Principal's Report
We would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which Bimbadeen Heights Primary School lies, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. We would like to pay our respects to their elders past, present, and emerging. We would also like to extend our respects to other First Nations people in our community.
2022 Student Leaders
We are very pleased to announce that following a process that involved self-identification, shortlisting, speeches, and presentations to all Year 4, 5 and 6 students, a preferential voting process and an interview with Mrs Gardner, Mrs Rountree and Mrs Gregson, our student leadership team for 2022 are:
Bimbadeen Heights 2022 Student Leaders
School Captains | Rose Downs  | Cooper Jackson 
|
Blair House Captains  | Jacob Rundle  | Evie Brookes  |
Brice House Captains  | Kobe Harrington  | Pat Johnson  |
Fletcher House Captains  | Tia Crossland  | Archie Floyd 
|
Lithgow House Captains  | Chloe Sloan  | Ella Genever  |
Our School Captain and House Captains make up our formal student leadership team and will be presented with their badges and certificates at a special assembly to be held at the beginning of next year. We are very much looking forward to working with them throughout their final year of primary school and to see the impact they will make and the legacy they will leave behind for the future Bimbadeen students to enjoy.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank our current 2021 Student Leadership team for their contribution to our community throughout this year. It has been a challenging year to lead our students with multiple lockdowns and periods of flexible and remote learning, however these young leaders have done so with enthusiasm and passion for their roles.
2022 Staffing Structure
After thorough workforce planning, we are very pleased to announce our Leadership and Staffing Structure for 2022 (repeat information sent home on Tuesday 7 December with grade placement information):
Leadership Structure
Principal: Adele Gregson
Assistant Principal: Sabrina George
Inclusion Leader: Marty Gill
Learning Specialist – School Improvement: Emily Russell (out of the classroom on Tues)
Learning Specialist – School Improvement: Bree King (out of the classroom on Wed)
Digital Technologies Leader: Melinda Ruscitti (out of the classroom on Thurs)
Administration
Business Manager: Adele Gates
Accounts Payable: Shelley Canning
Administration: Emma Chandler
Classroom Teaching Structure
0LN Liz Nicholson (Team Leader)
0KW Kate Wood
0JD Jacqui Duncan
0TJ Tracey Johansen
1BD Beth Dean (Team Leader)
1AJ Ashleigh Janssen
1JG Joshua Gray
1AA To be confirmed
2SB Stacy Brookes (Team Leader)
2BK Bree King / Matt Laws (Wed)
2NP Nathan Percy
34D Rebecca Bartlett (Team Leader)
34F Michelle Franks
34B Kate Buzaglo (Mon-Wed) / Blair Blackburn (Thurs-Fri)
34R Melinda Ruscitti / Amelia Laird (Thurs)
34T Sam Tallentyre
5GS Laura Simkin (Mon-Tues) / Virginia Gardner (Wed-Fri) (Team Leader)
5ER Emily Russell / Matt Laws (Tues)
5SE Sharon Egan
6JG Jemima Gange (Team Leader)
6HC Hayley Cook
Specialist Roles
Art: Amelia Laird (Team Leader)
Physical Education: Kate Schie
Chinese: Sarah Cherry (Mon-Tues)
Music: Lynne Burt (Mon, Fri)
Natalie Lowe (Tues-Wed)
Tutor Learning Program: Tania Maniscalchi (Mon, Tues) / Michaela Gray (Tues - Thurs)
Equity Intervention & Extension Program / Library: Karin Sansom (Mon - Thurs)
Education Support Staff - Integration
Leslie Clarke, Jenna Fowler, Mandy Riley, Jo Palmer, Tracey Price-O’Reilly, Liz Downs
Welcome Back, Ms Laird
Next year we will be welcoming back Ms Amelia Laird who previously taught in our Art program in 2019. Ms Laird has been teaching at Wandin North PS since leaving Bimbadeen and we are very pleased to be welcoming her back to the Bimbadeen community next year. Ms Laird will be leading the Specialist Team and teaching our Art program. She will also teach in 3/4R on Thursdays.
Welcome to Bimbadeen, Blair Blackburn and Sam Tallentyre
We are excited to be welcoming two new staff members in 2022.
