Dear Parents,

Welcome back, everyone. I hope you had a wonderful break. The staff are well rested and are excited to be back. We extend a very warm welcome back to all of our children and parents to Bathurst Public School for the 2026 school year.

We welcome to our school Mrs Ashna Ranzetta and Mr Jonathon Manvell. We also welcome back Mr Robert Moffit. We welcome all of our new staff to our team and know they will enjoy teaching at Bathurst PS.

Children were settled into their tentative classes on Monday. We have finalised classes today and our school structure and classes are now set. If any parents have any queries regarding class structures, please contact the school.

The classes and whole school staffing for 2026 are:

KMc – Mrs Mikayla McPhee

KM – Mrs Kathy Murphy

1/2G - Mrs Jodie Goninan

1/2W – Ms Nicola Webster

1/2M - Mrs Danielle McClements

1/2SP – Mrs Tammy Simmons/Ms Fernanda Puebla

2/3F - Mrs Kylee Francis

3/4M – Mr Jonathon Manvell

3/4GW – Mrs Carly Guihot/Mrs Jodie Weekes

3/4W - Mrs Natasha Woolfe

5/6B – Ms Leah Barber

5/6D – Mr Jay Datt

5/6C – Mrs Lorelle Calder

5/6T – Ms Sarita Lloyd/Mr Jeremy Thackray

K-2r – Mrs Ashna Ranzetta

K-6R – Ms Nicola Reedy

2-4B - Mrs Kate Burns

3-6J – Mr Scott Jablonskis

3-6N - Ms Alice Nathan

Principal – Mrs Kate White

Deputy Principal - Mrs Sharon Cafe

Assistant Principal Curriculum and Instruction - Mrs Angie Lee

Library – Ms Sarita Lloyd

Learning and Support Teacher – Ms Fernanda Puebla, Mrs Carly Guihot, Ms Sarita Lloyd and Mrs Amanda Ivory

Release from Face to Face – Ms Amanda Nelson, Mrs Amanda Ivory, Mrs Joanne Curran, Mrs Julie George, Mr Robert Moffit, Ms Samantha Hall and Ms Lisa Roberts

EALD - Ms Samantha Hall and Ms Lisa Roberts

School Counsellor – Ms Emily Austin (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday)

Hearing Team – Mrs Susannah Lane, Mrs Belinda Crook, Mrs Shell Hanrahan and Mr Craig Nelson

Home School Liaison Officer – Mr Mathew Cambey

Assistant Principal Learning – Mrs Yvonne Theiss

Assistant Principal Complex Support – Mrs Michelle Whiley

School Admin Manager – Ms Denise Noble

School Admin – Mrs Cathy Glasson

School Admin - Mrs Alana Datt

School Learning Support Officer – Mrs Karen Mitchell

School Learning Support Officer – Mrs Jackie Fowler

School Learning Support Officer – Mrs Rebecca Dive

School Learning Support Officer – Mrs Dianna Mooney

School Learning Support Officer – Mrs Sarah White

School Learning Support Officer – Mrs Shelley Chaffey

School Learning Support Officer – Mrs Samantha Culham

School Learning Support Officer – Ms Ella Tilburg

School Learning Support Officer – Mr Logan Coombes

School Learning Support Officer – Mrs Sarah Marshall

School Learning Support Officer – Mrs Lizzy Dowler (Friday’s)

School Learning Support Officer – Ms Bonny Campio

School Learning Support Officer – Mr Charlie Culnane

School Learning Support Officer – Mrs Lyn Holt

General Assistant – Mr Mark Davis (until 13/2)

The Induction Ceremony for our 2026 Leadership Team occurred on Wednesday. It was a lovely occasion where all our children witnessed our new Captains and Vice Captains making their pledges. We thank all of our parents and friends for attending the assembly and presenting and pinning the badges on their child. Thank you for coming along and making this occasion special.

