Principal's Report
The last newsletter for 2020.
2021 Staffing Structure
After thorough workforce planning, I am very pleased to announce our Leadership and Staffing Structure for 2021:
Leadership Structure
Principal: Adele Gregson
Assistant Principal: Sabrina George
Leading Teacher – Wellbeing: Catherine Buckland (Mon-Wed)
Learning Specialist – Literacy: Emily Russell (out of the classroom on Wed)
Learning Specialist – Mathematics: Bree King (out of the classroom on Tues)
Administration
Business Manager: Adele Gates
Accounts Payable: Shelley Canning
Administration: Emma Chandler
Classroom Teaching Structure
0BD Beth Dean (Team Leader)
0KW Kate Wood
0JD Jacqui Duncan
0LN Liz Nicholson
0TJ Tracey Johansen
1MG Marty Gill (Team Leader)
1AJ Ashleigh Janssen
1BK Bree King / Matt Laws (Tues)
1JG Joshua Gray
2SE Sharon Egan (Team Leader)
2BT Katie Borczuch (Thurs, Fri) and Kate Troschke (Mon, Tues, Wed)
2SB Stacy Brookes
34M Michaela Gray (Team Leader) (Mon, Tues, Wed) / Tania Maniscalchi (Thurs, Fri)
34B Rebecca Bartlett
34F Michelle Franks
34P Blair Price
34R Melinda Ruscitti
5GS Laura Simkin (Mon, Tues) / Virginia Gardner (Wed, Thurs, Fri) (Team Leader)
5ER Emily Russell / Matt Laws (Wed)
5PE Phoebe Ellul
6JG Jemima Gange (Team Leader)
6HC Hayley Cook
6NP Nathan Percy
Specialist Roles
Music: Lynne Burt (Team Leader)
Art: Natalie Lowe (Mon, Tues)
Annikka-Rose Smith (Wed, Thurs, Fri)
Chinese: Sarah Cherry (Mon, Tues, Wed AM)
Physical Education: Kate Schie
Tutor Learning Program: Annie Rountree
Intervention/Library: Karin Sansom (Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs)
Education Support Staff - Integration
Leslie Clarke
Jenna Fowler
Mandy Riley
Jo Palmer
Stacey Eley
Tracey Price-O’Reilly
Liz Downs
Welcome Back!
Next year we will be welcoming back two of our teachers who have been on leave. Mrs Sarah Cherry will be returning to her part-time Chinese teaching role, to continue implementing our wonderful LOTE program. Mrs Katie Borczuch will be returning to work with Mrs Kate Troschke as they share a Year 2 class. We are very pleased to be welcoming back both Mrs Cherry and Mrs Borczuch to the Bimbadeen community.
Welcome!
We are excited to be welcoming six new staff members in 2021. Ashleigh Janssen, Rebecca Bartlett, Phoebe Ellul, Nathan Percy, Joshua Gray and Marty Gill will be joining us in classroom teacher roles next year. Mr Gill has been teaching for 7 years, while Ashleigh, Rebecca, Phoebe, Josh and Nathan are newly qualified teachers who are excited to be beginning their career in education as members of the Bimbadeen team. 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. I am sure you will all extend a warm Bimbadeen welcome to our new staff members.
See You Soon
Mr Rosendale will be on leave for the first half of 2021 and will be enjoying some well-earned time with his family.
We hope you enjoy a wonderful break, Mr Rosendale, and we look forward to welcoming you back to the Bimbadeen community in the second half of the year.
Farewell
At the end of the year we will be saying farewell to Alannah Aiken, one of our classroom teachers who has been a part of the Bimbadeen family for the past 2 years. Miss Aiken has worked to support both our students and staff throughout her time at Bimbadeen, and we wish her well in her sea-change and her role at her new school. We will also bid farewell to Penny Long who has been an Education Support Staff member at Bimbadeen over the past two years. Penny has worked to support the learning of students both within and outside the classroom during her time in our community. We will also be saying goodbye to Jane Zheng who has worked tirelessly to implement our Chinese Specialist program throughout this year. Thank you for providing high-quality language program for our students this year. Thank you for your contributions to our community and we wish you all the best for the future, Alannah, Penny and Jane.
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 both your child and their teacher. We encourage you to read through your child’s report with them to reflect on their Semester of learning and set goals for the year ahead. It is a wonderful opportunity to explore and share in their learning journey.
Parent/Teacher Interviews
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 classroom teacher this year. 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.
