Principal's Report

Dear Bundoora Families,

Mrs Dunn and I have spent many hours together over the last few weeks planning for the 2023 school year. This entails consulting with staff members and students, listening to parent requests, and juggling the incoming enrolments to make the best decisions for our children. All children are guaranteed to get at least one friend (from the list they gave to their teachers) in their classes in 2023. We ask that you trust us to work as a team to place your child in the best place for them in 2023. 

Goodbye and thank you!

I am extremely sad to announce that the following staff members will not be at Bundoora Primary School in 2023.

Ms Nicole Robb is taking leave in 2023 to take up a new career. We wish Nicole all the best in this huge move.

Ms Emily Edgley has accepted an ongoing position at Epping Primary School. She has been at Bundoora Primary school for five years. We thank Emily for her work and know she will continue to make a different at her new school.

Ms Kat Ridsdale has accepted an ongoing position at Wollert Primary school. She has been at Bundoora Primary School for thirteen years and taught most year levels during that time. Kat is driven by her keen interest in student wellbeing and the new school will further build her skills in this area. We wish Kat well with this exciting new journey and thank her for her contributions to the school.

Ms Jennifer Sheppard has been with Bundoora Primary School for one year as a tutor in English and Maths. Jenni has been of valuable assistance in this program, and we thank her for her work. 

ES staff leaving

Mr Nathan Frawley, Mr Brett Mcdonald, and Miss Lauren Pieterman – we thank our wonderful Education Support staff for their help this year and wish them well with their plans in 2023.

I am sure you join me in wishing each of these staff members all the best in their new adventures. 

Teacher placement for 2023.

I am pleased to announce the following teacher placements and class information for 2023:

Prep A - Ms Amanda Willcocks (20 students)

Prep B – Ms Chloe McKay (20 students)

Prep C – Ms Sarah Lyall (20 students)

1A – Ms Tiffany Dean (22 students)

1B – To be announced (23 students)

2A – Ms Lauren Taglieri (23 students)

2B – Ms Abbey Giles (23 students)

3A – Mr Josh Quarrell (21 students)

3B – Ms Hannah Wang (21 students)

4A – Ms Pina Saliba (22 students)

4B – Ms Jacqui Mitchelhill (21 students)

56A – Mr Steven Meagher (23 students)

56B – Mrs Michelle Agar and Mrs Rebecca Bruce (23 students)

56C – Mr Jamie McDonald (23 students

56D – Mrs Amy Armstrong (23 students)

Visual Arts – Mrs Penny Allibon

Performing Arts – Mrs Nerida Newell

Physical Education – Mr Daniel Kret

STEM – to be announced

Over the last 4-6 weeks we have received new enrolments for years 5 and 6 making it necessary to have four classes at the senior level to avoid large numbers.

Student leaders 2023

Today at assembly we presented badges to our successful Student Leaders for 2023. Over sixty students applied for twenty-seven positions. If your child was not successful reassure them that just by going through the process of writing and giving their speech, they are true winners.

We expect our school leaders to be role models for the school community, willing to give of their time and serve others. Mrs Dunn and I look forward to collaborating with our leaders next year. 

The leaders for 2023 are:

 School Captains – Harriet Collet and Tanish Shetty

School Vice-Captains – Evie Griffiths and Stella Smith

Balmoral House Captain – George Humbke

Gresswell House Captain – Zoe Kostov

La Trobe House Captain – Vinul Jinadasa

Plenty House Captain – Isobel Christie

Social Enterprise Captains – Maya Kenny, Zahra Lovell, Zoe Sordello, Luella Wilkie, 

Social Enterprise Café Captains – Grace Gaynor, Ashton Treweek, Eve Jamieson

Library Captain – Samuel Thorne

Art Captain – Jenny Shi

Performing Arts Captain – Cindy Wong

Auslan Captain – Hamish Wallace

STEM Captain – Oliver Stanyer

Environment Captain – Christina Hatzipanagiotidis

Sport Captain – Zack Hall

Student Action Team Captains – Isabella Anthonisz, Ellie Constable, Zoe Parkinson, Sofia Swainson

ATSI (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Captain – Shayleigh Larkins

Congratulations to all our student leaders for 2023.

Step-up Day

Tuesday December 13th is our Step-up session. For new parents to the school our current students from prep to grade five move up one grade level and spend a couple of hours with their new teacher and classmates. This is a chance to learn about each other before we come together in 2023 to commence the new year. We look forward to meeting our newly enrolled students on this day also. 

The session will begin at 9:30 in the hall and students will be called out by grade, one at a time. If you feel that your student may struggle with this process, please talk to them beforehand to make sure they understand that this is as positive opportunity to settle into their new grade, ready to start in 2023. 

Change to parent representative role in 2023.

