Have you met our two new kids? Last week we had two new baby goats join us. They will be with us until the end of the year, we take care of them by bottle feeding them and spending time with them until they go back to their dairy farm. What a wonderful experience for our students to be part of raising these beautiful kids and having them become part of our Balnarring Primary School Community. Each class will have the opportunity to put forward some options for names with the final names being announced at our next assembly.

You may have heard our students rehearsing the Busking for Change song, Shordi Krik. I have dropped in on a few rehearsals and they are sounding amazing having learned the lyrics in English, Kriol (combination of native Indigenous languages and English) and also now adding in some movement. I captured these wonderful drawings from our Year 4 students who were drawing their understandings of the different parts of the Shordi Krik Song. Please stay tuned for more information about our Busking for Change performance, it is sure to be a highlight.

I recently had the opportunity to visit 5B during one of their maths lessons. I was so impressed to see these students thinking like mathematicians as they challenged their thinking but also welcomed mistakes as part of the learning process. Fantastic work Mr Byrns and class 5B!

For the last couple of weeks I have been getting started on preparing for our School Review which is scheduled for Term 1 of 2025. Part of the School Review Process involves engaging student, staff and families on reflecting on the schools progress over the past 4 years as well as considering opportunities for future growth and change.

This week and next week I will be out in the yard before and after school seeking feedback from parents. I will have a clip board in hand and would love to hear the responses from parents on:

*What should I know about Balnarring Primary School?

*What would you never change about our school?

*What would you change or develop if you could?

If you see me around with my clip board, please don’t be shy. I am interested to capture as many views as possible. If there are any parents or carers who may not be onsite during these times please email me if you would like for me to send you a form to capture your responses.

We are in the early stages of planning for 2025. Families, please submit your enrolment papers if you have a younger child who will be starting Prep with us next year. Also, if there are any families who will be moving out of the area or leaving Balnarring Primary School for any reason please inform our office so that we can update our records and support your child/children with their transition from our school.

Bethany Jackson
Principal

Harvest Time in Grade 2!

We’re excited to share that our Grade 2 students have just experienced their first mushroom harvest! As part of our Science exploration, students have been eagerly watching their mushrooms grow, and the excitement peaked when they were able to take one home to cook. From pizza toppings to stroganoff, the culinary possibilities are deliciously endless!  Stay tuned for more mushroom news.

Wellbeing News

As part of Balnarring’s wellbeing values– ‘The Balnarring Way’, we will be bringing you regular updates of positive wellbeing initiatives that are happening around our school!

One of the very special things about Balnarring Primary School is the way our students engage in nature play. Many great examples of this can be seen in the cubbies students have created around the school grounds. This type of activity is a perfect example of the Balnarring Way in action.

The goals for this term are shown below, and we asked some of our cubby makers what this looks like as they work together on the cubbies.

Busking for Change

This term, Balnarring Primary School students are again Busking For Change, changemakers.  This is a musical fundraiser by the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF).  Simply put, students will learn to sing a song in English and Kriol (in both First Nations Studies and Performing Arts class) and raise money for their efforts.  As a school community last year we raised and amazing $550! All funds raised help kids and families in remote Communities access and create books in the languages they speak at home.

Donations can be made by donating to the  school page at

https://buskingforchange.ilf.org.au/balnarring-primary-school page.

Alternatively you can follow the QR code below.

If students wish to practise the song, the lyrics will be coming home shortly and the songs can be found easily with a google search of “Shordi Krik song’.

The event will culminate in a performance on Thursday September 5th 2024, at 2:30pm with community members invited to attend.  

Any questions see Mel Brooks.