Up for the Challenge!
The Premier commenced his address at 1.45pm last Friday and with some Department of Education guidelines at 3.20pm, all students were dismissed from school by 3.30pm, ready to go into a circuit breaker.
Yes, we have been in this space before and a possible lockdown was something we had planned for ‘in case’. The Beachside cluster of schools have managed these challenges successfully before and with our communities we have learnt much as we continue to respond to the COVID pandemic.
For our schools to react so quickly, set up the learning activities, support families with device allocation, manage the onsite learning provision, support staff to work from home and make sure all our students were supported this past week was yet again another outstanding effort.
Once again the WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER mantra kicked in... and we actioned!
The team at BBPS all combined to make sure that we were ready to shift into the ‘short, sharp circuit breaker’ recommended and required by our health experts. We are so grateful for the ‘can do’ team spirit of our staff and the super supportive ‘can do’ attitude and positive support from our parent community. Most of all we acknowledge the resilience and resourcefulness of our kids as they launched themselves into 3 days of learning from home or coming to school if that was necessary.
In our mission statement BBP stands for Building Better Pathways and the S is for Success. Being agile, responsive and solution focused is definitely a pathway that will always ensure our students are set up for success! GO BBPS.
School Council
We held the final meeting for the 2020 School Council this week – and would like to take the opportunity to thank our members for their support and partnership, especially throughout our experiences last year. A big thank you to:
Lisa Mitchell – President
David Capps – Vice President
Emma Liley - Finance Convener
Helen Tiver - Buildings and Grounds
Marnie Lewis Downing - Parent Association
Sharon Andrew - Finance
Violetta Wuiske - Policy
Roel Beckers - Website ( Marketing and Pubicity)
Vanessa Gadea, Alison Coutts– Education
The BBPS School council is made up of 8 parent reps, 4 DET reps (Including the Principal and Assistant Principal). Each year vacancies are created as School Councillors complete their two year appointed positions. We are always very grateful to parents who put themselves forward for this role. See Benita for nomination forms if you would like to nominate of re-nominate for a position on the BBPS School Council. Please talk to one of our 2020 members to find out more. Forms need to be signed and returned to the office by 4.00pm Friday 26th February.
Meet and Greets
Many thanks to all families who Zoomed in for a Meet and Greets this week – an opportunity that became ever more significant considering the week of learning we have had.
If you were unable to connect this week, please feel free to contact your class teacher via email or phone call should you need to. Teachers have shared their email addresses with you via Compass (if you can’t find it, check the Learning from Home daily planners).
Please remember that all staff do their very best to respond to parent/carers’ questions in a timely manner. BBPS values the health and wellbeing of all staff. As a result please keep in mind that staff may not respond to communication after hours.
Swimming Carnival - GO GORDON!
What an outstanding event for our senior years 4-6. This much anticipated house swimming competition took place last Friday,. How grateful we all are that it was such a success and all just before lockdown was announced!
Congratulations to all our students who participated, gained points for their team and cheered on their friends in true BBPS spirit. Thank you to our parent helpers, and Josh Ancrum, for navigating changing restrictions and guidelines in order to ensure this event took place safely.
Gordon was the reigning team this year, with Wilson coming in at a close second.
A number of students received ‘Well Done’ ribbons – a new initiative introduced in acknowledgement of students who took risks, had a go and showed outstanding sportsmanship. Congratulations to those students.
And of course, who won the Teacher vs Student vs Parent race? Wilson was just too quick for us this year!
A special thank you to Kate Jenkins (Millie Lark, Grade 6), who was our official photographer this year, in lieu of parents being able to be there to take their winning shots. All photos will be made accessible to you via Google Drive in the near future – keep an eye out for the link in our next newsletter.
The District Swimming Carnival is due to take place next Wednesday, 24th February, COVID restrictions allowing. Information about this will be communicated to students participating via Compass as soon as we have received confirmation that it is going ahead.
Interschool Sport Grade 5/6 was due to start this Friday. In line with DEET and SSV COVID-19 guidelines, parent spectators are not permitted to attend interschool sport events taking place on school grounds or at indoor centres. According to the School Sport Victoria (SSV), spectators at all outdoor grounds, including public Council grounds, are discouraged. Please refer to SSV website for details.
Interschool Summer Sport - Friday 19th February
Brighton Beach PS Vs Black Rock (Arriving 10.15 am)
All students to be at school by 8.45am, 9.45am departure,
Return – 12.30pm- for all sports.
Bus Schedule:
1 x 48+ seater – Lacrosse & Cricket to Dendy Park. PAX 37
1 x 48+ seater – Softball to A W Oliver & Oztag to Peterson Reserve 1 & 2. PAX 42
1 x 24 seater – Basketball to Black Rock PS. PAX 14
Venues:
Lacrosse & Cricket –Dendy park, Brighton East.
Basketball- Black Rock PS
Softball – A W Oliver, Summit Ave, Hampton East
Oztag – Peterson reserve, Highett rd, Highett.
Volleyball – Brighton Beach PS
2020 Feedback Survey – Grade 1-6 families
We are… ‘all the time learning’… and as such would love your thoughts on some of the operational structures we have in place at BBPS in response to COVID. Your reflections about our year of learning in 2020 would provide invaluable insights. And again, the experiences from this week may have sparked some thinking that you would be willing to share. Many thanks to the families who took the time to complete this short survey at the end of last year.
Two Minute Zone – how does it work?
Its always helpful at the beginning of the year to revisit how we can make sure we keep all students, adults (and cars) safe when using the Two Minute Zone – out the front of the school, Windermere Crescent. This is a great option for dropping off and picking up your child each day. Please remember:
Kiss and Drop only – do not park your car – before and after school.
Follow the directions of the teachers on duty as they direct the movement of the traffic
Wait in the line, and move up – do not try and sneak into a position and risk cutting off another car
Move up and stop behind the car in front – do not leave gaps as this helps keep the traffic moving.
Drive right up to the signpost at the end if there is space ahead of you – do not stop just anywhere along the zone as it causes a bank up of cars behind you.
Children must only get into their car between the sign post and white fencing
Children cannot cross the road here – they need to use the crossing at Wal’s Gate
Once you have dropped your child off, please keep moving and exit the Two Minute Zone safely.
We recommend holding off using the Two Minute Zone with prep students for term 1, unless they have a sibling (or at least, please word up their classroom teacher).
Second Hand Uniform Shop
Harmony has now been restored and the second hand uniform shop has been restocked and ready for sale. A very big thank you to the following Mums, who took time out of their busy schedules and even rearranged work meetings to help out:
Marnie Lewis Downing
Michelle Bertolucci
Tamara Tallent
Marg Villella
Carla Mylon
Kylie Wilson
Rebecca Arcuri
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