'From 8 November all schools will operate on updated Level 3 settings for the rest of Term 4, with additional activities allowed in a COVID-safe manner.' NSW Department of Education
Acknowledgement of Country...
Enrolling now for Kindergarten 2022!
It's not too late...you have until 5pm on Friday 3 December to order a fabulous keepsake of 2021 @ BPS!
***NOW AVAILABLE @ THE OFFICE***FACE MASKS & TEA TOWELS
From the Principal's Desk...
Our newest Balmain family members...
This week saw our 2022 Kindergarten children come and visit us for a 'Transition to School' session in small groups of 10. It's been so lovely to meet our new families, as well as welcome younger siblings that have been coming to the gate throughout the years!
Working within the current COVID-safe guidelines, having the smaller groups has been such a positive experience, which will be continued at the beginning of the year.
Our 2022 Kindies will each book in for a one-day 'Kindergarten Taster' when school commences for our Year 1-6 students on Tuesday 1 February. This will also follow a similar format to our current 'Transition to School', with groups of 10 students in on their booked in day. This will allow for special time with both Kindergarten teachers, as well as the Best Start Assessment throughout the day, during Week 1 only.
Monday 7 February will see all of our Kindergarten students join us for the official '1st Day of Kindy 2022'. We can't wait to see you all!
(for more photos, please head over to our Insta page @balmainps)
Maria Lambos - Principal
Connect with Balmain PS...Wonder what's goes on at our school? Follow us on Instagram for daily content, both through posts and stories...
Follow us on Instagram
Keep up with what's happening @ Balmain Public School
https://www.instagram.com/balmainps/
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...
To see what else we've been up to this week, head over to @balmainps!
Thanks so much for supporting Year 6 again this week! A total of $644.25 was raised! We really appreciate it!
FROM THE OFFICE - Please ensure you ALWAYS write your child's FULL NAME and CLASS when emailing the school, or dropping items off. Thank you.
If and when you are picking your child/ren up early, please come to the office window on Eaton Street and "squeeze" Bill our duck. We will have the students brought down to the Office. Thanks.
Until further notice...
Until further notice:
- Kiss & Drop - using both Gladstone Park & Eaton St gates, from 8:30am
- Staggered pick-up - Gladstone Park gate & basketball court - ES1/S1 @ 2:50pm & S2/S3 @ 3pm
Your understanding and patience in this matter is much appreciated.
SkoolBag is our main comms @ Balmain PS...stay connected!
To ensure you receive all communication via SkoolBag, please have the app downloaded on your phone, with the notifications turned ON.
Although the school pushes out notifications via the app and email, there may be times when an important message may be missed as emails may sometimes not be checked regularly.
If you need assistance downloading the app, please see below?...
SkoolBag installation instructions
All students are expected to be at school unless they are unwell. Do not attend school if unwell, even with mild symptoms.
- If you have any COVID-19 symptoms you will be sent home and must not return to school unless you have either:
- isolated for 10 days, when no medical certificate is available
- a negative COVID-19 test result and are symptom free.
Once you have received your negative COVID-19 test results, please send a copy to the school via email.
EVERY FRIDAY
Order through Flexischools...
Tuesday 30 November & Thursday 2 December
Wednesday 1 December - Ice blocks for sale!
Friday 3 December - Year 6 Wellbeing Day
Details in separate SkoolBag notification to Year 6 families...
Friday 3 December - 2nd Chance Uniform Pop-Up Stall
Pop-up stall!
Wednesday 8 December - P&C meeting @ 7pm via Zoom...
Details to follow...
Monday 13 December - Year 6 Graduation
Details to follow...
Tuesday 14 December - Celebration of Learning
Details to follow...
Wednesday 15 December - Giving Assembly
Details to follow...
Thursday 16 December - Last Day of Term 4!
