Mr Baker's Message
Hello families, and welcome to our second school newsletter for Term 1, 2026.
We have enjoyed another wonderful fortnight of teaching and learning across our classrooms and specialist areas. It has been fantastic to see students settling confidently into their routines and demonstrating a clear understanding of classroom expectations.
Teachers have been focusing on establishing strong learning foundations - building positive habits, reinforcing respectful behaviours, and setting high expectations to ensure every student can thrive. Our specialist classes have also been buzzing with engagement, as students explore new skills and experiences in dynamic and creative ways.
Staffing Update
I am very pleased to share that we have successfully recruited a new teacher to fill the vacant Grade 5/6 classroom position.
A very warm welcome to Mr. Ben Dykman (Mr. D), who commenced with us this week. Mr. D has already begun building positive relationships with students, staff and families, and we are excited to have him join our school community. Please join me in welcoming Mr. D to our school.
Inform and Empower
On Wednesday 25th February, families are invited to join us for a crucial parent/carer information session dedicated to Cyber Safety and Digital Wellbeing facilitated by the Inform and Empower team. The seminar will take place from 6:30-8:00pm in our school gym. A big thank you to the Community Bank Ballan & District for supporting this initiative.
Please register for the seminar using the following link: rsvp.informandempower.com.au. We hope to see you there on the night.
3 Way Conferences - Parent/Teacher Interviews
On Wednesday 25th February, our school is holding 3-way conferences from 8:30am-4:30pm. The P/T Interviews portal is now open on XUNO for families to book interview appointments with their classroom and/or specialists teachers. Students do not attend school on the day, other than when accompanied by their parents/carers to the interviews with their classroom or specialists teachers. If on the day your circumstances change and you can't make the allotted interview time, please contact the school to let us know.
XUNO Progress Reports - Settling In comments
Our first student progress report with a focus on 'settling in' will be made available to families to read via XUNO next Thursday afternoon (March 19th). If you have any questions about the reporting comments, please get in touch with your child's classroom teacher.
Breakfast Club returns
We are pleased to share that Breakfast Club is back up and running at school this week! Breakfast Club will operate each Wednesday and Friday morning, providing students with a positive start to the day and an opportunity to connect with others in the morning.
A sincere thank you to our wonderful volunteers who generously give their time to make this program possible. Your support is greatly appreciated by our students and school community.
Assembly
Our second Monday afternoon assembly will take place next Monday 16th February. At this assembly, we will present our Junior School Council members with their badges and present our first lot of student of the week awards. We hope you can join us for a 2:45pm start in the school gym.
Bell times
This year, we have made some adjustments to our bell times that we would like to inform you about. Our morning session will now run slightly longer before the first play break. During this session, students will have opportunities to take fruit and healthy snack breaks.
Eating breaks will now consist of lunch being eaten earlier in the day at midday, followed by snacks during the final session. The first and second play breaks (formerly known as recess and lunchtime) will both be 30 minutes in length.
As a school, we recognise that these are significant changes for our students, staff, and families to our daily schedule. We understand that it may take some time to adjust following the holidays; however, we are confident that this timetable will soon become our new norm. As a staff, we will continue to adjust our classroom schedules to ensure we are meeting the needs of our students, particularly in relation to timing with eating breaks and fruit/healthy snack breaks.
Students may arrive from: 8:45 am, gates open
School commences: 9:00 am
Session 1: 9:00 - 10:00am
Session 2: 10:00 - 11:00am
Session 3 (part A): 11:00 - 11:30am, Spelling
First play break: 11:30 - 12:00pm, outside play
Eating break: 12:00 - 12:15pm, lunch in the classroom
Session 3 (part B): 12:15 - 12:45pm
Session 4: 12:45 - 1:45pm
Second play break: 1:45 - 2:15pm, outside play
Eating break: 2:15 - 2:25pm, snacks in the classroom
Session 5: 2:15 - 3:15pm
School Finishes: 3:15 pm
Drop off and Pick Up
The gates for student and parent access will be open 8:45-9:00am by leadership staff and reopened at 3:05pm by our school captains until 3:30pm. Outside of these hours, all gates will be locked.
Accessing the school:
- Gates that will be opened: top gate on Duncan Street (near Grade 2/3 classrooms), bus/bike rack gate on Edols Street and the two footpath gates on Steiglitz Street.
Main Reception: parents and visitors should enter through the front doors of the main building to speak to Martina and Ellen in the office. The front door is not an entry point for students into the school unless accompanying a parent/guardian to the front office.
Stay Connected via socials
Remember to like and follow our school on Facebook for the latest snippets and updates, news and photos from the classroom and school yard in between newsletters. It’s a great way to keep connected with what’s happening at Ballan PS. Remember to always view Xuno notifications as they pop up.
Have a lovely weekend everyone!
Mr James Baker
Acting Principal
Healthy Eating at BPS
