I hope you all enjoyed the Labour Day holiday with your families and had some valuable family time.  After this week, we have only 3 weeks before the end of Term 1, the weeks are flying past!  Please make sure you stay in contact and keep up with COMPASS posts and newsletters.

Year 2 Wildlife Incursion

The Year 2’s had a great time learning about our native wildlife with Andrew Wagner. These ranged from reptiles to marsupials.

NAPLAN

Congratulations to all of our Year 3 and 5 students who started NAPLAN this week.   All students were calm and well prepared for the upcoming 2 weeks of testing.  I am very proud of the way these students have conducted themselves and certainly completed the tests to the best of their ability.

Great Opportunity

For the last 4-weeks of term Kristy Foster will be Acting Principal at Sassafras Primary School. Kristy will be replacing the principal who is on leave. If you have any concerns or queries, please don’t hesitate to contact Leah Hodgson or myself.  As a community I know we wish Kristy a positive and wonderful experience.

Harvest to Table Program

Our wonderful Year 3 students have been working with their teachers and Kelly Woodman, our Harvest to Table Coordinator on developing their knowledge of planting, soil and nutrients and learning new skills in the kitchen. Students learn about their natural environment, the seasons, and how to care for gardens; they gain practical skills, including how to recycle, compost and preserve; and develop life skills, such as cooperating, sharing, critical thinking and leadership.

In Term 2 our talented Preps will begin their own kitchen garden program utilising the kitchen garden behind their building. This program enables us to promote environmental and sustainability learning and provides opportunities to grow and produce healthy food and connect students with healthy food and lifestyles. Kellie and the Prep staff will be seeking parental help with this program, so please if you can help don’t hesitat to contact your classroom teacher.

Easter Raffle

It’s time for our annual Easter Raffle.  We are asking for Easter donations, Easter eggs, chocolate, and anything else related to Easter.  Please leave your donations at the office or with your classroom teacher. Our wonderful Hub organises the raffle and will draw out our lucky winners at Happy Hour on the last day of Term One (Thursday 6^th April) starting at approximately 11.30am. For all of our new families we celebrate the end of term with a festive music concert held at the front of the school. All grades perform a song that they have been working on in music classes. Please bring your chairs along and join us on the front netball court.

We rely on your support with Easter egg donations to make this raffle a success and to kick off our fundraising for the year.  If everyone makes a small donation our prizes would indeed be amazing.  Thanking you in advance for your continued support. Raffle Tickets have been sent home. More tickets can be sent home if required. Thank you to those families that are able to sell many tickets at their workplaces or sporting events etc. we appreciate your efforts.

Curriculum Day

On Monday 24^th April we will be holding our 2^nd Curriculum Day.  This is a pupil free day; students are not required to attend school.  OshClub will be open, please contact them if you require their services for the day. The following day is the ANZAC day holiday. Enjoy your extended holiday!!

3 Way Conferences- Tuesday 4^th April- PUPIL FREE DAY

We will be holding 3 Way Conferences in the last week of term on Tuesday 4^th April from 12.00pm-7:30pm. These will be held virtually through WebEx and are a wonderful opportunity for you, your child and your child’s teacher to meet together to celebrate the successes and achievements and look forward to new goals and learning opportunities for Term 2.  Notification for parents to book into an interview time will be sent to parents in the coming week.

Specialist staff will also be available for 3 Way Conferences. If your child is in the Junior school (Prep – Year 2), you will be able to book a conference with our PE, Music and German teachers. For students in Years 3-6, the Art and STEAM teachers are available. In Term 3, the specialist interview availability will be reversed. This decision has been made so all families have the ability to check in with our wonderful specialist teachers regarding their child’s progress.

We look forward to everyone being able to access these interviews, meet your child’s teacher and have this opportunity to work together.  This is a Pupil Free Day designated by the Education Department.

Continuous Reporting

The next continuous reporting task for Prep, Grade 1, Grade 2 and Grade 6 will be available on Friday 24^th of March in Week 8. Due to NAPLAN and Camp the next continuous report for Grade 3, Grade 4 and Grade 5 will be available on Friday 31^st of March in Week 9.

Athletics Day – 5^th April

We are really looking forward to our Years 3-6 Athletics day held at the Burwood Athletics on Wednesday 5^th April. Thank you so much if you have volunteered your time to support and help out on the day.  This day is a highlight on our school calendar, and we welcome all families to come along and join us and watch, support their child and loudly encourage their efforts.  A huge thank you to Taylah Smith our wonderful Physical Education teacher who runs a very organise, fun and inclusive Athletics Day.

