Dear Parents,

Welcome back, everyone. I hope you had a wonderful break. We have had an outstanding start to the school year. Children are settled in their tentative classes and have started work on the stage units. We are currently finalising classes and hope to have all official classes in place next week. If any parents have any queries regarding class structures, please contact the school.

We welcome to our school Ms Stephanie Solinas, Mrs Ella Hungerford Sheaves, Mr Robert Moffit, Mrs Kate Burns and Ms Samantha Hall. We welcome all of our new teachers to our team and know they will enjoy teaching at Bathurst PS.

Today we have welcomed our new Kindergarten children and parents to Bathurst Public School. The children and staff have had a wonderful day in the Kinder classrooms and have been involved in lots of activities. 

The Induction Ceremony for our 2023 Leadership Team occurred today. It was a lovely assembly where all our children witnessed our new Captains and Vice Captains making their pledges. We thank all of our parents and friends for attending today's assembly and presenting and pinning the badges on their child. Thank you for coming along and making this occasion special.

Our 2023 Leadership Team consists of:

                   School Captains – Georgie Weal and Felix Dickson

                   School Vice Captains – Lara Glasgow and William O'Brien

                   Evans House Captains – Kayleigh Framhein and Xavier Pawsey

                   Evans House Vice Captains – Penelope Spek and Liam Simpson

                   Chifley House Captains –  Chykarra-Lei Sommerville and Justin Head

                   Chifley House Vice Captains – Harper O'Leary and Wiley Wynne

                   Macquarie House Captains – Sovereign O'Dwyer and Darcy Hair 

                   Macquarie House Vice Captains – Harmony Taylor and Sam McCann

                   Hargraves House Captains – Amira Buttsworth and Tom Hamer 

                   Hargraves House Vice Captains – Poppy Shoemark and Koeban Webster

Leadership Team

School Captains

House Captains

Extra Curricular Activities - commencing soon - messages will be given to children each day by their classroom teacher. Notes will also be sent home and be placed on the Parent Portal. We will also ensure information is in the Newsletter so parents can remind children.

• Dance - Stage 1 (Wednesday), Stage 2 (Thursday) and Stage 3 (Friday) groups at Break 2 - Teachers Mrs Weekes and Mrs McClements
• Circus - Monday to Friday Break 1 with Ms Nathan and Ms Hall
• Recorder - Stage 2 and 3 (Wednesday) and Year 1 and Year 2 (Thursday) Break 1 - Mrs George and Mrs Stait
• Band - Wednesday from 12.00-2.00 with the Mitchell Conservatorium - Mrs Ivory is the school contact teacher
• Primary Choir - Wednesday 12.00-12.30 - Mrs Cafe
• Infants Choir - Tuesday Break 2 with Ms Nelson
• Library/Chess Club - Monday-Friday Break 1 in the Library
• SRC - Tuesday Break 2 with Ms Lloyd
• Debating - Stage 3 - Monday Break 2 with Ms Lloyd
• Craft Club - Friday Break 2 with Ms Roberts

Morning Drop Off - teachers commence duty at 8.30am. Parents are asked to drop children off to school anytime after 8.30am each day.

Afternoon Pick Up - we ask parents to ensure they park their car when arriving to pick up children after school from the Lambert Street and George Street sides of the school. All school staff have been instructed to not let children leave the grounds until the car is parked and it is safe to do so. We are trying to ensure that all children leave the school safely and this can only be done if everyone follows the safety advice given to us by Bathurst Council, the RMS, and NSW Police.

Gates around the school - During the school day, all gates around the school will be kept shut. This is for the safety and security for our children and staff. We have a number of children that are deemed as flight risks and keeping the gates closed can ensure all of our children are safe. If parents need to access the school throughout the day, please come to the gate in George Street directly outside the school office. We are currently updating the intercom and gate system to be more user friendly.

Classroom Stores - all children will be supplied with books, pens, rulers, scissors, glue sticks, and other classroom needs to use at school. Children will need to have pens, pencils and glue sticks to complete their homework at home.

On Friday 3rd February, our Annual School Swimming Carnival will be held at the Manning Aquatic Centre. Children in Years 3-6 as well as those children in Year 2 who are turning 8 this year and can swim 50m unaided are eligible to attend. Notes have been sent home for this event. Parents are very welcome to attend the school swimming carnival.

