Pigeon Post

2022 Volume 4 Issue 8

PLEASE NOTIFY THE SCHOOL OF A CHILD'S POSITIVE CASE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Acknowledgement of Country...

School Resource Fees

School Resource Fee

Link to Google form here:

https://forms.gle/qr6XRcki6G71BUSq7

Download

UNIFORMS

Balmain Public School children are expected to wear full school uniform, including a school hat, every day. All children are required to wear full school uniform when representing the school on excursions, at sporting events or at cultural activities.

HAVE YOU ENROLLED YOUR SIBLING YET?

From the Principal's Desk...

#Grateful

Your tokens of appreciation, although so heart-warming and generous, especially during this time, are neither necessary, nor expected.

Staff are very appreciative of your generosity, however, as per the DoE's 'Gifts, Benefits and Hospitality Procedures', the token of appreciation must adhere to the following:

  • Value - up to $50 ONLY per student
  • NO cash or negotiable instruments such as cash vouchers, 'pre-paid cash' and 'EFTPOS' cards, Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), shares or money orders
  • Gift cards are acceptable as a gift of gratitude, as they are considered non-cash vouchers that must be used as specific retailers and cannot be converted to cash eg David Jones, Bunnings, Tara Dennis - a gift card cannot exceed $50 per student
  • Alcohol - MUST NOT exceed a value of $50

2022 BPS Year Book

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.

Order your 2022 BPS Year Book Now!




A special keepsake of your child's year at school!

Cost: $30 each 

How to order:

https://flexischools.com.au/

Click on Shop

Click on Year Book

Orders close 5pm 8 December 2022

Don't miss out!

Connect with Balmain PS...Wonder what's goes on at our school? Follow us on Instagram for daily content, both through posts and stories...

The week that was...

Follow us on Instagram

Keep up with what's happening @ Balmain Public School

https://www.instagram.com/balmainps/


IF YOU SEE A COLOURED CIRCLE AROUND OUR SCHOOL LOGO, DON'T FORGET TO TAP ON IT, FOR OUR LATEST STORY...you've got to get in quickly, as it disappears after 24 hours!

SOME OF OUR STORIES ARE SAVED AS HIGHLIGHTS...

To see what else we've been up to this week, head over to @balmainps!

SkoolBag is our main comms @ Balmain PS...

***SKOOLBAG IS OUR MAIN FORM OF COMMUNICATING WITH YOU***In case of urgent/important communication, notifications via the Skoolbag app on your phone will keep you informed***

To ensure you receive all communication via SkoolBag, please have the app downloaded on your phone, with the notifications turned ON.

Although the school pushes out notifications via the app and email, there may be times when an important message may be missed as emails may sometimes not be checked regularly.

If there were to be an emergency, (hopefully not), information would be pushed out via SkoolBag.

If you need assistance downloading the app, please see below...

https://www.moqproducts.com.au/skoolbag/installation-instructions/

Summer is here!

As Sydney Water's new ambassador, I am thrilled to share with you my new campaign #saveitwithme, which lets me share my passion for protecting our waterways and the small steps we can take over summer to conserve our most precious resource - water!

I grew up in Penrith and have spent most of my life on the Nepean River. I've also seen the devastation that extreme events like droughts, fires and the recent floods have had on our waterways. #saveitwithme allows me to take you on the water saving journey with me. Every drop counts, and whatever we can do to save water today will make the difference tomorrow.

We all know when it rains a lot, the dam becomes full, and we assume that means we have plenty of water available for everyday use. However, heavy rain means an unprecedented amount of silt and debris enters the dam's raw water supply, therefore taking longer to treat and turn into drinking water.

Even though things are slowly improving, I want to encourage people to save water where possible, as the situation can change in an instant, especially if we get another major downpour.

Water usage tends to spike over summer, and I wanted to share with you some of the small changes you can make in and around the home, which can have a huge impact in helping to save water. I know I'll be taking every opportunity to remind my friends and family to:

  • take shorter showers. Every minute less in the shower saves one bucket of water
  • use the half flush button on the toilet instead of the full flush when you can
  • put a plug in the sink rather than leave the water running
  • wait for a full load of dishes before turning on the dishwasher
  • wait for a full load of washing before turning on the washing machine
  • wash the car on the lawn with a bucket instead of a hose, which will water and fertilise the grass at the same time. Car wash products use phosphates that are like many fertilisers
  • use a broom or rake rather than a hose to clean driveways and pathways

These things are easy to do, and go a long way to ensuring we all have clean, safe drinking water, now and in the future.

