Buninyong PS Newsletter

Principal's Report

WELCOME TO THE 2020 SCHOOL YEAR

Welcome back to everyone and hope your family enjoyed a good break.  

Well done to our Base 1270 Team who once again ran a successful Vacation Care Program.  Typically there were mid 40s in attendance, which is a significant jump from the previous year and the students involved had a great time. 

The start to 2020 has been very smooth, so thanks to everyone (staff, parents & students) for contributing to that.  The book packs flew out the door on the collection days, with most being gone by the weekend before school started.  We also sold lots of uniform items too and we’re glad this service is proving convenient for parents.  Thanks to everyone for making sure your children are in full uniform and the effort to have children in black shoes has been very noticeable…thanks for that.  To make life easier for all parents, we’re keen to continue a concerted effort to encourage uniform compliance throughout 2020.

We have had quite a few new families join our school, with a number of families moving into the area and of course lots with their eldest child starting in prep….a special welcome to you all.

We had 94 preps start with us last Thursday, 85 of those at Buninyong and 9 at Scotsburn. Our preps have settled in very nicely and have been supported very well by their grade 6 buddies.

We welcome 1 new teacher to the team this year, that being Mitch Walsh, who is undertaking a few roles.  We also welcome Jess Micallef back from Family Leave, and like Mitch, Jess is undertaking a few different roles.   Others that join us this year include:

  • Lauren Salter as a trainee in the office,
  • Simon Faithful joining the maintenance team and
  • Amaya Smith joining our team of teacher aides.

Many of you will have already met with the relevant classroom teachers, but if not, hopefully you will get an opportunity to come along on the ‘meet and greet’ evening next week (Feb 11…..see details on page 4 of this newsletter). 

We have lots to look forward to this year and encourage parents to look for and take advantage of opportunities to get involved with the school and your child’s education. 

FACILITY UPGRADES

We had quite a bit of work done at the school over the break.  This included:

  •  
    • New carpet was installed in 2 of the grade 4 classrooms.
    • Ceiling fans were installed in the Japanese room and 2 split system in the BER.
    • The gym floor was sanded and lacquered.
    • A new layer of asphalt was laid around the admin building. 
    • External painting was undertaken around the admin building and the library/prep block.
    • The internal walls and ceiling of the music room were painted.
    • Some Fire Preparedness works were undertaken at Scotsburn.
    • Work commenced on a renovation of the canteen.
    • New blinds were installed at both campuses.

Some projects we have planned for 2020 include:

  •  
    • Undertaking works at Scotsburn to draw water from the newly installed bore and make that water available across the campus as needed.
    • The creation of a home eco room in the admin building.
    • Finishing the makeover of the canteen.
    • Alterations are planned for the gym.  This includes the addition of solar panels, the creation of a quiet break away space for Base 1270, increasing the size of the sports storeroom and the bike shed, installing windows to replace louvres, adding a doorway with direct access to the basketball court and installing fans and air conditioning.  All of these works are funded by Base 1270.
    • Creating a new Japanese Garden on the east side of the basketball court.
    • Closing gaps in our boundary fencing (end of car park and east end of the yard).
    • We have been gifted a number of logs from VicRoads that will be a product of tree removal required for improvements to the Midland Highway near Scotsburn.  These will be used at both campuses to create new play spaces for our students.

We look forward to making progress on all of the above projects throughout the year to continue our quest to provide the best possible environment for students at both campuses.

Base 1270

Devi McCartin has taken over the role of Program Coordinator and over the coming fortnight we’ll be appointing an Assistant Program Coordinator.  The Base 1270 Team did a great job with the Vacation Care Program and usually had 40+ kids, which is excellent.

 

We have been granted an increase in maximum student numbers from 50-80, which means we are able to extend the service to families that otherwise would have missed out.  This week the numbers are in the high 50s, which is a sign of things to come. 

FINAL ASSEMBLY OF 2019 

The final assembly in any given year is a big event and presents a nice way of celebrating the year and thanking everyone for helping to make Buninyong PS a special place.  This always includes a focus on our grade 6 students who are heading off to secondary school.  The grade 6s had a formal graduation earlier in the week, but assembly closes with the opportunity for everyone to thank them for their efforts, to say farewell and to give them a chance to say goodbye. 

Attached are some photos which give a sense of the occasion. 

CATHERINE KING COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD WINNER 2019

Catherine King came along to our final assembly of 2019 to announce the winner of her Community Service Award, which was awarded to Rachel Jew.  Rachel was a worthy winner and has made a strong contribution to our school over a number of years in a variety of ways.   

As a parent, Rachel has always been a terrific support for the teachers, playing a major role with fetes and concerts, taking a lot of pressure off the classroom teachers.   She has also supported teachers by attending excursions and camps over the years.

In the past Rachel has helped with covering books in the library and always helps out with the annual Pie Drive and Mother’s and Father’s Day stalls.  Rachel has been a big help with Grade 6 Graduation for the past few years, including years when she hasn’t had a child in grade 6.

Whenever we run a BBQ at the Buninyong Campus, Rachel is always there, helping to set up, cook and then pack up.

Perhaps her biggest contribution is in the canteen, where Rachel helps out on a regular basis.  She always responds to a mayday from Tracey, who says she could not have coped without this person as the volume of lunch orders has sky rocketed over the past 2 years.

Rachel has also been known to organise flowers for teachers in times of need. We are lucky to have Rachel as part of the school and appreciate that her involvement always comes with a smile.  She’s just good to have around…….congratulations and thankyou to Rachel.

GRADE 6 GRADUATION

On December 19 we had our Grade 6 Graduation evening.  Due to the size of the group, the event was held in the canteen at Fed Uni, and as always, the event was very successful and provided a nice opportunity to acknowledge the efforts & achievements of that group of students and to wish them well. 

A number of students were recipients of scholarships provided by the school, a range of community groups, businesses and individuals. 

The formalities were followed by the students having an opportunity to enjoy some snacks and dancing.  Well done to the grade 6 team and the band of energetic parents who organised and ran such a successful event.

SCHOOL CONCERT August 26-28

This year we have our concert to be held in August.  This is a big event for the school and is held at Founders Hall (also known as Caro Convention Centre) at Federation University.  The concert takes place over 3 day.  On Wednesday the 26th we hold a rehearsal, on Thursday the 27 we have a matinee performance and then back up with an evening performance.  On Friday the 28th we have a chill out day at school before completing a final performance that evening.

Through holding a concert, we’re aiming to:

  • Provide our students with a valuable experience in the performing arts.
  • Bring the members of our school community together to achieve something great, building a sense of connection and pride in our school.
  • Raise valuable funds for our school.  The 2018 concert raised $27,000 for the school.

The concert is organised by a team of parents and teachers who meet once in term 1 then regularly in the term leading up to the performance.  This team will be assembled in the coming fortnight.  If you are interested in being part of this team, please let me know.