From the Principal's Desk

The Junior Athletics had a cold start but ended up with beautiful blue skies. Enjoyment was had by all. More information will be out next term in our first Burrendah Bulletin. 

It is nearly the end of term with just over a week to go.  We still have a number of events scheduled that parents/guardians are invited to attend including Athletics Carnivals, the BRACE parent evening (for selected Year 5 families), and Open Classes for Rooms 2, 5, 6, 7, 24, 25, and 26. Please see the calendar for these events or the school website for more information. As with all events this term, physical distancing of 1.5m applies between adults.

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

The Board has endorsed the BYOD committee’s recommendation for Burrendah PS to commence with a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) from 2021 starting with Year 4. Year 3 parents/guardians have been contacted regarding their child being involved in this iPad program as of next year. It was pleasing to see over 35 Year 3 parents/guardians attend our first information session after school on Tuesday. Further meetings regarding BYOD will be held with Year 3 families early next term.  For general inquiries regarding this program please read the BYOD page on our school website or contact the Associate Principal, Mr Bradshaw.

A new cyber safety smartphone app for parents called “Beacon” has just been released. Beacon provides trusted and up-to-date information for families to safely navigate the ever-changing online world with their children. I encourage families to download this app by following the link - https://beacon.telethonkids.org.au/. More information can be found on our Community News page.

School Survey 

Part of our reporting process requested by the Department of Education is to survey parents/guardians using the National School Opinion Survey (NSOS) at least every two years. This survey will be opened for families to complete online from Monday 21st September. It will close on Friday 23rd October 2020. An email will be sent with a link to the survey. Any queries or assistance needed can be organised by contacting Mrs Scaramella at Reception.

The last time we did this survey we had 147 responses. The Board is keen to increase our response rate to 200.  The information gained from this survey helps with future planning. After Hours School Care (OSHClub), the senior playground and continued improvements to the school were a direct result of feedback from our last survey in 2018. 

COVID-19 update 

We will commence Term 4 for students on Tuesday 13th October. As it is still Phase 4 we will continue with our current processes of greeting/farewelling students at the current gates. Parents/carers are still able to come into classrooms after school without an appointment and open classes will continue. Access during the day is still through the Crosswalk gate and the Main gate. We have just been notified that our increased cleaning will continue in Term 4 with cleaners at school during the day. 

Maintenance Improvements

The new cupboards have been installed in the school hall. Our first set of toilets have been completed and looks fabulous. The Magpie Block girls and the Cygnet Block boys toilets are currently being demolished in preparation for their upgrade. Our Front Entrance Design is currently going through the approval process with the appropriate authority.