Principal's Report

Principals Report

The excitement of the students returning to school has to be seen to truly understand the excitement buzzing in our classrooms and in our playground.  The children have settled in again as if the last 12 weeks of remote learning had not occurred. 

The biggest challenge for our students to date has been the inability to just go to the refrigerator or pantry to get a snack whenever they like.

“A picture is worth a thousand words”

Please marvel at the video of the year 1 students returning to school and photos  below and celebrate the resilience of our students.

Welcome to our new music teacher  Helen Griffiths

I would like to welcome Helen  Griffiths, who has joined Jo Ratten and  Di Ullman as a member of our music team.

Enrichment Programs Commencing Immediately

We are excited to announce that many programs are able to commence  when the children are all back onsite  including Robotics, Thinking Skills and BEET.

Mrs Meredith Graham will be commencing our robotics program with students from Years 4-6.

Nicole La Gerche will be commencing an enrichment thinking program with selected Year 3 students and Mrs Pam Collins will be working with students from Prep to Year 2 who qualify for the BEET program.

Curriculum Day

School Council approved our final Pupil Free Day for 2021 which will be held on Monday, 29 November. This date replaces the originally scheduled date of Friday 29 October.

COVID Hotline

We are extremely excited to be having all of our students and staff returning to school on Monday 1 November.  

The last time everyone was onsite at school was 15 July 2021.

With the pending return to school, several parents have asked what they should do if their child tests COVID positive.

In the event that your child tests COVID positive, it is extremely important that you notify the school.  

To assist in this area we now have a new, dedicated mobile phone number for you to use.  This phone will be monitored 24/7 by myself as it is essential that we are notified as soon as possible.

Our COVID phone number is :

0458 900 962

Please leave a Text / SMS with the details. Calls are not available on this number.

You are still able to email the school however our school email is monitored during business hours only.

If a Covid positive case is identified at school, parents will be notified via Compass.

Shade Sail Grant

Thank you Mr Doug Bray (Year 2 teacher) for successfully applying for a $25,000 shade sail for our School. We are very appreciative of your effort of securing this for our school.

Circus Skills

After many cancellations over 2 years and starting and stopping we are hopefully going to complete our PE Circus incursions.   They will be held during our Physical Education lessons.  I would like to sincerely thank Mrs Debbie O’Brien who has organised this for our students.

World Teachers' Day 

Friday 29 October

On Tuesday 26 October, we celebrated our teachers all returning onsite and an early celebration for World Teachers' Day, by providing them with a special lunch, organised by the ES staff, to show our appreciation!

We are so grateful for the wonderful and caring teachers at BNPS and for everything they have done for our students with the support from our parents and carers.

How quickly things change? 

Friday evening I had received one set of guidelines and at 5.30pm Sunday a further document outlining permitted school activities arrived.

Our new Schools Operation Guide has arrived, which commences 1 November and outlines the requirements and guidelines for:

• Graduation and assemblies
• Camps and excursions
• Interschool activities and events
• Curriculum Provision including music and performing arts.
• Transition Programs
• Permitted visitors onsite

We do know that all essential  workers or visitors , including parents, onsite must be fully vaccinated. 

Mask Wearing Requirements

One area of change is the mask wearing requirements for our students and staff.  Below is the extract taken directly form the School Operations Guide .

The School Operations Guide details the operating guidelines and procedure required for the management of all government schools.

For all school settings, the Victorian Chief Health Officer:

Directs primary school students in Year 3 and above to wear a face mask indoors at school, including Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) programs, unless a lawful exception applies. Face masks can be removed while outdoors at school.  

Directs school staff to wear a face mask while teaching wherever practicable, except where removal of a face mask is necessary for effective communication.

Strongly recommends students in Prep to Grade 2 to wear a face mask indoors at school or OSHC program.

There are a number of lawful reasons for not wearing a face mask, including for staff and students who are unable to wear a face mask due to the nature of their disability, medical or a mental health condition. Parent/carers of a student/s who meet the criteria for an exception must provide their approval in writing for their child/ren to not wear a mask to the school.

A face mask must cover the nose and mouth. Face shields, scarves or bandanas do not meet these requirements. Refusal to wear a mask is breach of the Victorian Chief Health Officer Directions. 

We are all eagerly awaiting the return to school by all year levels on Monday.  Hopefully our return to school will not be further impacted by anything related to Covid 19 and that we can conclude the 2021 school year in a calm and smooth manner.

SHERRIL DUFFY

PRINCIPAL