Principal’s Message – Newsletter 7 2026

Congratulations

I have some lovely news to share with the BHPS community. Our incredibly talented art teacher, Tara Henstock, has recently welcomed a beautiful baby girl, Eliza Sofie Vanstock. We’re so happy for Tara and Scott as they settle into life with their newest little addition. We wish them all the best as they enjoy this special time together.

In other exciting news, grade 5 teacher Shaun Daniels is preparing to head to Fiji for his upcoming wedding. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate such an important milestone than being by the beach in the warmth of tropical Fiji. I’m sure it will be a very special occasion with family and friends, and that Shaun and his wife have a fantastic start to married life.

Education Support Day

Today we celebrated Education Support Day, which is a great opportunity to recognise the people who hold so many parts of our school together. Our 21 extremely talented ES staff members work in the front office, first aid, supporting students and staff in classrooms, running intervention programs and looking after our buildings and grounds. They’re the engine room of our school, always staying calm when things get busy and somehow managing to keep everything on track.

What we appreciate most is how they go about it. Every member of our team shows a willingness to help out wherever and whenever it’s needed. Schools don’t run without people like this, and we’re very fortunate to have such a capable and committed ES team supporting our students.

Next time you get a chance to see someone in our ES team, please say “thank you” to acknowledge the work they do every day.

We have a published author

One of our students, Axel, has become a published author for the second time, a remarkable achievement considering he is in Grade 3! His latest book, The Laser Tag Game of Nightmares, is described by Axel as an “interactive novel where you make the decisions. But will you choose wisely? Will you turn invisible? Will you gain the keys to ‘Snacktopia’?

To see one of our BHPS students bring this level of imagination to writing is something we are incredibly proud of. Writing a book once is an accomplishment. Doing it again shows his storytelling gifts.

Well done Axel. I look forward to seeing what your next story will be.

School Tours for Prep 2027

I know it’s only May but planning and preparations are well underway to welcome a new group of Prep students and families in 2027. I have been busy conducting school tours twice per week for prospective parents, along with an Information Night and visits to kinders and child-care centres to promote our wonderful school. There is still some availability for school tours, so if you or somebody you know has a child starting school next year and they haven’t done a tour yet, please go to our website https://www.boroniahtsps.vic.edu.au/ and click the School Tours button to organise a visit.

Mat Anderton
Principal

Sports Dress Day & NSS – 27th May 2026

Gold Coin Donation

National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools and childcare centres. Boronia Heights Primary School will participate again this year in this great literary event.

To raise money for new Library shelves we are having a sports dress day with a gold coin donation on Wednesday 27^th of May. Gold coins will be collected by classroom teachers.

Students are welcome to come to school in their own sports team uniform or a team they support. A footy scarf, green and gold for our Aussie sports heroes or the colours of their favourite sporting team, however they choose to represent their sport. Closed toe shoes must be worn.

This year’s picture story book is Luna Roo the Kangaroo Baller.

Rookie captain Luna Roo leaves nothing on the pitch as she leads FC Outback in a thrilling face-off against Bush United. Faced with a spider goalkeeper, snakes in attack and bubbling nerves, Luna must trust her skills and her teammates to soar to victory.

This year’s book is written by football veterans Adam Jackson and Adrian Lloyd. Luna Roo captures all the intense excitement of a soccer game, with a heartwarming message that courage and determination are a winning combination.

We look forward to this wonderful annual event.

New Sports Polo

BREAKING NEWS! Our NEW SPORTS TOPS have arrived! You can now order them at our uniform supplier Spartan School World.

Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge

The Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge is now open and Boronia Heights Primary School is excited to be taking part!

The Challenge is open to all Victorian children from birth to Year 10 and aims to help young readers develop a lifelong love of reading.

To complete the challenge, children in grade 3 to 6 need to read 15 books, while Prep to grade 2 students, with their parents/carers, need to read 30 books. The challenge ends on 4^th of September 2026.

After each book your child reads at home or school, enter the book into the Premier’s Reading Challenge website –

https://vprc.eduweb.vic.gov.au/home

Sign in under school student – VPRC login – with the username and password provided by your classroom teacher.

Click on search books – search the full title/author – click on the title of the book read – click on add book – complete the review if you would like – click finished.

Go back to the Dashboard and click on finished for all books.

These books will then be verified at school.

Your child’s dashboard provides the number of books read and when the challenge is completed.

We encourage students to keep entering books into the website, even after completing the challenge! This year, 25 students who read the most books will win a pizza lunch prize! (not class as previous years)

All children who meet the Challenge will receive a certificate of achievement.

This year, the Challenge is celebrating its 20th anniversary with the theme ‘20 years of words and wonder’.

Since it began in 2005, more than 4.5 million young readers have taken part and together read more than 63 million books.

