Welcome back to school to all familiar faces and especially to our three new student enrolments! Thank you to all families for sending back to us such motivated, prepared and energetic children for an awesome Term of learning together! The sun is out so we need 'hats on' for outside time. We’re excited for what’s in store, including our Family Fitness LIFT event, Activities Day, our Prep, Year 2, 3, 4 Excursions and a Year 5 camp, Pre Kinder, our end of year presentation Assemblies, Year 6 Big Day Out and Leavers Assembly and Dinner… just a few highlights of some Term 4 planned school activities 

World Teacher’s Day  
Tomorrow is World Teacher’s Day! I know you will join me in celebrating and honouring the incredible teachers at BPS who make a difference in the lives of students every day.  Tomorrow we will recognise the dedication, passion and unwavering commitment of our teachers, who are the true hero's in our classrooms. 

2024 Class Planning 
If you know that you will be moving and not be enrolled at our school for 2024, then please inform me about this important information by contacting our School Admin.  It greatly assists us to have the most accurate enrolment numbers to assist with forward class/school planning. 

I thank you in advance, for your timely support of our important 2024 school planning processes that are now underway. 

Staffing Update 

Mr Mick Moorby has retired from his Education Facility Attendant role at BPS.  We have appreciated Mick's handy work over the past 4 years and his friendly manner will certainly be missed.  In his absence (for the remainder of the year). We welcome Mr Allan Taylor. 

     Mick Moorby

           Allan Taylor

Mr Paul Vardy has resigned from the Department.

Welcome 
Welcome James and Ivy (year 5 and year 3)  and Serenity (year 4) to BPS.   

Reading is our Priority

Recently out department has announced a clear priority in supporting teaching and learning in reading across Tasmania. At BPS we have commenced this journey with our phonics programs in our Kinder to Year 2 classes and our Vocabulary focus in our year 3 - 6 classes. Next week at our Professional Learning we will commence work with an expert in the area of vocabulary to ensure we are providing consistent, evidence informed strategies for our learners.   We highly value the support of families who continue to read to children every day. We know a love of reading and a rich vocabulary are foundational to learning to read.  Remember to visit our upcoming Book Fair which will be held in our library next week. This is a perfect opportunity to update your home library and/or purchase gifts. We have a special 'child free' session on Tuesday 31st October at 6pm. 

Susan Barnard
Acting Principal

At BPS we are courageous, and this term the DECYP Value of Courage is the focus for our Morning Meetings.  

 Acting with courage means: 

• accepting challenges and embracing opportunities 
• thinking creatively and being brave 
• being prepared to stand up for what’s important 
• not giving up 
• having difficult conversations  
• being innovative and taking calculated risks in some situations.

Courage is an important value for our students to have as it helps them to develop confidence, show personal growth and increases students' chance of success.

Assessments 
There are a variety of assessments teachers make when reporting against the curriculum. These can be work samples, observation notes, photos, or videos. Another assessment is testing. Teachers regularly conduct assessments within their classroom to ascertain what a student knows prior to teaching a new concept. This allows the learning to occur at the level the student is at whilst still being challenging but not beyond their grasp. There are times we conduct more formalised testing in line with DECYP requirements and to also track student growth and achievement. Currently, students are participating in another formal testing period called PAT (Progressive Achievement Test) testing. This test gives us a 'snapshot' of what the student knows in reading comprehension and mathematics. The data is vitally important as it shows us the growth of students from one year to the next whilst allowing teachers to analyse more formally what teaching programs are working and which ones need to be focussed on to give our students the best learning outcomes.  

Later in the term students will also be completing assessments in spelling, phonics (P-2), vocabulary (3-6) and number (5-6).   

The best way to support your child through this process is to reassure them to try their best and that it's just one assessment of many that teachers use to gather evidence for their report.  

Reporting 
This term, class teachers will be begin sharing Evidence of Learning with families by week 4 (Maths) and week 9 (English) via Seesaw. We know that sharing learning progress more regularly will support the development of strong partnerships and help families to feel connected to their child’s learning. Please keep an eye on Seesaw for this evidence. For Prep-6 students there will be an Evidence of Learning for Art, Maker Space and Languages shared with reports in week 9, additionally students in Grades 3-6 will have Music and PE shared this term. Prep to Grade 2 students have already had their evidence for Music and PE shared. 

