Principal's Report

The beginning of the school year is always an exciting time with many elections taking place. I would like to share with you, an email from Dr Carolann Clifford, our Wellbeing Officer, that speaks volumes about the wonderful job that parents and staff are doing to help shape our students.

I have just had the great privilege of listening to 15 Year 6 students present their Wellbeing Captain speeches. I wanted to take a minute and write to the whole school to say how blown away I was by the quality and the breadth of these speeches.

The children who presented were able to articulate and acknowledge their own feelings (including fear and courage), spoke in a very confident manner about concepts such as empathy, kindness, resilience and strength, they were very aware of what wellbeing is and what could be done to improve wellbeing and were clear about what ideas they thought a Wellbeing Captain should possess and how they could help the school. There was a great sense of belonging and community in the speeches and a desire to help and improve and care and share.

The content and knowledge behind these presentations has changed tremendously since I first started listening to them some years ago now. It is very clear that every teacher in this school has been instrumental in sharing with their students - through role modelling, demonstrating, lessons, individual and group teaching – the skills and abilities that they will need to take care of their mental health and how they can help other’s take care of their mental health.

Our students are so lucky to have the opportunity to discuss, understand, own and understand all the concepts they discussed. They would not be able to do this without the help of their parents but also the huge amount of effort that every teacher in this school puts into wellbeing. I am so grateful to be part of a school that values and embraces wellbeing in the way that BNPS does.

You are all really doing a fantastic job of preparing your students for the life they have ahead of them.

Dr Carolann Clifford

Our 2019 Student Leaders

I would like to congratulate our 2019 School Captains, Maggie S and Archie P, and our School Vice Captains, Remy J, Kayden M, Phoebe M and Louis W. 

I would also like to congratulate the Year 6 students who were elected by students in Year 4 - 6 to be our 2019 House Captains, and the Year 6 students who were elected by the Year 6 students and teachers to be our 2019 Curriculum Captains.

The above mentioned students are featured individually on the 'Our 2019 Student Leaders' page of this newsletter. Our 2019 Junior Council representatives (eight students from Year 3 - 6) will be featured in our next newsletter, once all elections have taken place.

Leadership roles are held in very high regard and a Special Assembly will be held tomorrow (3pm, 15 February) to present our Student Leaders with their badges. 

2019 School Council Election

Thank you to the 7 interested parents who nominated for the 5 vacancies in the Parent Member Category of our 2019 School Council

The Candidates have been posted on Compass and a statement from each candidate will be made available on Compass tomorrow (Friday 15 February). A hardcopy ballot paper will be distributed to all school families on Monday 18 February, 2019. Families are asked to vote by 4pm on Tuesday 5 March, 2019.

Meet & Greet Opportunity

Our Meet & Greet Interviews have now concluded and I would like to thank the many parents who took the opportunity to meet with their child's Classroom Teacher. I would also like to thank our 28 classroom teachers who conducted almost 530 conversations during the interview period. These valuable conversations enable us to best support your child's needs and learning journey.

In Term 2, parents will be invited to book a 15-minute meeting for their child’s Parent/Teacher Interview to discuss progress.

Prep Transition Wellbeing Program

We have an excellent team of dedicated and experienced teachers who individually and collectively offer a variety of talents and additional qualifications to complement the school’s diverse program. This year our Prep students will be participating in a Transition Wellbeing Program - Building Emotional Intelligence, Resilience and Social Skills through Performing Arts and Yoga Movement.

The program, embedded with the core values of kindness, self-confidence and awareness, compassion and love, aims to help better equip students with the physiological skills to ease their transitional experiences that occur in their first year of primary schooling. Thank you to Mrs Naomi Hunter (PE Teacher) for getting this program up and running.

Cyber Safety 

It is well known that parents and carers play a critical role in the cyber safety of children. I am pleased to advise that we will be offering a FREE Cyber Safety Parent Workshop (run by The Alannah & Madeline Foundation), on Monday 6 May from 7.30 - 8.30pm. Please see the '#Trending Workshop' page of this newsletter for more information.

I hope you are able to join us at Assembly on Monday (18 February) where students will share information on specific areas of cyber safety that they have learned throughout our 'Cyber Safety' week (11 - 15 February).

NO student at BNPS is permitted to access any digital resources at school until an eSmart Agreement has been completed - please ensure you action this promptly.

Our Wonderful Volunteers

Parent involvement is a key feature of our school and I am pleased to say that we are off to a great start in 2019. I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to the many parents who have answered our various online calls for volunteers. l am very much looking forward to engaging with you all this year.

Special thanks to Tom Johnson who, after three years, is handing over the Father's Activity Club (FAC) Presidency role. Tom has organised many wonderful social events for BNPS dads, cooked many BBQs and raised much needed funds for the school during this time.

I would like to introduce Windsor Knox, our new FAC President, and thank him for stepping up for this role.

Finally, I would like to thank Bridget Stickland for her weekly commitment to the School Banking program over the last few years. As advised on Compass, due to the low uptake, we are no longer participating in the Commonwealth School Banking Program. 

2019 Voluntary Education Contribution

Thank you to the families who have paid the 2019 voluntary education contribution. Many of our programs and facilities are only made possible through the generous contributions of our parent community.

It's not too late to contribute and I encourage all families to support where they can to provide our students with the best possible learning opportunities and environment in 2019. Payment can be made in the following categories via Qkr> School Payments > Education Fees (Prep - Year 6):

• Digital Technologies
• First Aid, Health & Wellbeing
• School Contribution
• Playground & Facilities Fund

An explanation of each of the charges is attached.

Please don't hesitate to contact the Office if you have any queries. 

2018 Year 6 Murals

The 2018 Year 6 murals (parting gift to the school) were mounted on the Wood Street facing wall of the Senior Learning Centre yesterday and they look absolutely amazing!

Each 2018 Year 6 student created a quarter of a mandala (using mural paint and poscar pens) to represent their journey at BNPS. Thank you to the fabulous Art Team and of course the 2018 Year 6 students for creating another stunning adornment to our school.

Looking Ahead...

I do hope you will join us on Friday 1 March for our community welcome. This event provides a wonderful opportunity for parents, staff and students to come together in a more relaxed environment. I would like to give special thanks to Mrs Audrey Fine (Music Teacher) for organising the entertainment.

I wish all of our Year 4 - 6 students the best of luck for Tuesday (19 February) as they head off to our House Swimming Carnival at GESAC. 

It has been wonderful to see staff and students commence the year in such an enthusiastic manner. Keep up the great work everybody!

Sherril Duffy

Principal