Blair Blackburn and Sam Tallentyre will be joining us in classroom teaching roles next year. Mrs Blackburn is an experienced teacher who has taught at Kilsyth PS for many years, while Ms Tallentyre is a third-year graduate teacher and is well-known to the Bimbadeen community as a casual replacement teacher (CRT). Our new staff members have been engaging in a comprehensive induction and orientation program to support their transition to Bimbadeen and they are very excited to be a joining our wonderful school community.
We are sure you will all extend them a warm Bimbadeen welcome.
Farewell Ms Ellul
Ms Phoebe Ellul will be leaving Bimbadeen at the end of the year. We express a sincere thank you to Ms Ellul for her contributions to our community throughout this year in her role as teacher of 5PE and as a pre-service teacher in 2020.
We wish Ms Ellul all the best for the future.
Retirement Farewell
It is with grateful minds but heavy hearts that we bid farewell to Mr Rosendale, Mrs Buckland and Mrs Rountree who are retiring at the end of this year. Mr Rosendale is retiring after 40 years of service to the Bimbadeen community and 41 years of service to education. Mrs Buckland has been a part of our community for over 35 years and has taught in Victorian schools over a 45-year period. Mrs Rountree joined our community in 2007 as a graduate teacher and has been a valued member of our community for 14 years. Mr Rosendale, Mrs Buckland and Mrs Rountree are well known by all Bimbadeen families past and present, with Mr Rosendale and Mrs Buckland teaching multiple generations of Bimbadeen students.
While a small celebration is taking place with staff to thank Mr Rosendale, Mrs Buckland and Mrs Rountree for their contributions to our community, an afternoon tea is being planned for Term 1, 2022 to provide the opportunity for our community members to thank them and help celebrate their retirement.
Student Reports
Our staff have been busily compiling comprehensive reports that will be available through Sentral today. These reports are a thorough representation of your child's growth over the last Semester and the result of many months of hard work from your child, their teacher and our wonderful parents and carers who have supported their child’s learning from home throughout our periods of remote and flexible learning. We encourage you to read through your child’s report with them to reflect on their Semester of learning and discuss learning goals for the year ahead. It is a wonderful opportunity to explore and share in their learning journey.
As part of our end of year student reporting process, we will also be providing the opportunity for parents/carers to discuss their child’s learning and progress with their current classroom teacher, if they wish to do so. If you would like to book a time to meet with your child’s teacher to discuss their report before the end of the school year, please get in contact with them via Sentral or direct email. In line with our current COVIDSafe protocols, these discussions must be held via telephone or Webex.
2022 Student Supplies
Last week, 2022 book bags were delivered for students whose parents purchased book packs online via our supplier, Maxim School Supplies. Book bags have now been sent home with these students. Parents and carers who are still to make payment for their children’s supplies can do online, however these packs will be posted directly to families, not sent to the school.
If you have any questions about this please speak to our Business Manager, Adele Gates, on 9726 9989.
Whole School Transition - Foundation to Year 6
Teachers have worked diligently to finalise our 2022 classes and prepare for our Whole School Transition Meet the Teacher and the Class session that was held on Tuesday this week. During this session, students including all current and new students attending Bimbadeen Heights PS in 2022 met their teacher and spent some time with their new class for next year. There is always much excitement around meeting your new teacher and classmates for the upcoming year.
It was very pleasing to see the high level of resilience our students showed throughout the session and how much they enjoyed meeting their new teacher and peers. On this day, students completed a document to bring home to their parents explaining who their teacher will be, something they are looking forward to in 2022 and some class members they are looking forward to working with.
On the same day, our Year 6 students moving onto government secondary schools had their Year 7 Transition Orientation where they spent the day preparing to begin their secondary schooling in 2022.
Final Assembly
In line with our current COVIDSafe structures, including density quotients, our final assembly for the 2022 school year will be attended by only students in Years 6, 5 and Foundation, and staff. All other year levels will watch assembly via a live stream into their classrooms. Information about the live stream will also be sent to parents and carers who will be able to watch the assembly in real time.
