Newsletter Term 1 Week 7 2021

Principal's report

Another busy week at Balgowlah North. With the easing of restrictions it will be great to see opportunities for our parents to engage with our students and their learning in the classroom. One of our focus areas this year is reading. Our assistant principals are working each week in every classroom with our students to deepen engagement and work side by side with all our teachers. This is an exciting space for us.  We have already seen growth in our students writing in response to the quality texts they have been reading in Stage 3.  We are hoping the school community will support us with this. Mr Mc Call and Ms Mason have organised a colour run fundraiser for the last day of term. All money we raise will be spent on quality literature to support engagement of our students with reading. We are all looking forward to this fun event! 

Covid guidelines

The NSW Department of Education has revised its COVID Guidelines for parents and visitors. The leadership team reviewed this update and welcome parents on-site in accordance with these updated guidelines.

 However, I know that many parents wish to continue building the independence and resilience of last year and will want to continue to drop your child/children at the gate, or at the kiss and drop zone and allow them to walk into school by themselves, with a sibling, or a school friend.  

As such, from Tuesday 9 March, our school arrangements will be as follows:

• K- 2 pick up and drop off will continue as is. Our students are very settled and having time to play and connect with friends before school is an important part of the daily transition to school life.
• Parents may contact the school at any time to request meetings with staff. However, staff are unavailable for formal or informal meetings unless prior arrangements have been made.
• Parents are not permitted to enter classrooms or bag rooms, other learning spaces/buildings, except with an appointment.
• if you are meeting a teacher for an appointment they now have a QR code in their classroom for signing in so you don't need to come via the office.
• We continue to welcome P & C employees and volunteers for uniform shop, and our band programs.
• Parents are not permitted on site if they are unwell even with the mildest of COVID-19 symptoms.
• All visitors (volunteers, external providers and tradespeople etc.),must sign in at the school office.
• Class teachers will be in contact with class parents if they are intending on using parents to volunteer in the classroom. QR codes will be provided at the classroom for checking in.
• All pick up of students during the school day will continue through the office.
• Parents and carers can attend school sporting events. School sporting events should align with requirements for community sporting competitions and training activities in NSW. 
• Singing at assemblies will recommence.
• Schools should continue to complete COVID-safe plans for school events where more than 50 adults are gathering.

We look forward to welcoming increasing interactions with parents at school, however, we still need to follow some restrictions to ensure everyone's safety. The 1.5m physical distancing guideline will remain in place. 

Further information can be found at: advice-for-families

 Thank you for your continuing support.

Brooke Keevers

Principal

Deputy Principal's report

What Works Best - Use of Data to Inform Practice

At Balgowlah North we use data (also known as evidence) to make decisions about where learning needs to go next. This can look like student work samples, vidoes, photographs, assessment pieces, formative assessment, internal summative assessments (such as PAT Reading, PAT Maths, class based summative tests) or external summative assessments (such as NAPLAN, Check In). We use this information to discuss and plan learning activities, school strategic directions and staff professional learning. Our teachers have been using the QDAI model to analyse our data. This is where we pose a Question, identify the Data required to assess the question, we then Analyse the evidence and then discuss and decide the Implications that have come from the evidence. 

SEAT - Ethics volunteers

We continue to require more ethics volunteers. At this time, we have students who have elected to be in an ethics class who do not currently have a volunteer teacher. Please consider training, especially for our Yrs 3 - 6 classes. It requires a 1 hour commitment on a Thursday afternoon from 1.40pm. Please reach out to our ethics coordinator, Susan Gray, at bnpsethics@gmail.com .

Lost Property

It is timely that the weather is starting to change and the mornings are a little cooler, that I mention lost property items. Please ensure that your child’s name and current class is on their jumper and hat. 

