Respectful | Responsible | Fair
Member of the Lighthouse Valley of Schools
Byron Bay Public School acknowledges and pays respect to the Arakwal people of the Bundjalung Nation, the traditional custodians of the land upon which the school proudly stands.
We believe in excellence, innovation, opportunity and success for our students. We are a dynamic school community committed to delivering a broad range of quality learning experiences, in a nurturing environment where all students have the opportunity to achieve their personal best. Students will become successful learners, displaying confidence and creativity, along with the knowledge and skills to become active and informed citizens of the future, living and working in the 21st Century.
Diary Dates - Term 3
Week 3
- Thu 4 Aug | Taiko Drumming in the School Hall
- Fri 5 Aug | Headlands District PSSA Athletics Carnival @ Byron Bay
Week 4
- Mon 8 Aug | Whole School Assembly @ 1.50pm
- Tue 9 Aug | Band Practice @ 8.00am - 10.00am in the School Hall
- Tue 9 Aug | Boys and Girls Soccer Knockout @ Byron Bay Recreational Fields
- Wed 10 Aug | AFL Taster Sessions - 9.30am - 1.30pm for Years 1 - 4
- Thu 11 Aug | Playgroup 9.30am - 11.00am in the School Hall
- Thu 11 Aug | P&C Meeting in the Staffroom @ 6.00pm
- Fri 12 Aug | PSSA Boys Cricket @ Cavanbah Centre
Week 5
- Mon 15 Aug | Whole School Assembly @ 1.50pm
- Mon 15 Aug | PSSA North Coast Boys Cricket @ Grafton
- Tue 16 Aug | Senior Band @ 8.00am
- Tue 16 Aug | Wild Bunyip Band @ 9.00am
- Thu 18 Aug | Playgroup 9.30am - 11.00am in the School Hall
- Fri 19 Aug | PSSA FNC Athletics @ Kingscliff
Year 3
3P have been experimenting with texture during their art lessons. To make these clay discs, students manipulated air drying clay to make a ball, then flattened them to discs. They then used all different objects to imprint and create texture. Some things they used were: bark, rocks, spoons, forks, plastic knives and texta lids. They had a lot of fun!
To celebrate NAIDOC Week, 3P were inspired by the winning poster created by N. Dank. They used pencils to sketch their design, then traced over their sketches in Artline pen. Some symbols used were animal tracks, people sitting and the fist to symbolise strength.
In 3C, we practice mindfulness most days. Mindfulness is beneficial for a number of reasons, including improving focus and concentration, allowing students some down-time for their body and mind and increasing their awareness and understanding of their feelings and emotions. We do different types of mindfulness, depending on the day. Here we are doing a guided meditation, where we listened along to the Peaceful Kids website.
Athletics Carnival
Congratulations to all the students who participated at the School Athletics Carnival last week, it was the perfect day. We had a record number of students competing on the day with some wonderful results. Thank you to all the staff for their efforts and great work on the day and to the P&C for running the barbeque.
K-2 Race Day
K-2 students didn't miss out on the fun and held their Annual Race Day on Thursday last week. Students enjoyed participating in running races against their peers. It was a fantastic day, supported by many parents and families. A big thank you to the preschools that attended on the day and our sport House Captains who were encouraging and supportive of our younger students.
Principal's Message
Education Week | Creating Futures - education changes lives
This week we are celebrating Education Week which provides us with the opportunity to acknowledge the great work being done by our whole school community, including the students, teachers, support staff, office staff and parents.
Education Week is an annual celebration of public education in New South Wales running between 1-5 August in 2022. The theme is ‘Creating futures – education changes lives’. This year we continue to celebrate the journey students and learners take throughout the NSW Education system, focusing on how we are creating futures for our students, staff and families.
We celebrate all types of learning that occurs at all levels across our education system. We have a shared responsibility to help shape the lives and create the future of today’s learners.
We are fortunate to have such an amazing school community that has continued to work with us and support our endeavours throughout the changing times brought about by evolving COVID restrictions during 2020, 2021 and 2022. Together, we are creating the future. We are celebrating the immense impact of Public Education and Byron Bay Public School’s commitment to future focused, quality teaching and learning, student growth and attainment, student wellbeing, leadership and collaboration, which are the centre pieces of our 2021-24 Strategic Improvement Plan.
Students are at the centre of our decision making. We believe in excellence, opportunity and success. The school provides a unique learning environment based on high expectations where, like our motto, we are constantly ‘Aspiring to Achieve’. We are proud to offer an all-round education that promotes student achievement in all areas, including academic, cultural, creative, philosophical, environmental, technological and sporting pursuits. We are continuing to focus on the more traditional three R’s – reading, writing and arithmetic. In 2022, the four C’s have become equally important with creativity, critical thinking,
communication and collaboration coming to the fore as we equip our students with the knowledge and skills they need as 21st Century learners. Visible Learning, Growth Mindset and Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) are embedded in our plan.