Parents and carers of Year 6 students are invited to meet their children on the running track at the conclusion of the assembly and form a guard of honour for them as they exit the gym. We ask that Year 6 parents and carers wear a mask if they are unable to maintain physical distancing of 1.5m.
All other students will be dismissed by their classroom teacher at 1:30pm. While parents and carers of students in Foundation are able to meet their children outside their classrooms, we ask that all parents and carers of Year 1 – Year 5 students wait for their children at a pre-arranged location (preferably outside the school grounds).
Thank you to our Parent and Carer Helpers
Each year, we hold a morning tea to thank our wonderful parent and carer helpers who have contributed to our school community in a multitude of ways throughout the year. Without the support and assistance of our parent/carer community, we would not have been able to support our students to the same level during the extensive remote and flexible learning periods we have managed throughout this year.
It takes a village to raise a child and the motivation that children get from seeing their parents and community members involved in their learning has a remarkable positive impact. Our school is known for the great relationships that exist here, and the relationships we have with our parents and volunteer helpers are relationships that we highly value and respect and it is a privilege for us to work with you.
This year, we want to say a huge THANK YOU to all parents and carers throughout our community for the incredible support you have provided our students and for working in partnership with our teachers this year. Today we have sent home a little thank you card with each student as a personal thank you for your contribution to our school community.
School Term Dates 2026-2030 Released
The Education and Training Reform Regulations 2017 require the Minister for Education to determine the days on which a government school is required to be open for attendance by students.
The Minister for Education has set the term dates for 2026-2030.
Setting school dates well in advance assists with school planning and ensures the school community knows the days Victorian government schools are open for student instruction.
The 2026-2030 term dates are based on these criteria:
- there are four school terms
- the school year is 200 days
- the Australia Day holiday occurs before students return to school
- the first term vacation is to coincide with Easter
- that, as far as possible, a consistent pattern be maintained from one five-year block to the next.
More information is on the Department’s website: School term dates and holidays in Victoria (education.vic.gov.au)
Child Safe Information & Documents
Bimbadeen Heights Primary School is embedding a culture of Child Safety at the school to create and maintain a child safe organisation. The role and responsibility for implementing and monitoring the Child Safe strategies at Bimbadeen is Assistant Principal, Mrs Sabrina George. Mrs George can be contacted on 03 9726 9989.
The School Community will be informed about the strategies and allocated roles and responsibilities through the school newsletter and information via the school website. School Council ratified the Child Safe Policy earlier this year, which reflects the requirements of Ministerial Order 870 and outlines the school’s approach to Child Safety.
The Child Safe policy and associated appendices and other resources can be accessed on our school website at https://www.bimbadeenheightsps.vic.edu.au/policies-documents/
Year 6 Teaching Day
At the end of November, we held our annual Year 6 Teaching Day. This day involves our Year 6 students taking on the role of our staff and leading the work and learning across the school. Some of our students take on the role of teacher and lead the learning in our classrooms and specialist programs and others take on the role of Principal and Assistant Principal. We were fortunate to have Riley, Karisma and Poppy working with us in the Principal Team for the day. The students did a wonderful job in their roles across the school, and it was a fantastic learning experience for each of them.
As part of their work on the day Poppy was asked to prepare an item for this newsletter’s Principal’s Report:
Poppy’s Principal’s Report
Hi, I’m Poppy Wallace and I’m here to tell you about my experience as a principal for a day at Bimbadeen. Being a principal was lots of fun. First, I made cards for all the crossing supervisors and wrapped them up with a box of chocolates to thank them for supporting our community by supervising our crossings this year. Then I delivered birthday cards and lollypops to students who had celebrated birthdays over the past few weeks. After that I went back to the office and wrote my newsletter item. I really enjoyed being principal and I had lots of fun!
Riley and Karisma spent their time as Principal, presenting Aussie of the Month Award certificates and badges to the award recipients for December, a Principal’s Award to one student, and 100 Values Token Ribbons to students in Foundation and Year 1 who had reached this milestone.
We hope the Bimbadeen community has a great weekend and we look forward to seeing you all for the final week of 2021!
Kind regards,
Adele Gregson and Sabrina George