Pedestrian Crossings

Our wonderful lollipop ladies have informed me that many children from the older classes are not crossing at the crossing, bouncing balls whilst they cross the street and some general unsafe behaviour.  I will be speaking to all students at assembly next week, however if your child walks home by themselves it could be very timely to check in with them and make sure they are crossing safely and using the school crossings.

Child safety and wellbeing at Boronia Heights: information for families and the school community

The Victorian Government has announced new Child Safe Standards to further strengthen child safety across organisations, including schools. The new standards recognise the critical importance of families and the broader school community in maintaining and promoting child safety and wellbeing.

Boronia Heights has reviewed and updated our child safety policies and procedures to ensure they meet the requirements of the new standards. These are available to view.  Our policies are readily available and published on our website.

We are committed to continuous improvement in our approach to child safety and wellbeing and welcome feedback from families and members of our school community on ways we can further strengthen our child safety policies, procedures and practices.

If you have any suggestions, comments or questions in relation to our child safe policies and practices, please contact me via email or a phone call.

School Council 2023

Last month we sent out communication to families about nominating for School Council. I want to say a huge thank you to those people who put their names forward to be a part of our school council for 2023. Below is the Boronia Heights Primary School Council for 2023 and we thank these community members for giving up their time to support the functioning of our school.

Leanne Jennings
Principal

Year 4 Camp at Phillip Island

The Year 4’s had a great time on their first camp at Phillip Island. Enjoy some thoughtful words that Charlotte, Owen and Tyler wrote for our Year 3’s looking ahead.

Year 4 Team

Junior School Council

Year 5 Persuasive Writers

Our Year 5 students do a fantastic job writing persuasive pieces. Enjoy these works written by Hayley and Cale.

New Staff Profile

Name: Melanie Casey

Grade: Prep C

Previous School: This is my first school.

Birthday (NOT year!): 5th December

Family: I have my Dad, Step Mum and my partner Brendon

Pets: 2 Blue Heelers named Kelly and Hunter. I also have a spoodle (who is 15) named Hunny.

Hobbies: I enjoy going to the gym, long walks, to the beach and going camping.

AFL Footy team: St Kilda

Favourite Food: pasta

Favourite Book or Movie: Harry Potter (for both)

Favourite Colour: Purple

Name: James Deaan

Grade: 2D

Previous School: Glen Waverley Primary School

Birthday (NOT year!): 9th June

Family: Mother, Father and one brother

Pets: Dog, Pip the Boarder Collie

Hobbies: Sport, travel and photography

AFL Footy team: Melbourne Demons

Favourite Food: pasta

Favourite Book or Movie: Cars

Favourite Colour: blue

Year-6-Kindness 

Division Swimming

A huge congratulations to the five students who attended and swam in the Knox Division Swimming Championships on the 10^th of March. It was wonderful to hear how you all went. We are all very proud of your efforts and how well you represented BHPS!

Lani – 3^rd Backstroke, 4^th Backstroke

Sophie.D – 5^th Backstroke

Sophie. W – 4^th Breastroke

Emily, Olivia, Sophie.W, Sophie D – 6^th Relay Freestyle

Soccer Incursion

In Week 6, the Year 1 and 2 students began a Soccer Incursion with Football Australia which will continue until Week 9 in P.E lessons. They will be learning about Soccer; the skills of Soccer and the Women’s World Cup being held in Australia later on this year. BHPS might even get some ‘Matilda’ Soccer supporters by the end of it! In addition to this, we were lucky enough to get some new Soccer balls too which have some beautiful Indigenous art on them.

Cricket Australia Mascot Challenge

Earlier this term we applied to take part in the Mascot Challenge with Cricket Australia and were fortunate enough to be chosen to take part in the program. In Week 6, the Prep to Grade 3 students received a ball each which they have been using in class for 5-10 minutes a day to increase their fundamental motor skills. We have already seen some great progress with two weeks left of the program. Well done to all our students and the Prep to Grade 3 teachers getting involved and making the most of it!

Taylah Smith
Physical Education Teacher and Sport Co-ordinator

A warm welcome to 2023 from my desk. I do hope your child is settling well into school this Term and that they are connecting with their teacher, friends and learning. It has been a smooth start for most of our students, after what have been a few bumpy years.

