Heights Happenings – 2023 – Term 2, Week 2

Welcome back to school for Term 2! I hope everyone had a restful and happy school term break and, for those who celebrate, an enjoyable Easter.

I’d like to thank all staff, parents and students who have welcomed me so graciously into BHPS. Last Wednesday, I was able to visit all classrooms and see the fabulous work the kids are doing. I am so impressed with the artwork on display around the school – it’s clear that the students and staff take great pride in presenting the school in a positive way that emphasises the children’s work.

I’d like to make special mention of the efforts of our student leaders who all introduced themselves to me and talked about their role. It’s made the first couple of weeks overwhelmingly positive. I’m keen to continue the work happening here and lead the school as Principal for the remainder of term 2.

Whole school cross country

It was a beautiful morning on Friday for our whole school Cross Country. I loved seeing all the kids try so hard to compete and give their absolute best. One of the outstanding things I noticed was how some of the older children helped the younger ones by supporting them on track, whether that be leading the run or following behind so those students at the back of the field weren’t left behind. A special mention to Mrs Taylah Smith for organising the event, and to all our parent helpers for volunteering their time to supervise areas of the course.

3-6 Athletics Day

While I wasn’t here to attend the Year 3-6 Athletics Day, by all reports it was a fun-filled day of healthy competition. It was wonderful to be able to hold the event at the Bill Sewart Athletics Track, with a fabulous atmosphere with many parents and grandparents able to join in on the day. Events such as these take a lot of planning and preparation, and once again I’d like to send a big congratulations to Taylah Smith for her organisation on the day, as well as the teachers and parents who helped with marshalling and supervision. We had many students take home ribbons, with 67 students progressing to the Knox District Athletics Meet on Friday 12^th May.

Education Week

Education Week begins on May 15 and we’ve got a big week planned, with the theme this year being “Active Learners: Move, Make, Motivate”. The highlight of the week is our Open Morning and Night on Wednesday May 17th.  The school will be open from 9am until 10:10am for parents to visit their child’s classroom. A BYO morning tea will follow the classroom activities which will allow the children to share morning tea with their parents and/or special guests from 10:20-10:40am. We will conclude the day by hosting an ‘Open Night’ from 6pm to 6:50pm.  Buskers will be playing throughout the school from 6pm onwards. We will also be hosting a Showcase Concert from 7pm to 7:30pm. Leadership will also be available to talk to prospective parents about the school and programs. It would be wonderful to welcome a large crowd to this event so we can show the community what a great school we have.

Swimming Prep-Year 4

All students in Prep-Year 4 will be going swimming in Weeks 5 and 6 of Term 2. The location has moved this year to Knox Leisureworks given the pool in Kilsyth has closed. Swimming is an activity that I strongly encourage all children to learn. Whilst the school swimming program doesn’t provide everything a child needs to know to be a competent swimmer, it does give kids a chance to learn about water safety and developing confidence in the pool.  Later in the year, the Year 5 and 6 students will go to Smiths Beach for an open water education day where they will learn to surf, recognises dangers in the water and know how to be safe around open water.

Year 6 Camp

The Year 6 students and staff are off to Camp Campaspe in Kyneton on Monday and returning on Wednesday. I’m sure they will enjoy the camp immensely and I wish them all the best.

I remember fondly all the school camps I attended at primary school. By spending time away from home, you learn how to adapt to different environments, build resilience and become more self-reliant. I certainly created lasting memories with my classmates and formed stronger bonds with teachers. I’m sure our Year 6 students will feel the same.

This is a reminder to all parents of Year 6 students that Thursday and Friday following camp, the teachers and ES staff who attended camp will not be at work due to time-in-lieu arrangements. On these days, should you choose to send your child to school, they will be dispersed into the Year 4 and 5 classrooms.

Take care and enjoy the rest of your week.

Mat Anderton
Acting Principal

Do you know what your child is looking at and who they are engaging with online?

