Principal's Report 

Rotary Student Speech Competition

Ella G (6HC) was a finalist in the Rotary Student Speech Competition, for which she received a certificate and a $50 book voucher. Ella's speech was on 'The Challenges I Face Every Day' and although she felt it was easier to speak about something she knew so well, it was also difficult. Ella explained that her greatest challenge was her social anxiety and despite feeling nervous, she was able to overcome it using her deep breathing strategies. 

She thought that the many opportunities in public speaking that she has had throughout her primary years at Bimbadeen Heights, and especially her leadership speech and experience, gave her confidence to take it to the next level. 

Ella said that she felt proud of herself and we are certainly proud of her.

Planning for Next Year

We are in the final stages of planning our school structures and classes for next year. Teachers are working diligently to finalise our 2023 classes and prepare for our Whole School Transition Meet the Teacher and the Class session that will be held on Tuesday 13 December. 

During this session, students including all current and new students attending Bimbadeen Heights PS in 2023 will meet their teacher and spend some time with their new class for next year. On the same day, our Year 6 students moving onto government secondary schools will have their Year 7 Transition Orientation where they will spend the day preparing to begin their secondary schooling in 2023. Our teachers also complete comprehensive handovers from 2022 to 2023 teachers including student learning and wellbeing needs to ensure our students are supported in their transition to their new year levels and classes. 

To support our planning for next year, we need to have a clear idea of exactly who will be here. This is information is very important for us as we form classes so we can ensure that our classes are balanced in all aspects including friendships. One child moving away can leave another child without a friend in the new class. If you know that your child will be moving away next year, please send us an email to bimbadeen.heights.ps@education.vic.gov.au letting us know where your child will be attending school next year. 

End of Year BBQs – Years 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

This year, we are introducing an exciting new end of year activity for our students and families in Years 1-5. To provide the opportunity for our students, teachers, and families to come together to celebrate the end of the school year, we will be holding end of year, Year Level BBQs for students in Years 1 and 2, and in Years 3, 4 and 5. The BBQs will be held on the following dates and times:

• Years 1 and 2 – Tuesday 6th December from 3:45pm – 4:45pm
• Years 3, 4 and 5 – Thursday 8th December 3:45pm – 4:45pm

The BBQ will be located near the canteen, with a free sausage in bread for students and their families. Activities will be held on the basketball courts, with sporting equipment available for students and families to play with. Teachers will be present to connect with families and their students and celebrate the year. 

Year 6 students will celebrate the end of their primary schooling years with a Grade 6 Graduation ceremony on Friday 16 December, while our Foundation students have already enjoyed a Welcome to Bimbadeen BBQ, mothers’, fathers’, and special persons activities, along with our end of year concert. Our Foundation teachers are looking forward to our Welcome to Bimbadeen BBQ for our new 2023 Foundation families that will be held in coming weeks. 

We hope you all enjoy a wonderful weekend with your families and we look forward to another fantastic week of learning at Bimbadeen.

Class Parties

All year level class parties will be held on Friday 16 December. This is the same day as Year 6 Graduation. Teachers will send out information to families with specific information about their end of year celebration for each year level. 

Please keep an eye out on Sentral over the coming weeks. 

Last Day of the 2022 School Year

The final day of the school year for students and staff is Tuesday 20 December. Many families have indicated to classroom teachers and the office that their child’s final day will be Friday 16 December. If your child will not be attending school on Monday 19 December and/or Tuesday 20 December, please ensure you enter their absence into Sentral as soon as possible so we can finalise our student attendance records for the school year.

2022 Final Assembly and Early Finishing Time for Final Day

Our final assembly for the 2022 school year will be held on the final day of school on Tuesday 20th December. The assembly will be held in the Hall and will begin at 12:45pm and conclude by 1:30pm. All students will be in attendance at this year’s final assembly and parents and carers are also welcome to attend.

All students will be dismissed by their classroom teacher at the conclusion of assembly at 1:30pm. 

Parents and carers of Year 6 students are invited to meet their children on the running track at the conclusion of the assembly, and we ask that all parents and carers of students in Foundation – Year 5 students wait for their children near their classrooms where their teachers will dismiss them from.

TheirCare will be running an extended after school care program to begin at 1:30pm. Information about TheirCare’s program is available via our School Website.

