Dear Parents and Carers,
As we near the end of Term 2, we hope you had a chance to enjoy a relaxing long weekend and some much-needed time with your family.
Building Renovations
The school renovations are in full swing, with B Block nearing full completion and parts of A Block starting this week. An estimated completion time for the entire renovations is early Term 3. The school canteen will re-open in Term 3. Further communications will be sent out regarding this. We appreciate the flexibility of staff, students and community as our school gets some much-needed revitalisation.
Athletics Carnival
Last week, we held another successful school Athletics Carnival. Special thanks to the P&C for running the canteen, staff for their vigilance and supervision and to Mr Schasser for his organisation of the event. It was great to see the students smiling and cheering their peers on, displaying outstanding Blacksmiths PS sportsmanship.
Humble Project
Our Humble Project participants have been busy little bees, learning about pollination and the important role bees play in keeping plants alive. They surveyed the school site to compile information about the percentage of plants that are pollinator friendly. They will use this data to help inform decisions about what flowering plants our school needs in order to attract more bees.
Star Struck
Best wishes to our Star Struck performers, as show week has finally arrived. We hope our dancers enjoy the experience of performing at the evening performance on Friday and Saturday’s matinee performance. Thank you to Mrs Hellier for all of her organisation and supporting our Star Struck team.
Public Speaking & Spelling Bee
In weeks 9 and 10 we will be having our Public Speaking and Spelling Bee school-based finals. The selected students from these finals will represent the school and move to the next round. Good luck to all of the students who have made it to the finals, and we look forward to hearing who our Stage winners and Zone representatives will be.
Influenza
As the winter months have rolled in, we are noticing a sharp rise in the cold and flu viruses. While we highly value attendance when students are well, the DoE message remains the same, if unwell, please stay home and inform the office of the reason for the leave.
Late Arrivals
Recently there has been an increase in students arriving to school past the 8:55am morning bell. We understand that there are sometimes unforeseen events in the morning. If you find that you are continually late to school, please talk with your child’s teacher about ways we can support to ensure your child is in the classroom with their peers ready to learn at 8:55am.
Dogs on School Grounds
Many of our students' own dogs and feel comfortable around dogs whilst several other students are quite anxious around dogs.
Regardless of either position, under the Companion Animals Act, in Section 14 it states that dogs are prohibited (not allowed) in school grounds, whether or not they are leashed or otherwise controlled. Without blocking entry and exit, any visitor to the school is not able to bring their dog into the school grounds but may remain with their leashed dog on the footpath at the front of the school, which is a public area.
Kind regards,
Luke McIlvenie | Principal