The internet is amazing and there is so much to love about it. I enjoy emailing friends and family around the word and connecting with them and their adventures through Facebook. In my freetime I watch Netflix and Disney + movies and documentaries. My husband looks at YouTube clips that provide him with ideas and inspiration for projects to do in his high school Design and Technology lessons. My youngest son enjoys gaming with his mates, in particular soccer games whilst my middle son managed through lockdown by purchasing a second hand PS4. My eldest does his university designs online and has classes with students who are living in Asia.

However, there are also things on the internet which are very concerning and indeed disturbing, or when online use takes over. Sadly, I hear about these things from parents and many students who come to speak with me. This past week alone, a student has shared about feeling like their body is not like the ones she sees of girls on the internet and that makes her feel sad and indeed less of a person. Students have shared of being in chat groups with other students in their year level where awful things are said either to them or about other students. Other students tell me they are tired because they were chatting online in the early hours of the morning, or were woken by their friends messaging them, or have been gaming all night.

It may seem all too hard for us as parents and carers to navigate the online world with our kids. And indeed sometimes it is! However, we must persist and persevere in ensuring our kids are engaging in a healthy way with all things online. As parents and carers it is our responsibility to care for them and support them as they grow up.

But how?

Talking with other parents and hearing what they are doing in this space can be helpful. We also at BHPS are members of an organization called The Cybersafety Project https://cybersafetyproject.com.au/ which gives parents access to lots of information and tips and online seminars regarding cybersafety. See the flyer below on upcoming and past webinars that are available to parents, especially the one that is coming up about social media. The E Safety Commissioner website has lots of answers to those tricky questions https://www.esafety.gov.au/ , as does the Kids Helpline https://kidshelpline.com.au/parents.

Reading up on these things is good, however we actually have to sit down with our kids and calmly have a conversation. Find out about their online interests. Maybe look at some of the articles above with your child and explore together with them what they say. Have a look at your child’s device and see what they are looking at or who they are talking to. Encourage them to get out of unhealthy online conversations and discourage internet use close to bedtime and overnight (by removing devices from bedrooms).

Maybe start the conversation today with your child around safe and healthy internet use.

Sarah McIntosh
Student Welfare

Year 5 are Tech Savy!

Our fabulous Year 5 students have continued to demonstrate their tech knowledge this term, using their iPad in both numeracy and literacy. We published our Tanka poems as part of our poetry unit and created a variety of graphs to represent data collected and collated by the students.

The Cyber Safety Project webinars

The Cyber Safety Project’s first live parent/guardian webinar, “Plan, Prevent, Protect” had a successful launch with parents and guardians across the nation joining in. The recording for this session is still available for you to log on and watch on-demand. All recordings of all sessions will be available until 31 December 2023. Follow this link to watch Webinar 1.

The live Term 2 webinar is on next week on Tuesday May 9th at 7:30pm. The focus of next webinar is “Safety on the Socials”. Topics covered in this webinar are:
– The big 5 social media platforms (TikTok, BeReal, Instagram, Snapchat, Discord)
– Public vs private profiles
– Online chat and messaging apps
– Managing unwanted contact
– Mis and disinformation
– Cyberbullying and Image Based Abuse
– Pornography
– Parental controls and settings

Click here to register your interest in attending.

These webinars are free for our school community to access due to our partnership with the Cyber Safety Project.

BHPS strongly encourages our families to engage with the webinars to upskill yourselves and support your children to safely navigate the online world. These webinars help to raise your awareness so you are informed on what apps/platforms your child may be using now and in the future.

3-6 Athletics Day

Week 10 of last Term, we had our Grade 3-6 Athletics Day at Bill Sewart Athletics Track. It was wonderful to see the students having a ball, supporting each other and representing their houses beautifully. A huge thank you to the 28 helpers who attended and helped to run the event. The day cannot run without the support of helpers so I appreciate you all and your support. Another thank you to all the Grade 3-6 teachers for their support on the day as well.

