Newsletter: Term 4 - Week 9

A Message from the Principal

Dear families,

Just one more school week until the end of the school year. Academic Reports were sent out at the beginning of this week, and following this we have had availability for parent teacher interviews throughout the week. I hope the families who engaged with this found them useful.

Next week will be the last week of primary school for our departing Year 6 students. They will have their graduation ceremony on Thursday from 10am and, to celebrate the end of Primary School, a trip to the movies on the Friday.

We are aware that some families may be intending on leaving the Neville Bonner Primary community and haven’t yet let us know. If your family are departing it is quite vital that we know and would greatly appreciate you completing the form linked here.

2023 Classes – We will again communicate with all families on the Friday before school comes back who their child’s teacher is for 2023. Within this communication, you will also find out the location of their classroom to make the first day of school as smooth as practically possible. The first day of school for Kindergarten and preschool M/T groups will be Monday 30 January, and for continuing students in years 1-6, Tuesday 31 January. The first day for Preschool T/F groups will be Thursday 2 February .Families will be encouraged to support their child by walking them to their classrooms to alleviate stress and anxiety.


Monday 30 January - Preschool First Day (M/T groups) – Arrive at school for 9am.

Monday 30 January - Kindergarten First Day – Gates open at 8:45am – Students to head straight to classrooms.

Tuesday 31 January - Year 1 to Year 6 First Day – Gates open at 8:45am – Students to head straight to classrooms.

Thursday 2 February - Preschool First Day (T/F groups) – Arrive at school for 9am.

Working Bee Thank you – On Saturday 26 November a small, but dedicated group of parent volunteers worked tirelessly in our garden space to clear out the many weeds which had taken over the area. This area is now looking far better. I’d like to thank these volunteers for their efforts in supporting the school in this way. Your efforts were highly appreciated and will enable us to better use this space in future years. Thank you.

Excursions 2023 – In 2023 we will again be looking to provide engaging opportunities for our students through experiences such as excursions and camps. The majority, if not all of our excursions are optional enrichment activities and as such, costs will need to be met by families. Should you be experiencing financial hardship, we will again be encouraging families to contact either myself, or our two deputy principals to discuss potential support. If payment is not received, or a discussion regarding support has not occurred before the excursion, your child/ren will not be able to participate and will engage in an alternative program. We are unfortunately not in a position to allow families to simply fill in a permission form and not submit payment.

2023 Reminders – As promised I will continue to ensure we are regularly reminding parents of bookpacks, subscription and school leaver actions.

Book pack information – Please click here

Subscription permission – Please click here – We need all families to complete this if you haven’t already done so.

School Leavers form – Please click here


Dates to Remember

Term 4

  • Tuesday 6 - Friday 9 December - Parent - teacher Yarns

  • Tuesday 13 December - Preschool M/T water play day

  • Wednesday 14 December - Preschool T/F water play day

  • Thursday 15 December - Year 6 Graduation

  • Friday 16 December - Year 6 fun day

  • Friday 16 December - Last day of term 4


Term 1 - 2023

  • Monday 30 January - M/T preschool, Kindergarten and new students start

  • Tuesday 31 January - All returning students start

  • Thursday 2 February - T/F preschool students start

  • Monday 27 February - Swimming carnival Years 2 -6

Communications Sent Home This Week

Notes and Emails Home

  • Reminder to order book packs - email

  • Preschool water play note - note

  • Unexplained absences - email

  • Year 5 involvement in graduation - email

SMS Texts Home

  • Absences



2023 Stationery/Book Packs

Don't forget to order!

The stationery and books that your child requires for the 2023 school year are now available to be ordered through winc. As advised earlier in the year, we are moving to self-purchasing of stationery and book packs rather than making a contribution to the school. Families are requested to purchase the packs through winc as your child will need to have everything listed for the first day of the 2023 school year.

Stationery lists were emailed home and are available on the school website Book Packs - Neville Bonner Primary School (nevillebonnerps.act.edu.au)

Please visit the winc website Home Winc Schools and follow the instructions on the stationery list to place your order.

All orders placed by 29 December will be delivered to the school for free on the 26 January.

Orders placed after 29 December will be charged an additional $12.95 for delivery and the pack will be delivered to your home address for you to bring to school on the first day of the 2023 school year.

There are many payment options, even zip pay payment plans!

106.3 Christmas Giving Tree

We have a Christmas tree set up in reception for you to drop off donations for the MIX 106.3 pack the bus charity collection. Donations will be collected from the school and delivered to Communities@Work to be wrapped and packed for families in need this Christmas. Thank you for your generous donations of non perishable food items and unwrapped new toys. Our scheduled pick up date is Friday 16 December at 11am.

2023 Enrolments

Are you ready for the 2023 school year? Is your child transitioning to another school next year? It’s not too late to enrol your child in their local school. Make sure you submit your application before the current school term ends on 16 December 2022. Enrolment applications received after that date may not receive notification until late January 2023. For more information and to enrol, go to https://bit.ly/3Wnk7JQ

Loud Shirt Day


On Wednesday P & C President Jayne came to the junior school assembly. The P & C have kindly matched the donations for Loud Shirt Day. They presented the donation to Isabelle and Natalia Ortega who intitiated the Loud Shirt Day fundraiser that raised over $1700 for The Sheperd Centre.


Year 1 Learning Page

The Pufferfish Protectors in Year 1 have been exploring the source and the properties of light this term. We learnt that sunlight is actually made up of many different colours. We conducted our own bubble experiment to test this theory. Some children observed different colours on their bubbles.


