Newsletter Term 3 Week 9 2022
"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."
Love of Learning - Challenge, Creativity, Connections
Principal's message
Dear Parents,
As we approach the end of another dynamic and rewarding term of teaching and learning, our Classroom Teachers have had the opportunity to meet together this week to engage in collaborative planning days for Term 4. This is a tremendously valuable time for our highly dedicated teams to work together to analyse student progress across their stages and plan rich, engaging and purposeful units of work that will facilitate progress across all aspects of the curriculum.
In other exciting teaching and learning news, this week Mrs Sarah King will be representing our school at a cross-network Learning Walk and Talk led by esteemed Educational Leader, Dr Lyn Sharratt. This will be an amazing opportunity for our school to further our implementation of Learning Walks and Talks, which are an instructional leadership tool that assist in evaluating student connection to their learning.
Summer Sport Season
This Friday, the 16th of September, marks the start of our summer sport season.It is important you take time to review the changes to our school timetable for all students K -6 that will be implemented every Friday for the remainder of the 2022 school year.
We have had to design an alternative timetable for Fridays to allow our 3-6 students to participate in the Primary Schools Sports Association (PSSA) competition for the remainder of the year. Due to ongoing transport shortages impacting all schools across the network, the NBLA Principals and PSSA have had to rearrange competition times to maximise access to transport to and from venues for students.
As of this Friday, the 16th of September, our whole school will move to the following timetable:
9am-11am: K - 6 Classroom learning time
11am-12noon: Lunch
12pm-1pm: Classroom learning time K - 2/ Summer Sport Activities 3-6
1pm-1:20pm: Recess
1:20pm - 2:20pm: Classroom learning time K - 2/ Summer Sport Activities 3-6
2:20pm - 3pm: K -6 Classroom learning time
Our school canteen will accommodate these changes and reflect them in ordering choices for Fridays.
Students participating in the PSSA competition will leave school at 12 noon and return to their classrooms at 2:20pm. Students in 3-6 who are not participating in PSSA will participate in Futsal, Tennis or a school-based school sport program.
Planning for 2023
We are already commencing the process of planning for the 2023 school year. If you will be moving from our school at the end of this year it would be appreciated if you could contact the office to notify us.
Minilit Graduates
Our latest graduates of the fantastic MiniLit Program. These beautiful Year 1 students have been working so hard to improve their literacy and reading skills with Mrs Mason and we are so proud of them for their achievment.
Rex G, Nina F, Evie H, Bella K, Zara R
Back on Track Behaviour Program
BNPS is in the process of implementing the ‘Back on Track’ program. This is a consistent, positive behaviour management program that will be used by teachers to guide students back to expected behaviours. This will be implemented after a series of minor incidents or a major behaviour incident has occured at school.
Changes to Isolation Period
In line with the National Cabinet announcement about changes to the Covid isolation period, the following requirements will apply at our school.
All staff, students and visitors who have tested positive to COVID-19 must:
- complete 5 days of isolation from the date they tested positive
- be symptom-free before returning to school, if symptoms remain after Day 5 they must continue following NSW Health guidelines to self-isolate and undertake a rapid antigen test
- complete a rapid antigen test (RAT) and return a negative result before attending school on Days 6 and 7 after testing positive to COVID-19, and
- wear a mask on Days 6 and 7 when attending school (for all staff and those students 12 years and older).
Staff and students may use the RAT kits supplied to them by our school early this term for the purpose of testing before attending school on Days 6 and 7. If you require additional RAT kits for this purpose, please get in touch with our front office who can provide or organise additional kits.
Rachel Ridley
R/Deputy Principal
School news
Choir performance
The 3-6 Choir are very excited about our rehearsal for the Festival of Choral Music in the city this week!
Last week an information pack went home to all Choir students including a rehearsal and performance timetable as well as a permission to publish note and ticket sale details. If you did not receive the information and your child is in the choir please contact the office.
Tickets for family members are limited to 3 per child and go on sale this Wednesday. We will be going to the Salvation Army Hall in the city to rehearse with all the other schools. All choir students need to be at school at 8:30am on Wednesday morning with a packed recess and lunch. We hope to return to school around lunchtime if rehearsals are on schedule.
The performance will be next term at the Sydney Town Hall on Tuesday 25th October.
Mrs Harris and Mr McCall
State Drama Ensemble - Ticket Information
As you know, the Drama Ensemble is performing at the State Drama Festival early next Term.
We are performing a matinee (11:00am) on Thursday 20th October and an evening performance (7:00pm) on Thursday 20th October.
If you are available and interested in purchasing tickets, we would love for you to come along and support our school!
Please see below for more information.
General Admission
$37 adults
$24 pension card holders
$24 child
Booking fees and charges may apply.
Tickets can be booked via the Seymour Centre Booking Page
Check-in Assessment for Year 6
During Week 9, Year 6 students will participate in the Check-in assessment.
The Check-in assessment is a NSW Department of Education online literacy and numeracy assessment available to support schools to assess and monitor student learning.
The assessment can supplement existing school practices to identify how students are performing in literacy and numeracy and to help teachers tailor their teaching more specifically to student needs.
All students complete assessments in reading, writing and numeracy.
Students are asked to bring headphones or earbuds that plug into a computer to enable them to hear audio during the assessment.
What is a Learner? Community Feedback form.
