SCHOOL BULLETIN Thursday 30th November 2017 End of Year Celebration – Wednesday 6th December We are looking forward to celebrating a wonderful and successful 2017 with you next Quote Of Wednesday 6th December. The evening starts from 5:00pm, where families are The Week Invited to enjoy a sausage sizzle or bring a picnic in the school grounds, prior to some wonderful singing and entertainment from our students. This will begin in the hall Be who you are from 7:00pm. Please see the Program of Events later in the Bulletin. and see what you feel, because those wo mind don’t matter and those wo matter don’t mind. 2018 Booklists By now, all families should have received (via Compass and in paper format) a booklist for 2018, individualised for your child. A friendly reminder that if you lodge your booklist order online on or before December 3rd, 2017, you will pay no postage (a saving of $10-$20). We thank you for supporting your children to be prepared for In This Issue learning in 2018. Chess Update Principal’s News Fourteen of our students travelled to Queen's College, Melbourne University, on Monday and Tuesday of this week to compete in the "Chess Kids" Primary Open Important Dates National Final. Please read Mrs Dimond’s report later in the Bulletin for the details of to remember their success. On the back of this fantastic achievement, we are also being represented in Sydney this weekend at the Girls’ National Chess Tournament, which Star of the week is coordinated by the Australian Junior Chess League. We wish the students that are PFA News competing all the best of luck! Working Bee Chess news Due to the likelihood of a storm with very high levels of rain expected this weekend, End of Year we will be cancelling the Working Bee for this Sunday. Thank you to all of the families Celebrations and members of our community who have contributed time and energy to beautifying our school at these events throughout 2017. We are looking forward to another year of fun-filled and productive Working Bees in 2018. Challenge Bike Safety As the weather warms up, we are seeing more of our students getting active, particularly on their bikes. We encourage this physical activity and support our students to do this safely through our Bike Education program. There are many online resources available to support families with helping children to understand how to be safe on their bike. The VicRoads website suggests that children should not be riding at night, because it requires a deep understanding of driver behaviour and sophisticated skills. More information is available at: https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/safety-and-road-rules/cyclist-safety/learning-to-ride We appreciate your support in keeping our children safe. Erika Bienert Tony Stokes Principal Assistant Principal IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER Sunday 3rd December WORKING BEE CANCELLED Monday 4th December Chess Nationals Tuesday 5th December Prep Transition 4 9:30am—12:00 noon BBQ to follow Wednesday 6th December Grade 6 Stomp End of Year Celebration Night - from 5:00pm Friday 8th December Whole School Transition Session 1—5 Monday 11th December Year 1/2 End of year celebrations Tuesday 12th December NEW STUDENTS TO BNPS Year 7 transition Grade 6 Graduation Thursday 14th December Thank you Lunch . And the Chess Story Continues ……… Just when you thought Chess must be over for the year, we are able to report that 13 of our strongest Chess players travelled to Queen’s College at Melbourne University on Monday and Tuesday, to compete in the “Chess Kids” National Final. Our girls’ team was also competing for the National title, in the same tournament. 136 players from 27 different schools enjoyed two days of friendly rivalry, high quality chess and strong competition. In addition to playing their 7 games, there were many opportunities to meet other enthusiasts from Victoria and several other states. Last year, we were very pleased with our 4th place in this competition and we were hoping to do as well this year. Our players began strongly and maintained a perfect score for the first two rounds. This meant that we had to face increasingly strong opposition, but our team members were not daunted. By the end of the first day of play, we were holding 4th place, by a tiny margin and our players was pleased to go home for a rest. Everyone was back on this bus early on Tuesday morning, determined to do their very best. Sean Hawkins managed to remain undefeated throughout the tournament, with a very unusual 3 wins and 4 draws. This demonstrates Sean’s exceptional tenacity, when even in an unwinnable position, he continues to strive to avoid a loss. Let us not forget, that Sean is only in Year 3 and yet he has the skill and maturity to allow