We would like to acknowledge and honour the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation as the traditional custodians of the land on which our school stands. We pay our respects to all First Nations elders, past present and emerging.

Autumn Family Day

It was wonderful to see so many families at our Autumn Family day last Friday. Walking from classroom to classroom, we saw students and their significant adults engaged in learning, playing and reflection. In true BNWPS fashion, there was such a lovely buzz and energetic sense of community. It was a lovely way to end our school week!

The plant and produce stall on Friday was also a huge success, and we would like to thank all of the families who baked, sold or purchased goods for their amazing efforts.

Class Representatives

As we have now had Class Reps for just longer than a full term, we thought it might be a good idea to revisit BNWPS’s approach to Class Reps.

The purpose of the Class Representatives is to help foster connections between parents and carers within each class. It provides another means of uniting the community at school and beyond.. We hope this will enhance the quality of relationships within the school between students, families and teachers. The Class Representative does not replace the parent/carer & teacher relationship or any existing communication channels. If parents and carers choose not to join the group, they will not miss out on any vital information, which will continue to be provided through formal channels.

Families should continue to communicate directly with their child’s teacher or the school leadership in relation to their child’s education and school experience. We will only communicate about individual children directly with families.

The graphic below is a great way to think about the types of communication that would be directed to your Class Rep, or go in your classes WhatsApp group;

Education Committee

At our Education Committee meeting last week, the group had the opportunity to hear our wonderful Wellbeing leader Deb Robins explain where gender identity and gender diversity appear in our mandated curriculum, and what this might look or sound like from Foundation right through to year six. Deb dug a little deeper into how BNWPS is guiding students through this learning, as well as clarifying some of the most up to date language around gender and gender diversity. The group also had a beginning chat about student-led conferences,and how we might be able to continue to work together to improve these even more.

Camp Survey

Last week, we sent out a survey to gather information from the school community to help inform our decisions when planning an updated camp program that aligns with the expectations of our new Victorian Government Schools Agreement.

We would like any interested families to complete this survey by Wednesday so that our school leadership teams and School Council can unpack the data that we receive. The survey can be filled out here. A huge thank you to those families who have already sent through their responses.

IDAHOBIT Day

IDAHOBIT is the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia & Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) celebrating LGBTQIA+ people globally, and raising awareness for the work still needed to combat discrimination in this space. IDAHOBIT occurs on 17th May every year.

On IDAHOBIT day, at BNWPS we are asking our community to wear bright, pride colors on Wednesday and to bring a gold coin. The money that BNWPS raises will go towards Minus18. Minus18 is an organisation that raises money and shares information with LGBTQIA+ youth.

Open Day

Next Thursday (25th May) is the BNWPS Open Day. We are running two very special sessions for any prospective 2024 Foundation students and their families. The daytime session will take place at 9.30, and the evening session will take place at 5.30. The sessions will begin with a story time in the library and will be followed by an exploration activity that will be lots and lots of fun. We would love any prospective 2024 students to come along and take part. See you there!

IDAHOBIT

Thomas Murphy