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 News

Principal’s Report

Stage One recognising Reconciliation Week
This week, our Stage One students embraced the spirit of Reconciliation Week on a sunny Tuesday afternoon by participating in a series of engaging Indigenous ball games. The games included Kai, Gorri, Keetan, Kolap, Weme, and Wulijini. The beautiful weather provided the perfect backdrop for students to have fun, develop their physical skills, and deepen their understanding of Indigenous culture and history. The afternoon was filled with laughter, teamwork, and respect as everyone came together to learn and celebrate. A big thank you to our staff and students for making this event a memorable experience!

Unleashing our potential through creativity and critical thinking
How do we tap into creative and critical thinking? Teachers use a variety of strategies to engage students. Our Stage One students are using De Bono’s thinking hats across the curriculum. Our learning dispositions of curiosity and thoughtfulness give us an opportunity for this across all aspects of our teaching.

This week all our students engage with a focus day building skills in curiosity and challenge through art, drama, literacy, music and physical activity. Mrs Gough and I had a fabulous morning with our stage one students today, analysing texts and creating opportunities to explore art making and drama improvisation.

What is Action Research?
Over this term our teachers are engaging with evidence-based research and application into different models and scaffolds that can be used to build students strength in original thinking, risk taking and flexibility.

Our professional learning provides opportunities for our teachers to choose an area of interest and focus for the needs of their class.

Brooke Keevers

Principal

Assistant Principal's News

Spotlight on Kindergarten
It’s been a big week of learning in the kindergarten classrooms! In maths, the focus has been on representing and ordering teen numbers. Students worked together to create a number line from 1-20 representing teen numbers using base 10 blocks to demonstrate their emerging understanding of place value. Some students then moved on to ordering and representing 2-digit numbers between 20 and 99! Well done Byron and Leo!

In writing lessons, students have been learning to apply their knowledge of letter-sound relationships and high frequency words to create simple sentences. We are focusing on correct sentence structure and simple punctuation, such as capital letters and full stops. Students have been learning how to use adjectives, nouns and verbs in their sentences to explain and describe.

It has been wonderful to see their writing skills flourish! Some students have been extended to write paragraphs of up to 4 sentences of related ideas. They are learning to use a graphic organiser to plan their ideas for their writing- this one was all about an animal of their choice. After their topic sentence was written in the cloud, students then planned what each supporting sentence would be about by writing an adjective or a verb relating to that animal in the raindrop. With a focus on sentence structure and punctuation, students were able to turn each of their ideas into separate sentences. Well done to Maddie, Cerys, Jayden, Olivia and Charlotte for challenging themselves in their writing!

School News

Kindergarten Enrolments 2026 - Help Us Spread the Word!
Exciting times are ahead, we kindly ask for your help in spreading the word to friends and neighbours who have little ones ready to embark on their educational journey next year. Our enrolments are officially open, and we have a school tour scheduled for Tuesday, May 27th. This is a fantastic opportunity for prospective families to explore our vibrant school, meet our enthusiastic student leaders, and begin forging connections within our community.

If you have a child currently attending Balgowlah North and a sibling who will be joining us next year, please take a moment to fill out the online enrolment form linked below. We have a wonderful lineup of connection events planned for the upcoming terms, and we can’t wait to welcome our new families. Thank you for your support in making our community even stronger!

Online Enrolment Application

Congratulations to all the Award recipients at this week's Assembly

Sydney Writers Festival

The Writers Festival was amazing! We got to meet famous authors from different countries like Terri Libenson, the cartoonist and author/illustrator of Emmie and Friends who travelled all the way from America! We also got to meet some of Australia's best authors like Katrina Nannestad, author of The Travelling Bookshop, Rabbit Soldier Angel Thief and Queensland literary award winning book We Are Wolves.
Frankie J