For students who are reported against their learning plan, Evidence of Learning will be shared with families via Seesaw throughout the term.  

Your child/ren will receive their end of year report on the 14th December (week 9). 

Georgette Moore’s role at BPS is Student Support Teacher and Safeguarding Lead. As a Student Support Teacher, Georgette works closely with teachers, teacher assistants, families and DECYP Support staff to coordinate learning programs for students requiring educational adjustments. This process includes the collaboration of learning plans and meetings, providing support in the classroom, organisation of resources, coordination of the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) on students with disability and promoting inclusive practices within the school.

This term, Georgette is working with teachers to plan and implement transition programs for our students. Some of our Grade 6 students are taking part in extra transition sessions and will be going to Burnie High School this week. Transition programs are also being planned for our students who need support in moving from one grade to the next. This is an opportunity for those students to become familiar and develop confidence in their new classroom space for 2024.

All children in Tasmania have a right to be known, safe, well and learning. We are highly committed to the safety of all students at our school. 

Earlier this month, DECYP launched the Tell Someone initiative, to raise awareness in the community about child sexual abuse and grooming.  

The Tell Someone website gives children and young people clear advice on what to do in situations where they feel worried, unsafe or unsure. It also gives adults advice and support on how to respond if they suspect or know a child is being groomed or sexually abused or is at risk of harm. 

Please visit the website, read the information, and try to find a suitable time to talk with your children about this issue and the resources available.  It’s important that you both understand the possible signs of sexual abuse or grooming behaviour, and how to stay safe online and offline. 

If reading this information has caused you distress, please visit DECYP’s website for a list of support services. 

Please contact the school if you have any questions about this information. 

Last week was Seniors Week. On Friday, the Year 4s went to Umina Park to perform the song ‘You’ve got a friend in me,’ and to present a dance compilation including the Nutbush, YMCA and the Macarena. The residents were thoroughly entertained. Year 4 students then paired off with a resident and they read a story that they had created to their buddy. We had 36 seniors engaging in conversation with our Years 4s. They applauded our Year 4 students when our time had come to an end and we had to leave. 

At BPS we aim to build and maintain productive partnerships with our families. We are currently reviewing our communication procedures and seek your feedback.  Please take 5 minutes to let us know about the way you currently keep up to date with our latest information. Each completed form will go in the draw to win coffee vouchers supported by LIFT and Hudson Coffee Burnie. First Prize $20.00, second and third prize one standard coffee voucher.  Thank you for taking the time to complete our short form. We value your feedback. 

https://forms.office.com/r/GRJ3DrH0he 

Dear Parents and Friends,

Thank you all for your continued support with our fundraisers. We held our Sport Colour Day sausage sizzle fundraiser at the end of last term which was a great success. Thank you to our volunteers who helped cook and deliver the food on the day, your help with days like these is greatly appreciated and events such as this wouldn’t happen without you.

This week order forms for our Beadough Donuts Fundraiser were sent home, this is our last major fundraiser for the year. Please ensure that you have your order forms returned by the due date, as late orders will not be accepted and we would hate for you to miss out, Beadough Donuts are a real treat!

This term, the P&F will be supporting the Grade 6 leavers dinner and end of year celebrations held on campus.

If you have any suggestions for future fundraising efforts, please don’t hesitate in contacting us via our Facebook page, we welcome all new suggestions as planning for next year will begin toward the end of this term.

Your P&F

A big thank you to our parents and friends
Thank you to our school community for the ongoing fundraising efforts! Earlier this year the Parents and Friends Association decided to allocate each class $200 for a special purchase. We are grateful to our wonderful teachers who engaged the students in the purchasing decisions, and then sent us these pictures to enjoy.

We all want the best for our children – for their futures to be as bright as possible. Showing up every day to school really matters. It gives your child every chance to learn, grow and find their interests. 

This last stretch of the school year can sometimes be tricky. Keep it up, because each day is another chance to: 

•  be around friends
•  learn new things
•  find interests
•  create dream futures (whatever that may be!).

If you’re looking for tips on how to create better attendance habits, visit the Anything can happen website.  

Please always talk to us if you’re having trouble getting your child to school. We’re here to help.