How we value water today affects how much we have for tomorrow!

Come on Balmain Public School - save it with me!

Regards

Jess Fox - Olympic Gold Medallist & nine-time Canoe Slalom World Champion

From the Office

Are you saying GOODBYE to our Balmain family for 2023?

We love all our family members equally, but know that sometimes we have to spread our wings and leave the coop...

If your child (not currently in Year 6) will be leaving and you have yet to let the Office know, please email balmainps@gmail.com, with their full name and, as well as the intended last day of school at BPS.

Dropping something off for your child? Please label item/s with their full name and class...

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Every FRIDAY (weather permitting) - AWARDS ASSEMBLY

Please leave your furry friends at home...

Every FRIDAY - Uniform Stall

Order items online here

The best way to order new uniforms is online and they will be delivered to children's classrooms each Friday morning.

Come to the uniform stall if you need to try items on for size.

Second Chance items are available the first Friday of every month during the school term. 

If you would like to volunteer to help, please either email us at balmainpsuniforms@gmail.com or sign up via the link

Located on top floor, via Miss Pauline's Garden entry.

Every FRIDAY - The School Canteen: Special request for parents and carers to cancel their lunch orders if their child is not going to be at school for lunch, by texting 0416 786 603 with their child’s full name and class. In return, an sms will be sent back to confirm the order has been cancelled and all monies returned in full to the child’s Spriggy school account.


Tuesday 6 December - 2023 Kindy Orientation Morning


Wednesday 7 December - 2023 Year 5 Opportunity Class (OC) Orientation Morning


Wednesday 7 December - Stage One Excursion


Wednesday 7 December - P&C Meeting @ 7pm

Meeting Details

Our next P&C Meeting will be held on Wednesday 7th December 2022 at 7pm. The meeting will be held via Zoom (details below) and in person (upstairs at Royal Oak Hotel).

New Members

All are welcome at this meeting. If you are not yet members of our P&C, and would like to join, please complete the attached NEW MEMBERSHIP form and return via email balmainpspc@gmail.com. We will cover your ($2) financial contribution so that you are eligible to vote until you can attend in person.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89175625988?pwd=aVRhUTRqajcyUThZNnB1dHc1ZW5rZz09

December Agenda

Download

November Minutes

Download

Membership

Download

Friday 9 December - Year 6 Day Out

Monday 12 December - Year 6 Graduation


Tuesday 13 December - Celebration of Learning

We will be celebrating our students’ achievements and successes at the annual Celebration of Learning assemblies. It is a time to acknowledge and celebrate the hard work and achievements across our learning areas, as well as to formally send off our Year 6 students!

As much as we'd love to have everyone gather together for these special events, we must still follow the current NSW Department of Education's guidelines:

'If holding an event indoors...limit the number of guests attending where possible'

https://education.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/advice-for-families#Events5

In line with the guidelines, we are limiting the invitation this year to families of students who are being acknowledged some way, as well as the Year 6 families. Families of students who are being acknowledged will be personally notified by next Wednesday 7 December.

Details

When: Tuesday 13 December

Where: Balmain Town Hall, 370 Darling Street, Balmain

K-2 Junior Assembly 10am - 11am

3-6 Senior Assembly 12pm - 1:30pm

The students are asked to wear school uniform, including their hat, as we will be walking to the venue. Please provide your child with a water bottle, as the space does get very warm. 

Wednesday 14 December - Giving Assembly @ 9am


Friday 16 December - Last Day of School for students


Friday 16 December - Semester 2 reports go home

Friday 16 December - Leavers' Arch @ 2:45pm

We bid farewell to our Year 6 students, as well as to others leaving the Balmain PS family...

All welcome to attend - please start arriving from 2:30pm

2023 DATES...

FRI 27 JAN & MON 30 JAN - School Development Days (staff only)


TUES 31 JAN - Students in Years 1-6 return


WED 1 FEB-FRI 3 FEB - Kindy Best Start

by appointment only - Kindy families will receive a separate SkoolBag notification with a link to book in a session

MON 6 FEB - Kindergarten students start BIG school!