Thanks to our wonderful P&C and their contributions to fundraising, all classes have access to a wide range of resources, including technology that supports teaching and learning and further engages our students. Our robotics and coding programs are the envy of many schools.
I would like to acknowledge the tremendous support we receive from our parent community, we are fortunate to have parents who are interested in school affairs and supportive of our endeavours. You help to make our school the great place that it is. I would also like to acknowledge our teachers’ professionalism, hard work and commitment to student learning. They are working hard to inspire our young children to create a world that they can be proud of. Our students of today, will eventually become the leaders of tomorrow, the leaders of our future world. They might be leaders in their field, leaders in the community, leaders in family matters or a good role model for friends, family and future generations.
Congratulations to our Student Representative Council (SRC)
Our Semester 2 SRC class representatives were inducted and received their new leadership badges at Monday’s assembly. It was a very proud moment for the students elected, for their parents and for the student body who voted them in.
To those elected, congratulations on being selected as part of the Student Leadership Team. They have a very important role within the school, as both a learner and a leader in our school community.
NAIDOC Week Celebrations
This week we are celebrating NAIDOC Week with a special NAIDOC Assembly for all K-6 students. Throughout the week there is a focus on Aboriginal education in our teaching and learning activities. Congratulations to our Indigenous students who ran our assembly with the help of Ms Wright and Miss Paron.
New Canteen Management
A BIG warm welcome to Emma Douglas who is our new Canteen Supervisor and to Meghan Jermanus who is our Canteen Manager. They have both been working in the canteen with Mandy over the previous weeks, learning the ropes and the Byron Bay way. We are fortunate to have such a good canteen serving a variety of quality food that is aligned to the Healthy Food Canteen Policy. Emma and Meghan, we are glad that you are a part of the Byron Bay Public School team. Congratulations on getting off to a good start!
P&C Meeting
The next P&C Meeting will be on Thursday 11 August at 6.00pm in the staffroom. We would love to see some new faces there.
Learning from Home
This week’s online Digital Learning Unit is called ‘Turtle’. The units have been designed to provide continuity of learning for students who need to self isolate or need to work from home due to the school temporarily ceasing operations. They are not to be used as a form of distance education, unofficial home schooling or home work. The ‘Digital Learning Packs’ will be added to each fortnight. You can access the unit if needed, on this link -
PBL - Positive Behaviour for Learning
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Awards
Sport
Headlands District Athletics Carnival
Byron Bay Public School has a team of 68 students who will be attending the Headlands District Athletics Carnival, this Friday at the Cavanvah Centre. Good luck to all the competitors.
Round 4 PSSA Football (Soccer) Knockout
Next Tuesday 9th August, the Byron Bay Public School Boys and Girls Football teams will be playing in round 4 of the NSW PSSA State Football Knockout at the Byron Bay Recreation Grounds. The boys will be up against Lennox Head Public School and the girls will be playing Teven Tintenbar Public School. We wish both teams the best of luck!
Congratulations to Halo
Halo recently competed in the NSW Grommet State Titles at Maroubra where she was placed third in the competition. Halo has now been selected to participate in the NSW Junior Team High Performance Program which runs camps in Ulladulla, North Stradbroke and Casuarina. Halo is excited to be going to the National surfing titles at North Stradbroke in November. Congratulations Halo, what a wonderful achievement!
Tristan Bancks Author Visit
Last Friday all of Stage 3 were entertained with a presentation from well known author Tristan Bancks. He spoke about why he writes and how he gets his inspiration. He referred to several of his books as well as introducing his new book, "Cop and Robber." The students were thoroughly engaged and we would like to acknowledge and thank him for visiting our school.
Book Week - a full program of celebrations is planned
Tuesday 23 August, Byron Bay Writer's Festival - Student Program. 160 selected students from Stage 2 and Stage 3 will be attending. (Notes will be distributed next week and need to be returned by Tuesday 16 August, Week 5)
Wednesday 24 August - Whole School Book Character Parade at 9.45am sharp. All students are encouraged to dress up as a book character using your creative talents, there is no expectation to purchase outfits. The focus is on creativity, fun and whole school collegiality...while highlighting a book character and our love of books. Op shops, friends, family, using the internet for inspiration and searching through your own clothes is often all that is needed. The students love watching each other in the parade, as well as participating themselves. Parents are invited to attend. Students just wear their costume on the day and can change after or wear it all day.
Friday 26 August and Monday 29 August - Kim Michelle Toft, author and silk painter will be conducting workshops which all classes will have the opportunity to attend. Thank you to our generous P&C for sponsoring this event.
We are looking forward to celebrating a wonderful week. Thank you to parents for supporting your children in their participation. Thank you also to staff for your support in our Week of celebrations for Book Week 2022.