To read the Premier’s letter to parents, view the booklist and for more information about the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge, visit www.vic.gov.au/premiers-reading-challenge

If you have any questions please contact me @ leanne.bentley@education.vic.gov.au

Good luck to all our families and happy reading!

Leanne Bentley

Librarian

Cyber Safety

Cyber Safe Parents – Online Safety Webinars for Families

 We’re thrilled to announce our school has partnered with Cyber Safety Project to offer parents access to the Cyber Safe Parents 2026 Webinar Series. These practical, easy-to-understand sessions, available live or on-demand, will provide simple strategies to help families manage online safety, screen time, AI, and digital wellbeing. Pop these important dates into your calendars now:

2026 Topics & Dates:

1. Cyber Safety at Home (Family session) – 10 March
2. AI & Critical Thinking (Parent/Guardian session)  – 20 May
3. Balancing Life & Tech (Parent/Guardian session)   – 3 August
4. Cyberbullying & Resilience (Parent/Guardian session)  – 27 October

All sessions start at 7.30pm AEDT/AEST.

Can’t attend live? Register to receive the recording and resources to watch at a time that suits you.

 👉 Register here: https://cybersafetyproject.com/parents-2026 (do not share this link on social media)

Please click above to watch the first webinar from 10^th March. We will send out communication to you before the next webinar dates if you want to attend online at the same time, otherwise they will always be available to watch when it suits you.

Catching up from the events from the end of Term 1

The Whole School Cross Country House results were:

1^st: 9,309 points – Montana ♦

2^nd: 9,093 points – Lockwoods ♦

3^rd: 8,912 points – Phipps ♦

4^th: 8,500 points – Landscape ♦

Congratulations to everyone who participated! All students were handed a personalised certificate, please contact me if your kid’s has gone missing.

Thank you to the following parents who assisted on the day: Melanie Snibson, Ange Bakhtiari, Sophie McClean, Jeanine Edyvane, Ayako Takei, Nicole Bateman, Jenny Lawrence, Vivien Chen, Kerrie Bibby, Hayley Marotta, Nicola Johanson, & Yvette Willison!

We also had our Year 3-6 Athletics Day at Ringwood Athletics track, and the Prep-Year 2 mini-Athletics event at school.

Both days ran really well and again our students were amazing with their effort, sportsmanship, and participation. The combined House results were:

 1^st: 977 points – Lockwoods ♦

2^nd: 944 points – Landscape ♦

3^rd: 933 points – Phipps ♦

4^th: 870 points – Montana ♦

A big thank you goes to Boronia K-12 and their group of Year 10 students who assisted with Year 3-6 Athletics event.

Thank you also to the following parents for you help: Melanie Snibson, Ange Bakhtiari, Sophie McClean, Aiden Bibby, Hayley Marotta, Ayako Takei, Nicole Bateman, Alex Barnes, Brooke Rout, Rachel Baker, Lisa Johnston, & Suzy Simpson!

Active Club is now in hiatus until Term 4. Incredibly, we had nine students already reach the marathon milestone in Term 1. Well done to Oli H (5A), Forrest H (3A), Tate J (1C), Jason H (3A), Hunter B (5B), August H (1B), Kyrie J (3C), Hamish K (3B), & Bailey K (5A).

Term 2 events

We have already had free Rugby clinics and the beginning of the League Stars program after school on Tuesdays

Please note that the AFL Girls Division event for some of our Year 5 & 6 girls has now been moved to 21^st July in Term 3 due to ground unavailability.

Our Prep-Year 2 students have completed their swimming week at Knox Leisureworks. Thank you to the teachers for helping the kids get prepared for their lessons. Our Year 3 & 4 students will be having their swimming week next week.

WE HAVE NEW SCHOOL BASKETBALL UNIFORMS!

I’m very excited to have been able to update our school basketball uniforms that we use for Hoop Time and the District Basketball events. Our new uniforms are reversible to avoid any clashes when two of our teams play against each other. They also come with matching shorts. Our Year 5 & 6 Hoop Time students will get to put them to use later this term.

Payment to be included in the Year 5 & 6 Hoop Time program closes on the 29^th May.

Payment and inclusion for the Year 3 & 4 Hoop Time program as well as our first involvement in a Year 2 program is expected to be open on Compass before the end of Term 2.

Last Friday we had 60 students represent our school at the Rowville District Cross Country event at Gilbert Park. We are very proud of their effort and determination in quite average weather conditions.

A special congratulations goes to the following students who will be progressing through to the Knox Division Cross Country event on 27^th May: Lily E (5B) 9^th in the 11yo girls race, Nakshav K (4C) 9^th in the 11yo boys race, Stephanie G (4B) 10^th in the 9-10yo girls race, Jason H (3A) 3^rd in 9-10yo boys race, & Darcy J (4C) 8^th in 9-10yo boys race.

