BFPS Newsletter

You may recall my previous articles about our BFPS 'Family' Celebration Wall. It is one of the walls in my office where I proudly display my family photos (aka the fabulous students at Bobs Farm PS.)

Next to each student's photo is a little coloured tag where the students have shared something they are proud of but also what their current learning goal is. When the students have achieved their goal, we celebrate their success and they receive a special Principal's Award that can only be received by achieving their chosen goal. 

I am so pleased to announce that we celebrated our very first award winner at Friday's assembly. 

A HUGE congratulations to Braxton for achieving his goal. He originally stated that he would like to achieve it by the end of term 3, however he wasn't quite there then. He has persisted and persevered. He's sought out YouTube videos and teacher feedback to help make the improvements he needed. Finally, he felt confident enough that he had achieved his goal that he shared it with the class. Sure enough, he had got there! What a fantastic lesson in being able to do anything you put your mind to if you take the right steps to get there, put in the effort, show resilience and persistence and take feedback on board. 

We are all so proud of you, Brax! Well done!

I had several excited little people come and tell me straight after the presentation that they are so, so close to achieving their goals, too. I think this may well be that extra little bit of inspiration they need. I imagine I will be handing out quite a few of these certificates by the end of the term. I can't wait!

In other news, last week I attended a principals' conference at Hunter River High School along with about 80 other principals from as far away as Sydney and the Blue Mountains. It was a seminar covering many aspects of legal matters to do with schools, including the upcoming ban that is being introduced to block children under 16 from using social media and YouTube platforms. We listened to examples of how deep fake AI and scams are impacting students and staff, importantly with some strategies for dealing with these, implementing strict code of conduct guidelines and improving our digital literacy skills. It was really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of information sharing, albeit very informative and thought-provoking. As a result, in consultation with the P&C, we will look at running several information and skill-building sessions for families in 2026. I strongly encourage all of you to get involved. We will provide more information in the new year. 

There are so many other activities and events coming up, please be sure to read the other sections of the newsletter to make sure you are informed and prepared. In particular, Intensive Swim Scheme starts next Monday, so if you haven't already notified the office about your travel arrangements, please do so asap. 

We're also looking forward to the K-1-2 excursion on Friday to the RAAF base and Fighter World. How exciting! 

And who could forget the multiple festivities and events we've had at school recently. Be sure to check out the plethora of photos from the Book Week event, the P&C meetings and our Remembrance Day ceremony. 

As part of our commitment to providing the best possible education and environment for our students, we are conducting a survey to find out what people like about our school, as well as ideas and suggestions for how we can improve. Please take a couple of minutes to provide your thoughts. There are only THREE questions in the survey, but your responses will have a big impact on the decision we make as a school in the future. This is a perfect opportunity for you to have your say. It's entirely anonymous, unless you choose to add your name at the end, if you wish to discuss your ideas further. 

Find the link for the survey at the end of this page. 

Finally, we're looking forward to welcoming all the dads, grandads, uncles, neighbours, friends etc to our International Men's Day BBQ on Wednesday morning. Join us for free food, drinks, games and laughs.

So much happening! I'm sure, like mine, your calendars and diaries are chocka-block full of events and reminders at this time of year. Don't forget to keep checking the Events and Community News pages of the newsletter each fortnight, as well as the School Bytes Parent Portal calendar. All upcoming events and reminders are shared there, as well as the school's Facebook page &/or via SMS/email. 

Til next time,

Happy Week 6 & 7!

Mrs B

PS Hope you were all lucky enough to catch the Aurora Australis that was visible last Wednesday night. I was fortunate enough to capture these from my balcony at home. Right time, right place. It was such a coincidence that we had literally been talking about auroras in the primary class earlier that week, as we've been discussing the natural wonders of the world in geography. The Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) is one of the official 7 Natural Wonders of the World, but we think the southern 'Australis' version is pretty special, too! 

Do you know the other 6 Natural Wonders of the World? (See the challenge later in the newsletter.)