him to bravely face much more experienced opponents. The depth of strength in our team was evident when Chess Leader, Callista Leong-La, Clare Zhu, Elizabeth Ngodinhson, James Deng and Julia Hawkins all achieved 5 wins against strong opposition. Zhi Lin showed great strength of character when, after a shaky start to the tournament, he overcame his disappointment and went on to record 4 good wins, along with David Wang and Dinethsa Aberathna. Ryan Ngo, Harold Moon and Kovida De Silva also gave commendable performances. Year 2 student, Oliver Chen, not only managed 4 wins and a draw, but was also awarded the coveted title of “Junior Master”, receiving a plaque to mark this achievement. In the history of our school, only two others, Sammy Asaka and Sean Hawkins, have received this special recognition. We were delighted to hear that we had finished in 3rd place, at the completion of the tournament, only a half a point (one drawn game) behind the winners! When announcing the winner of the Girls’ title, the presenter said, “Balwyn North Primary have always said that they could never defeat the team from Doncaster Gardens’ Primary. Well …..… they have this time! Balwyn North are the “Chess Kids” Girls’ National winners.” Congratulations to our amazingly determined, persistent, talented girls. Callista, Clare, Julia, Elizabeth and Dinethsa now travel to Sydney on Friday to represent Victoria in the Australian Junior Chess League National Final, to be played at Sydney Grammar School. This will be their greatest challenge yet, some of their opponents coming from “Chess Specialist Schools” throughout Australia. We wish them luck, but most of all we wish them a great experience as the face of B.N.P.S. on a National stage! Bronwen Dimond Chess Club Co-ordinator Term 4 Week 7 Class Name Achievement For showing Enthusiasm and helping to make our Puffing Billy Camp such a fun and FL Luffy Weng enjoyable experience for everyone. Great job Luffy – you are a star! For being Caring by always lending a helping hand to classmates without being asked. FS Mattia Corona Acosta You’re a superstar Mattia! For being Principled by showing respect, great listening and enthusiasm on our FT Patrick Qiu Puffing Billy Camp. Well done Patrick! For being Reflective by writing an interesting letter to her friend about her fantastic 1K Carla Pallotta time in Year One. You should be very proud of everything you have achieved so far this year! For being Principled by always making thoughtful and considered choices in the 1F Jantara Chhuon classroom, modelling excellent behaviour for all her peers. For being a Communicator by demonstrating confidence by presenting an interesting 1N Charli Bono ‘News and Views’ speech on her family history. For being Reflective by always processing her learning and checking in about how she 2G Audrey Hawkins is going. So very clever Miss Audrey! For being Open-Minded by always including others in her play and listening to their 2S Laura Thai ideas. Laura you are such a positive member of our team! For being Principled by representing Balwyn North PS in Chess tournaments throughout the year and always competing to a high standard. Also for being a fabu- Sahen Singh lous class members of 3C and trying his best in all areas. Well Done Sahen! 3C For being Principled by representing Balwyn North PS in Chess tournaments Ivan Zhu throughout the year and always competing to a high standard. Also for being a valuable class member of 3C by being curious about the World. Keep up the great work Ivan! For demonstrating Independence by always being focused during learning activities 3R Ansh Dhurve and getting the job done! For being Reflective and demonstrating Enthusiasm by her ability to reflect on her 4A Meenu Pillai learning and enthusiastically participate in all areas of the curriculum. For demonstrating Communication by thoughtfully contributing to classroom 4J Rei HashmiH discussions. For being a Thinker by thoughtfully and enthusiastically learning and sharing his ideas 4M Alex Golding about opportunities and challenges in our Unit of Inquiry. A fabulous week! For being a Risk-Taker by having the courage to stand up in front of her peers and 5B Lily Gu speak with confidence. For demonstrating Confidence by having the courage to take risks with his learning, 5C Ryan T in particular with a fantastic leadership speech. Awesome week, Ryan! For being a Communicator, by expressing his ideas in interesting ways as a writer, 5L Josh Prakoso with his recent explanation text. For being Caring by looking after friends and showing respect to other students and 6D Alfy SABU adults, especially during group challenges. For being Principled by acting with maturity and showing respect for his peers and 6M Justin Chen teachers in the classroom.