Must Read Notice From the Principal's Desk

Welcome back to our existing families and welcome to our new families who have joined us this term. It is terrific to see students settling in so quickly into their classroom routines. 

Important Changes to our School Drop Off & Pick Up

This update includes three important changes to our school drop-off and pick-up routines that all parents/guardians need to know. The changes will take place from Friday 30th April.  This will provide families with a week to discuss drop-off and pick-up arrangements with their children and classroom teachers.

Staggered Finish stopping

Our school time for the end of the day will be returning to 3:00pm for all students. This change will commence in a week’s time, on Friday 30th April. 

Kindergarten and Pre-primary parents/guardians will now need to collect their child from outside the classroom (from Friday 30th April). All students from Year 1 to Year 6 will be released from class at 3:00pm rather than leaving earlier to collect their sibling or taken to the gate to be collected. While some staff will be on duty at the double ECE gates, classroom teachers will no longer accompany the younger students to the gate to be collected.

High school students will need to continue to meet their sibling outside of a school gate and not come onto the school grounds unless in the company of their parents (or have written permission if they are picking up their Kindergarten or Pre-Primary sibling.) 

Gate changes- ECE Carpark shared staff carpark and pedestrian zone to start on Friday 30th April

The ECE carpark will return to a parking area for staff. It will be a shared area for pedestrians to access the ECE double gates and as a staff carpark. Students and parents/guardians will be able to access the school through either the CROSSWALK gate before, during, and after school or the ECE gate before school between the times of 8:15am to 8:45am or after school from 3:00pm-3:15pm. 

The Kindergarten gate will be closed with all families accessing the school using the nearby double ECE gate, CROSSWALK, or MAIN gate.

Gate changes- Castlereagh Close drop off/pick up by car to stop on Friday 30th April

The gate entry and carpark at Castlereagh Close will return to pre-COVID. This means the drop-off/pick-up by car inside this carpark and assisted by staff will no longer be available. If there is no parking for parents, you will not be able to stop in this carpark and drop off or pick up your child but will need to continue to drive through the car park and seek parking in another area such as the roadside or at the shopping centre.

Students and parents/guardians will continue to be able to enter the MAIN pedestrian gate but staff will not regularly be on duty in this area. This change will also commence in a week’s time on Friday 30th April.

Regardless of which gate is used to access the school, students should not be coming to school before 8:15am unless to participate in a community or school program. As usual, all parents/guardians and students should go to the undercover area from 8:15am-8:30am. Classrooms open at 8:30am with school commencing at 8:45am.

I thank you in advance for your understanding of these modifications and support during the time of change moving back towards our routine pre-COVID. 

With the traffic being extra busy around our school due to roadworks and with the changes to pick up and drop off, please contact Reception or your classroom teacher if you have any queries. If you are going to be late to pick up your child, particularly due to being caught in traffic, please call Reception so we can organise for your child to meet you at Reception to be collected when you arrive. Reception’s phone number is 9266 6200 and is open until 3:30pm. 

New GROW Award

On Tuesday 20th April, we commenced our brand new GROW Award.  This special Award is for students who demonstrate one of our four Behaviour Expectations of Responsibility, Resilience, Respect, or Reach. This special award is given out to one student a day in each classroom and specialist area. Students receive a point for their faction if they receive this award. At the end of Week 6, any students who have two or more awards will share in a year-level reward.

Staff Changes

There are some staff changes that will commence from next Tuesday 27th April.  Mrs Page in Year 6, Room 3 is reducing the number of days she teaches. This means that Miss Lim will be the full-time Year 6 teacher in Room 3.  Mrs Page will teach on Mondays in Year 6, Room 2, sharing the class with Ms Chow.  Another teacher will be working in Year 4, Room 11 while Mrs Paxton has long service leave on Fridays. 

We have a new cleaner on our staff, Mr Kazunori Yamamoto. Mr Yamamoto can be seen around the school cleaning on the morning shift.

We have eight teaching students from Notre Dame University working in classrooms for 10 weeks this term as part of their training to become registered teachers. We welcome these pre-service teachers to Burrendah Primary School.

ANZAC Service

I am looking forward to seeing as many parents/guardians as possible at our ANZAC Service tomorrow morning commencing at 9:00am. I thank all of the school community for the poppies that have been made since Term 2, 2019 for our backdrop. Mrs Horoch, Ms Coleman, and the student leaders have worked very hard on the organisation of this special whole school assembly. The wreaths that have been made for the classrooms with our parental support look lovely.

Reminder

 Monday 26th April is a public holiday and school recommences on Tuesday 27th April.