2021 Student Supplies
Last week, our book bags for all students were delivered. The children of all families who have paid their parent payments for 2021 have been given their bag of stationery. Parents who are still to make or arrange payment for their children’s supplies can do so at the office until the end of next week. Supplies will be provided at the time of payment. If you have any questions about this please speak to Adele Gates, Business Manager, at the office.
Whole School Transition - Foundation to Year 6
Teachers have worked diligently to finalise our 2021 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 2021 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 slip to bring home to their parents explaining who their teacher will be, something they are looking forward to in 2021 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 2021.
Final Assembly
In line with current restrictions including density quotients, our final assembly for the 2021 school year will be attended by only students and staff. 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/carers wear a mask if they are unable to maintain physical distancing of 1.5m. All other students will return to their classrooms where they will be dismissed by their classroom teacher at 1:30pm. We ask that all parents/carers of Foundation – Year 5 students wait for their children at a pre-arranged location (preferably outside the school grounds).
Tutor Learning Initiative – Information from DET
The 2020 school year has been an extraordinary and challenging one for every school community. Many Victorian students spent much of Terms 2 and 3 this year learning remotely and Victorian schools and their communities have made an exceptional effort to provide continuity of teaching and learning to our students during this time.
During Term 4, schools across Victoria have been focused on supporting students’ mental health and wellbeing, in addition to assisting students to readjust to on-site learning. Teachers have also been focusing on assessing student learning, addressing individual learning gaps and identifying those students who need extra support for their learning, using classroom-based observation and assessments.
We know that the remote learning experience was different for every student. While some students thrived, some students may not have engaged as fully with remote learning. For most of our students, regular high-quality teaching in 2021 will be enough to help them progress to the expected level of learning. Some students will benefit from additional intensive learning support in 2021.
As you may be aware, in response to this, the Victorian Government is investing $250 million in the Tutor Learning Initiative to enable schools across Victoria to engage around 4,100 teachers as tutors in 2021 to support students who need extra assistance with their learning. Schools will determine how this initiative is best implemented for their students and will ensure that students will get this support in a way that minimises disruptions to other learning or school activities.
By engaging additional teachers to support children with intensive learning, classroom teachers will have greater capacity to ensure that all other students’ achievement, engagement and wellbeing needs are met, so that all students receive the support they need in 2021.
Further information about the Tutor Learning Initiative, and how it will be implemented for students who need individual learning support in our school, will be issued before students begin tutoring in 2021.
During Term 4, schools will be working with students to understand their experience of remote learning and their return to onsite schooling.
If you are concerned about your child’s engagement in their learning, while learning at home or following their return to school please contact your child’s teacher.
Year 6 Teaching Day
On Thursday 9th December, 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 Sophie, Callum and Jacob working with Mrs George and me as 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 Sophie, Callum and Jacob were asked to prepare an item for this newsletter’s Principal’s Report. I would like to handover the remainder of my Principal’s Report to them.
Sophie, Callum and Jacob’s Principal’s Report
Hi, our names are Sophie, Callum and Jacob, and on Wednesday 9th December it was Year 6 Teaching Day. On the day, we were members of the Principal team and one of the fun things that we got to do was write an article for the newsletter. We hope you enjoy our Principal’s Report!
Teddy Bear’s Picnic
On Friday 4th December, the Foundation students and their Year 6 buddies had their Teddy Bear’s Picnic. The picnic was held on the school netball court and we played fun games and ate our lunch together on picnic rugs. Students also brought along their favourite teddy bear to show their buddy. The picnic started at 12:10pm and ended at lunch time. We sang some songs including the Hokey Pokey, A Sailor Went to Sea, Sea, Sea, Mr Clickety Cane and If You’re Happy and You Know It. The Teddy Bear’s Picnic was a fun activity for both year levels who enjoyed it very much.
The end of our year
In closing, we hope you all enjoy a wonderful festive season and break over the holidays. It has been the most challenging of years in many ways and we are so very grateful for the support and care that the Bimbadeen community has shown each other throughout 2020. Over the break, we hope you have the opportunity to spend time with your friends and family and do the things you most enjoy. Please stay safe and we look forward to welcoming you all back for the first day of the 2022 School Year on Friday 29th January (students in Years 1-6) and on Monday 1st February (Founders students – please check your email inbox as we will be sending specific information to Foundation families about the first day of school).
Adele Gregson & Sabrina George