Principal's Report

Welcome Back

Welcome back to another very unusual term. While returning to remote and flexible learning is not how any of us wanted to begin Term 3, we are so proud of the way our students, staff and families have quickly adjusted to the transition back into learning from home.

We know that so many members of our community are facing very challenging times that are connected with the Stage 3 lockdown. Once again, health and wellbeing is a firm priority for the Bimbadeen community and our aim is to provide consistency and connection for our students to support both their learning and wellbeing throughout this period.

Thank you to everyone for their flexibility and for responding so positively to the rollout of our adjusted approach. Your feedback and input from remote learning in Term 2 has been used to make adjustments and improvements to our remote and flexible learning program. We hope these changes have supported you and your family during this time. Please continue to provide feedback to your child’s teachers about your experiences and home learning as this is important information to support us in continuing to improve our approach.

In order for our community to emerge from this lockdown in a resilient way, we ask you to stay engaged with school and your child’s teacher in whatever manner you can. Of course we encourage you to continue to engage in remote learning tasks each day, however we also want our families to ensure that they take the best care they can of themselves.

Some days your children will be able to complete lots of work which is great! Some days, you might need to focus on your wellbeing and spend your time reading, resting and reconnecting with each other. Please make decisions that are in the best interests of your family and communicate with your child’s teacher about how your family is travelling. We are here to support you and your family through this journey.

To our students, please continue to keep doing your personal best with all of your learning. This is a great opportunity to develop your skills in managing your learning time well, which will be invaluable in secondary education and beyond. Please also take the time to help your parents around the house. Showing gratitude for the care and support they provide for you every day is very important and can help increase the wellbeing of everyone in your family.

As soon as further information is provided about the changing of restrictions and the impact on school operations, or if any significant changes are made to flexible and remote learning, we will update parents/carers via Sentral.

Wearing of Masks

In accordance with recent state directives, all Bimbadeen Heights Primary School staff not giving direct instruction to a student will wear a mask or face covering at all times. A staff member who is giving direct instruction to a student may choose to remove their mask for the duration of the instruction. Some staff members will choose to continue wearing a face covering at all times and there may be some staff members who have a medical exemption from wearing a mask. If your child is part of our onsite supervision program, please discuss these possibilities with them.

Any adult visitor to our school site, including parents/carers dropping or picking up students, must wear a mask or face covering at all times. We remind everybody that the wearing of a mask does not replace any physical distancing or hygiene protocols currently in place. Please follow signage around the school and ensure you are making choice that help contribute to the health and safety of all community members.

Family Supports

Last week, we sent home updated Wellbeing information to parents/carers via Sentral that included contact information for Mrs Buckland, our Wellbeing Coordinator, and Anne Lawry, our School Chaplain. If you would like to access the support services that Bimbadeen Heights Primary School can offer, please contact Cath or Anne via their direct email addresses, or contact the school via telephone or email to bimbadeen.heights.ps@education.vic.gov.au

If you or a family member is struggling with their mental health, please consider the following resources as well.

· Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636 (24 Hrs)

· Lifeline 13 11 14 (24 Hrs)

· Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 (24 Hrs)

· Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (24 Hrs)

· Blue Knot Foundation Helpline information, support or referral for adult survivors of childhood trauma and abuse. Call 1300 657 380, 9am-5pm / 7 days a week.

· Butterfly Foundation's National Helpline counselling and treatment referral for people with eating disorders, and body image and related issues. Call 1800 33 4673 8am-9pm / 7 days a week.

· eheadspace mental health and wellbeing support, information and services to young people aged 12 to 25 years and their families. Call 1800 650 890.

· MensLine Australia telephone and online support and information service for Australian men. Call 1300 78 99 78, 24 hours / 7 days a week.

· MindSpot Clinic telephone and online service for people with stress, worry, anxiety, low mood or depression. Call 1800 61 44 34 AEST, 8am-8pm (Mon-Fri), 8am-6pm (Sat).