We are looking for feedback about the language we use around being a learner and how that integrates with the PBL (Positive Behaviour for Learning) at BNPS. We value feedback from the community in this process. Please take a minute to click on the link and type in 5 words that come to mind to describe a learner.
https://forms.gle/RgidWo2JbmxCzkubA
Kindergarten enrolments
Kindy 2023 enrolments are open, if you haven't already enrolled for 2023 please complete the online enrolment.This year, as every year it’s particularly important for us to confirm enrolments in all grades for 2023 as student numbers directly impact our staffing.
If you know you will be leaving the school at the end of the year can you please complete the form below.
Library news
What a fantastic week it was last week celebrating books, stories and authors! During the week we hosted two wonderful authors at our school. Students from Kindergarten to Year 4 attended a fun and inspiring presentation from Australian author Tim Harris. Tim is the bestselling author of several laugh-out-loud series for kids, including Toffle Towers, Mr Bambuckle’s Remarkables and Exploding Endings.
Year 5 and 6 students enjoyed a very energetic presentation from Indigenous author Monty Boori Pryor. He is a multi-award-winning children's author, didgeridoo player, storyteller, dancer and renowned public speaker. The presentation included storytelling in the traditional indigenous way with music, dance and the spoken word. This was a fantastic lead into Indigenous Literacy Day, which was last Wednesday. Across the school students enjoyed listening to and reading stories by Indigenous authors.
Finally, our Book Parade on Thursday was a celebration of our enthusiastic reading culture here at Balgowlah North. Thank you to all those parents who were able to attend. Once again I was so impressed at the variety of costumes and the effort made with these.
Students are able to order signed copies of Tim Harris’ books on the following link: https://www.thechildrensbookshopspeakersagency.com.au/person/harris-tim-speaker/
The Children’s Bookshop will deliver the books to your child’s school (free delivery). Alternatively, you can call The Children’s Bookshop directly on 9571 1897 to order and pay over the phone.
Deborah Horsley
Teacher librarian
Book week
The Techhub: The Mars-Rover Project
The mission: You are part of a scientific engineering team that has been tasked with designing, building and remotely operating a vehicle that can maneuver around another planet.
This term, Stage 2 students have been learning about Earth and Space. Thinking creatively, students built and programmed a Mars Rover-inspired vehicle. Groups were tasked with adding sensors to their design, which required branching in their codes. Branching is part of an algorithm that causes different actions to be performed depending on specified conditions. For example, if red is detected by the colour sensor, the vehicle will stop moving or if the force sensor is pressed, the vehicle will reverse.
BNPS has lots of future engineers in the making! Each design was unique and various designs even had suspension systems, satellites, solar panels and compartments to collect samples. Some even considered what the rover would do if it encountered an alien!
Take a look at this project in action!
Miss Olivia Wakelin
The week ahead
14-15 Sept Year 6 check-in
16 Sept P&C movie night
19 Sept Regional athletics carnival
Beginner strings performance at assembly
21 Sept Kindy & Yr 6 Zoo excursion
23 Sept Last day of Term 3
10 Oct First day of Term 4
The Colour Run
This event at our school promises to be lots of fantastic, messy fun! The Colour Run is raising funds to purchase science, literacy and mathematics resources for the classrooms. 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!
Our students will be bringing home a pledge card this week to collect sponsors for our Colour Run. Sponsors can pay online (preferred method of payment) or in cash when each child returns their sponsorship card. It would be fantastic if you could encourage your child to be involved in this, as it builds a shared sense of responsibility and ownership towards making a difference for our school.
ALSO we have some fabulous prizes:
- a pizza lunch for the class that raises the most and a chance to COLOUR BOMB the teachers
- movie tickets for the family for the child that raises the most in K-2 and 3-6
To donate online, click on this link: https://quickweb.westpac.com.au/OnlinePaymentServlet3?action=EnterAccount&communityCode=DETSQW&supplierBusinessCode=3984
or go to our website or schoolzine app, and go to 'Make a Payment'.
- Add the student's name you are donating for.
- Add their class and DOB (it's ok if this isn't 100% accurate!).
- Click 'Next' and add your contact details.
- List the 'Payment Type' as 'Other'
- In the Description write 'Colour Run'
- Add the amount and the card holder's details.
- Submit!
We also accept cash!
We would appreciate all donations and pledge cards be returned to school by Tuesday 18th October.The students are quite excited about the class prize for the day! Parents are welcome to attend on the day to watch the fun.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
When is it being held?
Thursday 20th October at 1:45pm
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 that are made 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 -‘Make a Payment’, payment type – OTHER, description – COLOUR RUN
What if I don’t want my child to participate?
If you do not want your child to participate, you must advise your classroom teacher via email to balgowlahn-p.admin@det.nsw.edu.au before the day.
Movie Night at BNPS
This Friday 16th September we are holding a movie night, due to saftey concerns it will be in the Kindy area of the school this year, which means we unfortunatley have to cap numbers for the event at 350 and it is now sold out – but you can still be in with a chance of winning some fantastic raffle prizes (see above), head to the events section of Flexischools to get your tickets!
PBL term 3 week 9
Class snapshot - 4KG
Waste Free Wednesday
100% waste free winners for week eight were 3E and 4/3V. Keep up the terrific work everyone!
Community news
School Sponsors
