Nerae Preece Principal
From the Principals seat
I am going to jump straight into the news this week… We have something pretty important to celebrate!
World Teachers Day
Today is World Teachers Day. I think that like every year, but particularly this year we need to thank our teachers. So I wanted to write a little something to them from all of us…
To our incredibly dedicated team of teachers at Badger Creek (This includes our Education Staff too!)
Thank you for…
Caring for our precious children, to make sure they feel safe so they can learn.
Putting your personal worries and concerns to the back of your mind, to reassure our children that they are okay.
The hours of planning and thinking about each child, to help them learn a concept or an idea.
Making learning engaging and fun.
Learning a completely new way of teaching our students in 2020. But you have done it with style!
Reaching out to parents to work together to help our children learn.
Being the best teachers a Principal could ever work with.
Badger Creek teachers, we are so grateful for your hard work, particularly this year. I think a lot of people have realised this year, just how hard your job is, and you are certainly admired for how you do it!
THANK YOU from your Badger Creek Community!
Staffing for 2021
While we are talking about teachers, I am so excited to let you all that we have Kathleen Kean, Alyssa Drill, Jessica Riley and Vanessa Imberger teaching with us for another year. We also have Brogan Smith working with us in the office next year. We are so glad that they will be working with us in 2021!
Monday before Cup Day
School is on for Monday the 2nd of November. There will be no additional teaching and learning on Monday the 2nd, so if your child needs a rest day (with our new adjustment of routine) they will not miss out on too much. They will be marked as absent, so if you let us know with a phone call or an email to your class teacher it can be logged as approved.
Uniform
We have been receiving lots of uniform orders lately. A big thank you to all of you for arranging uniforms, with all that growing that our kids have done through COVID finding clothing that fits is a challenge. We are aware that it can be hard to find clothes that fit at the moment, but we are really grateful to all of you for getting your child into a uniform. If your child comes in black or grey pants or shorts until you can access some of the navy basics from retailers we understand. I am sure that in 2021 we will be looking smashing in our red and navy uniforms again!
What am I reading at the moment?
I have a few things on the go at the moment. I must say though, I dropped everything when I saw Craig Silvey (author of Jasper Jones) had his new book released, Honeybee. I was not disappointed with the time I spent reading Honeybee. I just love how Craig Silvey creates these amazing characters. I really want to spend some time thinking about what writing tricks he uses to make you really love or really hate a character.
Needless to say, again, I felt a loneliness when I finished the book. Loneliness because I had to say goodbye to the characters I had met in the book. I hope you are reading a book that brings you joy at the moment!
Please have a lovely weekend. I hope you get to enjoy some quality time with family or friends over the Cup Weekend.
Stay well,
Nerae Preece
IMPORTANT SCHOOL DATES
Whole school dates to remember:
School photos – Monday 16th November
Student lunches – Recommencing early 2021
Junior School dates to remember:
Body Safety incursion approval and payment – Monday 9th November
Body Safety incursion (Prep students) – Monday 7th December
THIS WEEK IN ART
Hello Badger Creek Community,
It’s been a wonderful week in the art room finalising a few projects and beginning new ones.
The Grade 5/6 class are putting their final touches on their mixed media collages using black ink and a range of brushes to create the texture of fur or feathers on their animals.
Our 3/4 class have just begun a puppet making project. They will be making hand puppets that have a head constructed from Plaster of Paris and the body will be a fabric costume that covers the hand of the puppeteer. We read Fox by Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks and students chose to make either the fox, the dingo or the magpie from the story. To begin our process students drew their animal from multiple perspectives to gain a better understanding of it as a three-dimensional form.
The 1/2 class have finished their Laurel Burch inspired cats. The cats with their smiling faces, bright colours and intricate patterns will adorn our school hallways as a celebration of our students’ hard work. We will be beginning a three-dimensional project next week.
This week the preps in preparation for our new project, learnt how to use acrylic paints in the art room. They used their brushes correctly and practiced keeping one colour paint out of another. They will be the first to admit that it’s a lot more difficult than it sounds! They also learnt clean-up routines for using paint and did such a wonderful job that the art room sparkled once they finished.
Well done everyone and enjoy your weekend.
Vanessa Imberger
Art Teacher
MUSIC NEWS
Greetings BCPS Community,
This week in music our grade Prep students wrote their own Good Morning songs based on an Indigenous song taught to Badger Creek Primary School by the Indigenous leader, Murrindndi, which greets the day and all of the beautiful things in it. We listened to the sights and sounds around us and made up our own verses to go with the song. It was great fun!
In grade 1/2, we are working our way through eh Prokofiev classic, Peter and the Wolf. We are all on ver excited to see what happens to the bird and the cat as they are trapped up a tree, with the wolf pacing around the bottom of the tree. Will Peter save the day!
Grade 3/4 are focusing on repeating patterns in music and learning the ins and outs of the song Dance Monkey by Australian Singer / Songwriter, Tones and I. This week we started to learn the piano part.
Our grade 5/6 students continue to learn about and compose music with ostinato patterns. This week we learnt that you can make a whole song with just a few repeating patterns! Check out the song ‘Believer’ by Imaging Dragons if you want a very good example.
You can check out some of our grade 5/6 student’s quick ostinato compositions here.
Have a great week,
Ms. Legg
Music Teacher
THIS WEEK IN P.E
JUNIOR P.E
The students in Foundation have continued to develop and refine their skills in the catch at the start of Term 4.
Students have now been introduced to new fundamental motor and movement skills , including the underarm and overarm throw in Term 4. Students were focusing on turning their body side on and getting into the throwing position.
