Newsletter Term 3 Week 10 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

Recharge, Connect and Relax  
Wow what a term we have had. Thank you to our fabulous school community for continuing to work together with us to provide opportunities for our students to learn, grow and flourish. This term we have had many chances to celebrate learning, celebrate our students and connect with our families. Thank you to our wonderful P&C for all that you have provided over the term. We look forward to the completion of our mural in the music room, it has been wonderful to see Brode at work and see the mural evolve.

Thank you to our fabulous staff of dedicated educators. The energy and commitment they bring to their teaching engages and challenges our students to stretch themselves, to be the best they can be. We are very fortunate to work with our students each and every day. Seeing the smiles on faces and the joy they bring to school each and everyday is a privilege to be part of.

 So lovely to welcome our new kindergarten students and their parents today to a picnic in our playground.  Lots of new families will be joining our school in 2024.

Please be aware that there will be construction work happening in the school holidays. We will be having our sports court refurbished as well as regular maintenance. Students are welcome to use the school grounds in the holidays if they are accompanied by an adult.

KYDS Youth Development Service
KYDS are running a series of free webinars for parents, teachers and students for mental health month. Please find below links to these sessions:

From worriers to warriors: Helping young people with social anxiety

 3^rd Oct 1:00pm & 4^th Oct 6:30pm (repeated): https://lu.ma/xgcqlgc8  

Parenting a screenager: Helping young people improve their digital mental health

 11^th Oct 6:30pm:  https://lu.ma/1n2g1683 

From “no” to “go”: Goal-setting and motivation made easy 

17^th Oct 1:00pm & 18^th Oct 6:30pm (repeated): https://lu.ma/ek4ct7f5  

Living and thriving with ADHD 

25^th Oct 1:00pm & 2th Oct 6:30pm (repeated): https://lu.ma/vmy3pn9v                 

They are also running two webinars in the coming weeks in partnership with Headspace and Lane Cove Council:

Small fish, big pond: Managing the transition to high school

20th Sept 6:30pm: www.lanecove.nsw.gov.au/Eventbrite/Small-Fish-Big-Pond-Transition-to-High-School-Webinar-Evening-Session-679838865347 

10th Oct 12:30pm: www.lanecove.nsw.gov.au/Eventbrite/Small-Fish-Big-Pond-Transition-to-High-School-Webinar-Day-Session-679857160067  

Enjoy the break, we look forward to seeing all students back at school on the Monday the 9th of October.

Brooke Keevers
Principal

Kindergarten 2024 families Teddy Bears Picnic
Yesterday we hosted our Kindergarten 2024 students and their parents for the Teddy Bear’s Picnic. The morning tea event provided a wonderful opportunity for families to connect with our school as their children built confidence, familiarity and friendships as they played together in our fort playground.The picnic was  testament to the welcoming and nurturing community Balgowlah North Public School is known for. It was so lovely to see many  familiar faces and younger siblings of current students coming together with new students and first time parents who will be joining the school in the new year. We are looking forward to welcoming our little ones back in Term 4 for our Kindergarten Orientation Program

Prev

Showing images 1 - 8 of 9

Next

Assistant Principals News

K-2 Mathematics Workshop 
We will be holding a workshop for parents and carers of K-2 students on Wednesday 18 October. Please see the flyer below and complete the registration form if you plan to attend.

