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 message

It is my absolute pleasure to relieve in the role of Principal during Mrs Keevers absence in Weeks 4 and 5 of this term. As we head towards the middle of Term 2, it is so lovely to see our vibrant school abuzz with happy students, special activities and wonderful opportunities for learning. The gradual easing of restrictions have helped us all feel that school is, dare I say it, feeling more ‘normal’ than it has in quite some time and we thank you for your continued support and cooperation in adhering to current COVID guidelines.

Close Contact Reminder
Last month NSW Health announced changes to isolation rules for close contacts which means that students and staff identified as close contacts and showing no symptoms can return to school with certain requirements. Please remember that:

You must notify the school if your child is intending to return under this provision.
They should conduct a daily rapid antigen test (RAT) and return a negative result each morning before attending school for 5 school days.
Any visitor to a school site who is a close contact is required to advise the school that they are a close contact before they come on site. These visitors should conduct a daily RAT and return a negative result before attending. They must also wear a mask indoors at all times.

Vaccination for volunteers
The Department of Education has determined to continue their requirement that all staff and volunteers on site be double-vaccinated against COVID-19 beyond the repeal date of the Public Health Order. These determinations will remain in place until the department decides its policy position based on a work health and safety risk assessment. This means that volunteers on the school site who have direct interaction with students, must be double-vaccinated.

Student Leave during the term
With the world opening up and travel becoming part of our lives again, we remind our families of the protocol around taking leave during the school term.

Families are encouraged to holiday or travel during school vacations. Holidays taken by students outside of school vacation periods are included as absences.

Accepting or declining an application for leave is at the discretion of the principal. Section 14 of the Student Attendance procedures states, ‘a principal should not accept a reason for travel during school term if it is not in the best interests of the student. This includes educational, social and participation reasons.’

If the principal does not believe the absence is in the student’s best interests and does not accept the reason, the absence will be recorded as ‘A’. In this case, a Certificate of Extended Leave – Holiday will not be issued. This should be communicated with the parent.

Please note, if the period of absence is in excess of 50 days, the student may be eligible to enrol in Distance Education and a conversation around this scenario should take place with all stakeholders to ensure available options for continuity of education are considered.

Extra-curricular Opportunities
We are very lucky to have a wide variety of extra curricular opportunities offered to all the students at our school, from performance groups to sporting teams. These activities are run by teachers or specialists, sometimes in the mornings or even at lunchtime. Students have a responsibility when joining to attend every practise, training or rehearsal. If students are unable to attend they must inform the teacher, non attendance could result in the student missing out on the opportunity to participate further. Parents have also made a commitment to ensuring this takes place when giving permission to partake. Please remind students of the importance of their commitment to these extra curricular activities, and the days they must attend. We appreciate your assistance in helping these exciting activities to continue.

Rachel Ridley
R/Principal

School News

Polish up the black shoes and get your best, sparkling smiles ready. School photos are coming up in Week 7, Thursday, 9th June, 2022. All students will have their individual and class photos on this day, as well as sibling photos.

Please ensure your child is wearing full, winter uniform.

Your choices are:
Winter tunic, winter skort or slacks with school blue shirt (short or long sleeved). Navy pants or shorts with school blue polo shirt (short or long sleeved). Navy socks or navy tights and black shoes.

To view prices and pay online, please go to www.theschoolphotographer.com.au and enter our school code, found on the flyer: X1253EL46B

Learning Walks and Talks

Balgowlah North PS and The Beaches Network have been involved in a project implementing Learning Walks and Talks, based on our professional learning around Lyn Sharratt’s book, ‘Clarity: What Matters Most in Learning, Teaching and Leading’. On Tuesday 24th May, we will be welcoming educators from Balgowlah Heights Public School, Stewart House School and Beacon Hill Public School into our classrooms.

The purpose of Learning Walks and Talks is to answer the question “How do you know students are learning?” They give us data to plan professional learning for staff, develop feedback conversations with teachers about assessment and instruction and provide data about trends and patterns throughout the school.

The Learning Walks and Talks taking place next Tuesday will center around each stage’s identified literacy focus and provide the opportunity to share Wonderings with our colleagues from across the network.

The week ahead

18 May P&C Meeting

19 & 20 May NAPLAN Make up assessment days

24 May Sydney Writer's Festival

26 May Zone Cross Country

Class Snapshot - 2P

PBL

TechHub

Learn about and explore the exciting robotics we use within the school at the TechHub @BNPS workshop. Join us TONIGHT (Wednesday 18th May) at 6:30-7:30pm in the school hall.

Register your attendance for the workshop here: https://forms.gle/GN8LLKZeywRiVymr6

Don’t forget to bring your creativity and coding skills with you!

Olivia Wakelin
Digital Technology Inspirational Leader
Classroom Teacher

Waste Free Wednesday

Week 3 winners, with 100%, are our environmental superstars, 1K/M!

P&C news

BNPS Trivia Night - one big night ONLYDid somebody say…….BNPS Trivia???It’s time to rally your smartest (or your most fun!) friends and put together a table of 8. Choose a theme & table name and go for “best themed table” glory!18 June 2022 - Wakehurst Golf ClubTable set up and pre-drinks from 7pm - Trivia to start at 7.30pmTickets - $520 per table ($65pp) and include Trivia, an assortment of light & substantial canapés, cheese platters & MusicTickets on sale 20 May through Flexischools - get in quick to avoid disappointmentCan’t make the night?? Be sure to purchase your raffle tickets to help support the P&C and our school.