Vaethikka commented it was like having rainbows in the sky and she wondered why rainbows are always curved.


Rachael, Rajonna, Thabo and Waris said that the sun made different colours on the bubbles.


‘The sunlight turned into different colours.’ said Viya.


Jack agreed. He said ‘the sun was going through the bubbles and that made lots of colours on them’.


‘If you go in the sun, sometimes the bubbles will be like rainbows.’ said Ryan.


Sarah said that she saw purple, blue, green and red on the bubbles and it was because of the reflection of sunlight.


Some children got their bubbles but did not observe different colours on the bubbles.


Ruby S suggested that it was a cloudy day and she would go under the sun next time.


Some didn’t get bubbles at all but we reflected on it, like all great scientists do. We thought about why it didn’t work out for us and what we could do to improve next time.


Alya, Pihu and Eva believed that we needed more soap in the bubble mixture next time. Pari agreed that there was too much water in the bubble mixture while Ved thought the opposite.


Sumaya and Oliver commented that maybe we just needed more mixture and kept trying.


‘Maybe the bubble wand I made was too big.’ said Zarli.


Dilan believed he didn’t get any bubbles because it was too windy.


Ruby B reflected on her experiment and thought that maybe she didn’t blow hard enough.

Parents' and Citizens' Association

Neville Bonner Parents and Citizens

Keep an eye on the School Newsletter and the Facebook group for event notices and updates.

The Neville Bonner Primary School Parents and Citizens (P&C) Association is the focal point for parent involvement at the school and provides a place for parents to discuss and debate matters of interest relating to the school and community.


More information about our canteen; lunch orders and over the counter sales, and the uniform shop can be found on the P&C component of the school website.


Entertainment Book

Your support for our fundraising at Neville Bonner Primary School P&C can now save you money everywhere you travel in the next 12 months. Cyber Sale - 25% off.

And of course 20% of the membership goes directly to support our school fundraising at Neville Bonner Primary School P&C. Now you can enjoy the best restaurants, cafes, fine dining and shopping with your family while traveling - and donate to fundraising at our school. Get this limited-time offer at our fundraising page (LINK) : https://subscribe.entertainment.com.au/fundraiser/2787i1

Buy one for yourself, and for a loved one. Every purchase helps our fundraising effort.

Happy Hair Brush - Fundraiser

The game changer hairbrush! The Happy Hair Brush works on all hair types and makes brushing knotted, tangled and matted hair easy and pain free. Changing lives, one head, one heart at a time. The Neville Bonner Primary School P & C is using this fundraiser to enable families and friends of the school to get a fun, practical, game changing brush for themselves while raising money for the school. The school will receive 30% of all sales purchased through this site/app.

All orders will be delivered directly to the school though your child's classroom. If your friends and family wish to buy brushes, that's awesome just let them know they will need to order through this app and the brushes will be delivered through the school. Order yours today though this Neville Bonner P&C special link.

Testimonials: “The hairbrush felt gentle on my head and brushed the knots out so fast! I love this hairbrush and if someone told me to use my other hairbrush, I would say NO!! This everyday object is so GREAT!! (Keira, year 4). "The hairbrush was light and easy to use. With frizzy hair, it was difficult with dry hair, but works well (even with knots) if the hair had been shampoo and conditioned." From Parent of Jasmine (Year 1) and Brooke (Year 3)

Return-It Scheme

The P&C have registered with the Canberra Return-it scheme, you can donate to the P&C by using the mobile number (0497233172) or QR code. The process is:

- Place your bags of cans or bottles into a semi-see-through bag (they need to see it's not general household rubbish), a normal kitchen tidy bag is okay.

- Enter the phone number (or scan QR code), from the flyer, at the return point, follow the remainder of the instructions and attach the printed sticker to the bag.

- Deposit the bag(s) into the hopper.

- The bag(s) will be collected by the Return-It/CDS group and counted at one of their facilities (during a quiet period of their day).

- A notice of deposit will be received by the P&C - Thank you!!!

There are two, close to school, return points located at:

- Gungahlin: O'Brien Place - near the carwash, Gungahlin Vet and Goodyear tyres.

- Amaroo: near theschool oval off Horsepark Drive.

The returns generated from the scheme will assist the P&C to support the school, from sports equipment, school discos, Year 6 end-of-year surprises, etc.

Preschool/Kindy and new Family Playdates.

This Saturday 10 December 9:30am at the Bonner Playground on Burnam Burnam Cr, and again on Sunday 29 January (at 9.30am, weather permitting).

Please bring your own snacks, water, and sunscreen.

Scholastic Book Club

Issue 8 books have arrived and are being sorted for distribution early next week. Just in time for the school holidays!!

Thank you to all those families that have contributed to the book club throughout the year.

Second Hand Uniform Shop

The last stall for the year is: ** Week 10 - Wednesday, 14th December, from 8:45am to 9:45am.

2023 - The Uniform Stall will be open in Week One of Term One, in the morning from 8.45am to 9.45am.

Contact Us

Want to touch base with your P&C?

You can email us at nevillebonnerps.pandc@gmail.com, or connect through FB at https://www.facebook.com/NBPS.PandC.

Contact Information

Principal:

Will Johnston

william.johnston@ed.act.edu.au


Deputy Principals:

Haeley Simms (P-2) haeley.simms@ed.act.edu.au

Sylvia Headon (3-6) sylvia.headon@ed.act.edu.au

P&C President:

Jayne Trustum nevillebonnerps.pandc@gmail.com


Board Chair:

Amani Kerr

Community Information