Working with Children Check

We value and appreciate volunteers assisting in the classroom, on excursions and at school events. Please be mindful that you must have a valid WWCC and have completed our OHS paperwork if you wish to help out. OHS paperwork must be completed at the start of each school year to be valid.

Please see Wendy or Sharon in the office if you have not completed the OHS paper this year, 2024.

Please see the BPS website ‘About’ tab, ‘Policies’, or the links below, for more information regarding WWCC guidelines: Working with Children Suitability Checks Policy (DE)

https://www.bonbeachps.vic.edu.au/uploaded_files/media/flow_chart_for_working_with_children_check.pdf


https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/suitability-checks/policy

Sports Tops

A gentle reminder that the sports t-shirts are only for 5/6 students. These should only be worn on days when they are participating in physical education or interschool sports, etc.

regards

Ken & Jayne

What is a school council and what does it do?

All government schools in Victoria have a school council. They are legally constituted bodies that are given powers to set the key directions of a school within statewide guidelines. In doing this, a school council is able to directly influence the quality of education that the school provides for its students.

Who is on the school council?

For most school councils, there are three possible categories of membership:

• A mandated elected Parent category – more than one-third of the total members must be from this category. Department of Education and Training (DET) employees can be Parent members at their child’s school as long as they are not engaged in work at the school.
• A mandated elected DET employee category – members of this category may make up no more than one-third of the total membership of school council. The principal of the school is automatically one of these members.
• An optional Community member category – members are co-opted by a decision of the council because of their special skills, interests or experiences. DET employees are not eligible to be Community members.

Generally, the term of office for all members is two years. The term of office of half the members expires each year, creating vacancies for the annual school council elections.

Why is Parent membership so important?

Parents on school councils provide important viewpoints and have valuable skills that can help shape the direction of the school.

Those parents who become active on a school council find their involvement satisfying in itself and may also find that their children feel a greater sense of belonging.

How can you become involved?

The most obvious way is to vote in the elections, which are held in Term 1 each year. However, ballots are only held if more people nominate as candidates than there are positions vacant.

In view of this, you might seriously consider

• standing for election as a member of the school council
• encouraging another person to stand for election.

Do I need special experience to be on school council?

No. What you do need is an interest in your child’s school and the desire to work in partnership with others to help shape the school’s future. What do you need to do to stand for election?

The principal will issue a Notice of Election and Call for Nominations following the commencement of Term 1 each year. All school council elections must be completed by the end of March unless the usual time line has been varied by the Minister.

If you decide to stand for election, you can arrange for someone to nominate you as a candidate or you can nominate yourself in the Parent category.

DET employees whose child is enrolled in a school in which they are not engaged in work are eligible to nominate for parent membership of the school council at that school.

Once the nomination form is completed, return it to the principal within the time stated on the Notice of Election. You will receive a Nomination Form Receipt in the mail following the receipt of your completed nomination.

Generally, if there are more nominations received than there are vacancies on council, a ballot will be conducted during the two weeks after the call for nominations has closed.

Remember

Ask at the school for help if you would like to stand for election and are not sure what to do

Consider standing for election to council this year

Be sure to vote in the elections.

Contact Ken Jones for further information.

Notice of Election and Call for Nominations

An election is to be conducted for members of the School Council of Bonbeach Primary School

Nomination forms may be obtained from the school and must be lodged by 4.00 pm on Friday 1/3 /2024.

If there are more candidates than vacant positions then there will be a ballot and the ballot will close at 4.00 pm on Monday 13/ 3/ 2024

Following the closing of nominations a list of the nominations received will be posted at the school. The terms of office, membership categories and number of positions in each membership category open for election are as follows:

The Bonbeach Farmers Market is held monthly, with each year level being responsible to fill the volunteers twice a year for gates, set up and pack up. In return the Year level receive $1000 to go towards the educational resources and programs for the year. That’s an amazing amount of funds which benefit our children.

Last year the funds went towards:

Preps:

Play based resources to support fine and gross motor skills and social development.


Year 1/2:

A weather station to help understand the path water takes on Earth. Two world globes, test tubes to aid with scientific experiments and a class set of magnifying glasses to support students Inquiry and Science based learning.

Year 3/4:

Subsidising the cost of our Museum and Zoo excursions.

This excursion would have cost roughly $25 per child. The money raised through Year 3/4 parents volunteering at the Market meant that the cost per child was reduced to $13.

     

Year 5/6 :

Supporting the Design Lab program.

The money helped to pay for items such as polymer clay, jewellery findings, visual journals, wood, tools, busses to and from Bunnings and photo paper. 


We are struggling to secure volunteers and while we understand that families are busy, without your continued help we will have to outsource those volunteer roles meaning our children will not receive that extra $2000 a year towards their education.

Many hands make light work! If every family volunteers once a year we will all be supporting the amazing opportunities these funds provide our children and keep the funds within Bonbeach Primary and Preschool.

Please keep an eye on the Compass posts advertising the need for volunteers.

2024 Market Roster:

10th March     Year 1/2

14th April       Year 3/4

12th May        Year 5/6

9th June         Prep

14th July        Preschool

11th Aug        Year 1/2

8th Sept         Year 3/4

13th Oct         Year 5/6

10th Nov         Prep

8th Dec           Preschool

Many thanks

2024 Farmers Market Committee

We were kindly gifted 6 chicks from the Pre-school hatching program, 3 clucking chickens and 3 crowing roosters. While the roosters were very happy at Bonbeach Primary, they were also very noisy and have been relocated to a nursery in Langwarrin who also rescues battery hens. Charlie, who runs the program, matches a flock of hens with a rooster, then kindly donates the whole flocks to farms around Victoria! We appreciate the patience and understanding of anyone who might have had an early wakeup call the last few weeks with the beautiful cock - a - doodle - doo singing.

It is that time of the year when the garden is starting to look tired after the summer months and students are currently seed saving the summer crops and prepping the beds for winter crops. They are PH testing soil, adding mulch and compost, and starting to sow seeds in the greenhouse. This is a fantastic learning experience for them as we transition from one season to the next, rotating crops and learning what to plant.

Congratulations to the Bracken Girls in a recent Surf Life Saving Championships competition. The Bracken Girls cleaned up a medal in each age group.

Lucy- 1^st 6 year olds

Madeleine- 2^nd 8 year olds

Victoria- 2^nd 10 year olds

Victoria has qualified for the State Championships for her club and this will be held in Warrnambool.

What an amazing achievement and we wish Victoria all the best in the next stage.