Pigeon Post

2024 Volume 3 Issue 9

EVERYONE is welcome at our school!

Acknowledgement of Country...

Important Dates For Your Diary

Kindy Orientation

Children enrolled for Kindergarten in 2025 are invited to get an early taste of Kindergarten through 5 sessions of FUN! Sessions will run in the morning between 9am and 10:40am. More information will be sent directly to families regarding how to sign up, what to expect and session timings.

Kindy 2025 Information Session

Parents and Carers are invited to join our Kindergarten 2025 information session from 9:30am to 10:30am on Monday 18 November. 

This is a chance to meet the Kindy 2025 teaching team and learn more about how to help your child get ready for big school.

During this time representatives from the Uniform Shop, Eaton Street Before and After Care and the P&C will be providing information.

Kindergarten Best Start Assessments

Families will be asked to book in a time during these 4 days to bring in their student to sit the Best Start Assessment. 

During this week, Kindergarten students will NOT be attending school

First day of KINDERGARTEN

Come and join in the celebrations for our FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN!!!!

Students will start later than usual for this day only. We ask parents and Carers to meet under the COLA for a 9:30am start. 

Useful links can be found at end of this issue of the Pigeon Post...👇

BIRTHDAY ICE-BLOCKS | If you are bringing in ice-blocks to celebrate your child's birthday, please ensure they are FULLY FROZEN prior to the day. This will avoid disappointment when handed out. Additionally, please do not bring in ice-cream packs, as we have a number of students with allergies.

From the Principal's Desk...

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Over the years, the P&C exec team, in each of its iterations, has truly valued and supported our Visual Arts program, by showcasing our young artists’ talents in the form of an Art Show, with the hall being transformed into a professional-looking art gallery. Where we think it’s impossible to lift the standard from the previous show, we are always amazed and impressed by the outcome. What spectacular events the 2024 Art Show SoirĂ©e and Family Fair Day have turned out to be!

MANY THANKS to Trista, Mitch and the incredible team behind this awesome event...the level of detail in planning, from the gathering of generous sponsors, to Agatha’s posters, to the bunting adorning Balmain, to the professional artworks for the silent auction, to the professional artists donating works (including Mitch & Agatha), who also happen to be parents at BPS, to the securing of alum Elana Stone performing at the SoirĂ©e, to the Family Fair Day preparations...the whirlwind of the list goes on! Many hands make light work and we are grateful to each and every one who has contributed in making this event an outstanding one! 

'Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.' ~ Pablo Picasso.

WE ARE SO THANKFUL to each of our 337 students, who bring their individuality into life at Balmain Public School. They have all worked on their artworks with interest, passion and dedication, ensuring the BPS Gallery was truly a space of masterpieces! If it wasn't for you all, we'd have nothing to showcase!

HUGE THANKS to the incredibly talented Mrs Felicity Bowman, who nurtured and inspired  each and every young artist at BPS;  our young learners will undoubtedly continue their artistry as adults. Her vision and creativity inspired many of student masterpieces, both individual and collaborative.

A MASSIVE THANK YOU to the uber-amazing Mrs Stephanie Loxton, who was the school's Art Show Coordinator, working tirelessly with staff, students, P&C and externals, to ensure all artworks were ready to be hung and professionally showcased! What an effort!

MANY MANY THANKS to our super-talented teachers, who worked with their students to create, or complete, artworks, either individual and/or collaborative! There is certainly a lot of talent amongst our staff!

'Many hands make light work', as they say, and a number of you were able to support and help Mrs Loxton transform the hall into an Art Gallery...we are grateful to each and every one of you! What a team! THANKS SO SO MUCH!

THANK YOU SO MUCH to the extraordinary parents who were able to come in and worked with some of the class collaborative artworks. How impressive! We are grateful to you for sharing your special talents with us!

THANKS SO SO MUCH to all the BPS staff who were able to turn up to the SoirĂ©e and mingle with our wonderful Balmain community, as well as showing absolute decorum during the live auction, even though heavily invested in their class artworks! A few staff members don't even work on a Friday, so taking the time out of your personal life to attend is much appreciated! 

