Balgowlah North Public School eNewsletter

"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

Finance for 2024

Thank you to the parents who have settled their End of Year accounts. Working through our budget for 2024 the total amount of operational budget left for 2024 is $222,000 for 430 students. This does not go very far.

In our statement of accounts we ask parents to support us with small termly fees to cover the costs of technology upgrades, robotics and replacing devices, as well as resources for all our Key Learning Areas, subscriptions and equipment used in the school. Many of our costs are consumable materials and are replaced each term. We work hard as an educational organization to stay abreast of innovative practice and provide enriching opportunities for all our students, these fees assist us with providing the resources needed for this to happen.

In our Statement of Account there is an Explanation of Fees. This provides greater detail. Time is spent reviewing these each year, in line with feedback from teachers, student engagement and student outcomes.

At this point in time we have outstanding fees of over $29,000. It would be greatly appreciated if accounts could please be settled this week, as it assists us with budgeting for resources, programs, materials and equipment for 2024.

If at any time any families are experiencing financial difficulty please do not hesitate to let me know, so that we can support you in any way we can.

Year 6

What a wonderful week we have had celebrating our amazing Year 6 students. The Farewell Dinner was coordinated by Shannon Deeran and Lucy Orth and their wonderful team of parents.

Our Year 6 students had a fabulous evening celebrating with each other.

On Friday night, year 6 had our Farewell Dinner. The theme was ‘under the sea’ and the hall was decorated with bright lights, colourful balloons, a photo stand, a drink stand, and beautiful tables decorated with flowers and chairs with gold ribbons tied to it. At the dinner we had a delicious Japanese bento box full of sushi, fried chicken, japonica, and edamame beans. After our delicious dinner we split up into groups of two for our dance we’ve been practicing for ten weeks. Our parents arrived and watched us dance the Waltz and Cha Cha with our partners. Soon after we invited our parents to dance the Cha Cha slide which concluded our farewell dance and dinner. We all had a great time and experience. Thank you to all the parents and teachers that helped and set up this amazing farewell.
By Rocco M, Nova S and Noah S

Thank you also to Sophia Furness and Camille Corlette for the coordination of our wonderful Yearbook. Our students receive this on Friday and I’m sure it will become a lovely memory book that they will treasure many years after they have left Balgowlah North.

Finally, thank you to our wonderful Year 6 teachers who have supported our students this year and provided them with wonderful opportunities both inside and outside the classroom. Yesterday’s Year 6 Fun Day day engaged all the Year 6 students over the past few weeks as they have budgeted, planned, researched and designed activities to keep the K- 4 students entertained with lots of fun! Our Year 6 students have decided they wanted to contribute towards a designated senior playground area near the tennis courts. Mr G will commence working on this during the holidays. Watch this space as this evolves.

Fun Day is an annual event run by year six who make arcade games to raise money for the year six gift to the school. We have been working on all aspects of running these games for the past couple weeks . The games cost from 20c - $1.00 for a fun time. Our games are made for all ages from kindy all the way to year six although some adults would find these games fun too!
By Henry R and Jimmy M

Picnic Day

Everyone is looking forward to our picnic day planned for tomorrow at Winnererremy Bay. The weather forecast is looking good, it will be a warm day predicted between 22 to 32c. Please ensure your child has a hat, lots of sunscreen and plenty of icy water for the day. Some picnic/party food and some games to play would be appreciated.

As we head to the final days of term, please enjoy this time with your children, we have many events on and it is important to reinforce considerate and responsible behaviour at all times so everyone has the opportunity to enjoy these last few days.

Just a reminder of dates -

Last day of Term for students and teachers

Friday 15th December 2023

First day of Term One for students 1-6 2024

Thursday 1st February

First Day of Kindergarten

Best Start - 1st, 2nd and 5th February 2024

Tuesday 6th February

Please ensure you are aware of the dates for 2024 and that you have popped these in your diaries.

Thank you to all of our school community for a wonderful year. Working together with our families has ensured that we have connected and engaged students who have all grown, flourished and been challenged this year. Please take the time to celebrate all their hard work with them as you read their reports over the next few days.

Wishing you all a fantastic break with plenty of time to create memories, share fun and laughter with your children. We look forward to seeing you all again in 2024.

Brooke Keevers
Principal

School News

Congratulations to all our award recipients from this weeks assembly.

Platinum Award - Premiers Reading Challenge recipients

Gold Award - Premiers Reading Challenge recipients

Celebration of Learning Medals recipients who were absent for the presentation assembly

Mrs Reinhardt - Citizenship Award recipient!

K-6 Picnic Day - Winnerremy Bay, Mona Vale
Our students and teachers will come together to celebrate a wonderful year of learning, friendship and fun at the K-6 Picnic Day on Thursday, December 14, 2023. We will be spending the day at Winnerremy Bay, Mona Vale, leaving at 9:15am and arriving back at school at 1.30 pm.

What to wear: Students can wear comfortable picnic clothes including an appropriate hat. Please pack a raincoat in case.

What to bring:

Bring recess, picnic lunch and water bottles in a small backpack or library bag that is clearly named. Pack a waste-free lunch. Any food packaging will need to be taken home in lunchboxes. *Please note that there are no canteen orders and students are not permitted to purchase food at the park.
Please apply sunscreen in the morning before school and bring more to reapply during the day. Teachers will have some sunscreen supply as well.
Similar to last year, students may bring a small mat to sit on, a game or ball to play with. Make sure everything is clearly labeled.

