Newsletter Term 2 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

Reconciliation Week 2023 

Be A Voice For Generations
This week is National Reconciliation Week. Every year at this time is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. 

At its heart, reconciliation is about strengthening relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous people, for the benefit of all Australians. This year the theme is Be a Voice for Generations, which encourages all Australians to speak up for reconciliation in our everyday lives. This week in our classrooms, students will have the opportunity to discuss together how they can do this as well as learning about our Indigenous heritage. 

We began our week with a whole school flag raising ceremony to acknowledge reconciliation week and represent our commitment as a school to reconciliation.

Zone Cross Country

Last Thursday, our zone cross country runners competed in the zone championships against 11 other schools from the Manly zone.  It was a glorious day of running with a huge effort put in by all the students.  Many thanks to the parents who were able to come and support the students and a big thanks for transporting them to and from the carnival in the absence of bus availability. Thank you to Susie Stock and Kerry Kelly for organising the day for the students.
Overall Balgowlah North placed 3rd behind Manly West and Curl Curl North.  Well done team - a tremendous achievement!  

Top 10 Finishers

2nd  Frankie J   - 8/9 yrs girls 2km
7th Alice O - 8/9 yrs girls 2km
3rd Harrison E - 10 Yrs boys 2km
1st Isaac R - 11 yrs boys 3km
4th Ruby T -12/13 yrs girls 3km
5th Josie P -12/13 yrs girls 3km
4th Matthew D -12/13 yrs boys 3km
6th Van H -12/13 yrs boys 3km
10th Nova S -12/13 yrs boys 3km

Frankie, Harrison, Isaac, Ruby, Josie, Matthew and Van will all go on to compete at the Regional Cross Country championships.  Congratulations!!!  We wish you all the best.

Student Safety
Unfortunately we have had community members reaching out to the school as parents have been parking across driveways and restricting access around the school. This is of concern as this places our students at risk. Please follow the traffic rules around the school. We have plenty of parking in nearby streets and this keeps everyone safe.

Cyber Safety Workshop
Next Tuesday night on the 6th of June at Seaforth Public School, Online Guardians will be presenting a workshop for parents of Stage 2 and 3 parents. Thank you to the 70 parents who have signed up to attend. We have spaces for 120 parents so if you’d like to attend please just pop your name into the google document below. I look forward to seeing many of you there.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSchgHXJJaiXv1zEag0Y2YlmxqZs_FC1ycN-84IcVj6pIVRtLg/viewform?usp=sf_link

URStrong Family Workshop

We are providing an opportunity for parents to attend an ONLINE Language of Friendship parent-child workshop on Wednesday 14 June at 6:00pm. Tyson Greenwood (Director of URSTRONG) will teach you and your children skills + language to foster healthy, feel-good friendships.

 Registration Required: CLICK HERE to register

We believe that empowering our students with these skills will create a culture of kindness at our school and we hope you can attend.

Brooke Keevers
Principal

Assistant Principal News

Last week you would have heard about all the wonderful learning that is happening in Stage 3 robotics. This week, it is Stage 2’s turn!

Stage 2 has been doing similar activities with technology this term by using robotics in mathematics! Working with a partner, students were challenged to use their creativity to attach a pencil/marker to their Lego Spike Prime robot. Then, they had to code their robot to draw a regular or irregular polygon. It is harder than it may seem! A lot of problem solving as well as trial and error occurred to get the robot to move and turn exactly as they planned. 

Once the shape was drawn, students then measured the outside to find the perimeter and area. High engagement in these activities have helped supplement student understanding in measurement, including identifying and describing 2D shapes and their properties, as well as angles and length. More fun is to be had by our Stage 2 students as we continue using robotics in mathematics this term. 

Olivia Wakelin

Stage 2 Assistant Principal (relieving)

School News

Wellbeing Week
Week 8 is ‘Wellbeing Week’ at BNPS. Throughout the week, students will be participating in a range of activities and events in their classroom that focus on wellbeing. Tuesday 13th June is ‘Rainbow Day’, where we ask students to dress in school uniform with a splash of bright rainbow colours and bring a gold coin donation for Kids Helpline.

