Newsletter: Term 4 - Week 5

A Message from the Principal

We are now just five weeks away from the end of the school year and a well-earned break over the summer holidays. This week we welcomed many new families to the school with our 2024 Preschool and Kindergarten information sessions. It was lovely to see some excited young faces accompany their parents to the session. I am currently working with the senior leadership team to finalise our 2024 teaching staff. We are hoping this will happen over the next couple of weeks, and that, we will again be able to let some of our students with additional needs know who their 2024 teacher is before the summer break. We will again share class teachers to all families in the week before school resumes.

We continue to experience periods of teacher absence and endeavour to cover classes wherever possible. Although warming up, illnesses are still going round the school and our teachers are unfortunately not immune from them. Thank you for your understanding.

Colour Run – Our colour run is fast approaching and again I’d like to thank families who have supported us with our fundraising. As a reminder the only requirement to participate is a signed permission note. Whilst I’m sure many of our students will wear a white t-shirt on the day, we do ask that families do not go out and purchase one specifically for the event. I am conscious that cost of living is a concern for many of us and students will be just as welcome to participate in a t-shirt which is nearing the end of its lifespan.

Bike Riders – We have had some feedback from residents with regard to the manner in which some of our older students are riding on their way home from school. This behaviour has included crossing at the lights on Mabo Boulevard without waiting for the green man, impacting on the flow of traffic and more importantly their safety. If your child does ride to school please speak with your child about road safety. Accidents do occur in 40 zones and I would hate for any of our students to be harmed. We will be placing a learning support assistant at the bike gates exit each afternoon who will remind students to ride safely on their way home.

Mr Huff Performance – You will receive more information shortly regarding the Mr Huff show which we will be provided to our students at no cost to families. The show focuses on student wellness and awareness and is based on the children’s book Mr Huff.

Kristen and Nige – On the last day of school 106.3 FM will be hosting their morning show at Neville Bonner Primary School. Our participation with the Pack the Bus Xmas collection last year triggered this involvement.

Dates to Remember



2024 Dates to Remember

Communications Sent Home This Week

Notes and Emails Home

SMS Texts Home

Student Wellbeing at NBPS

Kindness-Tenacity-Resilience-Empathy-Equity

Disability Contact 

All students with a disability are welcome and we strive to ensure that Neville Bonner is an inclusive school  where all students are welcome.  Every public school in the ACT has a nominated Disability Education Contact Officer (DECO). The DECO offers support for families and staff to help meet the needs of every individual child. Haeley Simms the P-2 Deputy is our DECO. You can contact her through the front office for any questions or queries. 

Therapists in schools

There are times where private therapists come into the school to observe or work with our students. As a school we welcome therapists and are happy to work with them to support students in their learning. If you would like a therapist to come into the school  the first step is to contact the DECO through the front office. 

Fortnightly Focus Week 5 & 6- We are in the right place at the right time. 

Colour Run

Get your colour on, Neville Bonner Primary School is hosting a Colour Explosion School Fun Run fundraiser! 

The Colour Explosion School Fun Run will be on:

Friday 24 November 2023.  

and Monday 27 November for M/T preschool groups

A few reminders...

10th Anniversary Art Show

Mix 106.3 Kristen and Nige Breakfast Show

We're thrilled to announce that on Friday 15 December from 6am to 9am, our school will be buzzing with excitement as we welcome Kristen and Nige, the hosts of Mix 106.3 Breakfast Show, right here on site! Following the immense success of last year's Pack the Bus campaign, we're gearing up for another fantastic event.

Join us for a morning filled with laughter, fun activities, and entertainment as we bid farewell to this school year. To make this celebration even more enjoyable, Mix 106.3 are organising a delightful BBQ breakfast.

A giving tree will be proudly displayed in our reception area from week 7. You can contribute by dropping off your generous donations of non-perishable food items and unwrapped new toys under the tree. Your donations will make a difference in the lives of families in need this holiday season and will be wrapped and distributed by Communities@Work.

On the day of the event, the Mix 106.3 charity bus will be parked right here at Neville Bonner Primary School, and Kristen and Nige will be on site to thank you for your generosity. Let's come together, make a difference, and spread the joy of giving this festive season. See you on December 15th!

