Newsletter Term 3 Week 8 2021

"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 report

As of last Friday the Premier and the Minister for Education announced their road map for students returning to face to face learning at school in Term 4. 

• Monday 25th October (Week 4, Term 4) Kindergarten and Year One return face to face.
• Monday 1st November (Week 5, Term 4) Years 2 and 6 students return to face to face.
• Monday 8th November (Week 6, Term 4)Years 3,4 and 5 return to face to face.

This will look different in every school across NSW we also need to be aware that conditions are pending any changes to the health advice.

We are excited to see a plan that will enable our students to return to school as I am sure are all our school community.

Thank you to our teachers for sharing how they look after their wellbeing during this time. I am looking forward to sharing with our students this week the wellbeing activities they are enjoying.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1zopdVjk4cinE_DNx_K3X4jGk1uI4W6vZs00Dl93QW7Q/edit?usp=sharing

 Jersey Day

This Friday Mrs Kelly has created some fantastic physical challenges for our students to complete. Our teachers will not be available online on Friday as they will be spending time working on assessment tasks and programming forward for the last few weeks of Term 3 and into Term 4. Students are encouraged to take photos of some of their challenges and send them through to go into the newsletter next week.

Book Week writing competition

It has been fantastic to see so many entries coming in for our writing competition. I am looking forward to reading these with Mrs Horsley and Mrs Ridley next week. Thank you for encouraging your children to engage with this opportunity.

SASS Recognition Week 

Next week is a time to celebrate our amazing SASS staff at Balgowlah North. Our School Administration and Support Staff (SASS) play an important role in the school community. They are often the first people you see when you enter a school and are essential to maintaining positive relationships with students, parents and the community.

SASS staff work in school offices, in classrooms and libraries and maintaining and caring for school grounds and buildings. They are often the ones to tend to students when they unwell and they ensure the efficient management of school financial and administration functions. Our SASS are continuing to provide essential support to our school whilst working from home. As you can imagine the school continues to run albeit in a virtual space, and our administrative team are the backbone of our school. 

Thank you to Colleen Tobler our business manager, Kerrie Nugent, Amanda Baker, Debbie Elder and Debbie Allcroft our office staff. Thank you also to the fabulous George Vella who keeps our grounds well maintained. He is now assisted by Ashley Gaulter on Monday and Thursdays. 

Our SLSO (Student Learning Support Officers) are continuing to support our students both at school and at home at this time. They assist teachers with support in the classroom, creating resources, attending zooms, making phone calls to check in with families as well as administrative tasks for the school. Thank you to Claudia Mete, Louise Eden and Sally De Hennin for all that you do to support our students.

We are very thankful for the dedication, compassion and care that our school administration staff bring to their work everyday to support the students, staff and school community. 

Take care everyone

Brooke Keevers

Principal

School news

Attendance during Home Learning

We are so proud of how engaged our BNPS students have been in our home learning program. We understand that sustaining motivation can be challenging at times, particularly as we approach the end of the school term,  and want to commend our students and parents on their diligence in partnering with us to ensure learning continues from home.

As always, our unwavering  message is that we are here to support each and every student in participating in their learning from home. We understand that flexibility matters as each family will approach home learning in a way that best suits their context. We continue to encourage you to do what you can, focus on quality over quantity and prioritise the ‘Must Do’ tasks in the program.

With the confirmation of Home Learning continuing into Term 4, it is necessary to clarify our expectations for participation in the Home Learning Programs. Our school’s expectations are guided by the Department of Education’s Procedures for Attendance during home learning.

DoE Guidelines

A student may be counted as attending school if there is reasonable evidence of participation in learning from home.

Minimum standards of attendance are considered in terms of engagement with learning activities provided by the school while students are learning from home. Reasonable evidence should include things such as:

• student completion of specific work during a set time period allocated by the school e.g. worksheets, activities and online tasks that are submitted to the teacher by a specified date. 
• student engagement with online lessons e.g. the teacher keeps a roll of student attendance during Zoom sessions or students participate in online lessons via SeeSaw or Google Classroom.
• Where students are unable to participate in remote learning virtually or submit work online, accommodations for hard copy work samples should be discussed with the school. 

