Newsletter Term 1 Week 2 2023

"We acknowledge and respect the traditional custodians on whose land our school rests. Their footsteps and whispers blow in the wind, drift on the clouds, remain deep in the sandstone and float on the waterways of this place. Their memories and Dreaming stories will continue to connect us to the land and guide future generations of our school community. Country is alive if you take the time to look, listen and learn."

Principal's message

Excitement, smiles and laughter … lovely to see so many happy smiling faces today as students returned to school. We have had a very smooth start to the new school year. Thank you for preparing your children so well for the start of the year. Working together ensures we give every student an opportunity to have the best start possible.

Best Start 

Our kindergarten students have been completing their Best Start assessments this week. Their first full day of school will be Friday the 3rd of February. Our kindergarten students will be collected at 2.45pm until the 17th of February. Our playground is open from 8.30am and this is an important time for our kindergarten students to play and connect with each other before the school day commences.

Parent Information Evenings 

Our Parent Information Evenings will be in person this year. This is an opportunity to hear about the teaching and learning programs planned for the year, as well as an opportunity for you to ask questions. These sessions will be held in the school hall. 

Dates and times for these evenings are as follows.

Monday 13th February Stage One 5.00pm to 6.00pm
Monday 13th February Stage Two 6.00pm to 7.00pm
Wednesday 15th February Early Stage One 5.00pm to 6.00pm
Wednesday 15th February Stage Three 6.00pm -7.00pm

Communication

Teachers have created well balanced classes that provide opportunities for all our students. Transitions for identified students occurred at the end of 2022. Teachers will spend the next few weeks building relationships and connections with their students. Please give this time, if you need to meet with your child’s class teacher after this please call or email the office to organise an appointment. Parent Teacher Interviews are scheduled for the 4th and 5th of April.

We look forward to another fantastic year of learning with our amazing students.

Dates for the diary

Friday 3rd February - Kindergarten students first day of school
Wednesday 22nd February - School swimming Carnival
Friday 24th February - PSSA Round 1 commences
Saturday 4th March - P and C Parents Night out (details TBC)

New Staff

Welcome new students, teachers and administration team members. Welcome to new staff Ms Meghan Parsons and Ms Claudia Mete. Claudia has worked at our school as a casual teacher and an SLSO. We welcome her to our teaching staff for 2023. Meghan has returned from traveling and teaching overseas, we welcome her to Balgowlah North. They will both be teaching Year One.

We have a new face in our office team Beth Saunders who has worked in many corporate roles throughout her career. She will be working Monday and Wednesday. We also welcome Rachael Robinson as a Student Learning Support Officer (SLSO).

Left to right - Megan Parsons, Claudia Mete, Beth Saunders and Rachel Robinson.

kind regards

Brooke Keevers

Staff List

Administration

Schoolzine

The app can be downloaded by following the link below:

SZapp - School Communication App - Schoolzine

On the app you can:

• Read infromation and updates from our school
• Submit an absence form for your child
• Make payments
• See the school calendar
• Give consent for excursions and activities

School Bytes 

The app can be downloaded by following the link below:

Parent Portal: Provide consent and payment for an excursion – School Bytes

On the app you can:

• Make payments and pay fees
• Give consent for excursions and activities

Flexischools

The app can be downloaded by following the link below:

Flexischools: Australia’s #1 School Canteen Online Ordering App

On the app you can:

• Order recess and lunch for your children
• Book tickets for P and C fundraisers

Sport in 2023

We are looking forward to an exciting and fun-filled year of sport at BNPS in 2023. Sports and physical activity is a valued and accepted part of our school’s curriculum, contributing to the development of the whole child. It provides a vehicle for social, physical, and emotional learning.  The participation, enjoyment and skill development of our students is the corner-stone of the school sport/physical activity program.