2023 Start of Year Key Dates 

The 2023 school year will look a little different to previous years, with a change in our Foundation Literacy and Numeracy testing schedule from previous years. Key dates for the beginning of the 2023 school year are below (please add these dates to your diaries):

• Friday 27 January 2023 - Teachers and Education Support Staff begin/Office is open
• Monday 30 January 2023 - Students in Years 1-6 begin (Foundation students are not required at school and will instead attend an individual Literacy and Numeracy interview / assessment at a scheduled time between Monday 30 January and Thursday 2 February)
• Friday 3 February 2023 - Foundation students begin
• Wednesday 8 February 2023 – Foundation students’ final Literacy and Numeracy testing day (Foundation students not required at school on this day)
• Friday 24 February 2023 – Pupil Free Day for all students.

Pick-up and Drop-Off Reminders

We have received reports of cars driving quickly, and students walking through the staff car park during drop off and pick up times, including when parents and carers are dropping off and collecting their students from TheirCare. 

Cars moving through our staff carpark must not drive faster than walking pace. Students are not to walk through the staff carpark for any reason. 

All students must enter the school via the gates at the front or rear of the school. The exception is only our students who arrive with their parents and carers who need to use the disabled car parking spaces near the front of the car park. These students must enter the school through the front accessible gate, adjacent to the boom gate.

2023 Student Supplies

Online orders are now closed for 2023 Book Packs, that will be delivered for free to school and distributed on our Book Pack Day to be held on Monday 12 December. Parents and carers who are still to make payment for their children’s supplies can do online via our school supplier, Maxim Office Supplies, however these packs will be posted directly to families, not sent to the school, and will incur a postage fee. If you have any questions our 2023 Student Supplies, please speak to our Business Manager, Adele Gates, on 9726 9989.

Student Reports

Our staff have been busily compiling comprehensive reports that will be available through Sentral on Friday 9 December. These reports are a thorough representation of your child's growth over the last Semester. 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.

Year 5 Camp and School Camp Survey

Last week, I was very fortunate to attend camp with our Year 5 students and our incredible staff. The Year 5 camp is held in central Melbourne and is a wonderful adventure for our students as they near the end of their primary school years. Camps are the absolute highlight of the school year for so many Bimbadeen students and staff, and memories were formed at camp that will be looked back on for a lifetime.

I was so incredibly proud of the behaviour, teamwork, and bravery that our students demonstrated on camp. All students stepped out of their 'comfort zone' to make the most of this camp experience. For some, that meant visiting the bustling city environment for the first time, for others, it was just sleeping away from home or even just travelling by train.

Being on camp reminded me of the talent and dedication of our teachers. Their skill and kindness supported students to make the most of this opportunity and enabled students to make great social and emotional growth. Providing support, coaching, and encouragement for students to be resilient and use teamwork to support their peers is so important.

You may have seen some recent articles in the media about many schools opting out of implementing school camps in 2023. The new Victorian Government Schools Agreement has made school camps very difficult for schools to fund. Teachers and Education Support Staff are now paid Time in Lieu for the extra hours of work they do on camp (rightly so!), but schools are not receiving any additional funding for this.

Thank you to our parents and carers who completed our recent School Camping Program survey. This survey has informed our planning for 2023 and we are happy to report that Bimbadeen Heights PS will implement our camps (Year 3/4, Year 5, and Year 6) and will all be going ahead next year. We are finding a way to make this work (even though that is challenging) as we know that camps mean so much to our students. Providing opportunities for children to grow, be brave and develop their resilience is invaluable.

If you are interested in seeing what our parents had to say in our School Camping Program survey, please see a summary of key responses below:

Outcome: 70% of parents place a high or very high importance of school camps running.

Outcome: clear desire for camps to be offered every year.

Outcome: 2-night camps are preferred for Years 3 and 4, and longer camps are preferred for Years 5 and 6.

Outcome: Clear response that teacher time in lieu will be taken at the least disruptive time to student learning.

2023 Foundation Transition

We have completed three of the four transition sessions for our 2023 Foundation students, designed to support our incoming students to familiarise themselves with our school community and help them to prepare for a smooth transition into primary school.

We look forward to welcoming our new families to our community at a 2023 Foundation BBQ later in the term and implementing our Orientation session for our 2023 Founders in coming weeks.

Information about the program has been sent directly to families of enrolled children about the remaining sessions to be held on:

• Monday 5 December – 2023 Foundation Parent and Carer Information Night
• Tuesday 13 December – Foundation Orientation Session for students
• Tuesday 13 December – Welcome to Bimbadeen BBQ for 2023 Foundation Families.

We hope you all enjoy a wonderful weekend with your families, and we are looking forward to another fantastic week of learning at Bimbadeen.

Adele Gregson and Sabrina George