2024 Student-Free Dates

Get planning for 2024 with upcoming student-free days

From 2024, there will be 4 student-free days for ACT public schools. These are the first day of each school term:

We use student-free days for staff development, enabling us to plan in a student-free environment. Student-free planning days have been expanded from 1 to 4 days from 2024 as part of our new Teaching Staff Enterprise Agreement which prioritises better teacher workloads for educational leadership, teaching and learning. For all school term dates, visit the Term Dates page: Term dates and public holidays - Education (act.gov.au) 

2024 Stationery & Book Packs

The stationery and books that your child requires for the 2024 school year are now available to be ordered through winc. Families are requested to purchase the packs through winc as your child will need to have everything listed for the first day of the 2024 school year.

DO NOT MAKE PAYMENT TO THE SCHOOL

Your child's stationery list has been emailed.

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

All orders placed by 15 December will be delivered to the school for free on the 25 January.

Orders placed after 15 December will be charged for delivery and the pack will be delivered to your home address for you to bring to school on the first day of the 2024 school year.

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

Parents' and Citizens' Association

Neville Bonner Parents and Citizens Committee

Our P&C provides services to the school such as canteen, second hand uniform shop, disco and other activities. Without a P&C, we cannot continue to do these things. 

For more information on our committee and event notices and updates, please head to the P&C Facebook or the Neville Bonner P&C page We are always happy to accept new members into the P&C and event volunteers as well - send us an email.

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

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.

P&C Volunteers

Being a volunteer for your P&C is a great way for you to network, meet new people and make new friendships.  We have an open and welcoming atmosphere within the school and there are many wonderful opportunities for you to be involved and your time and efforts are valued.  It could be as little as an hour for an event, a couple of hours if you have the time, or extending to being a valuable committee member, to help in the planning and assisting with the management of events.  Any contribution is a worthwhile one to the children and community of this School.  
P&C Committee Meetings
 Our General Committee meetings are held in Week 2 and Week 7. Our next meeting is Monday 20th November at 7pm.

We are always happy to have new people come along. We meet in the staff lounge for just over an hour, sometimes quicker. Come along and see how we are looking to support the school and students. 

Second Hand Uniform Shop

Neville Bonner Primary School P&C Second Hand Uniform Stall is hosted under the school hall covered area on the following days: Upcoming opening days and hours. 

We still have loads of pre-loved uniforms for sale. Preferred payment is via EFTPOS, however cash will be accepted. If you have good quality school uniform items you no longer need, the P&C will gratefully accept your donation to our second hand uniform stall through the canteen (or please place them in the tub near the front office). 

Colour Run
 The P&C and School are working together to host a colour run fundraiser for P-6. Students will have the opportunity to fundraise for this event, where monies raised will be shared between the school and P&C. Colour runs are great fun and will be an enjoyable afternoon for our students.

Date: 24th November Time: 1pm - 3pm.

Consent forms, posters and more information will be shared through the school.

Volunteers: We will be looking for Parent volunteers to manage the tables of 'colours', please email us though nevillebonnerps.pandc@gmail.com, if you can help out through the afternoon.

Scholastic Book Club
 Issue 7 orders have been returned to the school for distribution. Issue 8 and the last release for the year will be coming out soon too.

Don't forget during the order process you can specify "gift" and you will get a phone call to collect separately from the front office. Great for those stocking filling book ideas. Don’t forget 20% of every sale is given to the P&C in ‘rewards’ that the school can use to purchase resources from the catalogues.

Gardening Crew
 Do you like spending time outside, gardening or pulling weeds? Or perhaps you would like to learn about gardening? If you have answered yes to any of these then you may like to spend a few hours each month helping to maintain our kitchen garden space. P&C are looking for volunteers who would like to join our gardening crew as we embark on a 10 month project to bring life back to our kitchen garden space.
 Our first working bee will be on Saturday 18th November from 8am-12pm. Come for the whole time or just an hour or two. We will share our plans for the space as well as making a start on removing weeds. Kids are welcome to attend as long as they have an adult responsible for them there, however due to the current state of the garden and the work we will be carrying out it is not safe for children under the age of 4 to attend. For more information or to let us know you will be there please email the P&C.

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