The Writers Festival was about authors that have written many books and were able to come to Chatswood Concourse to talk about them. They mentioned how they got to write books, what inspired them to do so and the many books they have written. We also bought fantastic books from the stall and had them signed by each author after we had bought them. Though it was raining, I really enjoyed the day and reading all the astonishing books we each bought and I hope I can go there again next time!!
Claire Z

On Wednesday the 21st of May 58 lucky stage 3 students went to the Sydney Writers Festival in Chatwood. It was very interesting to hear how lots of great authors write their books and to get some good advice on story writing. We also had a chance to get our books signed by some of our favourite authors. I especially liked listening to Katrina Nannestad talk about her latest book, All The Beautiful Things and her inspiration for the rest of her books. We also saw Terri Lisbon, an amazing illustrator who showed us her drawing process and explained how she came up with all her characters in her book series Emmie and Friends. I particularly enjoyed her speech because I love art and reading. Overall the Sydney Writers Festival was a great experience for anyone who likes reading or writing.
Laila W

On Wednesday the 21st of May 2025, we went to the Sydney Writers Festival and we heard five different authors. They had all created their stories over the past years and months. The host was Joel McKerrow who recently wrote the novel Heist which is about him in high school stealing hundreds of chocolate bars with a twist. The four other authors that came were Jaqueline Harvey who wrote Kensey and Max, The Girl and the Ghost; Jared Thomas who wrote Uncle XBox and Game Day; Terri Libenson who's a cartoonist and has written Emie and Friends and Pyjama Diaries and lastly Katrina Nannestad who has written All the Beautiful Things and We are Wolves. Did you know that Jacqueline Harvey wrote a kids book that was illustrated by the person she used to teach in kindergarten and year 4? We enjoyed the experience immensely.
Max M and Cooper C 6SR

Last week, Stage 3 explored the concept of ‘Climate Matters’ and challenged themselves to use the persuasive technique of contrast to demonstrate the impact climate change has on the natural environment.

Here are some outstanding examples from students in 6/5H:

Clownfish Coral
Before, my home was brimming with Rainbow joy.
Living with friendly neighbours and evermore.
A place I belong.
Here, comes change.

Something’s different here.
We used to be the kingdom of colour.
Now it’s just a solemn grey haze.
Here, comes change.

Before, we could easily hide.
Between the rainbow coral.
Hide and Seek was our game.
Here, comes change.

Something’s different here.
Black figures crawl ever so closer.
Through the desolate barren lands.
Here, comes change.

Asher S

WriteOn 2025
The annual WriteOn competition is an exciting opportunity for budding young writers in our school community. Through the competition, students develop skills in writing to express their ideas and may become published authors. The competition is for students in Years 1 to 6. Students create an imaginative text of up to 500 words, using the stimulus provided. The new stimulus for WriteOn 2025 is the quote:“Could they be changing?” Each year, winners are celebrated at an award ceremony and their entries are published in ‘The Best of WriteOn' anthology. The 2024 version of the anthology is now available for purchase from the NES Shop. All entries must be submitted to the school via email by 3pm on Friday 13th June. The entries will be judged by a panel and the school will enter the strongest piece of writing from each stage.

For any enquiries about WriteOn 2025, please see Mrs Ridley.

Stage 3 - Rube Goldberg Day

Last week the Stage 3 students that didn’t attend the Writers Festival have been researching, designing, and building their own Rube Goldberg machines. These creative inventions use a series of simple, interconnected steps to complete a specific task—such as catching a mouse or ringing a bell. Students began by learning about the inventor Rube Goldberg and exploring how his imaginative machines work. They then designed their own machines with a clear purpose, ensuring each one was completely self-supported and operated without assistance. Throughout the process, students documented their progress by filming both a successful run and at least one failed attempt, reflecting thoughtfully on the challenges they encountered and how they overcame them. This hands-on project has been a fantastic opportunity for students to apply their knowledge, problem-solve, and showcase their creativity.
Susie Stock and Jenny Mercer

