Principal's Message 

We have loved watching the old portable classrooms being demolished this week. Bit by bit the buildings were torn apart. We’ve had lots of questions from families from school in regard to the buildings being demolished rather than being reused. The decision to demolish the buildings was made by the Victorian School Building Authority. It’s based on the age and state of the buildings. They have assured us that as much as possible, the materials from the buildings will be recycled, including the steel being sent for scrap metal.

Book Week 

We will be holding our annual Book Week dress up day on Monday 18 August.  We will be having an early assembly on this day at 9:10am in the Gym. We will be celebrating our children who have dressed up and their love of reading. 

We will also be holding our Bedtime Stories evening on Tuesday 19 August from 6pm – 7pm.  On this night, our children are invited to come to school in their pyjamas and dressing gowns for a bedtime story from teachers from across the school. We will have 4 classrooms open for the evening and the teachers will be taking in turns reading a story. 

Hooptime and Year 6 footy and netball update

We were very proud of the manner in which our Billanook students not only played but also behaved at the Year 6 Hooptime event. It was really pleasing to hear from parents and teachers from other schools that the Billanook children were good sports and played the games in the right spirit. 

Well done to everyone who participated on the day and good luck to the teams who have made it through to the next round.

Our Year 6 football and netball teams played in the Yarra Division finals earlier this week in the second progression of interschool sports.  Both teams competed really well and enjoyed their days.  Both our netball and football teams made it to the grand final. Unfortunately, the netballers lost to Rolling Hills Primary School in the final and the footballers lost to Mount Evelyn Primary School. Well done to all involved. 

Wakakirri – Wednesday 13 August

The excitement is building for our Wakakirri team as the big night approaches.  Wakakirri is a story dance competition. There are a number of venues that host the competition around Melbourne. We will be competing in the Frankston event against schools from across Victoria.  

A big thank you to Peter Humphreys for organising our performance and to Jen Meaby for sorting out the costumes. The team is made up of Year 3-6 children who have demonstrated their dedication to the event by rehearsing in their recess and lunchtimes.

School Parent Band

This week saw the debut performance of our parent/ teacher band the Sheffield Roadies. They performed at the Battke of the Bands competition at the Sooki Lounge. To say they rocked is an understatement!  A great evening was had by all.  Well done to Peter Humphreys for organising the band and to all the band participants and audience members. 

School preparations for the bushfire season

Each year, we undertake a range of activities to ensure the safety of our school and to prepare for bushfires and grassfires.

An important part of this process is communicating to parents what will happen when certain fire danger ratings are issued to help ensure the safety of students and staff.

Our school has been identified as being at risk of bushfire or grassfire and is a Category 3 school.

Our school will close on a day forecasted as Catastrophic fire danger rating North East fire district.

Closure of the school due to a Catastrophic fire danger rating will be enacted when the Bureau of Meteorology forecast and related public safety messaging are confirmed. Due to uncertainties in the forecast, the timing of this confirmation may vary. Information regarding potential or confirmed Catastrophic fire danger days will be communicated to you by Compass.

It is also important to be aware that:

· No one will be on site on days where the school is closed due to a forecast Catastrophic day.

· Out-of-school-hours care will also be cancelled on these days.

· All bus routes that travel through the Catastrophic area will be cancelled.

· School camps will be cancelled if a Catastrophic fire danger rating day is forecast for fire weather district in which the camp is located, or if the travel involves passing through areas that have Catastrophic fire danger.

As part of preparing our school for the fire season, we have updated and completed our Emergency Management Plan and reprioritised any maintenance works that may assist in preparing for the threat of fire.

What can families and the school community do to help us prepare?

· Ensure we have your current contact details, including your mobile phone numbers.

· Keep in touch with us by reading our newsletters and being aware of our Emergency Management Plan on our school website.

· Make sure your family’s bushfire survival plan is up-to-date and includes alternative care arrangements if our school is closed due to Catastrophic fire danger. Further information can be found on the CFA’s website.

· Action your family’s bushfire survival plan if your own triggers are met. Our school community may be spread out across many areas and some families may be at higher risk than others. Your family’s safety is critical, so please let us know if you are actioning your bushfire survival plan and if your children will be absent on these days. · If your child is old enough, talk to them about bushfires and your family’s bushfire survival plan. Families are encouraged to action their Bushfire Survival Plan on Catastrophic fire danger rating days in their district. The safest option is to leave the night before or early on the morning of the Catastrophic day. On such days, children should never be left at home alone or in the care of older children.

You can find more information on emergencies, warnings and preparedness actions here:

· VicEmergency app – that can be downloaded on your android and iOS mobile devices

· VicEmergency Hotline (1800 226 226) · Website https://emergency.vic.gov.au · Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/vicemergency) · Twitter (https://twitter.com/vicemergency)

· ABC local radio, Sky News and other emergency broadcasters

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the department’s policy?

The Department of Education annually assesses the fire risk of all schools and early childhood services with the support of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). They are allocated a category of risk (categories 0 to 6). Schools and services that are Categories 0-3 are published on the Bushfire At-Risk Register (BARR). Schools at some risk of bushfire and grassfire are published on the Category 4 List. The department’s Bushfire and Grassfire Preparedness Policy requires all schools and early childhood services on the BARR and the Category 4 List to close when a Catastrophic fire danger rating day is forecast in their fire weather district. All school bus routes which travel in or through a district with Catastrophic fire danger must also be cancelled.

The policy also requires that schools at the highest risk of bushfire (those in Categories 0, 1 and 2 of the Bushfire At-Risk Register) enact pre-emptive action plans based on the fire danger forecast for their Local Government Area (LGA).

Who issues fire danger forecasts?

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) provides public fire danger rating forecasts each day of the fire danger period using fire weather district areas. In Victoria, there are 9 fire weather districts, which are based on Local Government Area boundaries.

The department uses these forecasts when supporting schools to enact their pre-emptive bushfire actions plans.

Regards,

Michael Puddy