We have District Athletics coming up on the Friday 12/5 at Knox Athletics Track. I look forward to seeing the 67 students representing BHPS on the day.

Whole School Cross Country

A huge congratulations to all the students at BHPS who participated in the BHPS Cross Country last Friday. It was amazing day and we were very lucky with the sunshine. A big thank you to the 21 helpers who attended on the day and helped to run the event.

We have District Cross Country coming up on the Friday 19/5 at Jells Park. I look forward to seeing the 60 students representing BHPS on the day.

Active Club

Active Club started this week. It is held the first half of lunch, every Wednesday at the top oval. Thank you to Mr Dean for helping me this term. A huge well done to the 45 students who attended and ran for half of lunch this week. Very proud of you all! I look forward to seeing more and more students attend throughout the term.

AFL Play Program

BHPS have been very fortunate to receive two FREE weeks of AFL incursions from AFL Victoria. The entire school will be participating in AFL lessons for Week 2 and 3 in P.E lessons. A big thank you to the coaches this week Matt and Aiden for teaching our students handballing and kicking this week. They have absolutely loved it!

Inspire Workshop

The Grade 3-6 students during their 3/4 and 5/6 sport time this week participated in the ‘Inspire’ Workshop with Rugby Victoria. Students learnt about the importance of Gratitude, Support, Respect, Honesty, Teamwork, Resilience and Inclusion in sport and how to demonstrate these skills at school, in the yard and outside of school. A huge thank you to Lenny at Rugby Victoria for running these FREE programs for our students.

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

Taylah Smith
Physical Education Teacher and Sport Co-ordinator

Prep 2024 Enrolments

Boronia Heights Primary School is now accepting enrolments for students commencing school in 2024. Enrolment Forms are available at the office or on our website. To secure your child’s enrolment, please submit your application as soon as possible. Applications must be submitted by Friday 28th July. If you have friends and family who are wanting to enrolment their child for 2024 please let them know to get their enrolment in 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.

Student of the Week

*Student consent to publish not received.

Thanks

Many thanks to Melanie Snibson and all our wonderful volunteers on a great Mother’s Day Stall. Our children were able to purchase special gifts for all the amazing women in their lives.

Cookie Dough

Thank you so much for supporting our school, especially through fundraising. This term, we are running a Billy G’s Gourmet Cookie Dough fundraiser to raise money for playground upgrades for our 3/4s and 5/6s!

Billy G’s Gourmet Cookie Dough is an exciting fundraiser, made by an Australian, family owned and operated business. There are nine (9) dough-licious flavours to choose from, including the most popular Choc Chunk and Caramel White Choc.

You can also create your own cookie magic with the Golden Classic flavour – the base of the Billy G’s secret family recipe.  Add Hundreds & Thousands, macadamia and white chocolate pieces, anything you like: the sky is the limit on what you can create! There is even something for your special furry friends, with a cheese flavoured Doggie Dough!  Billy G’s Gourmet Cookie Dough is exclusive to fundraising – so stock up!

Get started! Cookie dough orders must be placed online using the online platform. Create your child’s profile by visiting australianfundraising.com.au, and follow the instructions in the order form. Orders are open until 25/5/23, so make sure you get rolling and create your online fundraising page today!

How do prizes work? Every student who sells a tub can receive an incentive prize for their efforts! But why not aim higher? The more tubs you sell the more prizes you will receive! There are 12 prizes up for grabs, so why not set your own fundraising goal and aim for them all? Prizes are automatically ordered at the end of our fundraiser based on the number of tubs you have sold.

Family and friends are your greatest supporters, so make sure you ask them for support. You will reach your fundraising goal in no time!

You can Win Big!  Our highest tub seller will go into a draw to win a $10,000 JB Hi-Fi Shopping Spree OR a Playstation 5 Gaming Bundle.  Plus, every student that achieves all online virtual badges will win a Billy G’s Cookie scented Plush Toy.

 Don’t forget to refer to your Order Form for all the information. Happy fundraising!

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