Rube Goldberg Activity

On Wednesday 21st of May Josh W, Josh G and Daniel B and I (Finn) created a Rube Goldberg Machine. Rube Goldberg is an American cartoonist. He liked making a simple process much more complicated. A Rube Goldberg Machine is a series of objects creating a butterfly effect leading to a purpose eg: ringing a bell (chain reaction). His machines started as humorous illustrations that poked fun at unnecessary complexity of modern art, his background in engineering helped him design these inventions with a sense of logic, even if they were impractical. For our design we used a tunnel and cardboard for our main support. Our goal was to put water in a cup, and we succeeded with minimal mistakes. Our hypothesis was that our machine would fail five times and work only twice, but our machine worked 85% of the time. Our machine's purpose was to pour a cup of water, which happened. The day was super fun with lots of water spillages, everyone had a good time on this awesome day.
Josh G, Daniel B, Josh W 6/5H Finn R 6SR

Rube Goldberg was born July 4, 1883, San Francisco, California U.S. and he died December 7th, 1970, New York. Rube Goldberg created his machines as a humorous critique of the complexities of modern technology and to entertain people with absurdly complicated solutions to simple tasks. As a pair we enjoyed creating and designing our Rube Goldberg machine. The purpose of our machine is to push a marble with the power of air blown through a straw. It took us three attempts to get it right.
Kora P, Manon D 6/5H

On the Wednesday 21st of May 2025 we made an example of the Rube Goldberg machine. We made a contraption with a handmade marble track with the purpose of filling up a water cup. It took us around 4 hours. We succeeded well except for when we presented to the group. The whole time we felt that we worked very well as a team and were creative. Ruben Goldberg was an engineer and was well known for detailed drawings.
Henry Y, Henri O, Austin, 6SR, Arki 6/5H.

In 1912 Reuben Lucius made a Rube Goldberg machine that was a complex contraction designed to complete a simple task. He created this by the hand drawn diagram of his outlandish inventions. We enjoyed this because we were all creative. Although we did succeed, the car that pushed the marble into the cone ended up falling in with it, so we could've instead made a little piece of cardboard that only lets the marble go through, not the car. We enjoyed the day.
Tommy G, Harrison G, Jonty M 5M

Stage One Excusion - Art Gallery

Curiosity and Outdoor Learning

Class Snapshot - 4P

Sports News

Zone Cross Country
Yesterday our zone cross country runners competed in the zone championships against 11 other schools from the Manly zone. It was a glorious day of running with a huge effort put in by all the students. Many thanks to the parents who were able to come and support them.

Well done to all the team.

Top 12 Finishers

3rd Zoe F - 8/9 yrs girls 2km

12th Mariel H - 8/9 yrs girls 2km

12th Theo R -8/9 yrs boys 2km

4th Joshua E - 10 Yrs boys 2km

6th Alex C - 10yrs boys 2 km

10th Harry N - 10yrs boys 2 km

11th Joshua S - 10yrs boys 2 km

5th Alice O - 11 Yr girls 3km

6th Aria B - 11 Yr girls 3km

12th Frankie J - 11 Yr Girls 3km

9th Grace K -12/13 yrs girls 3km

9th Toby P -12/13 Yr boys 3km

Zoe, Josh E, Alex, Alice and Aria will all go on to compete at the Regional Cross Country championships on the 13th June. Congratulations!!! We wish you all the best.

Kerry Kelly and Susie Stock

Tennis (Years 3-6)
We still have some spots available for tennis if you would like your child to take part.

Library News

Premier’s Reading Challenge
Congratulations to Eva L, August G and Arabella M who have completed the Premier’s Reading Challenge for 2025.

Admin News

Late arrivals
If you are going to be late for pick up, please remind your child not to wait in the playground alone, but to come to the office and wait until they are collected.

Parent Volunteers
For any parent wishing to volunteer in a classroom, assist with excursions or get involved with school activities please contact the office and we can assist you in completing the Declaration form online.