Belinda Norrie

A/Deputy Principal

Sport news

Zone swimming carnival

On Friday 5th March we had a team of 36 swimmers compete in the Manly/Warringah PSSA zone swimming carnival at Warringah Aquatic Centre. Our students swam brilliantly and we had a fantastic day with many excellent individual and relay results. Congratulations to the following students who made finals in the freestyle:  Vincenzo M, Amelia S, Millie G, Addison B, Lachlan S, and Chloe G.

More results to come as they are sent through from the zone organisers, but special congratulations must go to Lachlan Sheather who was named 12 Years Boys Age Champion for the meet.  Congratulations also to the following swimmers who have made the Sydney Northern Regional Swimming Team:  Chloe G, Millie G, Vincenzo M, Christopher O, Lachlan S and  Amelia S. We wish all the very best at the upcoming Sydney North regional carnival!

Mrs Kelly and Miss McIndoe

Library news

Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC)

The PRC for 2021 has now officially begun! Students are now able to go online to register and start logging books they have read from the beginning of this year. The reading challenge is a wonderful way to motivate reading whilst introducing students to a huge variety of quality literature. Students in K-2 are challenged to read 30 titles and 3-6 students are to read 20 titles. The reading challenge is not a competition but a challenge to read more.

Please visit the Premier’s Reading Challenge website for more information. There is a helpful video on the PRC Support site that you can watch that demonstrates how to login, search for books and add them to a Student Reading Record. When you login you will be asked for a user name and password. This is your child’s DEC student login which you would have received from their teachers.

I am our school’s PRC coordinator and happy to help with any issues and questions. Please email me at deborah.horsley1@det.nsw.edu.au

Book Club

The first Book Club catalogue is coming home this week with some wonderful titles to choose from. For every Book Club order placed, Scholastic gives back 20% of the order spend to our school to purchase educational resources via its Scholastic Rewards program. Every order placed is very much appreciated! Thanks very much to our Book Club parent volunteer, Anna T, for coordinating the distribution of book orders! The order cut-off date is 19 March.

Band at BNPS

On Monday morning our Concert Band students performed for students in the younger years.  The audience members learnt about all the instruments in the band and the conductor, Mrs Roumanoff, demonstrated how each section and then the whole band plays together.  For the final song the younger students sat next to the band members to watch their favourite instrument being played up close.  The Year 3 students had an activity sheet to take home, where they circled the instruments they are keen to learn.  It was lovely to see the excitement and enthusiasm from the audience members - many hands were raised when they were asked if they wanted to learn an instrument.  We are hopeful that we will see some of them in junior band very soon.

If your child would like to join our band or strings program please get in touch on bnpsband@hotmail.com.

Waste Free Wednesday winners

Well done to our 100% winners  3M!

Balgowlah North Public School will celebrate Harmony Day on Thursday 18^th March. Harmony Day is celebrated in March each year. It is a day to share and celebrate cultural diversity. It’s also about inclusiveness, respect and belonging, celebrating the different cultures that make Australia such a special place to live.

This year’s theme is ‘Everyone Belongs’. Students are invited to wear a splash of orange on Harmony Day. We look forward to celebrating Harmony Day. Read more at https://www.harmony.gov.au

Harmony Day Committee

The Colour Run

This is a first-of-its-kind event at our school and promises to be lots of fantastic, messy fun! The Colour Run is raising funds to purchase quality texts for the Balgowlah North Public School library. Students run/walk/skip around a designated course here at school, socialising with friends, being covered in vibrant colours and almost forgetting that they are exercising! Adding interest and duration to the course along the way will be obstacles and challenges to make it more fun!

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

When is it being held?

The last day of this term, Thursday the 1^st of April. Given that the students will be messy from the coloured powder, we are finishing the event to coincide with the end of the school day.

Should students wear special clothes?

We are expecting the students to come dressed in mufti. However, the powered paint will show best on white clothes. Eyewear such as swimming goggles, snorkelling goggles, sunnies or safety goggles are a must.

Do the powders clean up easily?

