Principal's Report 

Welcome Back

Welcome back to Term 2. We hope our Bimbadeen families enjoyed a lovely break over the school holidays. We have an exciting term ahead with lots of excursions, our Open Night, and our School Wide Positive Support Gold Award celebration, along with many other exciting activities. 

ANZAC Service

Our annual ANZAC service was held on the first day of term, Monday 24 April, and was once again a highlight of the school year. The weather was kind to us, and our outdoor ceremony went ahead with parents and carers in attendance. 

We had several special guests attend the ceremony including Mr Stretch Jarvis- Chairman of the Kindred Organisation at ANZAC House (grandfather of Murphy), Mr Michael Lanigan - member of Montmorency RSL (grandfather of Matthew, Erin & Michael), Mr Bill Dunkley - Trumpet player with the Croydon City Band, Mooroolbark College Principal, Ann Stratford, and Mooroolbark College Captains, Ciara Delaney, and Carla Hunaidi (both former Bimbadeen students). Ms Bridget Vallence MP - Member for Evelyn, was unable to attend, and sent a wreath to be laid at our memorial. 

We were incredibly proud of the respect and honour that our students demonstrated during the service. The service included readings and stories from our school captains and house captains. The special ANZAC song, written by our own music teacher Mrs Lynne Burt, is also a highlight as the choir and percussion group lead the school in singing the words of the catchy chorus; 

“We remember, we remember,

A legend not of victory but courage under fire.

We remember, we remember,

Gallipoli on ANZAC Day.”

Our ANZAC service is always a proud moment for our school as the respect shown by all the children is amazing as they listen attentively and stand completely quietly for the minutes silence. Thank you to all who came along and helped to make it a special event and to the children who brought along family medals or other mementos to honour the ANZACs.

Thank you to our students and community members who, once again, supported the Lilydale RSL ANZAC Appeal through the purchase of commemorative merchandise.

ANZAC Dawn Service

On ANZAC Day, three members of our student leadership team, joined Mrs Gregson, to represent the Bimbadeen community at the Lilydale Dawn Service held at the Lilydale Cenotaph. Mr Bill Dobson, President, Lilydale RSL, invited Lily, Matthew, and Elise to read the poem, In Flanders Fields, and lay a wreath at the cenotaph as part of the service.

Open Night

We warmly invite our Bimbadeen families and prospective families along to the school for Open Night on Wednesday 24th May to join us in celebrating physical activity, hands on learning and student voice in education. 

Classrooms will be open from 5:15pm to 6:30pm, with a fun family activity trail in our classrooms and specialist areas across the school, as well as our Annual Art Show. Please see the Open Night flyer in this newsletter and the advertisement board at the front of the school for further information. 

We would love to see all Bimbadeen families attend our Open Night. We hope to see you there!

Remaining Pupil Free Days for 2023

School Council has previously approved a Pupil Free Day for 2023. These dates have been communicated with families through a Sentral post, and in the Back to School Kit, our newsletter and Sentral Calendar this year. 

The remaining pupil free dates for this year are as follows:

Term 2 - Tuesday 30 May 2023 – Common Teacher Professional Practice Day (no students at school)

Term 3 - Monday 24 July 2023 – Berry Street Education Model Professional Learning / AIP Priorities

Term 4 - Monday 13 November 2023 – Report Writing / Assessment Day.

TheirCare will be operating a whole day program for our families that require care. Please contact TheirCare directly to book your child into their service.

2023 Attitude to School Survey

Over the next few weeks students in Years 4, 5 and 6 will participate in the 2023 Attitude to School Survey. As in previous years children will complete the 20-minute survey online during school hours using a purpose built secure online survey tool. The confidentiality of your child’s responses is protected at all times. 

It is important to note that we are not in any way ‘testing’ the children. We value student voice as a means to improving student engagement, wellbeing and quality instruction and are conducting the survey to find out what your child thinks of our school. 

The Attitudes to School Survey is an annual student survey offered by the Department of Education and Training to assist schools in gaining an understanding of students' perceptions and experience of school. We will use the survey results to plan programs and activities to improve your child's schooling experience.

The survey results will be reported back to the school at the end of term 2. All survey data that is made available in reports are for groups of students only so that no individual student can be identified.

A letter with further information about the 2023 Attitude to School Survey has been sent home with students in Years 4, 5 and 6.

ChatGPT

You may be aware of, or indeed be using, new Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies that have become publicly available. One of these technologies, ChatGPT, has received a lot of media coverage this year.

At the beginning of Term 1, 2023, the Department of Education restricted access to ChatGPT in Victorian government schools. This was because the terms of service restricted access to those aged 18 years or over.

Those terms have now been changed to permit access for those aged 13 years and over. As a result, the interim restriction on ChatGPT has been lifted. Secondary school aged students who are at least 13 years old can now access ChatGPT. However, ChatGPT cannot be used with primary school- aged students.

Bimbadeen Heights PS has also determined that at this stage we will not be using any other generative AI tools that collect personal information as part of our teaching and learning programs with students .

Please remind your child that they should not enter any personal information such as name, age, or address into generative AI platforms they might be using at home as this can be a risk to their privacy. This is because content typed into some generative AI tools may be used and reused by the platform and its users.

One area of concern with generative AI tools relates to student assessment. We are aware of these concerns and will use existing assessment policies and processes to understand what students know about the topics being taught and ensure that assessments are completed without undue assistance.

If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, please get in touch.

2024 Foundation Enrolments

Enrolments are open for Foundation in 2024. 

We encourage prospective parents to complete an online tour via the school website where you can learn about our wonderful school and meet our staff and students. Prospective families can also attend an           in-person tour where we can show you our wonderful school and answer any questions you might have or discuss your child’s individual needs. 

Parents/carers of 2024 Foundation students are encouraged to submit their enrolment form as soon as possible but no later than the state-wide Foundation enrolment due date of Friday 28 July 2023. 

We will be notifying parents/carers of their child’s Foundation placement at Bimbadeen Heights PS by Friday 11 August 2023.

Completed enrolment forms can be returned to the school:

• directly, by dropping enrolment forms and additional documentation into the school office
• via post to Bimbadeen Heights Primary School, 118 Hayrick Lane, Mooroolbark 3138
• via email to bimbadeen.heights.ps@education.vic.gov.au (please scan and send all sides of the enrolment form, including any additional documentation such as court orders and visa documents).

We hope you enjoy a fantastic weekend.

Adele Gregson and Sabrina George