Dear Parents and Carers,

As another exciting school year gets underway, we are writing to inform you of the upcoming School Council Elections.  At Boneo Primary School, as in all government schools across Victoria, the School Council plays a vital role in shaping the school’s direction within state-wide guidelines. Your involvement in the School Council is a valuable way to contribute to the direction and success of our school, and we encourage you to consider nominating for a position. We will be holding elections for parent representatives on the School Council in the coming weeks. No prior experience is necessary – just a willingness to contribute and work collaboratively.

Please stay tuned for further details on how you can participate. We look forward to your engagement in this meaningful initiative.

Family Food and Fun Night Friday 21 March

Our most anticipated event of the year, Family Food and Fun Night, is just around the corner! Mark your calendars and get ready for an evening filled with laughter, delicious food, and exciting activities for the whole family. This event is a wonderful way for us to come together as a community. It is also an important fundraiser for our school with the money raised being put toward school improvement projects and classroom resources.

For this event to be successful, we are calling on parent and carer volunteers from each year level to nominate themselves as ‘class convenors’. We truly value the support of our families, so if you can devote some time to this event, please be sure to add your name to class rosters by contacting your child’s teacher. We will confirm the class stalls next Friday. Please come to a meeting after Assembly in the staffroom on Friday 21st February to assist with planning.

We will be holding a Silent Auction on the night and are currently seeking donations, big and small, from local businesses. If you have your own business and would like to donate, please contact the Office.

Lucky Jars

On Wednesday 19th February and Wednesday 5th March students are asked to wear free dress (not school uniform), in exchange for donating a Lucky Jar. The jar should be filled with something that would appeal to children. Some ideas for jar fillers are; small toys, stationery, coins, hair ties, marbles etc. We encourage you to be creative. The children absolutely love this stall.
Lollies are acceptable but please make sure that they are in individual wrappers or place the unopened packet in the jar (this is for health reasons). The jar may be of any size from a large coffee jar to a jam jar.
The jars are then sold through a lucky dip system at our FFFN for $2.

Kitchen Garden Program

A Kitchen Garden program provides numerous educational and wellbeing benefits for students. It fosters hands-on learning experiences that integrate subjects such as science, mathematics, and sustainability, helping students understand concepts like plant life cycles, nutrition, and environmental responsibility. Engaging in gardening activities promotes teamwork, patience, and problem-solving skills while also encouraging healthy eating habits by exposing children to fresh, homegrown produce.

Our Kitchen Garden committee has been working hard to establish sustainable processes and opportunities for our students to benefit from the program, with a clear vision: 

Our Kitchen Garden program aims to be a space for education, creativity, community, health and wellbeing. It is a place where we can learn the essential elements of growing food, while also gaining valuable skills in cooking, storing, and preserving what we produce. We are committed to sustainable practices and ensuring that they are always at the forefront of our approach. Through this program, we hope to foster a deeper understanding of the wellbeing that comes from interacting with nature—particularly through soil, plants, and the sensory experiences our edible garden provides. Most importantly, we want to create a strong sense of connection within our community as we work together to build a sustainable, hands-on resource that can enhance learning across all areas of education.

We would really appreciate the support of our parents and carers to continue to strengthen this program. Please contact the office if you are interested or have any questions. 

School Voluntary Financial Contributions 2025

Schools provide students with free instruction to fulfil the standard curriculum, and we want to assure you that all contributions are voluntary. The ongoing support of our families ensures that our school can offer the best possible education and support for our students. Your voluntary financial contributions support our school to continually update and add to the digital devices within the school, complete upgrades to our buildings and playgrounds, purchase additional educational resources for student use and provide additional support staff to run extra learning programs. A reminder that school financial contributions can be paid via Compass. You may also pay at the front office.

Financial Assistance for Families

Conveyance Allowance

The conveyance allowance is a contribution towards transporting children to and from school.

To be eligible for the conveyance allowance a student must reside 4.8km or more from the school/campus they attend. This distance is measured as the shortest practicable route from the student’s residence to the school/campus using all-weather public roads drivable by car.

To be eligible for a conveyance allowance a student attending a mainstream school must attend:

their nearest government school/campus appropriate to their year level – being the closest school determined by the shortest practicable route from the student’s residence, or

the student’s Designated Neighbourhood School (DNS) – refer to Find my School website to identify a student’s DNS

The conveyance allowance may be available to students attending government or non-government schools and:
• travelling by public transport or by private car, motorbike, bicycle or bus, and
• whose nearest school is not serviced by a free school bus provided under the School Bus Program.

Please contact the office if you require further information or would like an application for Conveyance Allowance.

Camps, Sports and Excursion Fund – CSEF

Please contact the school office if you have any questions regarding CSEF.

Hockey Victoria Roadshow Coming to Boneo

We are excited to welcome the Hockey Victoria Roadshow to our school on Thursday 20th February 2025 for students in Year 4 to 6.

Students are being given the fantastic opportunity to try out the exciting game of hockey! They will learn the skills of the game through exciting game-based activities suited to every year level and ability.

Hockey Victoria will be sending their amazing Participation Officers to our school on this date to provide an engaging, fun, and safe hockey experience for everyone.

At Hockey Victoria they pride themselves in providing an enjoyable experience for every student, so keep an eye out and see if you can spot one of their coaches at school soon!

If you enjoy the sessions during school, you can continue with your hockey experience by joining a local Hookin2Hockey program www.hookin2hockey.com.au. 

With programs all over the state you can find a local program that will suit your schedule.

Beach Days – Year 5 & 6

As part of our Water Safety Program, Year 5 & 6 students spent a day at McCrae Beach.

Our Life Saving Victoria (LSV), qualified staff, co-ordinated this vital program following the guidelines of LSV and the Department of Education.

School based prior learning included the identification of rips and currents, safety signals and signage, identifying aquatic dangers and sun safety. 

At the beach, students explored the coastline, investigating the flora, fauna and chracteristics of our local beaches. They were provided an opportunity to participate in a number of activities that involved safe practices in the water. Students had a wonderful day using the rescue boards, paddling, swimming, body boarding and beach walking.

Tennis in Schools – Sporting Schools Program

Tennis Works Head Coach Chris Guy, through Sporting Schools Victoria, will be running a Tennis in Schools program at Boneo Primary over the next 3 weeks. We hope all players are enjoying their time on the tennis court. Chris is also offering tennis lesson in Term 1 at Boneo Tennis Club.

For more details or to register for a FREE TRIAL please go to https://www.tennisworks.com.au/boneo-junior-tennis-free-trial

If you have any further questions, please contact Chris Guy via (E) chris.guy@tennisworks.com.au (P) 0412 238 452