Yes. Powders will wash into the grass, off trees with the first rains. Otherwise a bucket or a hose will do the same job. Powders will not permanently mark paths or buildings. They dust/wash off very easily. Powders will wash off the skin and out of hair with the first wash with soap. Powders will wash out of clothes with the first wash. This being said, most people don’t wear their most expensive shirt on the day.

What about asthmatics?

While the powders are generally not inhaled by the participants, it is never a good idea to expose people with respiratory illnesses to flying dust particles and the like.

How safe are the powders?

The school is using powders are the safest on the Australian market which are made from purely from corn flour and food colouring.

How and where can I donate to raise funds for the quality texts?

Payment can be made online via the school website or the Schoolzine app (tab: ‘Make a Payment’, payment type – OTHER, description – COLOUR RUN)

What if I don’t want my child to participate?

You can choose an ‘opt out’ approach whereby if you do not want your child to participate, you must advise the school.

Dates for your diary

11 March

• Selective High School test 

14 March

• P&C working bee 

16 &17 March

• Stage 3 science incursion

17 March

• P&C AGM 

18 March

• Harmony day

22-26 March

• Year 2 swimming scheme
  

30 March

• Year 1 Manly Dam excursion

31 March

• Year 2 Manly Dam excursion

01 April 

• Colour run K-6
• Last day of Term 1

19 April

• School development day

20 April

• Students K-6 return for the start of Term 2

Kindergarten parents evening event

Due to a number restrictions we are unable to host the usual Kindy drinks this year and instead they are being held in class groups. Thank you to the wonderful parents who’ve offered to host. 
Information on dates will be sent via Kindy class parents.

Green grove

Calling all Kindergarten and Year 1 Families to meet and help out at our next Green Grove Working Bee with some basic gardening, painting and a few odd jobs. 

Please sign up here by March 15th: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0A4DADA829ABF49-bnps1

Community information

Koolkuna

Did you know that Australians throw out 3.5 million tons of plastic each year? Estimates suggest that only around 10% of it is recycled. At Koolkuna, we care about the environment, but we also recognize that life can get busy and sometimes even the most environmentally conscious amongst us simply do not have enough time to take their soft plastics to a drop off point.

Well, we will do it for you. Simply bring your soft plastics with you and put them in our big black bin at the front of Koolkuna and we will take your soft plastics to a local drop off point.

Don't forget to book into our Autumn Vacation Care! Spots are filling up fast and we don't want you to miss out!

Koolkuna OSHC Admin Team

Mob: 0400 774 697 | admin@koolkunaoshc.com.au

Second hand uniform shop

BNPS has a second hand uniform shop available to all families. 100% of the money raised from sales goes directly back to the P&C and helps to provide resources for our children and the school.

All items are $10.00 each, with the exception of things like hats, library bags, etc. which are only $5.00 each!!

As Covid still restricts parents on school grounds, the second hand uniform shop now uses an online ordering system.

All orders can be emailed through to: bnpsuniformshop@gmail.com

Please ensure you include your child’s name and class with the order.

Orders are filled on a fortnightly basis and placed in the office for collection by your child. Please note, the office is only accepting cash payments, and we would appreciate you trying to send your child with the correct money.

Reply emails will be sent advising when items are ready for collection, what items are / are not available, and the amount owing for orders that can be filled.

To make this whole process possible, we need your uniform donations. Please only donate items that carry the current logo and are in good condition (would you put it on your own child?). We would also appreciate items being washed before being donated and please only donate items that are the current BNPS school uniform. All uniform donations can be dropped to the office at any time.

Please keep an eye out on the ‘North Balgowlah Community Group’ and ‘BNPS uniform shop’ Facebook pages for reminders of when orders are due.

Thanks in advance for your support,

Brooke Krncevic and Vanessa van Rijswijk

(Second Hand Uniform Shop Volunteers)

Advertising

Sponsors