Kaleidoscope Science
Stage 3 students were treated to an incursion this week from Kaleidoscope Science. It was a great way to introduce the topic of ‘Force’. Here is what our students had to say:

At the kaleidoscope incursion we learnt about different types of forces and we did lots of fun experiments. The teacher Mitch was really entertaining and blew our minds! He told us all about Isaac Newton’s laws of motion and explained how they worked. We conducted out of this world tests to delve deep into the land of science. Mitch was very funny, he brought incredible little explanations of things we didn’t know could happen. He even chose volunteers that also included some of our teachers. It’s not magic, it’s SCIENCE! By Talon D. and Meg A., 5R

Today we went to an incursion. We learnt about all types of forces such as push and pull. Mitch explained friction and fun science experiments. I enjoyed when Mitch used the fun fly stick! I liked this incursion and hope we can do it again. Evie H., 5M

I enjoyed learning about forces and I enjoyed how fun it was. I learnt that the impact of one nail would hurt more than sitting on 1000 nails. I also learnt more about push, pull, electric, spinning, gravity and friction forces. I enjoyed watching the experiments, like the water in the bucket how it didn't fall out because the force overpowered the gravitational pull. Charlie B., 5M

In the morning we learnt about science! Not just any science: force. Mitch taught us about Isaac Newton’s ‘Laws of Motion’. There was multiple experiments teaching us that every action has a opposite reaction - Force = mass x acceleration. And an object in rest will stay in rest until you add a force. The most interesting thing in my opinion is when Mitch showed us that a balloon would not pop on one thousand nails, but on only one single nail. Mitch’s performance was not only fun, creative and full of brilliant experiments but was interactive. This incursion not only showed me there is science everywhere, anytime, but is really fun! I give it five stars! Olive B. 6/5H

This morning was heaps of fun. I loved it when he did lots of experiments with different types of force. I think that Mitch did a great job with the whole thing especially when he got some of us to get out of our seats and do it with him, even the teachers.I learnt that if you have only one nail a balloon will pop but if you have 1000 nails it won’t, it is to do with force. I would give the whole thing a 8/10 just because maybe we could have had a turn going up close and doing experiments instead of most of us were sitting the whole time. Grace C., 6/5H

We all had so much fun when Mitch came to our school.At the kaleidoscope incursion we learnt about different types of forces and we did lots of fun experiments. The teacher Mitch was really entertaining and blew our minds! He told us all about Isaac Newton’s laws of motion and explained how they worked. We conducted out of this world tests to delve deep into the land of science. Mitch was very funny, he brought incredible little explanations of things we didn’t know could happen. He even chose volunteers that also included some of our teachers. It’s not magic, it’s SCIENCE! By Talon D. and Meg A., 5R

We all had so much fun when Mitch came to our school and did some awesome experiments. I loved learning about new forces and laws of force. My favourite experiment was when we tested the 1000 nails, I thought it was very cool how it didn’t pop. I also loved watching the gyroscopic force in play with Miss Rooleht. A single spinning wheel was making her turn in all directions. He taught us so much while having a blast. Darcy Y. 6S

Today we had an amazing incursion where a friendly host called Mitch taught us all about forces, energy and even how some everyday objects work. Mitch did this in a fun way, including the audience and keeping us intrigued all the way through. I speak for all of the BNPS students when I say it was amazing. I know that I would love to do it again and that today was a day to remember. Jacob S. 6S

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ICAS

We will be providing students with the opportunity to participate in the ICAS competition this year. 

 What is ICAS? 

ICAS is an online academic competition that is designed to assess students’ higher order thinking and problem-solving skills. Balgowlah North Public School will be offering opportunities for students to participate in the Writing, English, Science and Mathematics competitions this year. 

Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition and development. Every student who participates will receive a printed certificate and an online results report. Top performers will be eligible for medals. 

