Nothing pleases me more than to see students engaged, happy, motivated and interested in whatever they do.  Last week I was watching our Year 5/6 students playing volleyball and netball during their sport time.  Laughter, encouragement, barracking from the sides and teamwork were very evident.  Thank you to our staff for giving our students this wonderful opportunity of being our able to learn the ropes of how to play team games and providing this safe space for them to develop their skills.

As already conveyed to the community, I will be taking leave in Term 2.  Congratulations to Mathew Anderton who will be Acting Principal during this time. You will have received a notification through COMPASS from our SEIL Justin Butler on Thursday.  I wished Mat a very warm welcome to Boronia Heights and I know, as a community that you will welcome him as well.  Mat has conveyed to me that it is a great privilege to be Acting Principal and he looks forward to getting to know all about the school. Mat and I will being meeting next week for a comprehensive handover ready for Term 2.

Next week is extremely busy, with our pupil free day on Tuesday for 3-way conferences, on Wednesday 3-6 Athletics day, (please join us to support and encourage your child), and on Thursday we have our wonderful ‘Happy Hour’ where we can join together as a community to celebrate the term. I look forward to having our community together. Our students love to perform on our outside stage, and having an audience always supports and encourages their performance.

NAPLAN

Our Year 3 and 5 students have completed their NAPLAN assessments last week. I have been proud of the positive ‘can do’ attitude our students have displayed during these tests. Well done to everyone for supporting their child through this period of testing.

3 Way Conferences

Thank you to all those families that have made an appointment time to have an interview with their child’s classroom teacher/specialist/tutor. These interviews are important for you to have an understanding of your child’s progress and hear the goals and future learning planned. They also allow students to reflect on the term, on their attitude, work ethic and focus capabilities. These interviews give you the opportunity to understand the success and achievements that your child has made and future goals and areas to work on, and how you can help, support and guide your child’s learning at home.

2023 School Council Members

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 and staff for giving up their time to support the functioning of our school:

Our office holders are:

School Council President: Sharon Walker

Treasurer: James Burrows

Executive Officer: Leanne Jennings

School Councillors: Jessica Petchell, Rachel Hussar, Sarah Kiss, Alex Barnes, Jake Barnes, Kerrie Bibby, Stephen Geddes, Serge Tolmachev

DET representatives: Leah Hodgson, Kristy Foster, Lisa Baker, Saascha Cargill

I look forward to working with our school councillors this year to continue the great work that happens in our school.

Athletic Sports Day

We are looking forward to a great day next Wednesday at our 3-6 Athletics day. It is a fun and competitive day where many personal bests will be achieved and where students do their best in all events, practising and further developing their skills. A huge thank you to Ms Taylah Smith whose organisation, planning and passion for the day is always evident. These special days take a village to run an event like this properly and with so many parents there to support our students, it will be a tremendous day.  Thank you to our amazing staff whose energy makes the day one to enjoy. A big thank you to Tanya Wick from our office the who will be the first aider on the day.

Canteen News

A huge thank you to Cathy and Andrea for everything they do for our kids in the canteen every week.  Monday April 3^rd is the last day for canteen this term.

Junior School Council Fundraising

Last Thursday and this Thursday our fabulous Junior School Council Representatives held a fundraiser and organised for our students to have the opportunity to purchase “spiders”, the students certainly enjoyed our lemonade and ice cream spiders. Thank you to our Junior School Reps for supporting this fundraiser whilst providing a yummy treat for our students. A huge thankyou to Vicki Cook and Ellie Stait for supporting our kids and making the fundraiser such a success.

The HUBSTERS Easter Raffles

I would like to thank the parents involved in the Hub for organising the Easter Raffle.  We have had donated a wonderful selection of stunning Easter goodies. The prizes are amazing and were generously donated by our community. Our winners will be thrilled to pick up their Easter goodies at the end of ‘Happy Hour’. The generosity of this community never ceases to amaze me.

