Message from Bev and Kim

Term 3, what a term! Let's celebrate all that has been achieved together. This term has offered so many opportunities for connection – with families, with our local community, and with each other as learners. From sports events and special celebrations to Book Parades and parent learning sessions, acts of kindness and community projects, each moment has reflected our shared commitment to supporting every child. In and amongst, of course,  a rigorous learning program, and opportunities to showcase what we do each day to families this term through open classrooms and our BBPS Life reports. Thank you for the many ways you contribute to the life of BBPS.

At this time of the term/year it’s natural for children to feel a little weary, more easily frustrated with friends, or even a bit reluctant about school as holidays draw near. At home, keeping routines steady, offering reassurance, focusing on the positives and reminding children that these feelings are normal can make a big difference. These tips can be helpful during the school holiday period also, a great opportunity for rest!

This is especially true for our junior school, who have been participating in our annual P-2 swimming program. Thanks to those parents helping with the speediness of dressing and changeover in between sessions. We are proud to see the growth in independence our junior students have shown this week.

Congratulations to all of our District Athletics participants – what an effort from the whole BBPS team, coming in second place in the Aggregate Shield! We are proud of every competitor, and look forward to cheering on those progressing to Division next term: 

1st in their events - Madeleine S; Bella W; Lucy W

2nd in their events – Will A; Jacob S.

Thanks to Mr A for running the network event as District Coordinator, and to Ms Remfry and Mr Coulston for supporting our students in attendance.

A huge thank you again to our Dreamers Football Team and the Organising Committee, whose efforts brought our community together in true BBPS spirit. Special recognition goes to Will, Sophie and Alex for their roles as playing staff – we are proud of your commitment and the fantastic role modelling you show our students, both on and off the field.

Take a look at our Dreamers page for more photos and information.

Our 2026 Prep Transition program has officially begun, with our first session as an opportunity to connect families and familiarise our incoming Preps with their learning space. Additionally, our Grade 5 students have visited St Peter’s Kindergarten, where they shone as seasoned buddies, sharing stories and buddy reading with the younger children – an important part of their own transition journey.

It was wonderful to see so many families join us for our Father’s Day activities. Students loved sharing and playing with their dads and special friends, creating gifts and poems to mark the event – thank you to our staff for your behind-the-scenes preparation for this to take place.

Our parent education sessions continue to be a highlight of term 3, with practical strategies from School of Play and the insights of Lael Stone helping us navigate the joys and complexities of parenting. We welcome your ideas for future topics – please let us know what would support you best. (See our Wellbeing section for links and resources.)

Leading Instructional Excellence

Our school values the learning and development of our staff, and the positive impacts this has on student outcomes and school improvement.

I’m pleased to share that Anna Remfry recently successfully completed Leading Instructional Excellence at the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership. Kim and Megan also successfully completed this in Term 2.

This evidence-informed program strengthened our capacity to lead the implementation of explicit teaching across the school. 

Some of the key knowledge that we are bringing back to share with colleagues includes:

• strategies to maximise student attention, focus and regulation

• increased awareness around models of memory, and how to support students to more easily retain their new knowledge

• proven approaches to support our staff to align their teaching with the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model 2.0.

We look forward to implementing the knowledge and skills from the program to continue to support student outcomes and wellbeing.

Kylie White has also continued her professional learning journey through the Teaching Excellence Program at the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership.

This program enables teachers to advance their capabilities and excellence in teaching.

So far this year, Kylie has participated in 3 discipline days and 3 Teaching Excellence Community Learning days. She has also completed a teacher inquiry project where she focused in on a particular teaching practice to improve the outcomes for students in their class. Currently, she is completing another inquiry to strengthen her teaching practice even further.

Reminder to participate in the 2025 Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey 

Our school is conducting the annual Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey and is seeking your feedback. The survey, offered by the Department of Education, is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, and student engagement.

We sent you an invitation to complete the survey. If you cannot find the invite, please reach out and we can resend this invitation to you.

The Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey will remain open online until Friday 19 September 2025.

Your opinions are important to us and will contribute to identifying areas for improvement and professional development needs in the school, to target school planning and improvement strategies. The department will use the results from the survey for research purposes and to improve outcomes for students.

The survey is being conducted online and only takes 20 minutes to complete. 

If you require assistance in completing the survey, please reach out to your child’s teacher, or the school if you require assistance in another language.

State Schools Spectacular

Congratulations to our 5/6 Senior Choir for their long-awaited performance last weekend as part of the State Schools Spectacular. The theme this year was On Air, and included incredible aerial acrobatics and mass dances, supported by the mass choir (including our own BBPS choir). A big thank you to Sally Wickes, Mrs Coutts and Mr Stock for providing this opportunity for our students, and a big thank you to those parents who have helped us this year with the event. Mrs May and Mrs Ancrum were cheering you on from the audience! It was an absolutely brilliant event, and all our students did a fantastic job as part of the main ensemble choir. 

A special broadcast with behind-the-scenes highlights will air on Friday 19 December at 7pm on Seven in Victoria. It will also be live streaming nationally on 7plus for 60 days from the broadcast date.

Grade 3/4 are currently on school camp and are having a ball. We look forward to sharing their experiences with you next term. 

A reminder that school finishes tomorrow, on Friday 19th September at 2:30pm.

3/4 campers are due back in time for 2:30pm dismissal - keep an eye out on Compass for if anything changes. 

We resume on Monday, 6th October. 

If your child will not be returning to BBPS in 2026, please let us know as soon as possible to support our planning processes. And finally, if you haven’t yet completed the Parent School Survey, there’s still time – your feedback helps us continue to grow and be the best we can be.

Wishing you all safe and relaxing two week break. Well done to all our students on a fantastic term of learning.