Heights Happenings – 2026 – Term 3, Week 10

Friday 18th September 2026

At the end of every term I often wonder how quickly the weeks seem to have flown by. I recall thinking at the start of the year about how I was already planning for Prep transition in 2027, and now here we are at the end of term 3 and we’re weeks away from welcoming the kinder kids. I like to look back at this term’s calendar and reflect on all that has happened in the last ten weeks. Here’s a summary of the events and highlights of the term.

Twenty students in Years 5 and 6 headed off to Somers Camp in week 1 for a nine-day camp, and then the Year 5’s spent three packed days at Camp Adakate in Dean. Two camps in one term is a pretty good effort! Both camps offered unique learning experiences and challenges for the students, but ultimately it’s about learning how to collaborate with others, develop independence and establish stronger relationships with friends and teachers.

There has been plenty to celebrate on the school sport front. The AFL Girls team competed at the division level and did very well, our T-Ball team made it to the Division Final, and our Grade 2 students enjoyed their first inter-school sport experience at Mini Basketball Hooptime. The Grade 3 and 4 children recently competed in the Hooptime event, with one team earning a medal and another making it through to a final.

With the Year 5 students looking ahead to secondary school, they visited Bayswater Secondary College and Boronia K-12 College where they experienced what it would be like as a secondary school student for a day.

The Cyber Safety Project worked with students on topics including online behaviour, digital footprints and responsible technology use. These sessions supported the important conversations taking place both at school and at home about navigating online spaces safely.

Our Prep students celebrated 100 Days of School, marking an important milestone in their first year of primary school. It was a chance to acknowledge how much they have learned and how far they have come since the beginning of the year.

National Science Week brought a range of learning opportunities across the school. Students enjoyed a session with Thermo Fisher Scientific exploring DNA extraction from strawberries, while students participating in the Victorian High Abilities Program took part in the BioEyes program and investigated scientific concepts through practical, hands-on activities.

In Humanities, Year 5 students participated in the Immigration Journeys incursion and Year 4 students took part in a History incursion that supported their classroom learning. Our Year 6 students travelled into Melbourne for their City Art excursion and Year 2 students visited Scienceworks, with both experiences providing valuable connections between classroom learning and the wider world.

Book Week was another highlight of the term. Students enjoyed the dress-up day, browsing the Book Fair and participating in a performance from Perform Education. It was pleasing to see so many students engaged in reading and sharing books with one another.

The term also included several opportunities to strengthen our school community and reinforce the values that underpin it. Students participated in Bullying No Way Day and Wear It Purple Day, while the Father’s Day Stall gave students the opportunity to select gifts for important people in their lives.

Congratulations to our Grade 6 students who took part in the German Graduation celebration, recognising their years of learning in the program. We also had students involved in the State Schools Spectacular, representing the school as part of this annual performing arts event.

Of course, there was also the School Disco, which remains one of the most anticipated events on the school calendar and a chance for students to simply enjoy spending time together.

Thank you to our staff and parent volunteers for the planning and organisation required to provide these opportunities, and to our families for your ongoing support throughout the term.

I wish everyone a safe and relaxing break and look forward to seeing students return for Term 4.

Enjoy your holiday break,

Mat Anderton
Principal

Mud Kitchen Donations Needed!

Are you doing a Spring Clean-Out these holidays? Our much-loved mud kitchen is getting plenty of use and the children are having a fantastic time mixing, measuring and creating their muddy masterpieces. However, we’re running a little low on equipment, especially utensils.

We would be very grateful for any donations of mud-kitchen-friendly items, such as:

·      Pots and pans

·      Sieves and colanders

·      Spoons, ladles and whisks

·      Plastic or metal bowls

·      Old kitchen utensils suitable for outdoor play

If you have anything at home that’s no longer needed, we’d love to give it a new life in our mud kitchen.

For safety reasons, we are unable to accept glass items or anything with sharp edges.

Any donations can be handed in to your classroom teacher to pass on to me. 

Thank you so much for your continued support. The children truly benefit from these open-ended play experiences and really appreciate your generosity!

Have a great week!

Sarah Weichert

Smile Squad six-month fluoride varnish visit

The Each Smile Squad team are heading back to our school to complete six-monthly fluoride varnish applications for those students who have provided consent. Fluoride varnish applications help make sure students have the best chance of preventing tooth decay, so we’re excited Smile Squad are coming back.

Consent for this fluoride varnish application was provided when students’ initial consent forms were returned. However, if anyone has changed their mind and do not wish to receive a fluoride varnish application, they can contact Each directly to let them know. Please contact the Smile Squad team via:

(03) 9757 6209

Smile.Squad@each.com.au

Free Dress Day Friday 16th October

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.

SPORTS NEWS

Rowville District Summer Interschool Sports

Our Year 5 & 6 students completed the two-day Summer Interschool Sports competition which included the sports of Cricket, Handball, Softball, Tennis & Volleyball. We had some mixed results across the board, with our school finish 5^th out of the 8 schools when all sports results were combined. Our more successful teams included:

Girls’ Handball team – overall winners and undefeated across the two days.

Boys’ Cricket team – Runners-up in a close grand final.