Canteen
Roster | Term 3 Week 4
- Mon 8 Aug | Help needed please
- Tue 9 Aug | Help needed please
- Wed 10 Aug | Laura Cima and Genevieve Lai
- Thu 11 Aug | Tanya Dingle and Catherine DuBois
- Fri 12 Aug | Elke Van Haandel
The canteen is open Monday to Friday. To place an order, please sign up at https://flexischools.com.au/ (lunch orders must be placed by 9:15am). Cash will only be accepted if there is a problem with Flexischools. All lunch orders need to be placed through the online ordering system. We recommend placing your child’s lunch order the night before to ensure that the order has gone through. Please make sure that you follow the process all the way through to the order confirmation. Please check for a confirmation email after you have placed your order. If you have any problems with the Flexischools App, please try logging on through the Flexischools website. If you would like to volunteer in the canteen (9:00am - 12:00pm), please contact Mandy in the canteen or email to bbpscanteen@gmail.com.
Safe of Social - Top Safety Tips for Online Gaming
There are risks associated with online gaming, especially in a number of the multiplayer games conducted live online. Listed below are a collection of tips to make your online gamer safer while playing.
Parents
1. Abide by the age restrictions. There are a number of games with graphic violence, inappropriate content, drug use and concepts inappropriate for younger users. The designers of these games have considered this, as have various government agencies around the globe. They are there for a reason and games bearing age recommendations are not suitable for children. We particularly call attention to u12’s playing 15+ and 18 + games. Examples of these include Call of Duty, Black Ops, GTA (Grand Theft Auto) and others.
2. Be aware of voice chat. For a parent with a younger child paying online on Fortnite or Roblox, disallow your child from using headphones when playing online. It is not only children that play these games and the voice chat cannot be moderated. To moderate the game your child is playing listen to the conversations they are involved in online.
3. Online gambling and loot boxes. Be aware of games that offer in-game transactions where virtual items may be purchased online. Not all children are aware of the real money element here.
Trading skins - Skins are used to decorate one’s character online. Some of these can cost thousands of dollars and it is possible to trade these between the accounts of players. People have developed websites that allow players to wager their skins against another user. This IS gambling but avoids the legal definition that would make this illegal by not using real money, but instead virtual items that can later be sold.
Loot boxes - These are randomised so content can never be guaranteed. The Belgian Government have declared these to be gambling. The major game industry describes users that purchase large numbers of these as whales. They are designed to be deliberately difficult to resist. These are linked to in- game purchases – charged to the credit card of whomever has set up the account; often linked to Apple or Google Play accounts. These can be very addictive for younger users and children often do not realise the amount of money they are spending.
HINT: Set up an email that will flag purchases to your credit card. Use gift cards for purchases over entering in your credit card details or use a specific credit/debit card with a very low cash limit.
4. Be an active parent.
- Discuss the online risks with your child and stay informed of what they are playing.
- Review what your child is playing and how long they are playing for. Apply and stick to time limits.
- Encourage breaks.
- Always play a game with younger children before you allow them to play it by themselves so that you know how it works, who they can connect and chat with. Model good online behaviour they may learn from.Research what your child wants to download.
- Stick to legitimate websites.
- Explain the risks to your child.
- Know how to block and report at a minimum.
5. Learn how to install the safety features offered on each game and your console and do so.
- Set up the games account yourself – do not leave it to your child.
- Set up the console yourself and install the family settings on the console.
- Use any available parental controls and discuss with your child in age-appropriate language why these are necessary and what they mean.
6. Keep the console in a shared family space. Consoles and gaming devices in bedrooms or in a space where a parent cannot observe gaming activity for younger users are not recommended.
7. Regularly check the settings on your child’s devices. Children become tech savvy quickly. Your child may have learned how to adjust the limitations you have set, both on the console or their device. A regular, yet random check is recommended.
8. Gaming overuse. Monitor your child’s behaviour and note if they are obsessing about the game. Set time limits either in the game’s settings, or yourself and stick to them.
For the Players
1. Protect your personal details
- Never use real names or anything close to them.
- Avoid sharing names with stranger in multiplayer games with voice chat.
- Do not share any contact details such as email addresses or phone numbers.
- Never reveal where you live or your location.
2. Use strong passwords. Use a combination of upper and lowercase letters with symbols. Do not share passwords with anyone.
3. Set your privacy settings to the highest ones available within the game.
4. Consider using a VPN when gaming online to keep your wi-fi safe. Create a guest network to limit access to the other computers on your network.
5. Use the block and report functions available.
6. Take regular breaks from the game.
7. Respect others when playing.
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Community Notice
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Credits:
Created with an image by Orion Media Group - "Byron Bay Lighthouse Under Red Sky"