· QLife telephone and web-based services to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people. Call 1800 184 527, 3pm-12am (midnight) / 7 days a week.

· PANDA (Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia) telephone information, counselling and referral service. Call 1300 726 306, 9am-7:30pm AEST (Mon-Fri).

· SANE Australia support, training and education enabling those with a mental illness to lead a better life. Call 1800 18 7263, 9am-5pm (Mon-Fri).

The health and wellbeing of you and your family are incredibly important to us, please do not hesitate to reach out.

School Grounds Closed

Please help us by letting your friends in the local community know that our school grounds are closed to all visitors 8am-4pm each weekday. Our playground equipment is closed to visitors at all times and will remain closed until restrictions are lifted. Your support to help keep all members of our school community safe, are greatly appreciated.

Unwell Students and Adults

All adults and students who are unwell (no matter how mild the symptoms) must not come onsite. Any person who becomes unwell and undertakes a COVID-19 test must not come onsite until a negative result has been received. There are no exceptions to this. We ask that where a family member (in the same household) has become unwell and undertakes a COVID-19 test, that you consider keeping all siblings at home until a negative result is received. (This is a request for your consideration, not a directive). Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any queries or concerns.

2021 Enrolments Due by 7 August

Enrolments for Foundation 2021 are closing soon. We encourage all prospective families, and Bimbadeen families who have a younger sibling entering Foundation in 2021, to contact the school on 9726-9989 to organise the delivery of an enrolment information pack. We are also very happy to schedule a one-on-one telephone conversation with families who would like to discuss specific elements of our school community or have specific questions they would like answered. Applications for Foundation 2021 enrolment close on 7 August, with confirmation of enrolment provided to prospective families by 21 August. To support our strategic planning for next year, we would appreciate enrolment forms to be submitted to the school as soon as possible. Application forms for enrolment can be submitted to the school via post, dropped into the school’s letterbox (located adjacent to the entrance to the staff car park driveway) or emailed to the school at bimbadeen.heights.ps@education.vic.gov.au

Further information about choosing a school, enrolling your child and school zones can be accessed via the Department of Education and Training parent page at https://www.education.vic.gov.au/parents/going-to-school/Pages/choose-enrol-school.aspx

Every student has the right to attend their designated neighbourhood Government school. To locate your local school, please see the Find My School website at https://www.findmyschool.vic.gov.au/

The Department provides guidance through the School Placement Policy to ensure that students have access to their designated neighbourhood school and the freedom to choose other schools, subject to facility limitations.

Building Community Links – Mooroolbark Men’s Shed

The Australian Men’s Shed Association is the national service provider servicing more than 1200 Men’s Sheds and is recognised as one of Australia’s largest male-based community development organisations. One of the aims of Men’s Shed is encouraging social inclusion by assisting communities to develop resources and foster their self-sustaining capacity.

Here at Bimbadeen Heights Primary School, we have been fortunate to have recently partnered with our local Men’s Shed to develop storage shelves that have provided a new home for our school computers. These storage shelves are a practical way we can ensure our laptops are safely stored, easily accessible for each year level and maintained in pristine condition for the use of our students now and into the future. We appreciate the connections we have with our local community and look forward to continuing to strengthen our existing connections and develop new links with community organisations.

Triple P – Positive Parenting Program

Families can now access free expert parenting advice through the online Triple P – Positive Parenting Program. The program is relevant to families with children between 2 and 16 years and provides strategies to deal with specific challenges, such as building children’s resilience and dealing with conflict. There are courses specifically for parents of toddlers to tweens, and for parents of pre-teens to teens.

It gives parents strategies to:

· raise happy, confident kids

· manage misbehaviour so everyone in the family enjoys life more

· set rules and routines that everyone respects and follows

· encourage positive behaviour

· take care of themselves as a parent

· feel confident they’re doing the right thing.

We hope your family continues to be safe and well and you enjoy a wonderful weekend.

Adele Gregson and Sabrina George