Newsletter Term 2 Week 9 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

Balgowlah North Community
“It takes a village to raise a child” What a wonderful, supportive community of parents surround our school. The annual P&C Trivia Night was a fantastic night of fun, support and connections all in support of the students of Balgowlah North. These nights only work with the dedication of a committed parent group. Thank you to Katrina Shilland, Sammi Mason, Lisa Mort, Kate O’Brien, Hannah Maguire and Lee-Anne Blanshard.

P&C Working Bee
This has been postponed and a new date will be advised early next term. 

P&C School Disco
A definite buzz in the air this week, lots of fun for our students with the School Disco tomorrow night and Pyjama Day today!

School play spaces refurbishment
Thank you to the many parents who have provided feedback on the Kindergarten and Year One playground. We are now seeking feedback from the parent community on our front of the school playground as well. Please see below some draft concepts.

School Infrastructure NSW
Changes in the management of school facilities by School Infrastructure ensures there are opportunities for work with local trades, with better working conditions. Opportunities to increase and grow a pipeline of Aboriginal businesses and employees engaged in school facilities maintenance is also a priority. Please see below the flyer if you wish to engage your business with local schools in our area.

NBLA Enrichment Writing Workshop
On Monday this week we had the honour of hosting some budding young authors from across our local network for the annual NBLA Enrichment Writing Workshop. Students from across our 10 local primary schools, who have been identified as showing high potential in the area of writing, were nominated from within their schools to participate.
The concept of the workshops is based upon current research into developing the talents of High Potential and Gifted students, which evidences the value in providing  mentoring opportunities that bring added depth, breadth, engagement and challenge to student experiences.
Monday’s workshop saw students work with highly acclaimed author, Deb Abela, publishing industry icon, Paul McDonald and Kate Munro, the head of English from Manly Selective Campus.
It was incredible to watch the students form connections and extend their capabilities as they grappled with such higher order concepts as escalating plot devices, extended metaphors and polyphony.
We look forward to our follow up workshop in October where our talented young writers will work with mentors from Forest High and the wonderful Pip Harry, author of Little Wave. 

Regional Cross Country
Congratulations to our students Frankie J, Harrison E, Isaac R, Ruby T, Josie P, Matthew D and Van H, who competed at the Regional Cross Country championships last Thursday on the central coast.  We are so proud of your efforts!  Special congratulations to Isaac R for his 1st place finish and to Josie P for her 5th place.  Both those students will go on to represent us at the State Championships.  Well done Josie and Isaac!  We wish you all the best!

Further congratulations to Isaac R who backed up on Saturday to win the Athletics NSW State Cross Country Championships in Nowra, over 2km in the under 12s age category.

Uniform Changes Update

Earlier in the term, we sought your input on some minor changes to the school uniform, specifically the sports uniform, in order to achieve colour uniformity. The results of the survey were published in last week's newsletter. With the survey results clearly indicating a preferred direction, a definitive path forward emerged. Pippa Lester, from the uniform committee, will be at the school on Thursday to showcase the proposed new options for the blue sports skort and blue sports track pants for parents to review. Pippa will be available outside the admin office from 8:30am to 9:00am and again from 2:45pm to 3:15pm. We encourage you to join us during these times and share your thoughts. Following this parental engagement, the final new uniform items, along with their costs and availability, will be presented at the Term T3 P&C meeting. Many parents volunteered to be involved in the next steps concerning the uniform, so we hope you can attend on Thursday to provide your input.

Brooke Keevers
Principal

Assistant Principal News

Wellbeing is for all students and staff in our school. Wellbeing is broadly described as the quality of a person’s life. At Balgowlah North, we strive to create a positive teaching and learning environment where our students feel happy, healthy, engaged and successful.

🌈WELLBEING WEEK
Last week, we took time to pause, reflect and shine a spotlight on the importance of looking after ourselves and each other as we celebrated Wellbeing Week.
Tuesday, we kicked off with Rainbow Day. Mrs McAllister led us in a whole school sing-along of “Cover Me in Sunshine”. We all had fun adding a touch of rainbow to our day, raising money for Kids Helpline in the process.