Because you are a parent, you only require the Non-Child Related Work Declaration, and this can now be done online. We do not require you to obtain a WWCC from Service NSW.

Medical
If you have listed a medical condition on your enrolment form that requires treatment at school, we will need documentation for this treatment to be administered eg: Asthma plan, Anaphylaxsis, Allergy and Request for Student Health Support form at school

Student Department emails
If you need your child's email address this can be found on the "Dashboard" of your School Bytes Parent Portal, at the bottom on the page under "Student details".

Administration Team

PBL week 5

The Week Ahead

Thursday 29 May Rugby 7's State Championships
Monday 2 June 3-6 Assembly 2.30pm
Thursday 5 June World Environment Day
Monday 9 June Public Holiday
Friday 13 June Regional Cross Country

P & C News

Green Grove Working Bee Sunday 15th June
“Bring your tools and lend a hand, bring the family & stay for a bbq”.
Please include the following sign up link.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050944AFAC28A6FD0-56829636-green#/

Eco Warriers

Green Grove

The children planted lots of seedlings into the garden beds today. Marigold, basil and carrots. When digging holes in the soil the children found so many earthworms and curl grubs which the chickens found delicious!
The soil is really healthy, and we are looking forward to lots of healthy plants growing over the next months!
Cate

Harbourside Music Festival
The teeming rain couldn’t keep our band members from performing at Harbourside Music Festival on Thursday night. In their first performance outside of school, our Concert Band and Performance Band impressed the audience with their musical ability. A crowd favourite was their combined piece of Spiderman. The festival is a celebration of community and connection where local schools come together to perform for each other and their families and friends. Bands from Balgowlah Heights, Balgowlah North bands and Balgowlah Boys, who has four bands, gave great performances. A special treat was the scrumptious canapes made by Balgowlah Boys year 12 food tech class. Thank you, Balgowlah Boys High School and their music teachers, for hosting the evening. Thanks also to Mrs Keevers and Ms Le Peyre for coming along to support our bands.

Assembly Performance
Congratulations to the Concert Band for their excellent performance at assembly on Monday conducted by Ms Luu.
We are now preparing for our mid-year concert in week 10.

Caroline Fechner
BNPS Band Manager

Koolkuna News

In Term 2, Week 8, Koolkuna OSHC will be hosting a Bake Sale to raise funds for The Dalwood Spilstead Intervention and Support Service. This local service is unique in its ability to provide a holistic and integrated approach to the needs of vulnerable families and “at risk” children.

95% of brain development occurs in the first 5 years! Children from vulnerable and stressed families are at risk of attention, language, learning and behavioural difficulties.

Research has clearly shown, however, that if families are supported and children receive intensive early intervention services these problems can be alleviated. Dalwood Spilstead has aided many of the Sustainable OSHC families across the years in providing unique programs & support services including counselling, therapy, interaction & intervention services.

More information regarding the Bake Sale Fundraiser will be provided at a later date.

School Community News

Kids Giving Back
It is so wonderful that I have the honour of acknowledging the outstanding philanthropic efforts of some of our students who donated their time last holidays to work with the charity Kids Giving Back. Ayla D, Charlotte F and Emily S joined together with over 500 young volunteers to prepare and deliver 5,000 meals, snack packs, and care kits to vulnerable individuals across the community.

We are so proud of these Year 3 students for their amazing contribution to the wellbeing of others. More information on how to get involved with this charity can be found on the website:

Home | Kids Giving Back

Building a Reading Culture at Home
We are excited to be hosting the "Building a Reading Culture at Home" evening in our School Library on Wednesday 2nd July from 6-8pm for parents and students. Places are limited so book your spot now - $5 per adult, $2 per child under 12

https://www.tfhsuniformshop.com.au/pages/building-a-reading-culture-at-home

The evening will include:

- Keynote speaker - Jane Caro (ex-Forest High student)
- Northern Beaches Library presentation
- Book stalls
- Everyone receives a free book
- Children's Art & Craft Activities
- Refreshments provided