School Council and Leadership are putting in place an exciting change to the parent representative roles in 2023. 

Next year our reps will be called Year Level Ambassadors. This volunteer position will include organising at least one play date and at least one grown-up get together per term so that parents and students at each year level can get to know each other and build strong bonds. 

A role statement can be collected from the office if you are interested in applying for this new volunteer position. We encourage teams of 2 or 3 parents from each year level to apply and work together so that the load is not too heavy. 

Traffic

It has been brought to my attention that have been alarming near misses in Bendoran Crescent lately. These incidents are occurring because cars are making U-turns in the skip bin and teacher car park driveways.

At these points traffic is even more congested as the childcare centre traffic impacts at this point. The recent near misses have been cars doing a U-turn and almost running over families walking with small children. 

Please avoid U-turns by entering Bendoran Crescent from the far end away from the school and going around the block. If we can do this and quickly pick up our children and move on, not stopping to park and get out of the car, we will all get home safely.

Please share this message with your friends who may not read the newsletter regularly to ensure that all of us make it safely to Christmas, 2022.

Importance of Sleep as we move towards the last days of school in 2022.

We have noticed that our students are tired and grumpy lately. This is common in all schools at this time of year but as you know this year is the first full year of school since 2019, and for prep, year one and year two students their first ever full year of school.

While we understand that there are exciting events on both in and out of school, we encourage you to try to keep sleep routines going for your children to give them the happiest possible end to the school year. 

Last Newsletter for 2022

The last newsletter for 2022 will be next Friday, 16th of December. This edition will once again be a full newsletter.

Thought for the week

The holiday season is a perfect time to reflect on our blessings and seek out ways to make life better for those around us.

Wishing a safe and happy weekend.

Sherrin Strathairn

Principal

Parent Payment Contributions 2023

December 9th, 2022 

Dear parent/guardian, 

Bundoora Primary School is looking forward to another great year of teaching and learning and would like to advise you of Bundoora Primary School’s voluntary financial contributions for 2023. 

Schools provide students with free instruction to fulfil the standard Victorian curriculum and we want to assure you that all contributions are voluntary. Nevertheless, the ongoing support of our families ensures that our school can offer the best possible education and support for our students. We want to thank you for all your support, whether that is through fundraising or volunteering your time. This has made a huge difference to our school and the programs we can offer. 

The environment and resources that we enjoy today represent the contributions made by our parent/carer community over many years. Parent/Carer voluntary contributions make a significant difference to the quality of our programs. This financial support ensures that we can continue to provide an excellent range of facilities and resources for your children. Your support in 2022 allowed us to:

• Provide high quality programs and specific subject materials and equipment for: English, Mathematics, Science, The Arts, Physical Education, Discovery, and Auslan.
• Maintain and develop school grounds
• Ensure the upkeep of our computer devices to enhance learning opportunities.
• Maintain sufficient class sets of books for students to develop their reading skills.
• Provide hands-on mathematics equipment.
• Facilitate Literacy and Maths online digital subscriptions.
• Arrange for individual student supplies and class bulk supplies.
• Offer effective First Aid for all students.

Parent Payment contributions can be made from 27th January 2023.

For further information on the Department’s Parent Payments Policy please see a one-page overview below. 

Yours sincerely,

Sherrin Strathairn                     Sarah Treweek

Principal                                      School Council President 

Extra-Curricular Items and Activities

Bundoora Primary School offers a range of items and activities such as sports events, swimming, camps, excursions, and incursions that enhance or broaden the schooling experience of students and are above and beyond what the school provides to deliver the Curriculum.  These are provided on a user-pays basis and notification will be sent via Compass throughout the year. 

Financial Support for Families 

Bundoora Primary School understands that some families may experience financial difficulty and offers a range of support options, including: 

• the Camps, Sports, and Excursions Fund (health care card and pension card holders) • State Schools Relief (uniform) 

• Payment instalment arrangements 

For a confidential discussion about accessing these services, or if you would like to discuss alternative payment arrangements, contact Angela Kilvington (Business Manager) or Sherrin Strathairn (Principal) - Ph 03 9467 2601 or Email bundoora.ps@education.vic.gov.au

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         Payment methods 

Our preferred payment method is Compass. Alternatively, you can pay by credit card (MASTERCARD, VISA), EFTPOS, or cheque payable to Bundoora Primary School. Payment may also be made using cash; however, we ask that families wishing to pay cash do so at the school office so a receipt can be provided directly as proof of payment. Payment can be paid: 

Refunds 

Parent requests for refunds are subject to the discretion of the school and made on a case-by-case basis.  Refunds will be provided where the school deems it is reasonable and fair to do so, taking into consideration whether a cost has been incurred, the Department’s Parent Payments Policy and Guidance, Financial Help for Families Policy, and any other relevant information.