On the 30^th of October we met up with Mr. O Kelly to talk to him       about the new running track and rubber mat sports area.  We asked him a few questions, here they are.

So why did you decide to put a running track on the paddock?  A few years ago some students came and said to me they wanted a new running track out on the paddock.

Did you think the rubber mat outside the gym would be so popular?  Yes I guess I did.

How long is the running the running track?  I think it is roughly about 200 metres.

Who made the design for the rubber mat?  Some of the grade 5/6s, Mr. Mould, As well as some other teachers and myself.

What are you thinking of doing in the future?  I would like to do something with the road between the rubber mat and the paddock maybe put some grass there or some more rubber matting. I would also like to put more shade out on the paddock.

By Charlotte and Liam 5/6CJ 

Hi everyone

It has been fantastic to see so much parent involvement. Research tells us that the partnership between school and home contributes to improved student learning. We had a very successful information night last Wednesday where staff, students and a parent spoke about the new approach to learning in the senior unit of the school. Many positive comments were made about the way staff spoke passionately about what they are doing, students spoke    confidently and honestly about the personalised learning and what it is like to be in the quad and the pod. Abbey McGrath spoke about her daughters’ success in developing more      organisational and independent skills helping to prepare her for secondary school. It was a great night. Thank you to all staff, students and Abbey for your input in making this night so informative and successful.

We also had a fabulous breakfast for the blokes. We had over 100 people attend and it was great to see fathers and sons eating, reading and playing quizzes while having breakfast. Thank you to Joy Hoey for her organisation of this great event and Jo Reyntjes for the wonderful muffins.

The working bee was also a great success. On Sunday we had approximately 16 families and several staff work together to create some fabulous garden beds. The grounds are certainly looking great thanks to a lot of hard work by many people. Special thanks go to Paul Wilson, Peter Mould, Daniel O’Kelly and Jo O’Loughlin. Daniel organised the laying of the specialised rubber surface which looks great down near the netball court. There will be another working bee on November 9^th from 10.00am-1.00pm.

Prep transition was also terrific. Thursday morning all our new prep students for 2010 worked diligently and excitedly in the prep rooms. The children will be well and truly ready for school next year.

2010 Classes.

As you well realise teachers spend a lot of time designing class groups, considering the     individual differences and needs of every child, their peer group and the connection with their teachers. I know that our teachers are incredibly diligent in working together to arrange groups to best suit the needs of all involved. I trust that they use their professional judgement to make the best choice for your child in 2010. If you feel you have some information you need to share to provide extra insight into the placement of your child in to their 2010 grade please put it in writing to me before November 6^th.

The Story of Buninyong.

The students, staff and parents have all been working hard to make this a huge success.   Students have been involved in writing the story and words to songs, preparing costumes and dramatisation of their story. Let’s hope the weather will be great and we have lots of people attending. Put the 9^th November in your diary and come to DeSoza Park at 6.00pm with a picnic tea.

The Writing Expo

It has been exciting to see the number of articles students, staff, parents and the community have submitted for our writing expo. The playground has certainly changed since the good old days! Thank you to Nanette Jackson and her Literacy Strategic Team for all the organisation and hard work that was required to make this such a successful event in the community.

P-2 Sports.

It is with much excitement that we prepare our students for the sports being held on     Tuesday 10^th November.  Please note that the sports this year will be held at the Buninyong Sports Complex starting at 11.30am.

Bushfire Preparedness Program

I am sure everyone has been reading the papers about the Royal Commission into “Black Saturday”. The Education Department have looked into best practice for schools and       developed strict guidelines for us to follow. Being prepared and knowing the process is    essential. Daniel O’Kelly will be coordinating the management of this and he and I will attend a workshop on 25^th November. During this three hour program we will look at

• · Emergency management relating to bushfires
• · Information on assessing weather conditions
• · Details in developing a risk assessment plan relating to bushfires
• · 

Have a great weekend everyone

Sue Deans

As many of the school community are aware we are in the process of organising a new building for Buninyong Primary School’s Buninyong campus to be built as a part of the Building the Education Revolution initiative of the Federal Government.

Normally a project as major as this one would entail a process of engagement of the school community in understanding the needs of the school and the community and what the site requirements would be. Following that the architects would create a specific building to suit the site, our needs and the budget available.

In this case the process is dramatically shortened and it has become a simple question of here is the building where will it best fit? The Design is a template design and except for minor alterations is identical for schools across Victoria and Australia. We cannot alter the design as it has been offered to us–we essentially have the choice of Template A or Template B.

Currently the department, the project managers, the architect and engineers are conducting site examinations to finalise where the building will go. They are in discussions with the relevant bodies to ensure that the building respects the natural environment, the physical requirements and the historic nature of the site. This has meant discussion around a huge range of options regarding where the building will be placed and what the effect will be on the school and the surrounding environments (esp the Botanic gardens). It seems that hardly a week goes by without us hearing of some struggle with one or another of the different locations available. The School Council has met a number of times to agree a “final” site only to discover it is not suitable for one reason or another.

We are expecting geotechnical engineers to make a site evaluation this week and hopefully then we will have a proper location to discuss!

Once the department formally informs us where they will be wanting to place the building and we have a final plan for the building we will circulate this to you. We will also put the large scale plans on display in the school for you to view, this will allow you to see how the whole school campus will look before, during and after construction.

I realise that many of you will have questions and be wondering what it will all look like at the end of the day and I assure you that as soon as we have a Final decision we will circulate this to the whole school (& wider Buninyong) community

If you have any questions feel free to contact the school office and I will be in touch.

From Geoff Sharp, School Council President

At BPS we pride ourselves on caring for every child and upholding the values of honesty, respect, commitment, compassion and optimism. We are a large school with small class sizes. Supervision in the yard is important to us and we aim to make every child safe. When your child starts school at Buninyong your family will be automatically linked with a parent representative while your child will be introduced to their own personal senior buddy. This, along with a number of specifically planned sessions at the school, ensures the smooth transition for your child from kinder into school.

We aim to educate the whole child in partnership with every family. We aim to meet the physical, social and emotional needs of all students together with high expectations of academic achievement. The schools high quality and comprehensive curriculum is enhanced by a seven year continuum that provides students with the skills to enable them to become independent learners.  Programs such as the Discovery Learning in Prep and our open learning spaces in the senior school cater for children’s individual needs and learning styles.

Buninyong Primary School is known for its innovation and leadership across the region. We are successfully trialling the netbook program where every child in grade 5 has a netbook. The use of technology to support our teaching of literacy and numeracy is embedded into our curriculum. We have smartboards in every classroom.

Being a big school we are able to offer many specialist areas such as –Music, Phys.Ed., Art and LOTE. We also offer individual tuition of guitar, keyboard and violin. We have an after school program which operates every night from 3.45 until 6.00pm.

Our facilities are exceptional. We have a full size gymnasium where the children can participate in a sporting program all year round. Our art room, music room and library are all great learning spaces. We have a canteen where children can order their lunch twice a week. We are about to build six permanent classrooms. We also have a campus at Scotsburn where there are two teachers. This offers parents the choice of a rural setting where there is a strong environmental focus. Children are able to be bussed to this campus from Buninyong at no cost to parents.

The connection we make with families is very important to us and we welcome parent participation in many areas. We conduct programs to assist parents who would like to help in the classrooms and continually encourage our open door policy. We have recently won a state award for our partnerships with parents and the community.

If you would like to find out more and see for yourself please make an appointment with Sue Deans on 5341 3560.