Principal Report

eSafety Week and STEM

During week 6 of this term we will be running a STEM and eSafety week. 

Our STEM pillar and Mrs Paziotis have structured a plan for each year level to participate in one STEM session and an additional eSmart lesson throughout the week. 

Our aim is to create safer online environments, promote best practice and behaviours in the digital world and provide positive opportunities for our students to use technology appropriately. Most importantly, we will have a lot of fun using the STEM technology and activities  we have in our school. As part of the week we will raise awareness and reflect on the terrific work we are doing across the school in implementing eSafety and STEM. 

Boroondara Park Primary School has been an eSmart accredited school since 2016 and this year, have reaccredited our status. The eSmart Framework is designed to help schools improve cyber safety and reduce online risks. Achieving eSmart status in 2016 was a significant milestone and it is important that we continue to use this as an ongoing guide for embedding best practice and actively maintaining eSmart in our school. 

The eSafety commissioner website is an outstanding teaching and learning resource we use as a school for promoting cyber safety. It is a Government resource providing training, programs, initiatives and resources in online safety education. It is an incredibly rich resource and provides thorough scope for addressing cyber safety for educators and families. 

We have included below some resources and links for your information and use: 

• eSafety
• Parents - issues and advice
• Parental controls - How to use parental controls and other tools to maximise online safety in your home. 
• Online safety for everyone - videos available in different languages. 

Working Bee

Thank you to all of the students and parents who attended our Working Bee on Saturday October 15th. 

You did an outstanding job and so many areas of our gardens are looking fabulous! 

Solar Panels update

This week our old solar panel system has been removed. The new system will be installed on the Stadium roof and these works have also commenced. Weather permitting the works should not take longer than one week. 

COMPASS

We are continuing the change over to COMPASS with much of the work being undertaken in the background. We are working on the downloading of data from Sentral and set up of COMPASS. 

More information will come shortly to all families. 

Here is the link to the parent guide for more information. 

Thunderstorm Asthma 

Be prepared this pollen season

Grass pollen season, which runs from October to December each year, brings an increase in asthma and hay fever symptoms. It also increases the risk of thunderstorm asthma. For people with asthma or hay fever, especially those who experience wheezing or coughing with their hay fever, thunderstorm asthma can be sudden, serious and even life threatening.

Boroondara Park Primary School will implement a range of measures to keep our school community safe when the risk of thunderstorm asthma increases. 

Many of our staff are trained in asthma first aid, and we will monitor the VicEmergency app to receive thunderstorm warnings, and, where appropriate, keep students indoors when weather forecasts identify greater level of risk. 

How you can prepare 

During pollen season, there are some things you can do to prepare and protect yourself and your family:

• If your child has ever had asthma: talk to your doctor about what you can do to help protect your child from the risk of thunderstorm asthma, including updating your asthma action plan. Taking an asthma preventer properly and regularly is key to preventing asthma, including thunderstorm asthma. 
• If your child has hay fever: see your pharmacist or doctor for a hay fever treatment plan and check if you should have an asthma reliever puffer. These are available from a pharmacy without a prescription.
• If your child has hay fever and experiences wheezing and coughing: it is important to make sure they don’t also have asthma. Speak to your doctor about an asthma action plan. 
• Where possible, avoid being outside during thunderstorms from October to December, especially during the wind gusts that come before the storm. Go inside and close your doors and windows. If you have your air conditioning on, turn it to ‘recirculate’.

Protect yourself this pollen season – managing asthma and allergies matters. 

Remain vigilant for COVID-19

It is important for students to manage any hay fever or asthma symptoms, as these conditions can produce symptoms such as fever, chills, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, runny nose, and loss or change to sense of smell or taste, which are similar to COVID-19 symptoms.

If your child experiences these symptoms in different or worse ways to their usual hay fever or asthma symptoms, medical advice should be sought. 

Find out more 

For more information, visit your general practitioner (GP) or visit the Better Health Channel. 

Enrolments for 2023

If you have a child starting school in 2023 please contact the office for an enrolment form or download it from the school website. 

Classes for 2023

We are currently reviewing our classes for 2023.

As part of our planning process I invite parents to spend time considering their child's learning, social and emotional needs for the 2023 school year. This is the opportunity for you to consider what you know about your child, and enables you to share your thoughts about your child's specific needs so we can work together to provide the best possible learning environment. 

As a parent you advocate for your child, you want what is best for them, you support and fight for their needs. 

It is important we clarify good advocacy. Letting us know your child learns best in an active learning environment, with opportunities to negotiate their learning is good advocacy, whilst requesting a particular teacher for your child is not good advocacy.  All children experience different teachers throughout their education. It is important you share information about your child's needs but not tell us which class they need to be placed into.

This is not an opportunity to select a teacher - this is not school policy and any requests for specific teachers will not be taken into consideration. 

We are proud of our teaching staff and we work as a highly functional team, planning and working to provide the best learning environment possible at Boroondara Park PS.

The Google form Dear Ms Lowe  should be  completed  by Monday November 7th

Leaving BPPS in 2023

Throughout the school year we have new enrolments and families who leave BPPS. 

We would like your assistance as we work through our planning for 2023, please fill in this google form if your child will not be returning to Boroondara Park PS in 2023. 

Leaving Boroondara Park PS in 2023

BPPS Facebook and Instagram 

Don't forget to follow our social media accounts and see what is happening at school each day. Boroondara Park Primary School Facebook

Search @BoroondaraPark on Instagram to follow the school. 

Susanne Lowe

Principal