Principal's Report
We acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the land on which we work, learn and play. We pay respect to Wurundjeri elders past, present and emerging and extend our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and families of Bimbadeen Heights Primary School.
Once again, this year’s annual Book Week parade was a highlight for all Bimbadeen students, staff, and families.
Our parade, held in the gym on Thursday 21 August, was an incredible sight, with hundreds of different characters represented.
Thank you to all members of our community for making such an effort to celebrate children’s Book Week, and for getting into the community spirit and either joining in or attending our parade.
Check out the photos of our fabulous Book Week Parade on the next page!
What an incredible evening we enjoyed on Friday 22 August at our annual Bimbadeen Trivia & Auction event. With 17 tables full of community members, it was a fantastic night with lots of laughs and good fun. As the biggest fundraising event for our community, our annual Trivia Night is a great opportunity to strengthen connections within and across our school community.
Thank you to our Bimbadeen PS staff and parents and carers and community members who attended and/or supported the evening. A huge thank you to Erin and Chris Haspell who coordinated and hosted the event, including sourcing donations from local businesses who contributed prizes to our Silent Auction and raffle on the night. Please see below, a list of local businesses who contributed to the event.
Thank you to Lizzie Henderson and members of the Bimbadeen Community Links Committee, for their hard work and contributions to the event, along with Bree King and Marty Gill for their leadership on the evening.
We were very pleased to raise a total of $6079 that will go directly towards our planned playground replacement works.
We are delighted to receive our 2024 Gold Award certificate for School Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) on behalf of our community at the Outer East Principal Forum last week.
This achievement is a testament to the incredible work of our staff, students, and community in supporting and embracing our School Wide Positive Behaviour Support Framework.
We would like to particularly acknowledge Marty Gill for his instrumental role in the implementation and development of SWPBS at Bimbadeen, as well as for his outstanding leadership of our Wellbeing team over the past three years.
We are also delighted to acknowledge Amanda Bailey, who has now taken on the leadership of SWPBS at Bimbadeen in her new role this year. We look forward to seeing the continued growth and success of SWPBS under her guidance.
Congratulations and thank you to everyone who has contributed to this wonderful achievement!
At this week’s assembly, we celebrated the achievements of several students who have been enthusiastic participants in two of our Student Excellence activities, the Rotary Club of Lilydale 2025 Primary Schools Speech Contest and the Maths Olympiad competition.
2025 Rotary Club of Lilydale Primary Schools Speech Contest
On Wednesday 20th August, Syeira V and Gabriella E represented Bimbadeen Heights Primary School in the Rotary Club of Lilydale’s School Speech Competition.
They were selected to represent BHPS through our Year 6 Speech Writing unit earlier in the term. They, along with eight other participants, confidently presented their work and shared their ideas with the audience. Syeira’s speech topic was “If I had three wishes…” speaking of her ideas to change the world, and Gabriella’s topic was “If I could travel anywhere…” showcasing her passion for space exploration. Both girls spoke with confidence, expression and authenticity, demonstrating their hard work in researching, writing, revising and memorising their speech.
During the presentations, Gabriella was awarded second place!
Congratulations, Gabby and Syeira, on your efforts and for being such great representatives for our school. We are so proud!
At our Assembly on Friday, we were delighted to recognise their efforts by awarding certificates to our participants. We are proud to celebrate the outstanding achievement of our Year 3 to Year 6 students who recently participated in the Matific Maths Competition.
This was an international competition, with schools taking part from all over the world, including many from Australia and New Zealand. Through their hard work, problem-solving skills, and persistence, our students helped Bimbadeen achieve an incredible 13th place overall!
We are so proud of the way our students showed our school values of resilience, integrity, compassion, and respect throughout the competition. Our student participants were presented with their award certificates in the Ruby, Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze categories at assembly. Congratulations to all our award recipients, we are incredibly proud of you!
It’s always inspiring to see our students rise to new challenges and achieve success through teamwork and determination. We hope this achievement encourages everyone to keep striving, keep growing, and keep supporting one another.
A huge thank you goes to Mrs Gray and Mrs Samson, who have led our Maths Extension group with passion and dedication. Their encouragement and expertise have played a key role in helping our students to grow in confidence and achieve such success.
At Bimbadeen Heights, we are committed to supporting the wellbeing of both our students and our staff. An important part of this is recognising that all employees have the right to disconnect from work-related communications outside of their regular working hours.
This means that our teachers and school staff are not expected to monitor, read, or respond to emails, phone calls, or messages outside their scheduled work times.
What this means for families
Why this is important
Like our students, staff also need time to rest, spend time with their families, and recharge. Protecting this balance helps ensure they can be at their best when supporting children during the school day.
When contact may still occur
On rare occasions, there may be a genuine need for after-hours contact - for example, in the event of an emergency, a welfare concern, or urgent timetable changes. These situations are the exception, not the rule.
Working together
We kindly ask for your support in respecting staff work hours. By doing so, we are helping to build a healthier balance for everyone in our school community.
Overview of the Roles and Responsibilities of School Council
Objectives of School Council
2024 Council Key Activities and Achievements
2024 Annual Report
Questions
Roles and Responsibilities of School Council
School council has a limited governance and oversight role whereas the principal manages the day-to-day activities of the school and is responsible for ensuring the delivery of a comprehensive education to every student.
Objectives of School Council
or a direction, guideline or policy issued under the Education and Training Reform Act.
2024 School Council Sub-Committees:
Finance Sub-Committee Key Activities & Achievements
Community Links Sub-Committee Key Activities & Achievements
Buildings & Grounds Sub-Committee Key Activities & Achievements
Student Learning Sub-Committee Key Activities & Achievements
Student Wellbeing Sub-Committee Key Activities & Achievements
All teachers at the school meet the registration requirements of the Victorian Institute of Teaching (www.vit.vic.edu.au).
The school meets prescribed minimum standards for registration as regulated by the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) in accordance with the Education and Training Reform (ETR) Act 2006.
The school is compliant with the Child Safe Standards prescribed in Ministerial Order No. 870 – Child Safe Standards, Managing Risk of Child Abuse in School.
Learning Key Activities & Achievements
Wellbeing Key Activities & Achievements
Engagement Key Activities & Achievements
Financial Performance
Information about School Council is regularly shared in our School Newsletter.
Would you like to be involved in School Council? Please consider joining one of our School Council Sub-Committees or nominating for School Council at the next election, held in February/March annually.
Each year, our school completes a full review and update of its emergency management plan.
Our school plans for a range of hazards, such as severe weather, medical emergencies, building fires, intruders, etc. We develop specific response procedures to address these risks.
We also conduct drills regularly, ensuring that our core procedures of on-site and off-site evacuation, sheltering-in-place, and lockdown/lockouts are well-rehearsed and understood by staff and students.
If we enact our emergency management plan, we will notify you by Sentral with updates on our actions, if required. If there is anything we need you to do, we will let you know. Please do not come to the school unless directed to do so, as you may put yourself and others in danger. If there is anything we need you to do, we will let you know.
During an emergency, the school will work closely with emergency services to get specific advice to keep our community safe. Additionally, the Department of Education has dedicated emergency management staff to help monitor the situation and provide additional support to schools during emergencies.
Please be assured our top priority is the safety of our students and school community.
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
We hope you all enjoy a wonderful week as we look forward to another fabulous fortnight of learning.
Warm regards,
Adele Gregson, Sabrina George, Marty Gill and Bree King
