Principal's Report
Dear Parents and Families,
Welcome back to our first newsletter of 2023. I do hope you all managed some quality ‘r and r’ over the break and that your child/ren has/have settled in well to their new classes. I will say from our point of view, overall, it has been a wonderfully settled and positive start to the new school year. Students seem happy and energised on the whole, and it has been wonderful to spend time with them in their classrooms and the yard. I’d like to extend a particular welcome to our 52 new Foundation/Prep students and their families as well as the new students and families who have moved into other year levels at BNPS – it is an honour to be providing you with your education.In the event that you need to communicate with the school regarding your child’s education or wellbeing, we encourage you to reach out to their classroom teacher as your first port of call. This can be easily done through the Seesaw app, or if just a quick check-in, before and after school. Please note that from 9AM, teachers are actively teaching their class and aren’t available for 1:1 catch-ups with parents. We highly value this partnership and relationship with our families.
COMPASS and SEESAW
I would like to take this opportunity to also highlight the importance of all parents/carers being connected to our two main communication platforms; COMPASS and SEESAW. Firstly, Compass is our main vehicle for whole school operations such as notifications, absences/attendance, student reports and bookings for parent-teacher-student interviews. Seesaw is the platform individual teachers use to communicate with the families of their specific classes. Information regarding the activation of both Compass and Seesaw has already been communicated home, and most of our families are connected. However, if you are still yet to get one or both platforms connected to the school, please communicate with the office (regarding Compass) or your child’s teachers (regarding Seesaw).
Term One Events and Pupil Free Days
Starting this week we have a number of events and curriculum days that I would like to highlight from our calendar:
- 6th March – BNPS Athletics Day
- 14th March – Pupil Free Day (staff professional learning)
- 15th March – 24th March: NAPLAN Testing for Year 3 and 5 students
- 22nd March – 9:30AM: Information Morning and Tour for Prospective 2024 Students & Families
Annual privacy reminder for our school community
Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy. Please take time to read our school’s collection notice, found on our website https://www.ballaratnthps.vic.edu.au/index.php/about-us/school-documents.For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents.
Until I see you in person,
David Garner,
Principal
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.” ~ Albert Einstein