K-2 Maths Workshop (Parents and Carers Survey) - Google Forms

Jenni Reinhardt

School News

Prev

Showing images 1 - 8 of 23

Next

Kindergarten and Year 6 Taronga Excursion

6H Zoo Report 
It was so much fun walking around the zoo with our buddies and the kindys said it was one of the best days of our life, I hope we can do something like that again! I love the giraffes feeding on the leaves as we looked from up top. I really loved the big silverback gorillas that were feeding on lettuce and carrots. The meerkats were really cute and the buddys loved crawling through the tunnel. Their smiles lit up when the seal leaped up out of the water. The tigers laid in the sun, tanning and enjoying life. I really enjoyed looking at the koalas. I thought my buddy enjoyed it too. I loved looking at the squirrel monkeys because they were so cute and my buddy Len was so interested in them! I had an amazing time at the zoo but my one highlight was the peacock and when it spread out his tail it was BEAUTIFUL! Cute echidnas scurried around, brushing against our hands as we pet them. My highlight was the lions. They were beautiful and a soft, nice golden colour lazing in the sun at the top of the enclosure. Looking at the Tasmanian devils run around was an amazing sight to see! I loved looking at the capybaras. I also liked the tigers because they were fluffy. I liked the aviary because of all the different species of birds and all the different sounds the birds were making. I loved when we saw the monkeys, me and my buddy were both amazed by their incredible jumping skills and their hilarious smiles! But the cherry on top was that whenever they would run it would look so funny. The choices are there, should we go back up to the Zoo or see the penguins? PENGUINS IT IS! There were 13 adorable penguins lining up straight in front of the glass, the buddies were giggling and I was smiling. What an awesome experience getting to see the cute fluffy things so close to us

6S Zoo Report
I liked spending time with my buddy and walking around the zoo to see all the amazing animals. I loved seeing the seals because they swam up right in front of us, overall I had the best time! I liked going to see the tall Giraffes and spending time with the kindergartens and friends. I loved seeing the tigers and seeing them sleep while their fur lights up in the sun. I enjoyed the monkeys as they playfully climbed around their enclosure! My favourite part of the amazing zoo trip was spending time with my buddy, and although it may have been exhausting it was nice to get to know him better. I really enjoyed seeing the cassowaries and getting to hang out with my buddy. I loved seeing the beautiful, luscious capybaras. They were so cool and the best thing I've ever seen. I loved going to the zoo with my buddy, we enjoyed seeing the cheeky Monkeys and animal encounters. I had the best experience at the zoo, and the encounters with animals was definitely a highlight, but I loved it when a peacock came really close during snack time. I liked seeing the tassie devil because it made loud noises and ran up to me. I enjoyed almost everything, but I mostly enjoyed the education room where I got to touch snakes, lizards and tortoises with all my friends. I loved seeing the funnel web spider with my buddies although they were scared it was a great experience . I really enjoyed watching the koi fish swim around and admiring their amazing colours. I loved the turtles. They were really big but cute. 

Isaac R:
Yesterday we got to go to the zoo with our Kindy buddies and saw a variety of different animals. My favourite moments of the day were: Watching the squirrel monkey chasing its friend and then I looked down at my buddy and the look on his face was priceless. Another highlight was when we first entered the zoo and my buddy said “I’m so excited because we get to see the tigers.” Whilst jumping up and down I felt so lucky to have the buddy that I do. These were the highlights of my year just to see him running around. But what I have just mentioned is only scratching the surface of what we did yesterday.

Jacob S:
The day started off for me by greeting not my buddy as he was away but Rocco’s buddy who’s name was Alex. Alex and I started the day by having a brief talk about which animals he wanted to see. I tried to keep him excited about the visit to the zoo, however he didn’t seem too interested at first until I mentioned the elephants which he seemed very  excited about seeing. On the way to the zoo every time the bus stopped at traffic lights or if somebody was crossing the road he would ask me, are we there yet? Are we there yet? He even asked when we stopped in front of a dumpster. However once we got there Alex was very excited but his first animal encounter wasn’t the greatest as a bush turkey tried and succeeded to steal some of his recess. After  that however, it was a great day. I pointed numerous things out to him and he surprised me by spotting things that nobody else could see despite the long walk. Alex seemed to love the zoo experience, even roaring like a lion and posing for every photo we took. Eventually we had to go and he even told me he wished he could stay forever so despite only having one day together we built a very fun and exciting bond.

