BBPSLife

Harry really nailed this art: enrichment at BBPS

Assembly

Our assembly this week included performances from Esme and Sia on the piano, as well as a preview of our whole school production song. We also farewelled Mrs Gramaconi, who has retired from teaching. See our special section for more on this send-off.

Prep

Prep students are up to 31 days of Prep! They have been working hard to establish effective morning literacy routines, exploring the codes (single sounds) and using magnetic letters to create words and mix and match s/a/t/p/i/n to make so many different words!

Grade 1 and 2

Below: Phonics is fun! Grade 1 students share the letter and sound combinations that they have been rehearsing to help them make sense of the English language, a key aspect of the curriculum to develop their written and spoken language skills. Grade 1 phonics focuses heavily on digraph sound combinations such as -ed, ou /ow and oy (at the end) /oi (never at the end).

Ms Wickes talks to students in grade 1 about our 2026 production - stay tuned for more news!

Grades 3 and 4

Year 3 stepped into the role of leprechaun trap engineers this week, designing and building traps with one clear mission: should they choose to accept it… lure, trigger, and contain a leprechaun-and be able to explain exactly how it all works.

Every trap had a plan. Every student could tell you their lure, their trigger, and their containment strategy. The thinking was sharp, the creativity even sharper.

In the morning, we arrived to a cheeky letter from the leprechauns-a very close call, apparently. They had narrowly escaped our traps but left behind a small “pot of gold” hidden in a tree, sending us on a quick adventure to find it.

And then… things took a turn.

We welcomed a very special guest, Grandma Gramaconi - who just happens to be Irish and just happened to look very leprechaun-like.

The students didn’t miss a beat.

Lure? An invitation to hear our presentations. Trigger? A room full of curious engineers ready to share. Containment? Doors closed… just in case.

Grandma Gramaconi insisted she wasn’t a leprechaun. Year 3 strongly disagreed.

Let’s just say… we may not have caught one overnight, but we definitely caught one in the end.

Thanks for your help at home with the design and creation process - authentic learning at its finest, engagement levels at an all time high!

Below: Some of our grade 4 student are already showing leadership qualities and have formed their own lunch time club - the So So Sewing club!

Grades 5 and 6

Enrichment@BBPS Grade 5-6 is up and running. This weekly program is a great opportunity for our students to explore curriculum areas beyond our explicit teaching program in numeracy and literacy. With an overall aim to extend and stretch our students in terms of exposure to content and opportunities for ongoing project work, we know this is a favourite feature of our weekly program for many of our students.

In Grade 5 and 6, students are engaging in the following:

*Aviation - using a successful grant, students have the opportunity to explore STEM concepts of design and performance, engaging in careful measurement, testing and reasoning to understand, explain and improve how systems of the air work in real-world contexts.

*Podcasting - stay tuned as we launch our student podcast for 2026, with a focus on building aptitude in this form of digital communication to showcase the curriculum and learning program at BBPS.

*Kids Shed - students are engaging in a range of woodwork skills to create art and explore pattern. See below.

*Coding - using Scratch, students will be coding their own interactive programs using sequencing, events, loops and conditionals. Students will be holding a Scratch Showcase to share their created games with peers.

Above: leadership lessons led by Mrs Ancrum allow students to explore their strengths and develop leadership skills leading to the development of their leadership action projects, which will be rolled out throughout the year. Details shared in the Leadership section of our newsletter.

Above: Kid's shed - Our long-standing Education Support Simone led a group of students through a workshop series to create art using nails, wood, paint and string. Students were taught how to safely use tools, measure and plan their nail boards and weave their string art in a process that combined physical skills, maths and art.

Below: our budding media experts are developing their writing, speaking and technical skills as they work on their podcasts, led by Mr Crossland.

Below: Students have started construction after, learning the physics of aviation and applying this to the design and engineering of their own flying machines!