Heights Happenings – 2025 – Term 1, Week 8

I hope everyone has had a great week.

Celebrating Diversity

Australia has a proud history of welcoming and celebrating people from all walks of life. In modern times, it has been built on the hard work of generational and Indigenous Australians, migrants, refugees and visitors to our great country. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 30.7% of Australia’s population, which equates to 8.2 million people, were born overseas. In Victoria alone, our state is home to people who speak 290 languages and have 314 different ancestries.

At Boronia Heights Primary School, our community of 512 students and their families speak 14 different languages: English, Polish, Persian, Malayalam, Tamil, Bengali, Gujurati, Punjabi, Sinhalese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Chinese (NFD), Cantonese and Mandarin. Whilst the majority of our students were born in Australia, we also have students who were born in twelve different countries.

We all have a story to tell about our ancestry. My dad was born in England and my mum was born in Australia. I can trace the Anderton name back to the Lancashire area of England in the 16th century, but it may even go back to the 13th century. My dad was born in the same area where the family name was established, which means they didn’t move around much! That was until his family arrived on a boat in the 60s along with all the other “ten-pound Poms” wanting a better life in sunny Australia. My great, great, great grandfather on my mother’s side came to Australia from China in the 1870s. The Nomchong family settled in Braidwood, NSW, then later established market gardens in Goulburn. These people, to varying degrees, have made me who I am today, and I enjoy learning about their history and listening to their stories.

This week is recognised in Victoria as Cultural Diversity Week. It gives us a chance to learn about the unique and shared cultures that are part of our community of learners. We’re marking this week and coinciding it with Harmony Day on Friday 21^st March by asking the students to wear something orange, which is the recognised colour of support for inclusiveness, respect and belonging.

Cultural Diversity Week also coincides with several important cultural and religious observances, such as Ramadan – a sacred month of fasting, prayer, and reflection observed by Muslims worldwide – and Holi – a vibrant festival celebrated by the Hindu faith, marking the arrival of spring with colours, music, and joy.

We are very lucky to be part of such a multicultural, diverse community. It makes us a better place!

Smile Squad and visit by Minister for Health

The Smile Squad have been here for the last couple of weeks doing check-ups on the kids’ teeth. To help promote the work and service Smile Squad offers families, we had a visit from the Victorian Minister for Health, Mary-Anne Thomas, on Monday morning. It was a pleasure hosting Mary-Anne, Jackson Taylor MP, and visitors from Each and Dental Health Services Victoria to see first-hand what the service is all about. Our school captains, Samuel and Zoe proudly welcomed our special guests to the school and had some photos taken along with a small group of students. Special thanks go to Sarah Kiss, mum of Bailey and Olly, who gladly volunteered her time to come to the school for a publicity photo shoot and media comment. This was another great opportunity to showcase the amazing work we do every day.

Easter Raffle and Happy Hour Concert

On the last day of term, Friday 4^th April, we hold our annual Happy Hour Concert on the front netball court beginning at 11:30am. Each year level will perform a song, the Easter Raffle will be drawn, and we will present students with the Principal’s Award for Term 1. This is going to be a wonderful way to end the term and I look forward to seeing lots of BHPS families and friends. Don’t forget that the children are dismissed at school at 2.30pm

Have a great week.

Mat Anderton
Principal

New Staff Profile

Name: Ruihong Lu

Grade: Steam Teacher

Previous School: Boronia K-12 College

Birthday (NOT year!): 22 January

Family: I am part of a family with a mum, dad, two younger sisters and grandma

Pets: As a family, we have brother and sister cats called Mimi and Simba, and 6 hens. The only pet I own myself though is a Nepenthes pitcher plant

Hobbies: I love going to museums and art galleries. I love learning different languages and cultures, travelling, reading poetry, dancing, birding, playing all kinds of chess, making tea, hiking and being out in nature. I train in a Japanese martial art called Aikido at least twice a week. Music and dance also holds a special place in my heart – I was trained in Ballroom, Latin, Salsa, Argentine Tango, Swing, Ballet, Jazz, Hip hop & Urban as a university student!

AFL Footy team: I follow the Men & Women’s World Cup and the Olympics more. Open to learning more about the different teams though!