Isla H:
On Wednesday, the 14th of September, year six and kindergarten went on an incredible journey to the zoo. We saw many amazing animals and had unbelievable interactions with reptiles at an animal encounter, where we met the most beautiful snake imaginable. She was a Murray Darling River Snake, and named after her habitat, called Darling. She looked fierce, inquisitive and rough, but when I touched her, a darling she was, with silky scales and cunning eyes. I asked my buddy Mina if she had enjoyed her encounter, and she said she loved petting a tortoise she met. We both loved how the small orange monkeys rolled, tumbled and tacked one another, leaping from branch to branch. We over all loved the entire experience, and enjoyed it so much!

Assembly Award Winners

Sports News

PSSA

NOTE: there is NO PSSA training, games or sport this week, 10 Friday 22 September (last day of term)

Admin News

School Bytes Parent Portal
For any parents who still have not set up the School Bytes Parent Portal, please find instructions below:

Waste Free Wednesday

Class Snapshot - Stage 2

Positive Behaviour for Learning

Library News

Stage Three Inquiry Learning
This term Stage 3 students engaged in an inquiry based project, discovering the unique and special features of Antarctica. During the project students explored the Antarctic Treaty and investigated the daily life of people who are living and working in Antarctica. A large focus of this project is learning about sustainable practices in Antarctica, essential scientific research and what is being done to reduce human impact on this environment. To demonstrate their learning students created an I-Movie in collaborative groups. They had the opportunity to use the green screen application on I-Movie and produced some very creative, informative and entertaining videos which we have enjoyed watching this week.

Stage 2 Love Reading
Congratulations to Stage 2 students who are celebrating this week in their library lessons for achieving the reading challenge set at the beginning of the year, to read 1000 books. Keep up the great reading Stage 2. 

State Library Holiday Fun
The State Library of NSW has some wonderful opportunities during the holidays for kids and families. These include fun library tours, meeting authors and illustrators and activities based on fantastic literature. Please see the link for more information: https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/learning/kids-and-families

Balgowlah North EBook And Audiobook Collection
Don’t forget to make use of our online platforms for reading over the holidays. We have a huge collection of digital books and audio books suitable for all age groups. These can be accessed by downloading the EPlatform by Wheelers app or online at http://balgowlahnorthps.wheelers.co/

Happy holidays!
Deborah Horsley

The Week Ahead

Monday 25 September - Spring School Holidays
Monday 9 October - Week 1 of Term 4 begins
Sunday 1 October  -  Daylight Saving Time starts
Thursday 5 October  -  World Teacher's Day
Tuesday 10 October  -  Regional Athletics

Koolkuna News

Change of Software Provider 
In Term 4, Sustainable OSHC will be upgrading our software providers from Qikkids & My Family Lounge to Xplor.

What does this mean for existing families?
All family account details including billing records, child care subsidy & bookings will be exported into the new software. If you have attended OSHC in 2023, you will not have to re-submit an enrolment form.

Prior to Term 4, you will receive an email asking to create your Xplor Home account. The Xplor Home App will replace the current My Family Lounge App.
Xplor Home enables quick and convenient communication, digital sign-ins and attendance, payments, bookings and health event tracking.
Sustainable OSHC will advise you when the new software is live.

Koolkuna OSHC Admin

P & C News

Band News

Term 3 Wrap Up – Band and Strings
A successful term for the band and strings program who participated in Education Open morning, Father’s Day Breakfast, Battle of the Bands and finishing off with an Assembly Performance.  The Battle of the Bands event also included a fundraising BBQ and cake stall. 

Thank you to the parents who braved the heat to cook sausages and serve yummy treats. 

The start of this term we saw the formation of a new Performance Band comprising students from Years 4, 5 and 6.  The boost in numbers certainly makes for a great sound and has given the students a renewed energy. They are sounding great!

We are looking forward to a busy Term 4.  Dates will be available on the band website during the holidays. https://bnpsband.wixsite.com/website

School Community news

School Sponsors