Our 2026 Leadership Team consists of:

School Captains – Adeline Hunter and Tate Solomon

School Vice Captains – Peyton McIntosh and Toa Leger

Evans House Captains – Jassinta Clancey and Blake Hunt

Evans House Vice Captains – Alli Theobald and Jai Dunham

Chifley House Captains – Addison Jones and Enyahas Brunzlow Stokes Laga

Chifley House Vice Captains – Ava Bartholomew and Abraham Newman

Macquarie House Captains – Aria Hegvold and Zayne Carter

Macquarie House Vice Captains – Sophie McPhee and Abel McKeig

Hargraves House Captains – Lilly Guihot and Jax Brennan

Hargraves House Vice Captains – Sienna Phillips and Owen Sweeney

Sentral Parent Portal - All of our notes for all activities are published on the Sentral Parent Portal. Please ensure you have access to the portal. You can give permissions and pay for activities also using Sentral. Please refer to the Sentral page for further information on how to access the Sentral Parent Portal. If you have any issues logging on to Sentral or you cannot access it with your portal key, please contact the school.

Breakfast and Lunch Club – Breakfast Club operates every school day from 8.30am-8.55am from the room under the Lambert Street Hall in the Kinder quad. School staff assist in preparing breakfast for any child who would like breakfast when they arrive at school. Lunch Club in Term 1 will operate from the Executive Office with sandwiches made available to those children requiring lunch. Unfortunately, we do not have the staffing resources to make noodles in Term 1 so children will be unable to ask for these to be prepared for lunch. Donations of items such as margarine, bread, spread (vegemite, honey and jam), fruit, poppers, juice, cereal and cheese are always welcome to support breakfast and lunch club.

Trixie - Most parents have now met 'Trixie', our school Assistance dog. Trixie is highly trained by Assistance Dogs Australia and is fully accredited. We have teachers who are trained in handling Trixie at all times. Trixie is rostered to go into all classrooms throughout the term. Trixie is a very loved member of our school community. All parents and friends are reminded not to bring any pets including dogs and cats onto the school grounds at any time.

Extra Curricular Activities will be commencing soon. Further information about different activities, the staff coordinating and when and where the activities will occur will be placed in the Newsletter next week.

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 – School finishes at 3.00pm. 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 closed. This is for the safety and security of 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.

Taxi Zones - Parents are asked NOT to park in the designated Taxi zones around our school. These areas are used for taxis bringing and collecting children from school.

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.

Our School Photos will be taken on Thursday 19th February. We will be using Advanced School Photography. Envelopes for school photos have been sent home on Monday. Family photo envelopes are available from the front office.

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 2026 is:

Term 1 Week 5 – Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th February – Support Unit Parent/Teacher Interviews
Term 1 Week 6 - Tuesday 2nd March- Thursday 5th 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 25th February and Thursday 26th February for the Support Unit classes and Tuesday 2nd March - Thursday 5th 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 2026 school year, plans for the school year, class expectations, and parent expectations. The parent portal will be set up next few week to allow parents to book their meeting time. Teachers will contact parents regarding your allocated time prior to the interviews.

Interview Dates for the calendar;

Wednesday 25th February- Support Class Parent Teacher Interviews
Thursday 26th February – Support Class Parent Teacher Interviews
Tuesday 3rd March - Stage 1 Parent Teacher Interviews
Tuesday 3rd March – Kinder Parent Teacher Interviews
Wednesday 4th March - Stage 2 Parent Teacher Interviews
Thursday 5th March - Stage 3 Parent Teacher Interviews

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 strongly encouraged not to send products that contain nuts in them to school.

Canteen - The school canteen will operate every Friday throughout the year. The first canteen day is this Friday 6th February. Mrs Chaffey will manage the school-operated canteen. The menu and how to order using the Sentral Canteen app is in this newsletter. If any parents can volunteer on any Friday, please contact the school. We would love to see you!

School PSSA Sports Teams - This year we will enter the following teams in the PSSA competition:

Girls Basketball with Mrs Francis
Boys Basketball with Mr Datt
Mixed Cricket with Mr Thackray
Mixed Soccer with Miss Barber and Mrs McPhee
Mixed Netball with Miss Reedy
Boys Rugby League with Mrs Goninan
Girls Touch Football with Mrs Sarah White

Trial dates and information will be advertised in the School Newsletter and on Facebook, prior to the trials. Training information will be advertised after teams are finalised.

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 permissions and payments for activities should be made on the Sentral Parent portal.

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

Kate White

Principal