If you are interested in entering your child into ICAS or wish to find out more about the competitions please visit the website below: 

Learn more about ICAS here. (https://www.icasassessments.com/products-icas) 

How to participate in ICAS:

If you wish for your child to participate in ICAS this year, please:  

1. Read about ICAS subjects and prices here: (icasassessments.com/products-icas)  2. read the terms and conditions here: (icasassessments.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2023-ICAS-Assessments-Parents-PPS-TsCs_final.pdf) 
2. Go to Parent Portal to purchase tests here: (shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps) 
3. Enter our school’s access code – TAL937
4. Enter your child’s details, select the tests you would like to purchase, then proceed to payment.   

After payment is made via the Parent Payment System, you will receive an order confirmation email, please keep this for your records. 

 ICAS Results and Certificates

We will send home your child’s ICAS certificate when we receive it. The back of the certificate shows ICAS results and the login details, “TAP ID and Pin”, that you and your child need to enter the Results Portal.

ICAS Dates at BNPS 2023

Please ensure you register for ICAS via the PPS by July 17th. 

Administration

Just a reminder, if your child is to be collected during the school day (before 3pm) by a person other than the parent/carer, please call the office and provide a name and contact number for the person collecting them.

Library News

Premier’s Reading Challenge 
Well done to the latest readers who have completed the reading challenge:

Year 1 – Sammy P, Violet R, Maxen W, Finlay M
Year 2 – Rosie P
Year 3 – Kobi P, Kora P, Laila W
Year 4 – Grace K, Isaac R, Lachlan T,
Year 5 – Hugo D, Josh N, Logan P, Lachie P
Year 6 – Scarlett P

Your names are now on our wall of fame in the library. 

National Simultaneous Storytime
Last Wednesday many of our classes took part in NSS. This is an annual event our school participates in, as it is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate a fantastic Australian author and picture book. Every year one book is chosen and children from libraries, classrooms and bookshops from all over Australia listen to the story. This year the book was The Speedy Sloth by Rebecca Young and Heath McKenzie. This story embraces important themes of persistence, resilience and having fun. It also has a lovable sloth as a main character! If you can get your hands on a copy of this one, it’s definitely worth reading with your children.

The Week Ahead

Thursday 1 June         BNPS School Tour for new families 9.15am-10.00am
Monday 5 June           Year 3-6 Assembly 2.20pm
Tuesday 6 June          Drama Ensemble Technical Rehearsal at The Concourse Chatswood 11.00am-1.30pm
Tuesday 6 June          Cyber Safety Parent Workshop 6.30pm
Wednesday 7 June     Drama Ensemble Performance at The Concourse Chatswood 4.30pm-7.30pm

Sports News

Soccer PSSA Knockout
Last Wednesday, Balgowlah North’s Senior A boys soccer team competed against Beacon Hill PS as part of the NSW PSSA’s annual Knockout competition. Although the team dominated play and had a great deal of the ball, they were unable to come away with a win going down 1-nil.

Australia Ninja Kids League
Nic Hill after competing in the Australia Ninja Kids League nationals late last year, has qualified to represent Australia (unofficially) at the World Ninja Kids League Tier 1 Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina in June 2023.

Zone Cross Country

Positive Behaviour for Learning

Class Snapshot 2A

Waste Free Wednesday

P and C News

In the Green Grove today, we made a new sign reminding our chook carers and friends to keep chooks out of the garden beds and locked in their coop when we leave. This will give our vegetable seedlings, that we have carefully grown from seed, a much better chance of surviving.

Canteen News

We had quite a few disappointed kids last week who were expecting lunch orders but no order had been put through for them.  The school supplies a basic sandwich in these situations so no one goes hungry but we do hate to see the disappointment on their faces.  We know what a rush mornings can be for parents so recommend ordering the night before but if you do happen to forget we are just a phone call away.
PSSA - with the earlier Friday lunch time we no longer need to do a separate lunch for PSSA players so that is why the PSSA alert label has disappeared from Flexischools.  The new early lunch time has been working brilliantly for the kids and the lunch service runs very smoothly so please don't hesitate to order on a Friday.
Have a great week.Mel & Alex

Koolkuna News

Community news

The Forest High Festival of Lights​

The students at Forest High have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to put on a great evening for all, complete with music, food and other forms of entertainment. Our World Challenge and Space Camp students will also be fundraising during the event for their educational trips.

School Sponsors