URSTRONG
On Wednesday night, families joined our URSTRONG Language of Friendship workshop. URSTRONG is a whole-school wellbeing program that explicitly teaches friendship skills.
Tyson Greenwood, URSTRONG’s Director of Education, led a fun, interactive session where families learned about the language, tools, and strategies of URSTRONG. Tyson talked about parents being friendship coaches who guide their children through the ups and downs of friendships. URSTRONG empowers children to make healthier decisions and put out Friendship Fires (resolve conflict) in a respectful way. 

Interested in finding out more?

• Activate your FREE Parent Membership and explore the resources available. 
• Try out this interactive tool: Friendship Fire or Mean-on-Purpose?
• Check out the URSTRONG library of Keeping Kids Connected activities & videos

DESIGN A FRIENDSHIP NINJA
To foster new friendships and connections across the school, students relished the opportunity to work in buddy classes to design a Balgowlah North URSTRONG Friendship Ninja. It was wonderful to see the creative juices flow as students happily collaborated to create their unique ninjas.

RAINBOW OF RIBBONS 
Children enjoyed engaging in activities to nurture their wellbeing throughout the week, culminating in the creation of a rainbow of ribbons on our Manning Street fence. All students and teachers are represented, reflecting on how lucky we are to be part of this special school community.

Thank you to the Wellbeing Team for a fabulous week. 
Sascha Carroll
Assistant Principal (Relieving)

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School News

Bear Pit 
Each year our school participates in the Bear Pit Public Speaking competition,a prestigious annual competition for students in the Manly electorate of primary schools. Now in its 14th year, Bear Pit promotes confidence in speaking in front of an audience and the development of public speaking skills. 

This year, students in Years 3-6 will have the opportunity to work on a draft of their speech in class in weeks 9 and 10 of Term 2. They are then asked to work on their speech over the school holidays and come to school in Week 1 of Term 3 to present it to their class. Each student will be assessed on their speech and three students from each class will be chosen to participate in the Stage finals. Stage finals will be held on the following dates:

Stage 3- Thursday the 27th of July

Stage 2- Friday 28th of July 

One winning representative from each stage will be awarded the honour of representing Balgowlah North Public School at the finals on Friday the 4th of AUgust. The final competition will take place at NSW State Parliament, Macquarie Street, Sydney. 

Topics for 2023

Stage 2 – Years 3 & 4 

• I can help my community by…
• It’s important to help others because… 
• What sport would you like to see added or removed from the Olympics and why.

Time Limit: 3 minutes with a bell at 2 minutes

Stage 3 – Years 5 & 6 

• Is digital technology making kids’ lives better?
• If I could meet anyone from the past, present, or future who would it be and why?
• To me freedom means…

Time Limit: 4 minutes with a bell at 3 minutes 

K- 2 students will have the opportunity to participate in a public speaking competition in their class speaking and listening programs during Term 3. Further details will be sent home next term.

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)
Our school is participating in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD Data Collection). This Data Collection is taking place in government, Catholic and Independent schools across Australia, and will provide valuable information about supports required for a broad group of students. This will enable Australian and State governments to better target support and resources in schools. This will help the school give our students the support they need.

The definition of disability for the NCCD is based on the broad definition under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. The NCCD Data Collection is not limited to students with diagnosed disabilities and includes a broad range of health and learning conditions that our school provides ‘reasonable adjustments’ to support. 

Rachel Ridley

Drama Ensemble

We were so proud of the Balgowlah North Drama Ensemble who performed at the LightUP Festival of Drama on Wednesday 7th June. Our talented Year 3 and 4 students performed ‘When Rats Attack’ to a huge audience at The Concourse Theatre in Chatswood and it was an incredible experience for all. We will be performing again in Week 10 at school during the K-6 Assembly and again for Education Week. Well done on receiving such positive feedback on an outstanding performance.
Mrs McAllister and Mrs Mandalidis

Senior Dance Ensemble

The Senior Dance Ensemble is delighted to have been successful in their audition for the Sydney North Dance Festival again this year. Students will be rehearsing their dance, ‘Treat People with Kindness’, at Glen St Theatre this Friday morning. They will then be performing live on Friday 23 June at 8:00pm and again on Tuesday 27 June at 5:30pm. A filmed version of their dance will also be screened on Sunday 25 June at 5:30pm. We wish our performers good luck and we can’t wait to see your big smiles up on stage! 
Steph Rooleht & Eliza Ross

