Newsletter Term 4 Week 11 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

Thank you

What a wonderful end for our Year 6 students celebrating over slushies, mexican, dancing and having fun with their classmates.  A fabulous night was had by all. Thank you to the teaching staff who supervised the activities for the Year 6 Farewell last Friday night. Thank you also to the amazing Year 6 team of parents led by Shannon Deeran, Nikki Robinson and Sarah Pilavidis in coordinating and organising the decorating, activities and catering. 

All our students have greatly enjoyed this week at school with Surf Ed on Monday followed by the Year 6 fun day yesterday!

Today are our picnic days and our students are celebrating their year of learning with their classmates. On Thursday our Year 6 parents are invited to our Year 6 Graduation Assembly and clap out. This will be held under the COLA from 2.20pm. Please ensure that 1 parent only attends and give yourself time to QR code in, face mask and have your vaccination status checked by our admin staff who will be at the COLA.  

I would finally like to thank Ann-Marie Pickard and Amy Mussett for all their work in coordinating the Year 6 Year book. It has been fantastic to see our students being part of this and their work published in a Year 6 book. These opportunities provide memories for our students long after they have completed their primary years. We greatly appreciate the time and energy that goes into this.

Building works

Over the holidays there will be many trades working on our school site. We are having roofs replaced, solar installation as well as carpet laid, internal and external painting completed. There will also be regular maintenance as well. Please ensure students are supervised by an adult if they are using the school grounds in the holidays.

2022 New opportunities

We look forward to 2022 and new opportunities for our students to grow and learn. Changing classes and building new friendships is assisted with positive conversations at home with your children. There will be composite classes again in 2022. For the most part, it is the quality of teaching, combined with student interest and engagement that has a greater impact on learning than class organisational structures.

Quality teaching that is differentiated to meet the needs of every student, well supported by mentoring, instructional leadership, teacher collaboration and professional learning, has a far greater impact on student achievement than the structure of classes.

Teaching practices such as explicit teaching, formative assessment, flexible grouping strategies and collaborative inquiry-based learning, all of which are routinely implemented across classes at Balgowlah North PS, are equally effective in composite classes as in single grade classes.

All our students are placed carefully in classes. I have attached our document that outlines the processes that we use at Balgowlah North Public School. All our students, in Years 1-6, will be placed in their new class on their first day of returning to school on  1 February 2022.

Balgowlah North Public-School Composite/Multi Stage classes– Questions and Answers 

School reports

School reports will be emailed home today. Please ensure these are kept in a safe place so that you can access them as required. 

Dates for 2022

Just a reminder that teachers will be working at school on Friday the 17th of December. Please ensure that students do not use the grounds to play or ride their bikes as we have a School Development Day and will be working. 

Our students have shown strength, agility and growth in 2021. We are very proud of each and everyone of them. I wish our school community a restful break, spending time with family and friends. We will see you all once again in the new year.

Take care

Brooke Keevers

Principal

School news

Mrs Keevers Year 6 Leaders Morning Tea

Last week our Year 6 Leadership Team joined Mrs Keevers and Mrs Ridley for a celebratory morning tea to thank them for their ongoing dedication to leading our school in 2021. These 8 students have been absolute stars this year, rising to the challenge of leading their school through challenging times. We are so proud of all they have achieved and wish them all the best as they continue in their journey to become leaders of the future. 

Presentation Ceremony Photographs

As we were unable to invite parents on-site to attend our Presentation Ceremonies in Week 10, we organised some lovely photographs for you to view and download. There are photographs of each of our award recipients from K- 6. 

You will need to use the following code to access the galleries:

BNPS2021Preso

https://naturalchildschoolphotograph.shootproof.com/gallery/17094876/

Christmas Stall

Last Thursday we held the enormously successful Christmas stall where many of our students delighted in the opportunity to choose presents for their loved ones. This year’s stall was our biggest one yet with  823 gifts purchased! We would like to extend an enormous thank you to the wonderful Emma Green and her team of P&C helpers who worked so hard to ensure this event went ahead for our students. We are also so appreciative of the phenomenal efforts of our Year 6 House Captains, Mr Lachlan Stewart and Miss Claudia Mete.