As we come towards the end of the Term 1, I wish to thank all staff and the community for your ongoing passion, focus and energy in ensuring the wellbeing of our children is your front and centre in all that we do.  This term has been busy with staff planning, engaging, positive and differentiated lessons to meet the needs of our students.  With our staff having had planning days over the last two weeks we have planned many opportunities to challenge and inspire our students whilst inviting our students to have a voice in the many varied aspects of their learning.

I wish all our community a very Happy Easter and a restful and enjoyable holiday. If you are travelling, take care on the roads. I wish each and every one of you a well-earned break, the opportunity to recover and re connect with family and friends.

We look forward to the students returning on Wednesday the 27^{th of} April. Monday is a Curriculum Day, and Tuesday is Anzac Day …see you all on Wednesday the 27^{th of} April.

Take care and have a great holiday.

Leanne Jennings
Principal

Preps are Bucket Fillers

In Prep we have been learning about kindness and what it means to be kind. We have talked about Kind Words for Happy Hearts, the importance of sharing like the Rainbow Fish as well as introducing the ‘Bucket Filling Concept’. We discussed how everyone carries around an invisible bucket of feelings. ‘Bucket Fillers’ are people who do or say kind things to others which not only fills the other person’s bucket, but also their own. We agreed that we will not be ‘Bucket Dippers’, who pour out happiness from others buckets by saying or doing unkind things. We said that we will always strive to be ‘Bucket Fillers’ by looking out for and encouraging one another. The Preps were asked to think of a situation where they have been a bucket filler and draw a picture to match. Some examples of responses included:

I am a Bucket Filler when… 

“I cheer people on even if they are not coming first.” – Will  

“I help my friend Jason when he is hurt.” -Forrest  

“I ask people who are sad if they want to play with me.” -Lizzie 

 “I play nicely with my friends.” –  Richie

This, along with the Kind Words for Happy Hearts and Rainbow Fish sharing activities have been displayed in the Prep classrooms to reflect on throughout the year.

Soccer Incursion

The Grade 1 and 3 students completed their Soccer Incursion with Football Australia this week. They had a wonderful time learning the skills of Soccer, such as: dribbling, shooting and playing a game. A big thank you to Football Australia for taking our students through some great lessons.

Cricket Australia Mascot Challenge

The Prep-3 students completed the Mascot Challenge with Cricket Australia this week. They loved sharing their brain breaks the past week with their green mascot challenge balls. I have heard some wonderful feedback from teachers and the improvement they have seen in the children in such 4 weeks. Well done to all the Prep-3 students and teachers for getting involved.

BHPS Pennants

A big shout out to Peter Baker our maintenance man for putting up all the pennants BHPS has ever won in the Gymnasium. They look amazing and show just how amazing we are as a school at Sport! We can’t wait for you to come and see them at the next face to face Assembly.

Wonder Recycling Program

Just a reminder that BHPS is taking part in the Wonder Recycling Rewards campaign this year!
Help us collect EMPTY bread bags so we can earn points to redeem on new RHS sports equipment (they don’t need to be bread bags from the Wonder brand). All you need to do is keep your empty bread bags and send them to school with your kids! Collection point is at the front office. Let’s get collecting!

Collections close 7th July

Athletics Training

Well done to all the students who attended Athletics Training on the 22/3 at lunch time. It was great to see so many students attending and working hard on their skills for Athletics Day. Thank you very much to my House Captains for helping me run the sessions.

Taylah Smith
Physical Education Teacher and Sport Co-ordinator

CARE Ticket Winners

Student of the Week

*Student consent to publish not received.

Lost Property

Our Lost Property cupboard has been overflowing. Please come and check it before the Wednesday after which items will be donated to charity.

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.

Visiting Deparment School Nurse

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.

Election BBQ

This Saturday 1st April is Election Day in Aston. Please come and buy a sausage and a drink at our BBQ and support the school.

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.

Lollipop’s Playland and Café- Croydon

Book a party with Lollipop’s any time up until June 30 2023 to receive a FREE wedges platter! Mention ‘Boronia Heights Platter’ to claim your deal. View all of our party packages here: https://croydonvic.lollipopsplayland.com.au/party-package/

Not valid with any other party deal. Book before June 30^th for any time in the next 12 months.

The Hubsters