AWARDS

LEARN LIVE LEAD awards

K Beluga - Ms R BonneyZachary B-Nsharing interesting animal facts with the class when learning about information reports
K Guppies - Mrs L Goodridge & Mrs F BowmanPaloma Lher excellent writing about a great white shark!
1/2 Bluebottle - Ms L BurkeIvy Ntackling Year 1 head on with enthusiasm and liveliness
1/2 Cultivate - Ms F ChiangTobiah Mworking hard and making tremendous progress throughout Year One
1/2 Jellyfish - Ms L JennettMaris Kstaying on task and working with focus to complete his STEM projects!
1/2 Penguin - Ms S Parsons & Ms A DavisZachary Kworking persistently to produce outstanding writing
3/4 Channichthyidae - Ms A CooperZoe Pcheerfully building her confidence and pushing out of her comfort zone
3/4 Pufferfish - Mrs A PitmanJack Shis insightful contributions during our discussions
3/4 Wrasse - Ms K WithersPanya Sher enthusiasm towards project-based learning and for approaching tasks with a critical lens
5/6 Betta Splendens - Mr S BaumannSonja Ahigh level of sustained focus and work ethic applied to all learning tasks
5/6 Flying Fish - Ms N RileyLiya Gshowing patience and persistence when faced with technology issues
5/6 Koi - Ms K BarcenillaMia M-Cher creative and focused approach to collaborative tasks
5/6 Rock Lobster - Ms R ReedyAshton Gshowing a consistent educational curiosity
5/6 Sunfish - Ms E LiewAaron Zhis improved focus and active listening skills!
Art K-2 - Mrs F BowmanMaris K 1/2Jworking hard and creating beautiful works in the art room
Art 3-6 - Mrs F BowmanEmmie B 5/6Fconsistent effort and creativity in the art room

CHARACTER STRENGTH awards - TEACHER CHOICE

K Beluga - Ms R BonneyEvelyn RHonesty - being a genuine, thoughtful class member who acts with integrity
K Guppies - Mrs L Goodridge & Mrs F BowmanSamuel GJudgement - choosing to work well during class time and play respectfully with his peers
1/2 Bluebottle - Ms L BurkeCharlie SJoyfulness - displaying his happy and enthusiastic personality at school.
1/2 Cultivate - Ms F ChiangAnnabel CBravery - courageously taking risks in her learning!
1/2 Jellyfish - Ms L JennettAnouk V D BCreativity - Using ICT to publish a book review!
1/2 Penguin - Ms S Parsons & Ms A DavisLulu STeamwork - being a helpful and contributing team member
3/4 Channichthyidae - Ms A CooperNina BPerseverance - intently applying herself to the creation of her book about a pegasus
3/4 Pufferfish - Mrs A PitmanLily OCompassion - showing kindness and empathy towards her classmates
3/4 Wrasse - Ms K WithersOdin STeamwork - his effort to work collaboratively and cooperatively during project-based learning
5/6 Betta Splendens - Mr S BaumannLuca MTeamwork - being a supportive and respectful team player
5/6 Flying Fish - Ms N FergusonRohan Csharing logical feedback and insight during maths investigations
5/6 Koi - Ms K BarcenillaGeorge Bexpressing himself authentically and fearlessly
5/6 Rock Lobster - Ms R ReedyJemma H-Strusting in herself and harnessing an inner confidence
5/6 Sunfish - Ms E LiewGinger Rbringing her wonderful sense of humour and positivity each day

Best Class @ Assembly Award

Each week, a mystery teacher will choose the class that has followed the 'Balmain Way'. They will be entitled to 10 minutes extra play!

And the winner is...(drumroll please!)

POSITIVE PETE Awards

Thanks to Ms Burke, who organises the collection and distribution of the Gelatissimo ice-creams, as well as takes the fab photos!

Our Week 8 winners...

Spotlight on...

3/4 WRASSE!!!!!

We were lucky enough to attend the free Sydney Zoo workshop at our school this week, alongside our peers across Stage 2 and Stage 3. The educational workshop not only showcased a number of magnificent Australian animals but also had a strong focus on Aboriginal cultural knowledge and caring for Country...

Some reflections from the students of 3/4 Wrasse:

My favourite part was patting the long-neck turtle. I learnt that Australia's First Peoples belong to lots of different nations. Sophia K

My favourite part about the zoo workshop was getting to meet all the animals. I learnt that First People’s know a lot about caring for countries, flora and fauna. Aidan B

My favourite part of the workshop was touching the blue tongue lizard. I learnt about the rainbow serpent. Niamh F

My favourite part about the incursion was guessing the animals that were played on the didgeridoo. Sophie W

Henry R My favourite was seeing some animals for the first time, like turtles. Henry R

Thank you to Sydney Zoo, as well as the executive and stage coordinators at BPS, for organising this wonderful experience!

COMMUNITY NOTICEBOARD

SATURDAY 3 DECEMBER