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 News

Relieving Principal’s Message

Welcome back to our final term of learning for 2024. It has been so lovely to see our students back at school, rested and ready for the busy term ahead. Term 4 is a very special time as we continue to enrich our knowledge and skills whilst also enjoying many of the end of year activities and special events that make up the rich tapestry of the BNPS journey. Please keep up to date with important dates via the school calendar and your Stage Newsletters that will be published in Week 2 of this term.

2025 Organisation

Planning for 2025 is already well underway and we will soon be commencing the process of class organisation for the new school year. If your child will not be returning to our school in 2025 we ask that this is communicated via email at your earliest convenience.
We also ask that Kindergarten 2025 enrolment is completed urgently so that our new students can participate in the orientation process that commences next week.

Morning Drop Offs

We remind our parent community that the school playground is not open to students prior to 8:30am when the first bell rings and a teacher commences playground duty. Parents of students on-site prior to 8:30am will be contacted and asked to collect their students.If you require your child to be at school prior to 8:30am, they must be enrolled in Koolkunna OOSHC.

Hazard Reduction Burns

Our school has been advised of a planned hazard reduction burn that is planned for 20/10/24 – 21/10/24. This planned event may see smoke impact in our local area.
We know that smoke from bushfires and hazard reductions can affect some people more than others and it is important that where possible we reduce the impact of smoke on our staff and students.
Our school will follow our bushfire and health management processes during all bush fire and Hazard Reduction Burns to minimise potential smoke exposure.

Rachel Ridley
Principal (Relieving)

Assistant Principal's News

This week, Stage 2 students dived straight into Term 4 with lessons with Mrs Mason beginning a movie project that highlights our new Learning Dispositions of collaboration, resilience, curiosity, and thoughtfulness. The movies aim to educate the rest of the school on these dispositions from a kids perspective. Each week, class teachers will team-teach with Mrs Mason, guiding students through the movie creation process, thinking about not only the content in the movie but also the technical elements of filming and editing.

Throughout this project, students will also be practicing our dispositions by collaborating in groups, troubleshooting challenges to cultivate resilience and engaging in thoughtful reflection on their work. The project begins through collectively constructing success criteria before planning a storyline and writing a script. Then the filming begins! We are extremely excited to see the projects at the conclusion of the project and to share with the rest of the school!

Olivia Wakelin
Stage 2 Assistant Principal

School News

Would your child love to be Principal for a Day?

Go in the draw for them to be Principal of BNPS for the day. Get your raffle tickets on Flexischools now, 3 for $10.

What will you do as principal? Visit classrooms, organise meetings, make announcements, talk at assembly, give out stickers and awards, choose songs for the bell, help on playground duty, have morning tea in the staffroom, and more. You might even have a special idea or project you would like to talk about.

Sales close this Friday 4pm Friday 18th October. The winner will be drawn at morning lines on Monday 21st October (Week 2). Money raised will support the band program, keeping fees down by contributing to costs throughout the year.

Reel Deal

The Stage 3 Reel Deal Film festival is known for celebrating the creativity and talent of Balgowlah North's young filmmakers. Last term Stage 3 students engaged with the Reel Deal film project and created films centered around the theme "I AM CURIOUS." Over the course of the project the students learnt film making skills such as angle shots, using sound effects and editing. Collaboration was a large part of this project where students worked with 5-6 other group members to write scripts, develop characters and use props and costumes to enhance their stories.

During the last week of term 4, students showcased their work in an extraordinary festival of creative, unique and skilled films. Congratulations to the winners of the Reel Deal for 2024 - Jessica M, Millie G, Joshua N, Harry W, James J and Olive H with their film titled ‘Mystery of the Murder’. This team also won the Viewers Choice Award which was voted by all Stage 3 students. Congratulations also to the runners up - Isabelle G, Bronte S, Chloe L, Henry J, Kurt H, Reid E with their film titled ‘The Last Kids On Earth’.

Stage 3 Homework Project

Last term, Stage 3 embarked on an exciting book-writing project. Each student had the creative freedom to choose the type of book they wanted to create—whether it was a captivating storybook, a beautifully illustrated picture book, or an engaging graphic novel. From thrilling adventures and heartfelt tales of friendship to mysterious whodunits and fantastical journeys through magical worlds, the possibilities were limitless. Here are just a few examples of the unique and wonderful books that our students produced.

Congratulations to Josh for completing Part A of the MiniLit program.

Curiosity & Outdoor Learning

Sports News

PSSA, tennis and School Sport commence this Friday.

Congratulations to Max S for being part of the Sydney North Golf Team who won Gold with their combined team Nett score at the NSW PSSA Golf Championship.

Library News

Teacher Picks!

Mrs King’s favourite picture book is:

‘Floof’ by Heidi Mackinnon

It is a fun book to read at any time – it is filled with fun and whimsy, as a delightful cat shows young children what fun is to be had throughout their day from the time they wake up until they are ready to go to bed-Heidi Mackinnon

“I like this book because it tells the story of a cat's mischievous adventures and I like the way the story is told through the pictures rather than the words. You need to look carefully at the pictures to find the true story of what Floof gets up to. I also really like the word FLOOFY and I love cats”- Mrs King

Admin News

How to see notes on the School Bytes Parent App
If you are wishing to see any excursion notes these can be found by going into the School Bytes parent app, clicking on your "activities tab" and then the event name.

Kindergarten 2025
If you have a student starting Kindergarten in 2025 and we have asked you for more paperwork, can you please come to the office when you are next in the school so we can finish your child's enrolment.

E-bikes, e-scooters, bicycles and skateboards are not permitted on school grounds under any circumstances as their use jeopardises the safety of our community. Use of play equipment is prohibited outside of school hours and playing on school grounds after school and during the school holidays should always be under the supervision of an adult.

We understand that the community enjoy having access to the school grounds over the holidays so we urge you to please assist us in keeping our school safe by adhering to these protocols and notifying local police if you observe any concerning behaviour occurring on the school grounds.

Manly Police - 99768099
Dee Why Police - 9971 3399

Administration Team

6S Class Snapshot

The Week Ahead

Friday 18 October PSSA, tennis and School Sport recommences
Monday 21 October K-2 Assembly
Thursday 24 October Kindergarten Orientation 1
Thursday 31 October Kindergarten Orientation 2
Friday 25 October World Teachers Day

Food Scrap Friday

P & C News

Christmas Carnival

The BNPS Christmas Carnival is fast approaching, and we couldn't be more excited to bring it back to our community after 5 years! Please see below for a quick FAQ:

What Exactly is the Christmas Carnival?
Click in the link to see a short video on all the fun you and your family can expect to enjoy on the day.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HoH0TTdNMSZKGE2WKORLZXjbk1yoYBhQ/view?usp=drive_link

Can I Buy Tickets Yet?
Carnival entry is free, but early bird unlimited all-day wristbands are already on sale here for $40.

How Can I Help?
As you can imagine, an event of this scale cannot operate without the support of the entire school community. Here are a few ways you can help:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4EAEA923A2FECF8-50658414-bnps?useFullSite=true#