Favourite Food: Anything that isn’t too overtly salty, sweet, creamy, or spicy I will eat and love. I love my fruity mocktails, mango-avocado-salmon salad, onigiri, sushi, noodles, milk tea with either Scottish Breakfast, Singaporean Breakfast or Rooiboos Tea, and all things matcha, hojicha, genmaicha, red bean, pistachio, taro and black sesame. e

Favourite Book or Movie:

• Anne of Green Gables (1985) & Anne with an E
• Pride & Prejudice (1995)
• War and Peace (1966-1977)
• The Chronicles of Narnia
• The Life of Birds by David Attenborough
• The Rabbit-Proof Fence
• Sissi (1995)
• Little Women
• Mao’s Last Dancer
• The Story of Ming Lan
• Series: Cells at Work, SPY x FAMILY, Assassination Classroom, Avatar the Last Airbender,  Demon Slayer, One Piece, Naruto, Fairy Tail, Yuri on Ice, and almost anything from Studio Ghibli

Favourite Colour: Yellow

Name: Shae Robertson

Grade: Education Support in Prep A

Previous School: Timbarra P-9 College

Birthday (not year!): March 16

Family: I have a younger sister, Hannah, a mum and a dad

Pets: 2 dogs, Finley & Lexie, 2 cats, Lolly & Smokey and 2 guinea pigs, Athena and Astrid

Hobbies: Dancing and concerts

AFL Footy team: Essendon

Favourite Food: Fairy Bread or Butter Chicken

Favourite Book or Movie: The Hunger Games

Favourite Colour: Pink

Name: Emily Barr

Grade: Education Support in 1C

Previous School: Edinburgh College

Birthday (not year!): August 29

Pets: Cavoodle dog called Daisy

Hobbies: Netball and puzzles

AFL Footy team: Geelong

Favourite Food: Chocolate

Favourite Book or Movie: Cinderella

Favourite Colour: Aqua

Prep
Self-Portraits

For Harmony Day, the Prep artists read The Colours of Us and explored how to create self-portraits that celebrate their unique features and individuality.

Year 4
Rock Bottom Landscape

The Year 4 artists learned to blend colours using the colour wheel to create a vibrant sunset sky. They designed a prehistoric scene inspired by this year’s production, Rock Bottom. To complete their artworks, they used baking paper to transfer silhouettes and painted them black.

Year 3
Harvest to Table Aprons

As part of the Harvest to Table program, the Year 3 artists designed aprons featuring colourful fruit and vegetables. They explored composition and bold colour choices to create vibrant designs that celebrate fresh produce and healthy eating.

Whole School
Collaborative Front Wall Display
Whole School Collaborative Quilt

Inspired by the work of fabric designer and textile artist Libs Elliott, students explored the connection between technology, geometry and design. Libs creates quilts using a programming language called Processing, which generates random compositions from geometric and traditional quilt block shapes.

For this project, each student became the “computer program,” designing a unique square collage using geometric shapes and analogous colours. Their goal was to ensure that no two squares were the same, resulting in this vibrant, large-scale collaborative artwork that represents the creativity and individuality of our school community.

Tara Henstock
Visual Arts Co-ordinator

Sarah McIntosh
Student Welfare

Celebrating Harmony Week at BHPS

Harmony Week is a time to celebrate Australia’s rich cultural diversity and to promote inclusiveness, respect, and a sense of belonging for all. At BHPS, we acknowledge and appreciate the many backgrounds that make up our community, from the Traditional Custodians of the land to those who have come from all over the world.

This year, Harmony Week will take place in March, with the theme “Everyone Belongs.” Throughout the week, students will explore the values of diversity, inclusion, and respect through engaging activities such as storytelling, literacy tasks, class discussions, and opportunities to share their cultural backgrounds and special celebrations. As a symbol of unity, the colour orange is worn during Harmony Week, and we encourage all students and families to wear something orange on Friday, 21st March to show their support.

This is a great opportunity to start conversations with your child about inclusivity and what it means in our daily lives. You might ask: What is diversity? In what ways are people different from one another? What common values bring us together?

Let’s make this a week of learning, sharing, and celebrating the wonderful multicultural society we are part of. Together, we can spread kindness and embrace what makes each of us unique!

Sarah Weichert

sarah.weichert@education.vic.gov.au

CARE Ticket Winners

Care Award Winners – Term 1 – Community

Specialist Award Winners

Term 1 Week 6

Prep Playground Update

Our Prep Playground is on track!

Leah Hodgson

Assistant Principal

URGENT – Please complete…

We are still yet to receive the Media Release and Consent Forms for many many students.  If you are unsure if you have completed these two documents, check your email inbox. When you complete the Google Form it automatically sends you a completed copy of your responses.

Please check your NewsFeed on Compass for links.

School Saving Bonus

Thank you to everyone who has informed us how they would like to allocate their School Saving Bonus. For those who have not used any of their School Saving Bonus, please feel free to contact us at the office on 9729-2614.

2025 CSEF

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 $154 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.

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.

Easter Raffle

Thank you to those people who have kindly donated to our raffle.  We are still chasing more donations to make our fabulous basket prizes. Raffle tickets are available from the office if you would like more.

Mother’s Day Stall in Term 2

Leah Hodgson