Lastly, we have our District Athletics team selected. This event won’t occur until the middle of Term 3. More details about the event and preparation training will be published on Compass later in the term. Congratulations to the following students:

2026 Sports events:

Term 2

May 18^th-22^nd: Yr 3-4 Swimming week, lessons @Knox Leisureworks.

May 22^nd: District Winter interschool sports – day 1 (all Yr 5-6 students). *parent volunteers requested.

May 29^th: District Winter interschool sports – day 2 (all Yr 5-6 students). *parent volunteers requested.

Jun 25^th: Yr 5-6 Hoop Time event at State Basketball Centre. *parent volunteers requested.

Term 3

Jul 17^th: District Basketball competition (selected Yr 5-6 students).

Jul 21^st: AFL Girls Division event (selected Yr 5-6 girls). *New date

Jul 31^st: Yr 2 Mini Hoops event at Nunawading Basketball Stadium. *parent volunteers requested.

Aug 14^th: District Athletics (selected Yr 3-6 students).

Aug 19^th: District Summer interschool sports – day 1 (all Yr 5-6 students). *parent volunteers requested.

Aug 27^th: District Summer interschool sports – day 1 (all Yr 5-6 students). *parent volunteers requested.

Sep 15^th: Yr 3-4 Hoop Time event at State Basketball Centre. *parent volunteers requested.

Term 4

Nov 19^th: Surfing excursion – group 1 (some Yr 5-6 students).

Nov 25^th: Surfing excursion – group 2 (some Yr 5-6 students).

Dec 1^st: Surfing excursion – group 3 (some Yr 5-6 students).

Shae Warren
Physical Education Teacher and Sport Co-ordinator

The Year 2 students have been learning about Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander cultures through stories, art, language, and discussions about family traditions, beliefs, and connectedness to Country. They have explored a range of Indigenous artists, learning how culture and experiences influence storytelling and artistic expression. Students have also reflected on the significance of Dreamtime stories and the meanings communicated through symbols, signs, and colours in Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander artworks.

Today we went on a walking excursion to Old Joes Creek to strengthen their connection with our local land and develop an understanding of the importance of caring for Country by leaving the environment better than we found it. During the visit, students observed the natural surroundings and gathered inspiration for their own artworks. The Year 2 artists will now create paintings using symbols they have designed to tell a story about what they saw, experienced, and felt at Old Joes Creek, combining different art mediums to express their ideas. I can’t wait to see what they create!

Kind Regards,

Prue Baum

Winter Wellness: Helping Our Students Thrive

As we move into the cooler months, we often see an increase in coughs, colds and other winter illnesses making their way through schools. This is a timely reminder of the important role that healthy habits play in keeping our students well, regulated and ready to learn.

Simple hygiene practices continue to make a big difference. Encouraging children to wash their hands regularly, cover coughs and sneezes, and stay home when unwell helps reduce the spread of germs throughout our classrooms and community. Research shows that regular handwashing can reduce respiratory illnesses such as colds by up to 20%.

Sleep is another essential factor in supporting children’s wellbeing and immunity. Primary school-aged children generally need between 9–12 hours of sleep each night. Adequate rest supports brain development, emotional regulation, concentration and memory — all of which are crucial for successful learning at school. When children are tired, it can be harder for them to manage emotions, stay focused and engage positively with others.

Hydration is equally important, even in cooler weather when children may not feel as thirsty. Water helps maintain energy levels, concentration and mood, while also supporting the immune system and overall body function. Research into children’s hydration and cognition has found that adequate water intake is linked to improved attention and cognitive performance during the school day. Encouraging children to bring a water bottle to school each day and drink regularly is a simple but powerful way to support their wellbeing.

When students are well-rested, hydrated and healthy, they are better able to regulate their emotions, cope with challenges, build positive relationships and fully participate in learning. By working together to reinforce these healthy habits at home and school, we can help create the best possible environment for our children to thrive throughout the winter season.

Thank you for your continued support in keeping our school community healthy and well.

Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader
Sarah Weichert

Sarah.weichert@education.vic.gov.au

CARE Awards

Specialist awards- Term 2 Week 2

Welcome back, everyone! We hope you had a wonderful school break and were able to relax and recharge.

At this stage, we do not have any major projects planned for this year, as 2026 will be a maintenance-focused year. However, if you have any ideas or suggestions for the school, please feel free to email me at leah.hodgson@education.vic.gov.au . The B & G Committee will be happy to review and assess the logistics of all proposals.

We’re looking forward to a positive and successful year ahead.

Leah Hodgson
Assistant Principal

Future events

DISCO FEVER – Friday July 31st

Leah Hodgson
Boronia Heights Hubsters