Please ensure that your child is dressed appropriately for their sports lesson. For K-2, this means full sports uniform and appropriate shoes. In years 3-6, students are not required to wear their sports uniform for weekly sports lessons. Students must bring a change of shoes so they can participate fully in the lesson.

If your child has an injury and is not able to participate, please provide a note explaining what they are not able to do so that we can best accommodate their injury. Thank you.

School Swimming Carnival

The swimming carnival will be held on Wednesday 22 February at Manly Boy Charlton pool. Students in Years 3 to 6  will participate and students in Year 2 who are turning 8 in 2023 are invited to participate. Please ensure you complete the online permission and event entry form as soon as possible.

Friday Afternoon Sport – Term 1 Overview

 All students in years 3- 6 participate in Friday afternoon sport.  The options for Friday afternoon sport are:

PSSA teams/ Tennis / Futsal/ School Sport. These options are explained in more detail below:

PSSA 2023  (Primary School Sports Association)

PSSA is an inter school competition. All students from years 3-6 can try out for a PSSA team.  The summer season includes Term 1, and Term 4.  Trials for Summer PSSA sports begin this Friday 3 February (weather permitting). These trials will continue for 2 weeks with the first PSSA round being on Friday 24 February. If students are selected in a team they are expected to commit to the whole summer season including a training session each week.   Games are played on a Friday and students are transported to the relevant venue by bus. The cost of PSSA is $65.

The sports offered in the PSSA inter school competition this term are:

Summer sports: (Term 1, end of Term 3 and Term 4)

• Junior and Senior Cricket
• Girls Eagle Tag Junior and Senior
• Boys Eagle Tag - Junior and Senior        
•  Junior and Senior AFL –  mixed competition

 Age groups for competition:

• Junior division is for those students who turn 8, 9 or 10 years of age in the current calendar year.
• Senior division is for those students who turn 11 years and over in the current calendar year.

Tennis / Futsal

Tennis and Futsal will be offered each Term on Friday afternoons for those not participating in P.S.S.A. or school sport activities.  The cost per child is $10 per lesson, and the number of weeks varies each term.  This term, the cost would be $50 as tennis will run for 5 weeks. Students need to re- register for Tennis / Futsal each term when the permission note is sent.

The students will be walking from Balgowlah North Public School to the Wakehurst Tennis Centre.  Students must wear school sports uniform including a school hat.  There are no tennis racquets available at the courts so students must provide their own racquet and bring a water bottle. Digital permission notes for tennis / futsal will be sent via School Bytes. Notes and payment need to be completed and submitted ASAP as tennis / futsal operates on a first in, first served basis.

School Sport

The school engages external providers and specialists in various sports to provide lessons and games on a Friday.  In the past, school sports which have been offered include:  Bike riding, AFL, Hockey, Orienteering, Yoga, Martial Arts, Basketball. We try to vary the school sports each term so that students get to experience a range of different activities. The cost is $40.

Term 1 2023 school sport will be provided by Orienteering NSW and Ultimate Frisbee. The students participating in school sport will do both of these sports in term 1.

 Kerry Kelly

Sports Coordinator

P&C news

Welcome to the second hand uniform shop!! 

For those who are new to our school, BNPS has a second hand uniform shop available to all families. 100% of the money raised from sales goes directly back to the P&C and helps to provide resources for our children and the school. 

The shop is open weekly, on Wednesday’s, between 2.30pm – 3.15pm. 

We are located on the front verandah (Manning Street side). Just look for the clothing racks! Credit card facilities available. Cash also accepted. 

To make this whole process possible, we need your uniform donations. Please only donate items that carry the current logo and are in good condition (would you put it on your own child?). We would also appreciate items being washed before being donated and please only donate items that are the current BNPS school uniform. All uniform donations can be dropped to the office at anytime. 

Please keep an eye out on the ‘North Balgowlah Community Group’ and ‘BNPS uniform shop’ Facebook pages for reminders of when we are open. 

Thanks in advance for your support, 

Eve Harvey

Community News

School Sponsors