School Council found themselves in the situation of needing to ensure we have a service for our families in Term 1 2024. 

If you have any questions please contact Susanne Lowe or Joe Cook to discuss.  

BPPS Facebook and Instagram 

Don't forget to follow our social media accounts and see what is happening at school each day. Boroondara Park Primary School Facebook

Search @BoroondaraPark on Instagram to follow the school. 

Susanne Lowe

Principal