Welcome back to the beginning of another exciting school year.  I would like to congratulate students and staff as it appears that having the extra week of holidays made for a very enthusiastic and focused start. Well done, everyone!

School Council and P&C

This year we are again seeking support from interested parents, carers and community members in joining our School Council. Being a member of Council is an opportunity to have a real say in how our school operates. Meetings are held once or twice per term, and this year we will be having some evening meetings to hopefully make the meetings easier to attend for working families. If you would like to join, please feel free to give me a call and I am happy to provide more information. Unlike the P & C, School Council have more of a governance role and are not involved in fundraising events.

Similarly, we have lost three stalwarts from the P & C who won’t be bringing their skills and positivity to our group this year as both no longer have students at our school. I would like to thank Kelly Griggs, Peta McGhie and Kylie Tizard for their contributions over many years. We will all miss your input and presence, and understand that you are well deserving of a rest.

A huge thank you to Derrice Potter who has volunteered to be a member of our hardworking, fun loving P and C.  We are desperately seeking a couple of Year 7 Parents to join. Meetings are once per term at 5:00pm . Please consider putting your hand up and joining the group to support your child and the school.

I would also like to thank the P & C for assisting with dollar for dollar funding for the new reverse cycle air-conditioning in the Student Common Room. This was installed late last year and will be a wonderful addition to the room, particularly when we begin to experience the colder weather. Projects such as these are not possible without the support of our P & C, so please consider coming along and supporting yours and others children.

Fees & Charges

Our MCS, Camille Sinagra will soon be sending out the Fees and Charges, and Voluntary Contributions for your child’s subjects this semester. Camille is more than happy to talk to you about payment options as we do want to make this as easy on families as possible. I cannot stress enough the importance of paying these monies as a way of ensuring that your student receives access to up to date resources and equipment that the school cannot otherwise purchase.

SafeWA

BHS, like many other local businesses, now has the SafeWA App installed. If you are visiting the school please either sign in using the App or the manual sheet that is available in the front office.

School Review

This week, the school is undertaking the Public School Review Process. All public schools in WA are required to take part in this process once every 3 years. A number of staff, parents and students are involved in the Review process and will meet with the Reviewer to give an open and transparent account of how our school is performing and how we decide on our future direction. This process culminates in a report being provided to the Principal and also made public, so I look forward to sharing these findings with you in the near future.

Rebecca Hardey, Jo Loton and myself spent time last week ringing the parents of our incoming Year 7 students and the parents of last year’s Year 10’s. The purpose of the calls was to seek feedback as to how parents thought their child was settling into Year 7, and also for the parents of Year 10’s, to see how their student was adjusting to their new school. Overall, the feedback was very positive. In a few cases we have been able to make suggestions about the way forward for both Year 7’s and Year 10’s and this hopefully sees things put in place early, thus preventing issues becoming bigger and more difficult to tackle. We are always open to feedback, so please feel free to give us a call to discuss any concerns you have so we can work in partnership with you and your child.

Until next time,

Mrs C. A Thorsby