The Buzz
Term 1 Week 4 2024

News and updates from 

Botany Public School

This week we have elected our House Leaders for the coming year. Our House Leaders take responsibility for promoting sporting events at school and contribute towards a sense of belonging by leading house chants and building sportsmanship at our school carnivals. Congratulations to the following students:

Classes have also elected the Student Representative Council (SRC) representatives for Semester 1 2024. The SRC will meet three times per term with representatives providing student voice to decision-making processes across the school. Key roles include the organisation of regular awareness and fundraising initiatives for important causes and contributing to decisions about our school bell. 

Our new House Leaders and SRC representatives will be presented with special leadership certificates at our upcoming assembly on Thursday. Whilst he is unable to attend the assembly to hand out the certificates himself, they have been provided by the Hon. Matt Thistlethwaite as part of his support to Botany Public School. 

Staff have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know their new classes over the last few weeks while our Kindergarten students spent time getting to know the whole cohort before going into their classes on Friday. We now look forward to getting to know our families with our upcoming Meet the Teachers evening on Tuesday 27 February, beginning in the Johnny Warren Hall at 5:30pm. Parents will be able to find out a little more about our school directions for 2024 and beyond before spending some time visiting classrooms and meeting the teachers. Our specialist teachers will also be available on the night to answer any questions that you may have. Please note that this evening is for parents only and we ask that you keep your children home, where possible, or supervise them closely if you need to bring them with you. 

Following the Meet the Teachers evening, we will be holding our first P&C meeting for the year. This meeting is open to all families and we encourage you to join us in the library from 6:30pm for nibbles, prior to the meeting starting at 7pm. Our very active and supportive P&C provides a wonderful opportunity for parents to be engaged in life at Botany PS, with regular school updates, fundraising and community events and I encourage parents to join us on Tuesday evening.  

This week is the first week of homework for students in Years 1-6. All students have been given paper copies of their homework which comprises practice in the core skills of reading, spelling and mathematics. The intention of homework is to consolidate areas of learning covered in class. It is an opportunity for parents to take an active role in their child’s learning by monitoring and working with their child to complete set tasks. While completing homework is strongly encouraged, it is at the discretion of each family. All students are expected and actively encouraged to participate in regular reading. Parents wishing their child to opt out of spelling and mathematics activities are asked to inform their child’s class teacher.  

BPS Homework Policy.pdf

Wearing our school uniform with pride helps us to promote a sense of belonging for students and creates a positive identity for the school community. School uniforms also contribute to personal safety by allowing easier recognition of students inside the school and in the community. At Botany Public School we expect students to wear their full school uniform during school hours, while travelling to and from school, and when engaged in school activities outside of school hours. This includes the expectation that students wearing a school hat whenever they are outside. 

Below is a Wileys flyer that showcases our uniform options. While we understand and support families that may choose to source shorts and skorts from other providers, please be aware that sports skorts and leggings are not part of our school uniform. Students who wear these to school will be asked to come to school in full school uniform. 

Regular school attendance supports students and families to feel connected to school and our wider community, build positive relationships and maximise each student's learning potential. We understand that students get sick or need time off for family commitments and we ask that, when this happens, families please contact the school promptly to let us know. To support our duty of care for students, we ask that medical certificates are provided for students after 3 or more days of absence.  

For planned leave, short and long-term exemption forms are available from the school office or available in the Notes and Forms section of our school website. Please complete and return to the school office either in person or by email.

Monday 19 February: Swimming Carnival 

Tuesday 27 February: Meet the Teacher evening

Thursday 29 February: School Photos

Monday 4 March: National Young Leaders Excursion for our Year 6 Leaders

Wednesday 13 March - Friday 22 March - NAPLAN (Years 3 and 5)

Thursday 21 March: Harmony Day 

Thursday 28 March: Easter Hat Parade

Friday 29 March: Good Friday Public Holiday

Monday 1 April: Easter Monday Public Holiday

Tuesday 2 - Thursday 4 April: Learning Conferences

Thursday 4 April: Cross Country Carnival

Thursday 11 April: P&C Colour Fun Run

Friday 12 April: Last day of Term 1

Tuesday 25 April: ANZAC Day

Monday 29 April: Staff Development Day

Tuesday 30 April: Students return (Term 2)

Welcome to our new Kindergarten students and their families. Our school community is very supportive and understanding, so please do not hesitate to ask questions if you need to know something. We look forward to you and your family becoming part of our school community this year and for many years to come…

Friday 22^nd Feb 8am

Don't play yet but want to get involved? If you're interested in getting involved in piano, you can come along and watch other students play and decide if it's for you.  

In Week 4 sheet music to the National Anthem will be available for interested students. 

See you soon!

Miss Tkachenko

The ESPSSA runs additional competitions in various sports between zones and regions. Zone trials are held by the Eastern Suburbs PSSA and with careful consideration, students are nominated by the Botany PS sports coordinator/s. This year for PSSA Mr Brendan Baxter and Ms Amanda Ligori are our Botany PS representatives. Nominated students must play at representative level outside the school. The sports coordinator notifies students of these opportunities via an announcement at school and dates can be found ahead of time on the school calendar on the BPS website. As the level of skill required to represent Botany PS at zone or regional level is very high, the sports coordinator may elect not to nominate any Botany PS students for trials. Further information regarding PSSA sport can be found at: www.sports.det.nsw.edu.au/nswpssa. 

Students interested in trialling for Zone PSSA teams throughout the year must submit an Expression of Interest early in the school year. This Expression of Interest must include the name of the sport, playing experience and representative and be submitted to the school office via email.

Mr Brendan Baxter

Our first P&C meeting will be held in the library on Tuesday 27th February at 7pm. It will start with an annual general meeting and the continue with the normal meeting.

Each year the executive positions on the P&C are open for people to volunteer for. The executive committee from 2023 will be moving on and we are looking for a new committee to take over the reigns.

The committee will need a President, Secretary and Treasurer, and no prior experience is needed to hold any of these positions.

If you are interested in holding a job on the committee and would like more information prior to the meeting, please speak with Katie Philips.

This year we will also be looking for people to take responsibility for some of the regular events we hold throughout the year. If you are interested in any of the roles below, please speak with Katie Philips.

• 2nd hand uniform coordinator: sort donations received every few weeks
• Canteen coordinator: run once a term on a Thursday afternoon
• BBQ coordinator: mother and Father’s Day BBQ and any elections called 

The P&C are excited to be organising our first school camping trip! Held on 8th - 10th March at Glenworth Valley, it’s an opportunity for the community to get together and the kids to learn some great outdoor skills.  

Last year’s Colour Run was a huge success with all the kids, parents and volunteers having a blast. We also raised over $20,000 with a portion of this going to charities to support coral and bush regeneration throughout Australia.

This year we will be holding the Colour Run on 11th April so please mark this date in your diary. We will be calling on volunteers for the day and as always parent spectators are also welcome.

The P&C have BPS branded tote bags for sale for $15. They are a great size to use for your shopping or carrying around all the kids stuff. If you want to purchase one, please message the P&C Facebook page.