Our School Photos will be taken on Tuesday 23rd February. We will be using Advanced School Photography. Envelopes for school photos will be sent home soon.

As a staff, we continue to modify our Assessment and Reporting practices so we can ensure parents obtain feedback each term on their child’s progress from their child’s classroom teacher. At any time, if parents have any concerns or issues about your child’s learning, you are encouraged to contact the school to make an appointment to speak with your child’s classroom teacher. The Assessment and Reporting schedule for 2023 is:

• Term 1 Week 6 – Wednesday 1st March and Thursday 2nd March – Support Unit Parent/Teacher Interviews
• Term 1 Week 7 - Monday 6th March- Friday 10th March – Parent/Teacher Interviews
• Term 2 – Semester 1 Reports home
• Term 3 – Parent/Teacher Interviews
• Term 4 - Semester 2 Reports home

Parent/Teacher Interviews have been organised for Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd March for the Support Unit classes and Monday 6th March - Monday 10th March for all other classes. These meetings will allow parents to: meet teachers, talk about what is to be taught this year and how your child has settled into the 2023 school year, plans for the school year, class expectations, and parent expectations. The parent portal will be set up in the next few weeks to allow parents to book their meeting time.  Teachers will contact parents regarding your allocated time prior to the interviews.

The timetable for Parent/Teacher Interviews in Weeks 6 and 7 will be released next week. 

Food Allergies - We do have several children at our school who have peanut and nut allergies and have severe reactions if exposed to this food. Parents are asked to be mindful of this when packing recess and lunch and are encouraged not to send products that contain nuts in them to school.

Canteen - the school canteen will operate every Friday throughout the year. Mrs Chaffey will manage the school operated canteen. The menu and how to order using Flexi schools is in this Newsletter. If any parents can volunteer on any Friday, please contact the school. We would love to see you.

The latest COVID information from the Department of Education - In line with the latest advice from NSW Health, the Department of Education has released the following information to all schools in NSW. These are the department's baseline COVID-smart measures which will continue in schools in Term 1 2023.

While the community continues to transition towards living with COVID-19, NSW Health advise that the unpredictable nature of the virus will continue to present a health risk to the community, with new waves of transmission expected in 2023.

In line with the health advice and community settings, the department will continue implementing baseline COVID-smart measures in schools throughout Term 1. These include:

• reminding students, staff and families to stay home if unwell and test for COVID-19 if showing any symptoms
• boosted day cleaning of high touch areas in our schools
• strongly encouraging masks to be worn by all students, staff and visitors, particularly when indoors or outdoors when physical distancing is difficult to maintain
• requiring masks for staff and volunteers who interact with students at greater risk of serious illness if they were to contract COVID-19 – including in SSPs, support units and some mainstream settings
• maintaining natural ventilation with windows and doors open whenever possible, including when cooling/heating systems are in use
• continuing to provide RATs and other hygiene products to schools 

We will also continue with temporary circuit breaker measures as advised by the department’s Health, Safety and Staff Wellbeing (HSSW) COVID-19 Case Management team, when the risk of transmission within the school or wider community is considered high. Some schools may be directed to temporarily reintroduce additional COVID-19 measures, including mandatory mask-wearing, to minimise transmission risks. 

General Reminders:-

• All items of clothing and personal belongings should be clearly marked with your child’s name.
• All children require a broad-brimmed hat each day as our school has a “No Hat, No Play” policy.
• When parents, friends and visitors come to the school during the day, they should QR code before entering the premises. This is a Legal and Health and Safety requirement and is followed for the safety and security of all children and staff. There are no longer pen and paper sign in sheets, the QR coding is now an electronic visitor register for each school.
• We continue to encourage parents to make appointments to come and talk about your child’s progress, problems that may arise, ideas etc. It is reminded that the education of your child is a team effort with teachers and parents being the main stakeholders. With this in mind, it is an important reminder that the parent/teacher relationship always needs to be cohesive and supportive and one of mutual respect. I am sure we will continue to work with one another in a positive manner for the betterment of every child at our school.
• All money coming to the school should be placed in a sealed envelope with your child’s name, the correct amount of money, class, and what the money is for clearly written on the front. All money and notes should be sent directly to the front office at the school for processing.

If any parent has any concerns regarding any aspect of school life, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kate White

Principal