2:45pm - Guard of Honour
NO ASSEMBLIES UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
LEARN LIVE LEAD awards
K Gentle - Mrs Goodridge | Annabel C | her superstar writing about a budgie! |
K Mellow - Mrs Mikhail Bryant | Lulu S | working hard to write sentences. Well done! |
1/2 Altruism - Ms Cooper | Isla B-R | being a valued and integral member of 1/2A. We will miss you, Isla! |
1/2 Compassion - Ms Chiang | Harrison S | actively contributing in class, and giving everything a go with a big smile |
1/2 Friendship - Ms Ferguson | Skye C | showing so much enthusiasm towards creative writing! |
1/2 Kind Kids - Ms Karstrom | Elena B | drawing and creating a fabulous family tree in History |
3/4 Harmony - Ms Curry | Charlotte H | consistently producing high quality work |
3/4 Leopards - Ms Jennett | Emmie B | writing and presenting an outstanding, hilarious monologue |
3/4 Phoenix - Ms Parkes/Mrs Bowman | Jack S | the incredible embodiment of a dolphin, a Tasmanian tiger AND a fox during the presentation of our class plays |
5/4 Rainbow - Ms Reedy | Natasha G | being open to new experiences and trying her very best |
5/6 Belong - Mr Baumann | Frankie H | being a mature, diligent achiever, without taking everything too seriously |
5/6 Calm - Mr Carlton name | Freddie B | his perseverance in working with fractions |
5/6 Poppies - Ms Pitman | Charlie F | his enthusiasm and impressive effort on the creation of his Geography website |
5/6 Yin & Yang - Mrs Sun | Alexandra N | her focus and collaborative effort, during our ProjectNEST SOLE project |
K-2 STEAM - Ms Barcenilla | Harrison S 1/2C | his determination when completing more challenging sudoku puzzles! |
3-6 STEAM - Ms Barcenilla | Maxim P 5/6B | his leadership and generosity when sharing his knowledge to support younger students with their STEAM projects! |
CHARACTER STRENGTH awards - TEACHER CHOICE
K Gentle - Mrs Goodridge | Leo S | being a happy class member who adapts well to change |
K Mellow - Mrs Mikhail Bryant | Lachlan S | being a kind and caring friend |
1/2 Altruism - Ms Cooper | Sam S | Humour - finding volume and capacity extremely funny |
1/2 Compassion - Ms Chiang | Ethan R | Joyfulness - approaching everything with delight and humour |
1/2 Friendship - Ms Ferguson | Amber Z | asking thoughtful questions to deepen her understanding |
1/2 Kind Kids - Ms Karstrom | Zac K | Bravery - using his kindness and courage to stand up for himself and his peers |
3/4 Harmony - Ms Curry | Ziggy S | Teamwork - being a wonderful team leader in group work and setting a great example |
3/4 Leopards - Ms Jennett | Juma M | Perseverance - working through challenging situations with optimism and a calm attitude |
3/4 Phoenix - Ms Parkes/Mrs Bowman | Demi G | Helpfulness - always offering up a hand to help, even with the disaster that is Ms Parkes' side table |
5/4 Rainbow - Ms Reedy | Elise G | Empathy - including others and being a positive and joyful person |
5/6 Belong - Mr Baumann | Luca M | Perseverance - making positive efforts, to continuously work on his learning |
5/6 Calm - Mr Carlton name | Jonah J | Humour - bringing his fun and light hearted humour into the classroom |
5/6 Poppies - Ms Pitman | Chloe Z | Creativity - presenting her SOLE presentation in a creative and engaging way |
5/6 Yin & Yang - Mrs Sun | Nea T | Creativity - producing visually interesting and informative posters, for her ProjectNEST SOLE project |
Positive Pete Winners!
Thanks to Ms Karstrom, who organises the collection and distribution of the Gelatissimo ice-creams, as well as takes the fab photos!
ES1 - Molly W KM, S1 - Lily J 1/2C, S2 - Oscar L 3/4P, S3 - Corey M 5/6B
And the winner is...(drumroll please!)
Uniform Stall
Under the current guidelines published by the Department of Education, the uniform stall will be operating via online ordering only.
Orders placed before 8pm October 21 will be packed and delivered to the office for collection. (Orders for current Kindy and Year 1 students will be delivered to the classroom.)
All orders after this time will be packed and delivered to classrooms after students return on October 25 (with the exception of any orders for new students starting 2022).
Exchanges and returns can be arranged by emailing the uniform stall volunteers: balmainpsuniforms@gmail.com
Thank you!
It's been wonderful having the 1/2 Compassion family back in face-to-face learning! We have been loving seeing everyone in person, including our delightful and talented specialist teachers. Here's a sneak peek into what we've been doing with them this week...
Library - Ms. Whelan has been spreading literary joy with the Book Fair and our usual Library lessons. This week, we read The Giant's Tooth (which was written by a member of the BPS family) and discussed the story, and the relevance of the Tooth Fairy. As usual, students are enthralled by Ms. Whelan's reading and discussions.
Art - As part of the study of annual celebrations, the very talented Ms. Bowman has been doing guided drawing lessons of turkeys to mark Thanksgiving. Although we are all being guided by Ms. Bowman, we've still managed to put in our own creative flair. Our turkeys come in all shapes and sizes. Some look regal, some look relaxed, some look bewildered.
STEAM - In STEAM, we've been enjoying some rotations. The activities are: LEGO challenges where we problem-solve and build, Sudoku to hone our maths and logic skills, making animations and practising block coding using Scratch Jr , and using coding to direct a path and give instructions to our Ozobots.