Mr Matthewson and I had the incredible privilege of attending the Invictus Games with 41 of our Year 6 students last Thursday. The word ‘invictus’ means ‘unconquered’. It embodies the fighting spirit of wounded, injured and sick service personnel and personifies what these tenacious men and women can achieve post injury. The Invictus Games harness the power of sport to inspire recovery, resilience, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect for those who serve their country.

What an amazing day we shared! Following a very early start, we were introduced to two courageous ex-service personnel who shared their incredibly moving stories with us. From there we enjoyed some track and field events at the athletics centre, including discus and 100m heats, and then participated in a seated volleyball match which was loads of fun! Our afternoon session involved an interactive motivational presentation from Lorin Nicholson. Lorin who was declared legally blind at the age of 4 shared his incredible story of inner strength, determination and resilience as he inspired us all with his award winning music and his amazing life experiences including being a best selling author and a record breaking cyclist! He helped us to see that "the greatest mountain we climb in life, is the mountain within ourselves."

We all left agreeing that the Invictus Games is about much more than just sport – it captures hearts, challenges minds and changes lives. We can never begin to imagine what these men and women have gone through but boy we embraced the day and loved showing our support and encouragement. These people are true heroes!

We will never forget to LOOK UP, GET UP AND NEVER GIVE UP!

It is with sadness and with much fondness that it is time to say farewell to Colin Cocking, our dedicated crossing supervisor who has decided to retire from his position. Colin has been a very much loved member of our school community, ensuring the safety of our students and wider community since 2009. We will miss him warm smile and friendly demeanour and would like to thank him for his lengthy dedication and contribution to supporting our community. We will be farewelling Colin at our K-6 Assembly next Monday 5 November and all parents are welcome to attend to say goodbye. We will miss you Colin!

From next Monday 5 November, we will welcome our new permanent crossing supervisor, Julie Fulbrook. Julie has been a member of our local community for the last 30 years and her children attended our school. It will be wonderful to have Julie with us, and we look forward to welcoming her next week. Please make sure you say hello to Julie when you cross Tristram road next week.

The SRC will be holding a White Ribbon Day of Respect on Friday 23rd November where students will wear white and students can buy a white ribbon for $2 and/or bring in a gold coin donation to raise money for White Ribbon.

Students will also be participating in class discussions and activities on RESPECT. Including what respect looks like and sounds like in a variety of contexts. Each student will also make a white ribbon with messages/ poems of respect. The SRC will create a large whit ribbon the top school oval to demonstrate our school’s commitment to being respectful at all times. Please help us support this worthy cause.

BHPS students are continuing to embrace their Star Learner Super Powers, promoting positive learning habits and a commitment to learning whilst striving for their personal best.

Congratulations to the following students who are displaying the qualities of a risk taker like Aurora, setting goals, trying something new, aiming high, rethinking, reviewing and redoing. These students received the Aurora award at the shade structure assembly on Monday 29 October.

Congratulations to the following students:  Chloe Lahm KA, Tig Leonardo KG, Piper Kiely KW, Madison Hill 1C, Millie Burns-Milostic 1M, Tilly McKenna 1/2G, Fiona Jin 2DC, Oscar Marston 2M, Carter Miles 2W, Jye Abbott 3M, Indi Gualdi 3E, Eliana Pritchard 3/4N, Hannah Ryan 4A, Jonah Larrea 4H, Evie Finberg 4R, Ty Wheatley 5B, Jai Knibb-Mann 5S, Grace Button 5T, Codie Sheehan 5/6N, Nicole Abanilla 6M, Seb Lahm 6O, Kaitlin Ryan 6R.

These students will receive their awards at our MPC assembly on Monday November 5th.

Last weekend our year 3-6 choir had a blast singing and performing at the Town Hall as part of the Celebration Sing Out concert raising money for Music Therapy at Westmead children’s hospital. There was an adult choir and orchestra, ukulele band and many soloists. We sang songs such as Danny Boy, Flooding Rains, Flying, Gloria Dao, Jerusalem and Brolga Dance.

Olivia and Bella – Choir Captains ​