Girl’s Softball team – Runners-up, losing the grand final by just one home run.

Boys’ Softball team – 3^rd place overall.

The following BHPS teams have been invited to compete at the Knox Division finals next Term (there’s no Division finals for Handball):

Girls Softball Division finals – Wednesday 21^st October

Boys Softball Division finals – Wednesday 21^st October

Boys Cricket Division finals – Thursday 15^th October

A big thank you as always to the parents who assisted with one of our teams over one or both of the days: Sasha Hendrickse (Softball), Nicole Bateman (Cricket), Jessie Petchell (Tennis), Vanessa Aston (Handball), Anne Oliver (Tennis), & Melanie Snibson (Tennis). And a big thank you to our teachers who assisted with the training sessions and match day organisation and umpiring – Mrs Wheeler, Mrs Elliot, Mr Noth, Mrs Mason, Ms McNamara, Ms O’Neill, Mr Daniels, Mr Blenner, Mrs Lucas, Mrs Weichert, & Ms Hunt.

On Tuesday we had 110 very excited Year 3 & 4 students attend their Hoop Time event at the State Basketball Centre. Our 11 teams did exceptionally well throughout the day, winning approximately 75% of their matches overall. They also displayed wonderful teamwork and sportsmanship which was more pleasing. We had four of our five Future Stars teams who were eligible, make it through to the finals. The Girls’ ‘Bulldogs’ and Boys’ ‘Boomers’ teams lost in the semi-finals. While the Girls’ Breakers team had a thrilling grand final comeback, before just losing in the last 30 seconds of the match. And … the Boys’ ‘Broncos’ team won the Future Stars Grand Final and will get to compete at a Regional final in Term 4.

I would like to extend my gratitude to the following parents who volunteered to coach/score for their child’s team on the day: Krystal Hammond, Lauren Porter, Kathryn Skidmore, Jessie Petchell, Nicole Smith, Candice Komodromos, Peter Groenewegen, Mitchell Outram, Bec Goudge, Sarah Way, Lyndal Jones, Brooke Rout, Nicola Johanson, Kevin Hoogkamer, Varin Khlaikaew, Amy Wyatt, Andrew Farrow, Yvette Willison, Tara Jude, & Leigh Condie. And also a big thank you to the staff who attended and helped: Ms Maxwell, Mrs D, Mrs Kett, Ms Ascenzo, Ms Levey, Ms Foster, & Ms V.

Our Hoop Time program continues to be extremely popular and I can’t wait to offer it again next year. This year, with the inclusion of Year 2 students, we have seen 263 of our students involved – up from 218 students in 2025, and 115 students in 2024.

On Wednesday, we had seven of our students compete at the Knox Division Athletics Championships. It’s a great achievement to have made it that far, so I congratulate the following students and their results at the event:

Kaidence (5B) – 100m (finished 3^rd out of 7) & Triple Jump (finished 2^nd out of 8)

Emily B (4A) – Shot Put (finished 6^th out of 10)

Ethan (6A) – Discus (finished 6^th out of 7)

Lucy P (6A) – Discus (finished 4^th out of 7)

Harper (6B) – Shot Put (finished 4^th out of 9)

Samara (6B) – Triple Jump (finished 8^th out of 11)

Hannah (6C) – High Jump (finished equal 4^th out of 7)

Dates to remember:

October 15^th Boys Cricket Division finals

October 21^st Boys & Girls Softball Division finals

November 4^th Boys Regional Netball

November 19^th 5B & 6B Surfing excursion

November 25^th 5C & 6A Surfing excursion

December 1^st 5A & 6C Surfing excursion

Shae Warren
Physical Education Teacher and Sport Co-ordinator

Mental Health Month

October is Mental Health Month –  a great opportunity to remind ourselves that looking after our mental health and wellbeing is just as important as looking after our physical health.

Throughout the month, I encourage our students, staff and families to focus on the small things we can do each day to support our wellbeing. This might be spending time outside, moving our bodies, connecting with someone we care about, getting enough sleep, practising gratitude or simply taking some time to slow down and recharge.

This Mental Health Calendar, with a focus on “Together We Thrive”, has a simple wellbeing idea for each day of the month. These activities are designed to be easy, achievable, and suitable for the whole family. You might like to stick the calendar on the fridge and see how many you can try together!

Remember, looking after our mental health doesn’t always require big changes – small actions, practised regularly, can make a big difference to how we feel.

Wishing everyone a happy and restful break. See you in Term 4!

Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader
Sarah Weichert

Sarah.weichert@education.vic.gov.au

Term 4 Principals Awards

Congratulations to the following students:

Attendance

Please remember if your child will be absent ALL day, you need to enter an absence note on COMPASS. The office will be following up all unexplained absences.

Compass will automatically generate an SMS at 10.00am if your child is not at school. Please note that if you are bringing your child in late, ignore this SMS as late arrivals get signed in on the COMPASS Kiosk at the office on your arrival.  However, if your child is going to be absent for a complete day, you must approve this absence with a ‘note’ on Compass. This will avoid you receiving additional correspondence from the office to follow up this unexplained absence.

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.

MARKET NIGHT & ART SHOW – Friday October 30th

Leah Hodgson
Boronia Heights Hubsters