The Week Ahead

21 June            SRC Pyjama Day Gold coin donation for Stewart House
22 June            P & C School Disco, Band fundraiser 
26 June            NAIDOC Week
27 June            Primary Debating Challenge
29 June            School reports go home

Sports News

NSWPSSA Netball Knockout

On Friday morning the Balgowlah North senior A netball team played in the 4th round of the NSWPSSA Netball Knockout against Mosman Public School. Our defensive players, Helena F, Jess D and Josie P held their shooters out of the goal zone and this allowed our centre court players of Darcy Y, Charlie O to put the ball into the hands of our very capable shooters Addie B and Evelyn S. The final score was 33-7 with BNPS advancing to the next round. Thank you to Helena  for filling in for our sick Scarlett P and to the injured Sophie R for scoring for us. Well done, I was very proud of your gamesmanship and conduct. Bring on the next round!

Susie Stock

PSSA soccer

Library News

Maryam Master - Visiting Author
This week our Stage 3 students attended an inspiring presentation with Maryam Master - author, playwright and screenwriter. Maryam talked about her experiences of moving to Australia from Iran at the age of nine, speaking no English, and how this eventually led her to becoming a successful writer. She is the author of two wonderful books for Year 5 and 6 students. Students can order signed copies of Maryam Master’s books from the following link:

https://www.thechildrensbookshopspeakersagency.com.au/person/maryam-master/

The Children’s Bookshop will deliver the books to our school (free delivery).

Alternatively, you can call The Children’s Bookshop directly on 9571 1897 to order and pay over the phone

Free online after school clubs at the NSW State Library 

Art Club is ideal for budding primary school-aged artists, who want to try new ideas and get excited about the stories behind the paintings at the Library. It’s fun, highly interactive and led by Andrea, our fabulous art educator.  Art Club is held monthly during term time on alternate Thursdays at 4 pm.  

Book Lovers Club is a community for enthusiastic young readers! Each month we invite a special guest author, illustrator or book-loving expert to share a list of their favourite books and join our members for an online discussion group. Book Lovers Club meets from 4 to 5 pm on the first Tuesday of each month, during term time only.   

Young Writers Club is the perfect way to find inspiration, share ideas and get stuck into writing with Alicia and Susan. There will be lots of fun, fabulous writing tips and the opportunity to connect with a real-life authors and other inspiring people! Young Writers Club is held fortnightly during term time on alternate Wednesdays at 4 pm. 

Positive Behaviour for Learning

Class Snapshot - KM

Waste Free Wednesday

P and C News

It's time for the annual BNPS P&C Disco on Thursday June 22nd! This is the biggest fundraiser for the BNPS band program, and is always a fun-filled night for the students. This year’s theme is 'Tropical’, and each ticket will include tropical themed accessories for your child, as well as a drink.
The K-2 disco is 4:30pm-6pm and Year 3-6 from 6:30pm to 8pm.  
Please note that dinner is not provided as dancing and fun are the priority, so please don't send your child hungry!  If you think your child may need support on the night (loud music and lots of energy) please feel free to stay for the duration of the event.

If your child is attending Koolkuna on this evening and you purchase them a disco ticket please advise Koolkuna directly and they will arrange drop off. 

Green Grove Working Bee
This has been postponed and a new date will be advised early next term. 

Koolkuna News

Loose Parts Play Collection  

Loose parts create endless possibilities and invite creativity for children. For example, if a child picks up a rock and starts to play, most likely that rock can become anything the child wants it to be. Imagination, creativity, curiosity, desire, and need are the motivation of loose parts. Loose parts are materials that can be moved, carried, combined, redesigned, lined up, and taken apart and put back together in multiple ways. 
Koolkuna is asking families for donations of a range of materials such as:

• Pouring devices (cups, spoons, funnels)
• Floor samples
• Plastic gutters 
• PVC pipes 
• Buttons, beads, pop sticks 
• Wood scraps 
• Paper tubes 
• Ribbons 
• Building materials 
• Crates 

Vacation Care Bookings 
Use the My Family Lounge App to find the bookings tabs labelled "Vacation Care K-2" and "Vacation Care 3-6" where you will be able to book each child in for the days requested. When the day turns purple your child is successfully booked in for that day. If the day is red the day is fully booked. Please email us at kkoshc@sustainableoshc.com.au to be placed on the waitlist.  

Community news

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