A SPECIAL THANKS goes to Mr Gus Elix, 3/4E's teacher, who did an outstanding job of raising the level of excitement for the live auction. Mr Elix took his role so seriously, putting in hours of research prior to his moment in the spotlight, interviewing each class as to the reasons why people should buy their collaborative artwork. Mr Elix was so professional and not showing favouritism (except for maybe when 3/4E's artwork was going under the hammer).

HUGE THANKS must go to Mitch and Agatha, Roland's parents, who curated the most awe-inspiring collection of notable artists, including some of our BPS parents, for our Silent Auction. What an incredible feeling to be in the space amongst some of these artists, who attended the Soirée, as well as the eclectic collection of artworks!

MANY THANKS to all our parents who were directly involved in all levels of Soirée and/or Family Fair Day organisation, preparation and execution. You have each personally contributed to the most talked about event on the Peninsula!

A special mention must go to Shona, Zeke and Ines' Mum, for the kilometres of bunting around the school and beyond, as well as to the parents and students who helped out. THANKS SO VERY MUCH!

What a star! Auden and Audrey's Dad, Michael, was an absolute natural on the microphone at the Soirée...THANKS A LOT for your contribution! If you feel the urge to assist at Friday's Assemblies, you're more than welcome to join us up on stage!

A SPECIAL SHOUTOUT to Lindsay, Madeleine's Dad, who oversaw the smooth flow of beverages at the Soirée, enabling the bidding wars! THANKS HEAPS!

THANKS A MILLION, Trista, Zachy and Charlie's Mum, as well as P&C President, for pulling off the MOST AMAZING EVENT THIS YEAR! Your unwavering vision, determination and grit has been absolutely incredible! MANY THANKS also go to Trista's family, who have wholeheartedly supported this vision, all for the absolute benefit of each and every student and wonderful school! Thank you!

Finally, we are so so grateful for our Balmain family and community...it is each and every one of you who make this school shine.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Even Kobi Shetty, Greens Member for Balmain, supported our event! She outbid parents at the Soirée, to secure 6R's collaborative watercolours artwork, 'Evergreen', for her electoral office. Thank you, Kobi!

Individual Student Artworks Available to Buy Now!

Well done to all the students who represented Balmain Public School at the Sydney East Region Athletics Carnival on Wednesday, including our Senior Girls Relay team...we are proud of all of you for your achievements! Go Balmain!!!!

There's a baby in the house!

Welcome to the World, Layla! | Bubz met her parents on Sunday 15 September at 8pm on the dot! Layla weighs 3.12kg and is 50cm long. Her parents are wonderfully excited! We can't wait to meet little Layla!💗

We LOVE celebrating achievements! If you have something to share with our community, through the Pigeon Post, please send photo/s & blurb through to balmain-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au Att: FOR THE NEWSLETTER

Connect with Balmain PS...Wonder what's goes on at our school? Follow us on Instagram for daily content, both through posts and stories...

The week that was...

Check out what we get up to each day. Head over to our Instagram account: @balmainps

To see what else we've been up to this week, head over to @balmainps!

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Keep up with what's happening @ Balmain Public School

https://www.instagram.com/balmainps/


IF YOU SEE A COLOURED CIRCLE AROUND OUR SCHOOL LOGO, 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...

SPOTLIGHT ON...

3/4 GUANACO!!!

3/4G Term 3 Newsletter Happy Mooncake Festival! æ»ĄæœˆèŠ‚ćż«äč

The Mooncake Festival by Lucrezia and Matt | The Mooncake festival, also called the Mid Autumn Festival is a traditional celebration which marks the fullest and brightest moon in the Chinese calendar. It is a tradition which gathers family and friends and has been celebrated for thousands of years. During that day we eat fruit and mooncakes. This year I looked at the moon with my family and enjoyed the moon cakes!

Maths by Chloe, Roland, Charlie S, Jasper and Gabe | In maths, we are learning about length, involving the conversion of millimetres, centimetres and metres. We completed an activity where we had to estimate and then measure how far we could jump! We also used trundle wheels and measuring tapes to measure the perimeter of objects and buildings on the school grounds. 3/4G had so much fun, I hope we get to do it again! Charlie S: I measured the handball court and I jumped 1 metre and 52 centimetres! Roland: I jumped 1.54 metres! Chloe: I jumped 1 metre and 40 cm, which is 1400mm!

