It has been such a great start to the term! Every time I walk through a classroom, the students are all engaged in their learning and excited to be telling me what they are doing. Our Monday Morning Praise Assemblies and Chapels have been so good, and it has been a delight to see the students so engaged.

The weather has certainly turned up the heat this week. This can be quite challenging for us all, because our sleep can be disrupted. Excessive heat can make us feel quite fatigued. It is super important to keep a regular, healthy sleeping pattern established at home to help our children get sufficient sleep so that they can thrive each day. The recommended amount of sleep required for a 6-13 year old is between 9-11 hours. Having a regular routine at home is immensely helpful when helping our children to go to bed and actually fall asleep at a reasonable time so that they get the full amount of sleep required. I’ve included a link to Headspace’s, “Sleep and Young People: Putting the Myths to Bed”. https://headspace.org.au/assets/download-cards/HSP032-MythBuster-Sleep-and-Young-People-RGB-FA04.pdf .

We all know how we feel when we do not get sufficient sleep, so we can empathise with our children who wake up feeling grumpy and disorganised. When our children take what seems like forever to get organized in the morning and really resist going to school, maybe consider a reward chart to give them that extra incentive. Often, our children do not need, or have outgrown a reward chart, but it is absolutely okay to re-introduce an incentives-based system to encourage your child to be more organized, follow instructions and get to school on time. When you are creating a chart or an incentive-system, remember you will get the greatest return for your efforts if the rewards are given either instantly or within a short period of time. Remember the ‘when-then’ statements (ie. “when you have your shoes on, then …..”). The rewards need to be small, but easily achievable. Once your child has become really good at achieving the smaller goals, lengthen the time between rewards, or raise the stakes to a bigger reward, achieved at a longer time interval. Offering rewards is a really effective way of improving behaviour. There is some measure of truth to the old saying, “you attract bees with honey, not vinegar!”

The Wellbeing Team are here to offer help and advice, so if you are struggling with setting up or establishing healthy routines, give the Wellbeing Team a call.

Traffic Update

Thanks to everyone who is continuing to keep our children safe when driving around the school site. The City of Salisbury Council Parking Inspectors have been in communication with Bethany Christian School. They have asked us to remind drivers to familiarize themselves with the road rules and road signs in the area as the inspectors will once again resume their patrols of school sites. See further information below.

Please remember to observe the ‘Entrance’ and ‘Exit’ signs on our school site. The roundabout on Byron Bay Drive is the ‘Exit’ to the back car park. Drivers using it as an entrance risk causing an accident with those following the road rules and exiting correctly from the school site. Your support in following the road rules and using our car parks responsibly will help keep our students safe.

Remember also, that we are not to park in the GoodStart Early Learning car park. Please utilize any one of the kiss ‘n’ drop/turning circle zones, find a car park provided by the school, or find a car park in one of the neighbouring streets. Please be courteous of our lovely neighbours, remember not to park across their driveways or make it difficult for them to enter or exit their private driveways.

I wish you a delightful weekend with your families, may you enjoy the cooler weather that has been forecast.


Deb Clifford
Deputy Principal

Medication Policy at School

Please be reminded of the school’s medication policy.

•    If your child needs to be on any medication at school, please provide the school with the required medication along with the current management plan. 
•    Medication can only be administered with a Doctor’s prescription and with
     a Management Plan.
•    All student medical management plans are updated annually.
•    All medications need to be labelled and provided to the school office by the parent/caregiver along with a Doctors authorisation letter/plan at the beginning of the year
•    Out-of-date medicines will not be administered.
•    Please ensure medications are given to a member of staff for safe storage.
•    Students are not allowed to keep any medication in their bags including over the counter medication.
•    More information can be found on our website.

Communicable Disease Prevention Policy

We have had students presenting to the care room with the symptoms of vomiting and/or diarrhoea and fever. Please keep your child home until at least 24 to 48 hrs after vomiting and/or diarrhoea has completely stopped. Please visit out school’s website for more information.

No Lunch Policy
If students present to the teacher with no lunch, a sandwich will be provided rather than parents being called. The parents will receive a notification at the end of the day via email, informing the student received a sandwich from the Wellbeing Department. Parents will not be charged for this service.

God bless you,


Priya Wilson
School Nurse

Last week our Year 3 to 6 students participated in the BCS Cross Country tournament. Please see the photos from the fun day.

More information about the day will follow in the next newsletter.