Each school newsletter I will be sending through some links and information about activities that are being offered to parents, carers and their families that you may be interested to know about. Many of these activities provide opportunities for you to connect to local services and supports that can help you be the best family that you can be. We all know that it takes a village to raise a child, and some of us need this village more than others, especially if we do not have many family or other supports in place or if life throws us a curveball. I also will send through links to articles that I have come across that I think might be helpful with our parenting.

Have a great weekend and happy reading! ?

Sarah McIntosh
Student Welfare

Different Journeys provides support and connection to families who have a teenager or young person with Autism. Check out their website for upcoming events. They always have something on, not only for children, but also for their parents.

https://www.differentjourneysautism.com/

The direct link to their events is https://my.differentjourneysautism.com/events

Camp Kiah provides therapeutic camps and respites for children and young people who display behaviours of concern or emotional dysregulation. For more information, check out their website:

http://www.campkiah.com.au/

Siblings Australia https://siblingsaustralia.org.au/ offers support to the siblings of children and adults with a disability.

Satellite Foundation https://www.satellitefoundation.org.au/ offers opportunities for creativity and connection for mental health and wellbeing. They support children and young people as well as their families.

The Embrace Hub https://theembracehub.com/ is all about innovative, engaging body image resources to inform young people, parents, educators and sport coaches. This is part of the work that the 2023 Australian of the Year, Taryn Brumfitt. See the film and take the pledge!

ParentZone (Anglicare) provide support and information to families and their children. Take a look at their Term 1 newsletter for all the parenting events that they are holding, many of them online, along with those of other groups and agencies in the Eastern region of Melbourne. https://www.anglicarevic.org.au/about-us/newsletters/eastern-parentzone-term-1-2023

The Conversation publication recently put out a good article on what we can do when our child comes home saying that they’re not loving their teacher or their class.

https://theconversation.com/whether-its-a-new-teacher-or-class-heres-what-to-do-when-your-child-is-not-loving-it-199288

CARE Ticket Winners

Student of the Week

*Student consent to publish not received.

Table Tennis Tables

We have some table tennis tables available. Table only with no nets. They are heavy solid tables. Please email us at boronia.heights.ps@education.vic.gov.au if you would like to have one of these free tables. First in best dressed. Pick up only.

2023 Parent Payment & Excursion Levy

2023 Parent Payments are still being accepted either via Compass (under Course Confirmation/Payments) or at the office. Click here to view a digital copy.  Also many have still not paid the annual Excursion Levy. This can be paid on Compass (under events) or the office.

Do you have a Health Care Card?

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) helps eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities.

If you have a valid means-tested concession card, such as a Veterans Affairs Gold Card, Centrelink Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible. There is also a special consideration category for asylum seeker and refugee families.

Payment amounts this year are $125 for eligible primary school. Payments are made direct to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions and sporting activities for the benefit of your child.

You can download the form here.

Check with the school office if you are unsure, and please return completed forms to the school office as soon as possible.

Secondhand Uniform

We have tubs of secondhand school uniform available outside the Chaplain’s Office.

Name Your Belongings

We know you treasure your uniform and books. Please remember to label all uniform, books and belongings coming to school. Like most years, we have had an incredible amount of lost property through the year. The majority was unnamed, along with illegible tags. We would love lost items to boomerang back to your kids.

Have you heard??? ?

                  The Hubsters need YOU!!!

Who are the Hubsters? 

The Hubsters are the members of the BHPS Community Hub and we are the Fundraising and Events group for the school. We are Parents, Guardians and Staff who volunteer our time to organise the many events throughout the school year to help raise funds for equipment around the school.

We are currently raising money for NEW Playgrounds including the Year 5/6 and Year 3/4 areas. But we cannot do this without the support of the school community and that means YOU.

The events we organise need many volunteers and co-ordinators to ensure success.

Come join our meetings, meet new people and enjoy hot drinks, cake and nibbles – and find out how you can help Bring the Unity to our Community. 

Would you like more information on what the Hubsters do, or how you can help? Contact Leia Barrett via the BHPS Community Hub Facebook Page.

Happy Hour

Get your tickets in for the fabulous BHPS Easter Raffle 2023. Good luck!

We are still accepting donations for the raffle. Many thanks to those that have already contributed.

The Hubsters