Keep up with what's happening @ Balmain Public School
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IF YOU SEE A COLOURED CIRCLE AROUND OUR EMBLEM, DON'T FORGET TO TAP ON IT, FOR OUR LATEST STORY...you've got to get in quickly, as it disappears after 24 hours!
⬅️ SOME OF OUR STORIES ARE SAVED AS HIGHLIGHTS...
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you've all had a relaxing break with your children, family and friends and are looking forward to another great year at Balmain Public School. Welcome back!
I'd like to extend a special warm welcome to all our new students and families...you are joining a fabulous school and truly beautiful community! Welcome, welcome, welcome!
Welcome back to both Ms Parkes and Ms Mikhail Bryant, who have returned from leave. We also have 3 new teachers who have gained permanency at Balmain Public School - Ms Stephanie Loxton, Ms Amanda Pitman and Ms Frances Chiang - welcome to our team and family!
This year is the International Year of Peace and Trust. As is tradition at Balmain, our classes will be named with the 2021 theme in mind. Look out for the big reveal next week! In the meantime, please meet the 2021 teachers...
Wishing everyone a peaceful and harmonious year!
Maria Lambos - Principal
‘Kiss & Drop’ will continue at both Gladstone Park and Eaton St gates from 8:30am. Kindergarten students commence 'Kiss & Drop' from Monday 8 February.
Staggered pick-up in the afternoon, from Gladstone Park gate only, will also occur:
Please note: Class teachers will remain with their class, near the Gladstone Park gate, until all students have been picked up, either by parents/carers, or Eaton St Centre (ESC), if booked in. The ESC staff are aware of the staggered dismissal and will pick up children from their teachers at designated pick-up times.
Kindergarten
Staggered start and pick-up for Wednesday 3 February - Friday 5 February, as per separate SkoolBag notification (dated 29/01/21), in line with 'Parents and carers for Preschool, Kindergarten and Years 1, 2 and 7 students will be allowed on the school site to drop off their children at their classes on the first few days of school...'
Please maintain physical distancing at all times.
We can only hope that, as a state, we continue to keep COVID-19 at bay and that there will be further easing of restrictions in the not-too-distant future.
We appreciate your ongoing understanding and cooperation in working with the school to keep our students, staff and community safe.
In 2019, prior to forming classes for 2020, we invested in a program called ClassSolver. This program gives us the ability to digitally form classes and keep track of movements and changes as they occur. It has proven to be an efficient, effective way to form classes and the school has continued its investment in the program.
Once all information is received by ClassSolver, classes are automatically generated. From these automatically generated class lists, 2020 and 2021 classroom teachers received these lists as a collective, to discuss and refine.
Lastly, the team of executives approve class lists, in line with parent input, teacher input and student preference.
The benefits of this program are that teachers and the executive can:
If we make any changes to a class list that conflicts with:
Why does Balmain PS have an across-stage class in 2021?
It is a requirement that each NSW Department of Education (DoE) school, or public school, accept all local enrolments. DoE schools are staffed according to the total number of enrolments per school year, not per year/age group. It is the school’s responsibility to form classes in the best interests of all students and the school, taking staffing formula and total enrolments into account.
In 2021, our classes have again been organised into stage groups across the entire school. This means students are matched with students from different year groups. The NSW syllabus documents sequence learning in stages from K-12. In primary schools, these are: Early Stage One (Kindergarten), Stage One (Years 1 and 2), Stage Two (Years 3 and 4) and Stage Three (Years 5 and 6).
From time to time, across-stage classes - 1/K, 3/2 and 5/4 - may be formed, due to an uneven pattern of enrolment in the school. This year we again have a 5/4, as we did in 2020. In 2019, the numbers were distributed in such a way that we needed to form a 1/K and a 5/4.
Previously to this, in my time at Balmain PS, we have had a 1/K one year, as well as a 5/4 over 2 separate years. This has occurred, as there are class size restrictions we need to adhere to. With our current enrolment pattern, had we kept purely to stage classes, or even year groups, there would have been overcrowding in a number of classes.
Will my child be disadvantaged being in an across-stage class?
Concern is sometimes expressed regarding across-stage class arrangements due to the perception that students will be given instruction which is not matched to their age or school year. There is also a belief that students have been graded academically and placed in classes based on academic achievement. The reality is that students at Balmain PS are placed in classes to ensure each class has a healthy balance of achievement levels and student needs and personalities.
Effective teaching is about addressing the needs of students through ongoing (formative) assessment. Teachers use the year group as the starting point and move quickly into teaching students in groups at the level they are currently achieving for each aspect of the curriculum. The level they are taught at may be beyond or below their school year. This is a more effective approach than restricting students to the curriculum attached to their school year.
For example it is very common for a Year 4 student to be achieving, (or capable of achieving), at a Year 5 level. Similarly a Year 4 student may struggle doing Year 4 learning and be more suited to mastering Year 3 curriculum in some areas before moving in to Year 4 content. Restricting learning to only Year 4 content would not result in learning growth in both cases because the learning is either too easy or too hard.
Put simply, good teaching places students in the Zone of Proximal Development (see diagram) throughout the day, using formative assessment and differentiated teaching. When this aspect of teaching is understood, it is easy to see that the across-stage (or stage) classes pose no threat to student outcomes, as teachers are encouraged to teach the students in front of them rather than blindly teaching them as a year group. It takes great skill and commitment over time to successfully implement formative assessment and ensure each student is learning as much as they can for each minute of each day. The complexity required to teach two year groups is virtually identical to the complexity of teaching one year group. Given this, good educators do not pay much attention to stage class structures and are instead obsessed with knowing their students, their achievement levels and what each of them needs to learn next.
There is also a perception that across-stage (or stage) classes might place students in groups with other students who are more or less socially developed. The advice relating to academic achievement also applies here, as all students mature at different rates and have different levels of social competency. On average older children are likely to be more socially capable but this is not a given for each individual. Again it comes down to the teacher and how they value, teach and model social-emotional skills. A well led classroom allows students, who are not as socially developed, to grow through the observation of the behaviours that are modelled to them by older students. This is generally a one way street, as older students are much less likely to regress and be influenced by the social and emotional skills of younger peers.
Go to www.flexischools.com.au to place your order
For any food/menu queries please feel free to contact us directly via email :
Alternatively, you can call Kirsty on 0416 786 603 and we will be happy to assist.
Kirsty and Jason Feliciotto – The School Canteen
Staggered start and finish times, as per SkoolBag notification on 29/01/21
International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Significant activity is witnessed worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women's achievements or rally for women's equality.
Marked annually on March 8th, International Women's Day (IWD) is one of the most important days of the year to:
#ChooseToChallenge
Our P&C have created a Facebook group for our new families...here's the link:
For any size exchanges, please:
1. Email the uniform stall with the details of the exchange, at: balmainpsuniforms@gmail.com
2. Return the items to be exchanged to the school office, clearly marked with Student name, Class and EXCHANGE
3. Replacement items will be packed and re-delivered to your child's classroom
Orders will continue to be packed and delivered for collection each week, until we are able to reopen the stall.
Thank you!
