Students will return for the new year on Friday 29th of January, 2021
A Message From The Principal
The end of week 8, three weeks to go and there have been many changes in Victoria. Based on these changes we have updates for our community based on the new Department of Education guidelines. We have also been able to confirm our plans for our end of year celebrations and the Year 6 graduation.
SCHOOL CAPTAINS FOR 2021 – on Tuesday our wonderful year 5 students who wished to apply for school captain in 2021 gave their speeches to our year 4 – 6 students and teachers. Every year we hear from our amazing students on why they wish to lead our school. Unfortunately, not everyone can be successful however, there are many different opportunities available to our students.
We had a slight change in our process this year and this information was sent to our year 5 families and the students;
With the upcoming 2021 School and House Captain nominations, we wanted to provide parents with information about the process for this year. Students were notified last year, and have been reminded recently, that the captains for this year will be chosen entirely based on merit, rather than based on gender. All Grade 5 students will have the opportunity to nominate themselves for either (or both) roles and present a speech, and all Grade 4 and 5 students will vote, along with the staff.
After our voting process I am pleased to announce our school captains for 2021 are:
SCHOOL CAPTAINS – Milly McMaster and Sam Fuller
SCHOOL VICE-CAPTAINS – Zoe Preedy and Scarlet Nicholls.
Congratulations to everyone who nominated and presented speeches. Our House Captain speeches take place next week.
END OF YEAR CELEBRATIONS – with the easing of restrictions over the last few weeks we have been able to confirm our end of year student celebrations. We hope that these celebration days will make a wonderful end of the year celebrations for our students.
- Prep and the JLU – will be going to the movies to see the new Trolls movie on Monday 14th
- MLU – will be going to Super World on Thursday 17th
- SLU – will be going to Adventure Park on Thursday 3rd
GRADUATION – we were ready to send the note home yesterday and then Wednesday night new guidelines from the Department of Education were released. Based on these new guidelines we are pleased to announce that two adults per student will be able to attend a portion of the Graduation night, ensuring social distancing and COVID-19 safe measures are used. More information will be sent out to the Year 6 families.
START OF DAY / END OF DAY – We are no longer required to undertake staggered start and finish times. The school day will begin at 9am and conclude at 3.30pm for every student. As part of the new guidelines, parents are permitted to enter the school grounds for no longer than 15mins. This means that parents are permitted to walk their child to the classroom and meet them after school within the school grounds if they wish. This all must be done keeping in line with social distancing protocols. Parents are not permitted to enter the classrooms.
To assist in us ensure we are keeping our school as safe as possible we will continue to lock the gates during the school day. The gates will be unlocked at 8.45am and will be locked again just after 9am. They will be opened at 3.20pm and locked again at 3.45pm. Over the weekends and Summer holidays the gates in the school will be unlocked to enable our community to use the school grounds.
Parents are permitted into school buildings if you have a pre-arranged appointment to see your child’s classroom teacher – this is to ensure that we continue to comply with indoor gathering limits.
When indoors, the wearing of face masks, physical distancing and practising hand hygiene will all be measures that remain in place for all adult visitors on site and our staff. To support contact tracing, we must continue to keep a record of all visitors who attend on site for more than 15 minutes.
TRANSITION SESSIONS (WHOLE SCHOOL) – We have been working extremely hard with our teachers to plan a transition program that will ensure our students feel comfortable moving into 2021. We will be holding the following transition sessions for our students at school.
- Friday 27th November – students will have lunch in their learning community space and with the group of teachers that will be in their area (except those teachers from other schools who will not begin until 2021).
- Friday 4th December – students will spend 11.30am – 1.30pm in their new learning community with the group of teachers that will be in their area (except those teachers from other schools who will not begin until 2021). They will find out their classroom teacher and class on this day.
- Friday 11th December – students will spend 9am – 11am in their new class groups and be introduced to their 2021 teacher. All 2021 teachers will be in attendance on this day.
BOOK LISTS – Your child’s booklist for 2021 is now available online through WINC via the link below. Your access key is: 6WU8S.
There will be no hard copies distributed this year. Please order promptly to ensure delivery via Australia Post.
https://www.wincschools.com.au/VIC/Highton/Bellaire-Primary-School
DRINKING TAPS – In line with the new guidelines our drinking taps will be able to once again be used by our students. As we had removed the handles these will be replaced next week and the water system flushed before being used again.
STUDENT CARD GIVING / GIFT GIVING – To ensure the safety of all of our students we have made the decision to ask parents not to send any food gifts with their children to share. Cards, gifts (if they wish or as part of a ‘Secret Santa’ organised by a teacher) are allowed, we just ask that no food is given to students. Thank you for your support.
