Newsletter Term 1 Week 6 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

Challenge 

Our teaching staff work in strong collaborative teams where teacher inquiry is transformed into high impact classroom practice. At our P&C meeting last week we shared one of the professional learning processes that we currently use to build student reflection and understanding of their learning.

Our purpose is to maximise student learning growth, students who understand and use their own learning evidence to plan their learning goals.

As parents you may like to use the following prompts to support your children with understanding their learning goals.

This unpacks for students the learning intention and the success criteria.

Students understand that they can select from a range of strategies to move their learning forward.

Students seek and respond to feedback from others, including peers and teachers as they assess their own
performance.
Students know that making mistakes is expected in learning and indicates an opportunity for further learning. This assists them in understanding when they are ready to move on.
The essence of a lifelong learner is one who knows how to research, organize information and continue their own learning.

Our teachers work together using teaching sprints to identify if our students are able to use these skills in the classroom. Each term teachers work through an inquiry process together to identify next steps in teaching these skills.Data is collected at the beginning and end of each sprint to measure impact.

Connections

Building connections within, across and outside our school celebrates our successes and strengthens our teaching and leadership practice. The Beaches network has strong school networks that provide many opportunities for learning within and across each other's schools. Our Director of Educational Leadership Tanya Rose will be visiting our school today. 

On Thursday and Friday I will be attending a conference to continue to build my professional learning. With presentations from Dr Ali Walker, Professor John Fischetti and Dr Juliette Tobias - Webb.  Followed by a network conference in the High Potential and Gifted Education space.

Exciting times in Education!

Look forward to seeing you around the playground.

Brooke Keevers

Principal

Assistant Principals News

Home Reading Session

This week, we were excited to be able to share a presentation on the skills and strategies you can use at home when reading with your child. We discussed the building blocks of learning to read, the role of home readers and how to set up for success when reading with your child at home. 

Thank you to all of the parents and carers that joined us on Tuesday morning in the library. 

If you would like to have a read through the information that was presented, you can access the slideshow via this link. 

Our partnership with you at home, in supporting your child’s development in reading, is such an important one. Learning to read can be very tricky but it is such a rewarding journey that we as teachers are privileged to be part of.

 Thank you for all of the reading support that you provide from the homefront. 

Sascha Carroll and Jenni Reinhardt

Assistant Principals (Early State One and Stage One)

School News

School photos at BNPS

Brush up the black shoes and get your best smiles ready. School photos are on the horizon. Tuesday, 21st March, 2023. All students will have their individual and class photos on this day, as well as sibling photos.

To view prices and pay online, please go to www.theschoolphotographer.com.au and enter our school code, found on the flyer: X1291EL50B

Ethics Note

Our Primary Ethics team is seeking more volunteers to teach Primary Ethics. We particularly need volunteers for Kindergarten, year 1, year 4 and year 6 students.  

Ethics teachers receive full training by Primary Ethics, the not-for-profit organisation approved to design the curriculum and training for the ethics program. Training consists of a two day workshop and short online modules. Suitable volunteers have an interest in children’s education and the development of their critical thinking skills. You must be available to teach a 30 minute class on a Thursday afternoon each week. All lesson materials are provided.  

In ethics classes, we aim to give students an opportunity to discuss and think for themselves about ethical issues relevant to them. 

Students discuss topics such as:

- empathy;

- being an ethical consumer;

- how should we treat living things;

- how do we know when we have done something wrong?;

- intentions and knowledge - what might a whale know?; and

- understanding diversity.

If you are looking for an opportunity to make a valuable contribution to our school and be part of a great program, please visit www.primaryethics.com.au. You can also email our Primary Ethics Coordinator Susan Gray at bnpsethics@gmail.com for further information.

Naplan

Library News

The Premier’s Reading challenge is now open for 2023! This reading challenge is an excellent way to motivate a wide variety of reading and reading for pleasure, while being rewarded for the effort. The challenge for K-2 students is to read 30 books and for 3 - 6 students to read 20 books by the end of August. It is a simple process to register and record each book online. Students will be shown how to do this during their library lessons this week. If you would like to help them at home please visit the Premier’s Reading Challenge website and use the log on tab on the left hand side of the page to register. Students use their DET Username and password. Please contact me with any questions.

The Week Ahead

Dates for the diary 

Saturday 4 March                                        P & C Parents Night Out Seaforth Bowling Club
Tuesday 7 March                                         Halogen Youth Leaders Conference
Wednesday 8 March                                    Zone Swimming Carnival

Sports News

2023 BNPS Swimming Carnival

Our school swimming carnival was held last Wednesday 22nd February.  Despite very threatening weather the night before, the rain cleared up and the carnival went ahead successfully.  Thank you so much to all the parents who volunteered to timekeep - your assistance enabled the smooth running of the carnival and is much appreciated!  Special thanks also to Ruth Coates, our swimming official who volunteered her time and expertise. All competitors swam brilliantly and showed lots of house spirit throughout the day!  I’m sure there would have been a few tired bodies after all their efforts!  Congratulations To Noah S and Samuel K  who set new school records in the 200m Individual Medley Event.

Results

Zone Team

The Zone Carnival will take place at Warringah Aquatic Centre on Wednesday 8th March. 

  1st, 2nd and 3rd place getters in 50m freestyle events will represent us.

  1st and 2nd place getters in the breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly, 100m freestyle and 200 Individual medley will represent us. 

House Points Score:

CONGRATULATIONS Wallabies.  You are the champions for the 2023 Swimming Carnival!

Kerry Kelly, Deb Horsley, Steph Rooleht,

Swimming Carnival Coordinators

Summer PSSA results: Round: 1

Congratulations to Edward G’s who was the youngest member of the Manly Warringah team that came 2nd in the State Cup Touch Football competition in Dubbo on the weekend!

The BNPS senior AFL team in their new kit for 2023 – winners are grinners!! 

NSW Surf Lifesaving Championships 2023

Past BNPS student Sophie Walters (2015) with her 2^nd placed surf team U10 Freya V and Millie G.

Millie G-3rd in U10 surf swim

Class snapshot KC

Waste Free Wednesday Winners

Waste Free Wednesday Winners for Week 5 – Congratulations KM and 1C!!

Administration

We have had lots of calls regarding making payments over the last week. Please find below instructions on how to do this if you are unsure.

P & C News

Parents Night Out

Tickets close today 5pm, Wednesday 1st March! 

Please get your raffle tickets on Flexischools too. 

Dust off your leg warmers & get ready for an 80’s BNPS Parent’s Night Out 2023!

4th March 6pm
Seaforth Bowling Club
39 Kirkwood street, Seaforth 
Dress: a little or a lot 80’s

Tickets via Flexischools
Early bird $55 each, now till 22nd February 
Regular $65 each, 23rd February till 1st March 
Ticket sales close 1st March 5pm!

Raffle tickets $10 each 

A night of music, dancing, drinks & fun! Food will be served throughout the evening & drinks are all for sale at the bar!

Band News

Beginner Strings – Come and join us

Our Beginner String group started last week and we are keen to have more members.  If you are interested in your child learning an instrument, strings is a good start for them.

Please read about our program on https://bnpsband.wixsite.com/website.  You are more than welcome to come along to a rehearsal to meet the conductor and see how the group runs. Rehearsals are Thursday morning from 7.45am in the Library. 

Any questions – please contact bnpsband@hotmail.com

Community news

School Sponsors