The cost of this excursion has been included in the Term 4 Statement of Account. It is essential we receive payment for this excursion and complete the digital permission note and make payment by Tuesday 12th December. We look forward to a fun day out celebrating with friends, wrapping up a fantastic school year.

Sascha Carroll, Carol Saab and Olivia Wakelin

Admin News

Email addresses
Please check the email addresses you have provided us with and ensure they are the same on School bytes. We have had several bounce back to us.

School Bytes Parent Portal
We will be transitioning to School Bytes in 2024 so it is really important that you download the parents portal. For any parents who still have not set up the School Bytes Parent Portal, please find instructions below:

Admin Team

School_Bytes_parent_app_info_10102023.pdf

Sports News

Thankyou Note

Hello everyone. My name is Isaac Robinson, I started at BNPS in kindergarten in 2017. Over the past 2 years I have travelled all around Australia to compete at national championships in athletics and cross country. I am so truly grateful for the Balgowlah North community for all their support, whether they brought a gold coin donation for me or bought raffle tickets at the coffee shop, Halloween or even at the school gate I just want you know that it all helped so much, and I am so happy to have such a generous and kind community that are willing to dedicate their own time to help me out. Thanks to all of you & thanks to all of your generous support I now have 12 national medals, 7 of which are gold, that I wouldn’t have without all of your support. Thank you so much to the BNPS staff and the school community for helping me fulfill my dreams and for the great support provided from all. Thank you so much, as I couldn’t have achieved anything without all of you. I will always look back on my time at this school as I have created so many memories and wonderful friendships that I will never forget.

I’m going off to high school next year and hopefully even bigger things in sport but I will always be a North Balgowlah kid in my heart. From Isaac.

Isaac fundraising with raffle tickets at school, representing NSW PSSA in Tasmania and with medals won at National Cross Country in 2022

Boys Eagle Tag Grand Final

Last Friday was a stunning day for the Grand Final round of PSSA summer sport. The Balgowlah North Junior ‘B’ boys eagle tag team of Arkie A, Daniel B, Harrison E, Edward G, Thomas G, Henri O, Austin S and Josh W had finished the preliminary rounds on top of the ladder. After easily overcoming Beacon Hill 5 - 0 in the semi-final, we were facing the mighty Narraweena.

The first half was hard fought with a huge defensive effort by the boys. As the half time hooter sounded, we held a tenuous lead. In the second half the boys passed the ball well and combined to score a couple of wonderful tries. The boys played with determination and lots of heart to finish the day as winners 3-1.

Awesome effort, boys! You have done BNPS proud!

Girls Junior Eagle Tag Grand Final

What an amazing season of Eagle Tag the girls have had! Undefeated all season the juniors made it into the Grand Final and fought hard in the heat to win the game 7 tries to 5. Evie R and Alice O were amazing try scorers with 3 tries each, Evie H also scored a great breakaway try and has shown great improvement in her skill this year. The girls played well as a team during the game in the heat. Well done to Grace C, Isabelle G, Louisa O, Bonnie L, Alice L, and Sasha H who passed, dodged, tagged and ran a great game. Also a big shout out to Lexi B and Abbey M who played throughout the season but couldn’t make the grand final. Congratulations girls on becoming the Junior B Champions for PSSA Eagle Tag!

Junior Boys Cricket

The Grand Final last week showcased an outstanding performance by the junior boys, Billy, Max, Oliver, Nic, Jasper, Ben, Joseph, Isaac, Will, Charlie, Lachlan and Jack. Our bowlers managed to take 7 wickets, and Charlie came close to a hat trick, being just one wicket off. Our batsmen exerted tremendous effort to score 18 runs. The team exhibited excellent fielding skills, particularly under the intense heat of the day. The cohesive teamwork and support among the players led to a well-deserved victory. A brilliant end to a great season. Congratulations to the entire team – we are incredibly proud of each one of you!

Waste Free Winners!

Congratulations to KM,KR and 3V for being Waste Free Wednesday Winners in Week 8.

Also to 1M and 4/3W in Week 9!

Positive Behaviour for Learning

Library News

One last reminder to use our digital platforms over the holidays. Our Ebook library has expanded to include decodable and leveled readers. These have no borrowing limits on them and are a great resource to keep practicing reading over the break. To access this collection download the Eplaform by Wheelers app or go to https://balgowlahnorthps.wheelers.co/ Students log in using their school username and password.

Thanks to everyone who came and bought a book last week at our second hand book sale. We raised $220 which will be donated to the charity Books In Homes.

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday with lots of reading and relaxation.

The Week Ahead

Friday 15th December 2023: Last day of Term for students and teachers

Thursday 1st February 2024: First day of Term One for students 1-6

1st, 2nd and 5th February 2024: Kindergarten Best Start

Tuesday 6th February 2024: First Day of Kindergarten

Second Hand Uniform Shop

The Uniform Shop will be open on Tuesday 30 January from 9.30am until 11am for any last minute purchases!

Koolkuna News

Dear Families,

The countdown to Christmas is on! We would like to remind parents that our December Vacation Care is running from the 18^th December - 22^nd December. We cannot wait to celebrate the Christmas build up with you all.

Lastly from the Koolkuna Team, We cannot thank you enough for your generous support for our Reverse Advent calendar. We and the team at One Meal couldn't be more appreciative of your efforts and we thank you for that.

We wish everyone a merry Christmas and cannot wait to see everyone in the new year.

Koolkuna OSHC Admin