Year 6 Games Day

We had a beautiful sunny summer’s day for our Year 6 Games Day on Tuesday. Our Year 6 entrepreneurs ran an exciting program of games, activities and events on the COLA and oval for our younger students . It was a day of smiles, fun and excitement that raised $1,612 as the Year 6 gift to the school, our wonderful mural! This has been two years in the making and what a phenomenal legacy to leave for everyone to enjoy. 

Mrs Ridley’s end of year wishes…

As we come to the end of 2021 I want to send all of our BNPS families my best wishes for the school holiday break. This has been a year of uncertainty and challenge, a year that has demanded we ‘dig deep’ and tested our resolve. I hope the next few weeks provide you with the opportunity to connect with family, friends and the parts of your life that bring you joy. 

To our beautiful students...we are so proud of ALL of you. Each and every one of you have learnt, grown and achieved this year. Whether your steps forward, milestones and accolades be big or small, you have all shone in your own way. Thank you for being you- you make our school wonderful! We can’t wait to see you again in 2022. 

Rachel Ridley

Deputy Principal (Relieving)

Waste free Wednesday

The marvelous KM were the ultimate Waste Free Wednesday winners for 2021 with 16 100% waste free wins this year! What a fantastic effort they have put in!It is so wonderful to have a school full of environmental warriors who will lead the way into a sustainable future for our planet. Keep up the great effort everyone and always remember, every little bit helps.

DanceSports Confidence

Dancesport Confidence was an amazing program for Year 5 students this year. It involved all students learning to dance six ballroom dances and to perform them with a partner. These dances included the Cha Cha, Tango, Salsa, Jive, Samba and the Swing. This year I learnt the male and female dancing part and performed with my friend Heidi. We were lucky enough to go to Homebush with a large group from BNPS to perform with lots of other students from other schools. Heidi and I performed and got 2nd place for the Cha Cha, 4th place for the Tango, 2nd place for the Salsa and 5th place for the Jive. Beau and Lani got third place in the Jive.

Heidi H and Summer W

Surf Education

On Monday 13th of December years 3-6 went down to South Steyne in Manly for surf education. We caught the buses down then got ready to go out in the surf. Everyone was split into their classes; each class had a couple of instructors to lead them and help them in the water. Most groups had boards and were led out the back to catch waves back in. The day was filled with loads of fun activities including dolphin diving, board riding, body surfing, free swimming and some amazing relays. We learnt about water safety, rips and the best ways to get through the waves. We were in the water for three hours and left the beach at 1:00. It was a great day and we all learnt a lot about water safety. 

Annie and Lani  6/5S

Year 6 farewell dinner

Band news

Band News – It’s a wrap!

We are jingling all the way as we look forward to the holiday break.  2021 final performance, comprising all band and string players was presented to the children in class at school.  The children and teachers loved it and it is so good we want the whole BNPS community share in the joy.  It is a lot of hard work putting together an online performance, learning the piece is hard enough but to record it and then have it edited together is a big job.  It was worth it though – Enjoy.

Thank you to the conductors, Natasha and Angus, the parents and students for pulling this performance together.  Angus deserves a special thank you for all this technical prowess to achieve the final product. 

Join the Band 2022

We are still taking registrations to join band in 2022.  As you will see from the Jingle Bells performance, the children gain invaluable skills and have fun while learning.  Sign up via the registration form for an instrument assessment.  More information e-mail bhpsband@hotmail.com

All the best for a  music-filled festive season.

Caroline Fechner

Band coordinator

Dates for your diary

16 December

• Last day of term for all students

17 December

• School development day

28 & 31 January

• School development days
  

01 February

• Students Years 1-6 return to school

01 & 02 February 

• Best start days for Kindergarten students
  

04 February

• Kindergarten students start school
  

21 February

• School swimming carnival

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