Celebration Coordinators and Teaching Assistants: Juliet, Sage, Maya & Siena | Being a Celebration Coordinator is a really fun job! We are in charge of celebrations and raise awareness about important days and events. We sneak up to the classroom and put up decorations and when the bell rings, we surprise everybody! This week, For World Ozone Day, we made Earths and put them all around the room. Then Juliet made a poster about what the ozone layer is as you see below. World Ozone Day reminds us about looking after the environment. Last week was RU OK Day and is a really good way of checking in with people and making sure that they are doing ok. I think R U OK Day is a really good day for people to think about others. Everyday should be RU OK day! It’s also really fun to dress up in Yellow!

Teaching the Class with Henley and Ava! | On Tuesday, I taught the class about Horses! The slides were about horse riding equipment,fun facts and how to be safe around horses. I also included some funny pictures of horses, and people riding them! By Ava | I am looking forward to teaching the class next week. I am going to teach 3/4G about baking. I love to bake, it makes me feel calm! By Henley

This week in English
 | We are reading Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda: ‘Rowan of Rin” is an example of bravery and strength. It shows us that even a little boy or girl from a village far, far away can do great things. For Rowan, his time to be brave is when his village steam runs dry. This means setting out on a journey with the village heroes; Marlie ,Strong-Jonn, Bronden, Allun and Rowan. Though he’s anxious, Rowan must go on the treacherous journey to help save his village. Who knows what Rowan will find on his quest. With so many questions to answer like Will they make it back alive? Is there really a dragon at the top of the mountain? There's so much danger in store for these heroes. By Anouk and Aurora

This week in History - Nico, Silas, Saxon | The Age of Exploration was an fascinating time in history because not much of the world had been discovered. Many thought that the word was flat and you would fall off the end! In history, we have been learning about different explorers that helped shape the world’s history such as Marco Polo, Zheng He and Ibn Battuta.

Marco Polo by Ivy and Cicely | Marco Polo came from Venice, Italy and was travelling to Asia to get glassware, spices, perfume and silk. He traded along the Silk Road and travelled through deserts, where there was nothing to eat. Some people say he is the most famous explorer in the world.

Zheng He by Lachlan Zheng | He was a Chinese explorer who went on 7 huge voyages!. He had 317 ships and 62 of them were treasure ships and 27, 800 men. He discovered lions,leopards,camels, ostriches,rhinos, zebras,and giraffes. These animals caused wonder back in China where the giraffe was considered living evidence of the qilin,a sort of Chinese unicorn which represented good fortune.

Art Show: Macy and Zara | I think that the art show is a great idea because not only do you get to do great artworks you also get to express/share your artworks with friends, family and the community. I really like my class's topic because it reminds me of the beauty of nature. The mediums we used are pencils and watercolour pencils. By Zara | Are you going to the art show and family fun fair? It will be the best one yet! And if you see them make sure you say a really big THANK YOU to the P&C who organised it all!!! By Macy W

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L)

From the Office

CHARLIE THE CHOOK says...

Are you intending on travelling during the school term? Please apply for leave using the link below...all sections of the form needs to be completed and the travel itinerary, including child/ren's name/s, is also to be included

Absences | Please use the Compass app to notify your child's teacher of their absence/s.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

FRI 27 SEPT | LAST DAY OF TERM 3

MON 14 OCT | FIRST DAY OF TERM 4

FRI 25 OCT | HALLOWEEN DISCO

Every MONDAY | The Wellbeing Program - ZingActiv

Every TUESDAY | NUDE FOOD TUESDAY


Every FRIDAY (weather permitting) | AWARDS ASSEMBLY

Please leave your furry friends at home...

Every FRIDAY | Uniform Stall | ONLINE ONLY

Order items online here

The best way to order new uniforms is online and they will be delivered to children's classrooms each Friday morning.

Come to the uniform stall if you need to try items on for size.

Second Chance items are available 8:30-9am twice a term on Fridays. 2024 dates are:

Term 3: 2 August, 20 September

Term 4: 25 October, 13 December. 

Donations can be dropped into the tub near the office anytime. 