The grade 1/2s have continued to refine and develop their fundamental motor and movement skills. In the last 3 weeks, students have developed their competency in the overarm throw, focusing on getting into the correct throwing position and stepping towards their target.
The students have enjoyed developing their skills outside in this lovely spring weather!
All junior students will now begin a striking unit over the next 3 weeks.
Have a great day!
SENIOR P.E
The senior students have been learning and developing their knowledge in net/wall sports. We have been participating in a tennis hot shots unit, learning how to play the various tennis shots, rallying and structuring points with different tactics.
Next week students will participate in a mini tournament playing doubles and singles! It’s been great fun!
Around the Year Levels
IN PREP THIS WEEK
This week the preps have been learning all about money. We have been exploring cents and dollars and looking at the many ways money is a part of our every day lives. As well as this, we have dived into our poetry unit. We have loved playing poets and using our 5 senses to create descriptive poems. One other exciting part of our week has been collaborating with the 3/4s in inquiry. Week 4 has been filled with lots of new experiences and discoveries. We can’t wait to see what week 5 has in store for us.
IN GRADE 3 / 4 THIS WEEK
This week in 3/4 we have been focusing on renaming whole and decimal numbers in Maths and we have been working on our inferring skills in Reading. In Writing this week, we have been working on our planning and drafting skills with particular focus on using a wide range of punctuation. On Tuesday we had the wonderful opportunity to share our knowledge of living and non-living with the prep students.
IN GRADE 5 / 6 THIS WEEK
This week in Grade 5/6, students have been analysing author’s craft in reading sessions. Students have been tuning into the way authors develop their characters and use literary devices such as flashbacks and foreshadowing. Over the coming weeks we will be looking to explore this learning through our own writing craft. Writing sessions have seen students focusing on the use of punctuation to influence the tone of their writing and in maths, we have begun a unit investigating patterns and algebra, which also incorporates the order of operations. Well done on a fabulous week, 5/6.
LUNCH TIME ACTIVITIES
This term some of our senior students have decided to organise lunch time activities for the whole school.
A list of the amazing activities can be found below.
There are different activities on different days, which I know all out BCPS students will love.
Enjoy your activities!
Happenings in the Garden
Gardening and the Developing Mind
Children often surprise and delight me with their wonderfully insightful take on things. Gardening is a fantastic activity for the young mind (and the old mind for that matter), and it’s fascinating to observe the development of a child’s cognition throughout their schooling life. From their unbridled imagination as a Preppy (Jack and the Beanstalk is a true story, right?), to their practical and analytical thinking as a grade Sixer (how to test and adjust soil pH), working with plants provides an amazing pathway to learning and development.
Throughout the course of a session in the garden, the students and I have many and varied discussions. They could be broad and general, like the web of life, or specific and detailed, like the parts of a flower or seed. Whatever the subject, it’s always satisfying and intriguing to observe how thought-provoking the garden environment can be. I’m asked some curly questions, the answers to which aren’t always evident, but what is always evident is the student’s curiosity and hunger for learning. Sometimes we make up songs and poems, solve mathematical problems, and even speak a little Latin. We learn about life and death, how things don’t always work out the way we hoped they would, and how each and every moment is precious. We create hope and anticipation when we sow seeds, and we’re planning for the future and thinking about happy harvest days ahead when we plant out our seedlings.
This week in the garden the first of the Tommy Toe Tomato seedlings went in (already in flower and soon to set fruit!), and there are Yellow Pear, Red Cherry, Black Cherry, Green Grape, Black Plum, Black Russian, Indigo Rose and Black Krim Tomato seedlings also ready to go. In another effort to nudge the garden towards a more summery feel, the first of the Sweet Basil seedlings went in (not too happy about their departure from the hot house), and our Zucchini, Button Squash and Cucumber seedlings will be planted out as soon as I can clear some space for them. (First, I’ll let the bees, butterflies and other wonderful beneficial insects enjoy all those flowering annuals for a few more days, and collect whatever seed is mature enough to be saved for future sowing). Wow, things just got a lot busier!
Have a great weekend and happy gardening!
“The taste of summer”
SCHOOL NEWS
BOOK FAIR
Just letting you know issue 7 of the scholastic book club is now available.
Closing date will be 30/10/20
Please see link below for all details:
https://www.scholastic.com.au/media/5667/bc-620.pdf
School uniform orders:
Please find below the link for the school uniform orders.
http://www.aplusschoolwear.com.au/SearchResult.aspx?Labels=BADGER%20CREEK
All orders are to be completed through the website
EGGS
Here at Badger Creek we are lucky enough to have our very own chickens, chickens which have been busy laying lots of eggs.
Eggs are available for purchase at the office at $5 a carton.
Eggsellent news for all you egg lovers.
WE WANT OUR PARENTS TO TELL US WHAT THEY THINK!
Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents think of our school. The Parent Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education and Training that is conducted amongst all parents. It is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of parents’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, student engagement and experiences of remote and flexible learning. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies.
All parents will be invited to participate in this year’s survey. All responses to the survey are anonymous. This year, the Parent Opinion Survey will be conducted from Monday 12th October to Friday 13th November.
The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time within the fieldwork period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. The online survey will be available in a range of languages other than English. These include: Arabic, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Chin (Hakha), Hindi, Japanese, Somali, Turkish, Punjabi and Greek.
Please speak to your child’s teacher if you would like more information.
Community news
JOKE OF THE WEEK
Q. Why was the broom late for school?
A. He over swept.
