Dear Parents 

We have had a very hot start to the week this week. It has been a timely reminder to us all to ensure we have plenty of water each day, wear our broad brimmed hats and apply sunscreen before coming to school.

A huge thank you to the Bathurst CWA who have donated $1000.00 towards our Breakfast and Lunch clubs.  We are extremely grateful to receive this very generous donation. Donations of breakfast spreads, margarine and fruit are always welcome. These donations are what supports us to provide over 100 breakfasts and 40 lunches every school day.

Last Friday, we held our School Colour Run. It was a wonderful and exciting afternoon, and all of the children and staff enjoyed themselves. Thank you everyone for your participation. Thank you to Mrs McClements for her organisation of the Colour Run and to the staff for their work and support on Friday afternoon. We are currently finalising the funds raised from the colour run and will get that information out very soon. Some of the money will be used to support the children from BPS performing at this year’s School Spectacular and the rest will be used to purchase learning materials for all the children K-6.

Our School Swimming Program commenced this week at the Manning Aquatic Centre. 203 children attend swimming lessons each day. This will continue until Friday 6th December. A reminder that children will require their swimmers, towel and goggles each day. Any children in groups 6, 7 or 8 in any time slot are also requested to wear sunscreen each day as they will be utilising the outdoor pool.

Our School Spectacular Choir, Dance and D’Arts children left for Qudos Bank Arena at 4.30am yesterday morning. To say the children are excited is an understatement! The children and staff have been involved in rehearsals yesterday, today and tomorrow morning and then will take part in the School Spectacular performances on Friday matinee and evening and Saturday matinee and evening. I know I can’t wait to watch our children perform on Friday night! A special thank you to Mark Skein who drove the bus down on Wednesday morning. Thank you, Mark.

Our Year 6 children will have their final Transition Day to high school on Wednesday 4th December. Children in Year 6 will attend either Bathurst or Kelso High Campuses for a full day in preparation for Year 7 in 2025.

Our Library Stocktake is currently underway. Mrs Morris, Mrs Glasson and Mrs Wilkin are working on this huge task. We kindly ask parents to check bags and bookcases at home for any school Library books and return them as soon as possible so we can finalise the stocktake on Friday 6th December.

The last day of canteen for the school year will be Friday 13th December. This will also be the last day we will utilise the Flexischools app. In 2025, we will move to the new Sentral canteen app which will be available for all parents at the start of 2025. Please ensure you use all funds in your Flexischools account before the end of the 2024 school year or any balance will be refunded in full when you close your account. This can be done by, clicking on this link to view instructions for account closure. More information about accessing the Canteen through Sentral portal will be available soon.

In 2025, School will commence for all children K-6 on Thursday 6th February. Children in Years 1-6 will commence at 9am and finish at 3pm. Kinder children will commence at 10.30am and can be picked up from 2.30pm on the first day. School will then start at 9am and finish at 3pm for all children from Friday 7th February. Recently the Department of Education announced a change to the School Development Days for 2025. The four days prior to Thursday 6th December will be School Development Days with staff involved in Professional Learning and Teacher identified activities.

This week information regarding the Stage 3 camp in 2025 was released through the Sentral Parent portal. In 2025, Stage 3 are booked to attend Stanwell Tops from Tuesday 17th June to Friday 20th June. The cost of this excursion will be $574.00. This includes bus transport, accommodation, meals and all activities at Stanwell Tops. The reason we release this information and cost so early is to allow parents plenty of time to pay the excursion off. A non refundable deposit of $50 is required by Friday 14th February, 2025 to confirm your child’s place on the excursion. Final permissions and payments are due by Monday 2nd June, 2025. Please contact Mr Datt or Mrs White if you require additional information.

Some important dates for the remainder of the year;

• Wednesday 4th December - Year 6 to Year 7 Transition Day
• Wednesday 11th December - Presentation Day - Bathurst High Campus Gymnasium commencing at 10am
• Thursday 12th December - Term 4 Green Award Morning Tea
• Thursday 12th December - Year 6 Farewell
• Friday 13th December - Semester 2 reports home
• Friday 13th December - K-2 Assembly at 12.40pm in the McMullen Hall
• Friday 13th December - 3-6 Assembly at 2.10pm in the McMullen Hall
• Tuesday 17th December - Year 6 Farewell Assembly 12.15pm under the COLA
• Wednesday 18th December - Year 6 Tunnel 2.30pm
• Wednesday 18th December - Last day for children and staff
• Friday 20th December - School office closes at 3pm

We believe student learning, wellbeing and success are best when working together. Please do not hesitate to contact the school to discuss any concerns you may have.

Kate White

Principal