If you would like to volunteer to help, please either email us at balmainpsuniforms@gmail.com or sign up via the link

Every FRIDAY | The School Canteen: Special request for parents and carers to cancel their lunch orders if their child is not going to be at school for lunch, by texting 0416 786 603 with their child’s full name and class. In return, an sms will be sent back to confirm the order has been cancelled and all monies returned in full to the child’s Spriggy school account.


P&C...

Check out the Family Fun Day reel...

RAFFLE TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE UNTIL FRIDAY!

AMAZING RAFFLE PRIZES...

September Meeting Minutes

Download

Follow our P&C on Insta @balmainpspc

Every 1st WEDNESDAY (usually) of SCHOOL TERM | P&C Meeting @ 7pm | Online & In-person

  • 6 November
  • 4 December

AWARDS

LEARN LIVE LEAD awards

K Deer - Ms A DavisAgastya Ghis creativity and diligence during investigations this week
K Jentinki - Ms L JennettAsher Sworking with focus to create sentences using an exclamation mark!
1/2 Javan Ruso - Ms J WalshVicky Wher perseverance and determination to engage in some tricky maths problems this week
1/2 Llama - Ms N LydonZoleena Falways finding a way to stretch her learning by accepting challenges with a smile!
1/2 Pampas Deer - Ms S ParsonsRemy Ralways giving his best with a smile that brightens the room
3/2 Antilocapra - Mrs E ArchibaldSovereign Mtaking pride in the classroom!
3/4 Elk - Mr G ElixEamon Khis impressive creativity and passion during investigations lessons!
3/4 Guanaco - Mrs L GoodridgeAva Bdoing an excellent job of teaching the class about horses!
5/4 Capreolinae - Ms A CooperSophia Kher keen listening skills and following all instructions during our volume lessons
5/4 Springbok - Mr L SavilleHarrison Smeasuring angles within 2D shapes and demonstrating a strong understanding of angle formulas with precision and confidence
5/6 Puku - Mrs A PitmanAngelina Zconsistently engaging in class discussions during our math problem-solving/ division activities
5/6 Royal Antelope - Ms R ReedyAngela Htaking on feedback and using it to improver her work
6 Reindeer - Mrs N RileyMillie Oher openness to learning and growing by taking on feedback positively

POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR 4 LEARNING (PB4L) awards - RESPONSIBLE

KD - Ms A DavisSarah Balways making responsible choices and becoming a great role model
KJ - Ms L JennettMillie Calways demonstrating consideration, kindness and a positive attitude to her peers and teachers
1/2J - Ms J WalshEsther T Calways trying her best to be a very responsible member of our school
1/2L - Ms N LydonSam Gtaking exceptional responsibility of his own learning by working like a star independently
1/2P - Ms S ParsonsSummer Calways being responsible, staying quiet, and doing her work to a high standard
3/2A - Mrs E ArchibaldDorothy Wusing a growth mindset when completing work
3/4E - Mr G ElixAnnie G Hlooking out for her friends and finding ways to help out around the classroom
3/4G - Mrs L GoodridgeGabe Rbeing a reliable and honest student, who approaches challenges with enthusiasm
5/4C - Ms A CooperCooper Hgoing out of his way to clean up the playground this week! Thank you, Coop!
5/4S - Mr L SavilleElena Bstaying organised, completing tasks on time, and always being dependable in the classroom
5/6P - Mrs A PitmanSpencer Mtaking responsibility for his learning by proactively asking for help when needed
5/6R - Ms R ReedyZerene Ddemonstrating leadership and considering others
6R - Mrs N RileyKai McBconsistently contributing valuable ideas to help refine his group's plans for their World 'Piece' task

House Points...

Best Class @ Assembly Award

Each week, a mystery teacher will choose the class that has followed the 'Balmain Way'. They will be entitled to 10 minutes extra play!

NUDE FOOD TUESDAYS WEEKLY WINNER

Each week, Baa-bara the Sheep will stay with the class that has the highest percentage of nude food in their lunch boxes. They will be entitled to 10 minutes extra play!

Positive Pete Winners

This week's winners...

COMMUNITY NOTICEBOARD

UNIFORMS

Balmain Public School children are expected to wear full school uniform, including a school hat, every day. All children are required to wear full school uniform when representing the school on excursions, at sporting events or at cultural activities.