Suzanne Prendergast
Principal
Whole School News
2021 Student Booklist
Your child’s booklist for 2021 is now available online through WINC via the link below. Your access key is: 6WU8S.
There will be no hard copies distributed this year. Please order promptly to ensure delivery via Australia Post.
https://www.wincschools.com.au/VIC/Highton/Bellaire-Primary-School
Victorian High Ability Program – 2021
This week we were notified that Trent S from Year 5 has been included into the next intake of the Department’s High Ability Program – beginning Term One of next year. He was included into the program based upon outstanding assessment results in the area of Mathematics over the last few years. The Victorian High-Ability Program (VHAP) consists of intensive ten-week online courses in Mathematics and English for students in Years 5-8. Almost 50,000 students will participate in this exciting new challenge and extension program across the state over the next two years. On behalf of the entire Bellaire PS community we congratulate Trent for his hard work and dedication to his learning. This is fantastic reward and recognition for effort.
Transition Hacks Family Session – NEXT WEDNESDAY Wednesday 2nd December. 630-745pm
This year transition looks different. Our students have had less opportunities to practice transition. Because things do look different this year, we have partnered with BATForce to run an online Zoom information session to help families and students prepare for next year. Transition Hacks is designed for students who are transitioning to secondary school to participate in with their Grown Ups. This session is a chance for Families to come together and explore what transition will look like in their lives. They will learn about potential strategies for managing concerns, what is different about secondary school, healthy relationships, healthy choices, the importance of grown-ups as role models, the role that technology plays in our families, how we negotiate new rules and expectations as we grow, staying safe, looking out for your mates and what to do when things go wrong.
Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87966851295?pwd=bHMxUDJIaDBoTDdmc045VnVGSkwxQT09
Virtual Assembly – Term 4, Week 8
Christmas Dress Up Day – Friday 11th December
Wellbeing
STUDENT RESOURCE OF THE WEEK:
Beyond Blue Relaxation Exercises
Finding a sense of peace and calm in our day-to-day lives can be difficult. Relaxation techniques can help to relax the mind and body and also manage some of the symptoms of anxiety and depression. There are many types of relaxation, including breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, visualisation, meditation, mindfulness, and gentle physical activities such as yoga and Tai Chi. Learning to relax can take a bit of practise but the more you practise the more helpful the relaxation technique will be. Click here for downloadable MP3 files to help get you started on your journey to relaxation.
Ben Raidme
Assistant Principal
Community News
Hi Bellaire Primary
Finally, the Summer Holidays are nearly here. Our FAVOURITE time of the year!We have an ACTION PACKED SUMMER planned and will be operating for more days and at more locations than ever before!
Guaranteed FUN, ADVENTURE and new FRIENDS await.
With industry-leading ratios, child-centered activities, delicious food, and CCS approved care, there’s no surprise we have been voted Australia’s Favourite Holiday Program!
We can’t wait to see you there,
TeamKids HQ 😊
*Families, please note that the movie Peter Rabbit 2 is being delayed in its release and the children will now see either The Croods 2 or Cats & Dogs 3: Paws Unite!
Use the link below for bookings.
Canteen
LAST CANTEEN “MORN TEA/LUNCH DAY” FOR THE YEAR
***FRIDAY 11 DECEMBER***
SPECIAL MENU
Our Temp Term 4 menu will not be available on Friday 11 December. All orders need to be placed through the special menu for
FRIDAY 11 December via QKR . (NO PAPER COPIES WILL BE SENT HOME)
It looks a bit different than in other Terms due to no parent help in the canteen at this time.
Cut off for orders are 9a.m on MONDAY 9 December. Strictly no late orders can be taken due to pre-ordering requirements.
SPECIAL GLUTEN FREE MENU
Is now available on QKR to order from.
ICECREAMS (Delivered to the classroom)
All Icecreams pre-ordered via QKR will be delivered to the classroom in freezer bags. No Over the Counter Sales with cash at lunchtime.
The canteen will reopen for 2021 on Monday 1 February 2021.
We would like to sincerely thank all the school families who have supported the school canteen over this very difficult year. Thank you for all the kind messages we have received from students and families. I would like to personally thank Leanne McDonald who has been a tower of strength to me to enable us to continue to provide this service to our school community during difficult times. It was a pleasure for both of us to put a smile on the students faces even with a simple morning tea/lunch order.
To all our Bellaire families have a well deserved break.
We hope to have our very valued parent helpers and our over the counter lunchtime sales return in 2021 but we will need to wait and see.
With Kind Regards and Merry Christmas
Jenny Page
Canteen Manager