Newsletter Term 4 Week 3 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
How lovely to welcome back our Kindergarten and year One students this week. Huge smiles from our students, teachers and parents! I am always amazed at the resilience and agility of our children. They never cease to surprise us all. Popping in to see all our students back in the classrooms just picking straight back up with their friends and engaging quickly with their learning was exciting to see. Teachers are reconnecting with their students and spending time this week and next assessing their learning.
Planning for 2022
The school leadership team has commenced planning for 2022. At this point in time we will have 18 classes for 2022. As we are aware this may change depending on our Kindergarten enrolments, students leaving the school and with the international borders opening we may find this affects our enrolments as well.
We are extremely fortunate at BNPS to have highly skilled, professional and passionate teachers. Creating classes is an extremely rigorous process that teachers take very seriously. Our aim is to provide equity for all students based on their academic, social and emotional needs. We will be creating composite (multi stage) classes in 2022 These classes as all our classes will be created carefully to create best fit for all our students at BNPS. Please see the attachment for further information .
If your child has any social, academic or emotional needs that we are unaware of which may have an impact on their class placement for 2022 please email the school - attention Brooke Keevers. This information must be submitted by Friday 5th November. Requests for specific teachers will not be taken into consideration.
P&C Meeting
P&C meeting will be on Wednesday night. Please let the P&C secretary know if you are attending.
Welcome back Year 2 to 6
We look forward to welcoming back our students in 2 - 6 and our classroom teachers next week. I have added the video link to remind parents of our procedures for pick up and drop off. Mons road will be the main exit point for students in 3 -6. Please organise a designated place to meet your child if you do not want them crossing the road unattended.
Enjoy your week everyone
Brooke Keevers
Principal
School news
Check-In Assessment
Students in years 3-6 will participate in a reading and numeracy Check-in assessment.
The Check-in assessment is a NSW Department of Education online reading and numeracy assessment available to support schools to assess and monitor student learning.
The assessments will supplement existing school practices to identify how students are performing and to help teachers tailor their teaching more specifically to student needs.
The assessment is scheduled during weeks 5 and 6.
Opportunity Class Placement Test
Due to the ongoing COVID restrictions this year's Opportunity Class Placement Test has been rescheduled to Wednesday, 17 November 2021. It will be administered as a computer-based test on-site at Balgowlah North Public School. We will communicate further details to the Year 4 students who have applied to participate in the assessment when they come to hand in early November.
ICAS Update
Please be advised that we have rescheduled the ICAS Maths Assessment to Tuesday 16th November. All other assessment dates remain unchanged:
Science: Thursday 11 November
English: Monday 15 November
Maths: Tuesday 16 November
If you enrolled your child in the writing assessment, please ensure you contact ICAS directly for a refund: icasassessments@janison.com.au
Unfortunately, ICAS was unable to extend the assessment window for the writing assessment which made it untenable for Balgowlah North Public School to proceed with in 2021.
Tell Them From Me Parent Survey
We strongly encourage our parent community to participate in our annual Tell Them From Me Survey. This survey is anonymous, voluntary and easy to use and provides us with opportunities to further develop our partnership with the parent community to support student learning.
Parent feedback is integral to us effectively planning for the future of our school.
Please use the link below to participate in the 2021 TTFM Parent Survey.This survey will close on Friday 22nd October.
http://nsw.tellthemfromme.com/bnpsparents2021
Tell Them From Me Student Survey
In Weeks 5 and 6 of Term 4, our students from Years 4-6 will be asked to take part in the Tell Them From Me Semester 2 Snapshot. This survey will ask students about a range of experiences, including their engagement and wellbeing at school and beyond. It also asks students about teaching practices and their learning environment. It will take about 2 minutes to complete and provides us with valuable information about student perceptions of their school.
If you wish to read more about the Tell Them From Me Student Survey, you can do so here
If you do not wish for your child to take part in the survey please contact the school office for a non-consent form and return it to the school by Friday the 29th of October. All students will complete the survey unless a non-consent form is received.
Homework
Homework will resume for Stages 1, 2 and 3 in Week 6. Homework tasks will be designed to provide students with the opportunity to work independently, express creativity and think innovatively. Further details of specific tasks will be provided by Class Teachers.
Rachel Ridley
R/Deputy Principal
Students not returning for 2022
Planning is underway for 2022. If your child will not be returning in 2022 could you please complete the google link below. This information is very important because it has an impact on our class structures and staffing of the school.
Kindergarten enrolments for 2022
We currently have 65 students enrolled for kindergarten next year. If you know of any families that have not enrolled yet it would be greatly appreciated if you could do this. We are currently reviewing our orientations for next term as part of our planning for students returning to school.
Music
Congratulations Lucy Oakes who has recently received the following results;
Grade 1 Piano - A with Honours
Grade 2 Music Theory - Credit
Dates for your diary
20 October
- Remote P&C meeting
25 October
- all remaining year groups return to school for face to face learning
26-28 October
- Year 1 phonics screening
29 October
- World teachers' day
P&C
P&C Remote Meeting next WEDNESDAY 20 October at 7.30pm
Hop on line and get involved
If you’d like to register for the meeting please contact pandcbnpssecretary@gmail.com so we can send you a link for the meeting. Links will be sent on the afternoon of 20 October.
If you’d like to raise any agenda item please email the above email with your points for discussion.
Thank you!
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