Students who are required to learn from home and are not meeting participation requirements set by the school according to age and stage and relevant to the program of work being taught, will have this recorded as an unjustified absence.

It is essential that we monitor student attendance and engagement during remote learning so we can support student wellbeing and sustain curriculum delivery and learning outcomes. 

As we know that remote learning will continue into Term 4, we advise parents that unsatisfactory attendance in remote learning will be reflected in their child’s Semester Two report. 

At BNPS our procedures are as follows:

Teachers are actively monitoring student attendance of daily class Zoom sessions and submission of work via SeeSaw or Google Classroom.

If a student is not not actively engaged in any aspect of Home Learning over the course of a week, a wellbeing phone call will be made by the Classroom Teacher, to offer assistance and support to the family in setting some goals for engagement.

Students who continue to be identified as not engaging with the Home Learning content will be referred to the Deputy Principal or Principal so an individualised plan for attendance can be created.

Rachel Ridley

R/Deputy Principal

Jersey Day is this Friday!

Remember to put on your favourite sports shirt or jersey this Friday to compete in the fun physical challenges Mrs Kelly has prepared. 

If you have some time on Friday to compete in the challenges as a family that's fantastic, but they can be done individually.

We would love to see you in your jersey attempting some of the challenges - please send any photos into school via See Saw or Google classroom.

This is the equipment that is used.  Please don't worry if you don't have all of the equipment - just do what you can:  

4/5 pairs socks

Washing basket

Beach towel

Bouncing ball and a container to aim at  

Boiled Eggs

Tablespoon

Large ball/ soft toy or balloon

2 plastic cups or markers

Skipping rope/ hula hoop

A timing device

Premier’s Reading Challenge

Well done to the following readers who have completed the reading challenge for this year. Kindergarten - Lily B, Matilda D, Liam D, Annabelle S; Year 1 - Frankie J; Year 3 - Talon D; Year 5 - Elisha D. The challenge closes on September 3. Please complete all reading records by this date.

Discovering Bees – Stage 2

This term Year 3 and 4 students have been investigating the fascinating lives of bees in Australia and how they interact with our diverse climate and natural vegetation. Students have discovered the importance of bees in sustaining our environment and explored ways we can help them survive in our modern world. Within this unit of work students learnt about Australia’s very own native bees, such as the fluffy Teddy Bear Bee and the beautiful Blue Banded Bee and completed a research project on one of these native bees. Students practiced research skills such as notetaking and paraphrasing, using a variety of information sources and completed their research by creating an informative digital presentation. I am very proud to showcase some excellent reports below. There were many to choose from across the stage! Some of these examples are just a snapshot of their work or the complete presentation. Use google to access the links.

Olivia 3E https://read.bookcreator.com/sXOmPKhpw8Xwji4as7Q0yOOwfvz2/H_HCF-HATDeIZQdgircnfw

Millie 3E https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Klt6WwGm2kb-WpIp2QwNuHF_v5BDxGzIFG-MmuC7eEs/edit#slide=id.p

 Tess 3M https://read.bookcreator.com/bhod9hpj9EUkz5t7C73bBzaPpFv2/MI9vs39YQQma1rAd1OIrRA

Jackson 4/3C https://read.bookcreator.com/p07OKGcSbDg2MYY6TGSYElFVrEq2/XZ7u3hsyRzGhb_5Gco4s5Q 

Ruby 4W  https://read.bookcreator.com/tnmcTiEkeDSrQvEJApyzVphls9O2/AWiqxssKQXuHtoFczZNkpQ

Deborah Horsley

Teacher Librarian

Jersey Day is coming!

• When: Friday 3^rd September
• What: BNPS Students (and their families) are encouraged to wear their favourite sporting team’s jersey for the day. Don’t have one- no problem! Just wear your favourite T-shirt for the day and be ready for Mrs Kelly’s exciting sporting challenges. This s a great opportunity for our students to take a break from their regular home learning program and engage with some fun physical fitness activities to get them moving and smiling.

The origins of Jersey Day: Jersey Day is a wonderful initiative that raises awareness for Organ Donation. Students are asked to wear their favourite sporting jersey for the day and begin the conversation about the importance of becoming an organ and tissue donor. BNPS will not be focusing on this aspect of the day, however it may be a conversation you wish to have as a family. You can find out more about jersey day here: https://www.jerseyday.com.au/

https://www.youtube.com/embed/dTiree8Hwi4

.

Music

Finn C from 4/3C will be playing the theme from Stranger Things by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein. Finn has very cleverly created his version on piano “by ear”. He has also edited the video. Watch out for the surprise ending !!!!!!!

Great work Finn!

Click on the link for Finn’s performance.  https://youtu.be/4sYP6aNSMos

Relaxation:  Serene music to help the family relax.

Peder B  Helland  Sunny Mornings      https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rGS40T-jIwA

Kindergarten listened and moved to March of the Lions from Carnival of the Animals.

Here are some beautiful pictures of the lions.

Band fundraiser raffle tickets are on Flexischools now! Just $2 a ticket!

To raise money for the BNPS Band we have this unisex cross body bag up for raffle!

We haven't been able to have a cupcake stall or a disco this term, so we are holding a raffle instead! For $2 a ticket, you will go into the draw to win this cross body bag. It is made from a music themed cotton with black vinyl accent and a black vinyl strap.

It would make a great low cost gift for you music tutor or music fan! Purchase your tickets now on

Raffle closes on Thursday 9 September! The Band Program thanks you for your support!

Book Week

Thank you so much for the effort and enthusiasm that was made to celebrate Book Week from home. Enjoy the showcase of images from class zooms below.

Dates for your diary

01 September

• Indigenous literacy day
• Remote P&C meeting

03 September

• K-6  jersey day - focusing of fitness and fun

08 September

• STEM day - interesting science challenges

15 September

• Create and connect day - celebrating the arts

17 September

• Last day of term 3

4 October

• Labour day public holiday

5 October

• Start of term 4 - remote learning

P&C news

P&C meeting

And just like that the weeks have rolled by and it's time for another P&C Meeting. 
The next one will take place WEDNESDAY 1 SEPTEMBER  at 7.30pm REMOTELY
Please register your interest at pandcbnpssecretary@gmail.com - in order for the meeting link to be sent to you.

Koolkuna

Dear Families,  

UPDATED EMAIL ADDRESS

Koolkuna has recently updated our email address to: kkoshc@sustainableoshc.com.au - please save this new email address to your contact list as well as double checking your junk emails to ensure you are receiving all of Koolkuna's updates and information regarding COVID-19, Bookings, Vacation Care & more!

UPDATED 2021 SPRING VACATION CAREUnfortunately, we are unable to have external providers come onsite this upcoming Vacation Care period. Please find attached our Updated Spring Vacation Care Program to reflect this. 

Kind Regards,

Koolkuna OSHC Admin Team

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

Community news

Genius hour

Did you know 1 in 8 kids in Australia go to school hungry? We can help change that by donating snacks for lunchboxes for the Eat Up charity. Please drop off individually wrapped and nut free lunchbox snacks at my house 4 Water Reserve Road. I will leave a tub out the front for contactless drop off.  Thank you for supporting kids in need - Tyla Hill 6M

Thank you so much! Can't wait to see you at school!

-Tyla Hill

Care packages to remote Indigenous communities near Dubbo

THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY

A big thank you to the school community for your generous donations for the support for the Indigenous Communities in Western NSW. 

The first shipment has been sent to Bambara in the Dubbo Opportunity Hub to be distributed to remote communities particularly Goodooga and Nanima.

We are now part of a network of schools involved in this programme throughout Northern Sydney.  If we are required for a second shipment, I will let you all know.  Again, thank you so much for your generosity. 

It was amazing to see at such short notice how our community can unite to show kindness to others. 

Jen Barnes

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