PRIMARY NEWS 

from the Assistant Principal  

Class Transitions

Transition is an important part of preparing our students for the next stage of their learning journey, and we have been excited to see these opportunities taking place across the school.

Our Year 6 students last week visited Secondary for an experience of what school is like as a Year 7 student. The students had the opportunity to become familiar with the Secondary setting, whilst on tour with Miss Bailey and Mrs Rainger. There will be several more opportunities for our Year 6 students to engage with Secondary before the end of the year.

Our 2027 Kindergarten students have also been busy practising what it is like to be at ‘big school.’ It has been fantastic to welcome our newest students, with most arriving enthusiastically and eagerly joining in with the fun activities prepared for them. These experiences are helping our future Kindergarten students become familiar with the school environment, routines and faces, while building excitement about starting school in 2027.

Next term, our Year 2 students will begin their transition into Primary, starting with weekly playground breaks in the Primary area. These visits will provide students with opportunities to become familiar with the Primary playground, routines and environment, helping to make the transition into Year 3 a positive and comfortable experience.

Brain Olympia

We welcome students from Warialda, Guyra and Glen Innes today for the Northern heat of Brain Olympia. Good luck to our teams of selected students from Year 4, 5 and 6. Successful teams progress to the Brain Olympia final in Tamworth later in the term.

First Holy Communion

Congratulations to our students receiving their First Holy Communion this Sunday during morning Mass! This is a special milestone as they grow closer to Jesus and our Catholic community. We pray God’s love guides them and brings them joy each day. A big thank you to their families and teachers for supporting them on this journey, and to the Trinity Singing staff for sharing their singing.

Fathers Day 

Students warmly welcome all their Fathers, grandfathers and father figures for a bacon and egg roll and a cuppa, next Friday morning in the Infants quad. The Fathers Day stall hosted by our P&F will be open later in the day for students to purchase a small gift. 

3-6 Public Speaking 

A very easy skill for some, yet a challenging one for others, public speaking asks our students to step outside their comfort zones, find their voice and communicate confidently with an audience. Congratulations to our students in Years 3-6 who have been sharing their developing oral language and communication skills as they begin presenting their speeches to their classmates.

We also acknowledge the effort that has gone into preparing these speeches. Time spent at home developing ideas, practising speech delivery and working hard to remember words and presentation techniques has greatly helped. For some students, the greatest achievement is simply finding the courage to stand in front of their classmates and have a go. Overcoming nerves, apprehension and self-doubt is an important part of developing confidence as a speaker, and we are incredibly proud of the students who have challenged themselves to participate, regardless of how comfortable they may initially have felt.

Students are working on their speech presentations at a classroom level, with finalists selected from each class. These students will then progress to their year level finals, where four students will be selected from each year group.

On Wednesday September 9 at 9:30am, we will have the privilege of listening to the speeches of our finalists from each year group as they compete in the Public Speaking Finals. We are delighted to welcome a guest adjudicator who will determine and announce a Year Level Winner for Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6, as well as one Junior Public Speaking Champion and one Senior Public Speaking Champion for 2026.

While we look forward to celebrating our finalists and winners, we also want to acknowledge every student who has participated in this experience. Developing the confidence to speak in front of others is a valuable lifelong skill, and every time a student stands up, takes a breath and shares their ideas, they are building confidence, resilience and communication skills.

Well done to all of our students for giving public speaking a go and for challenging themselves to find their voice!

Arriving at and leaving from school

A reminder to families that although our school gates are open, formal student supervision does not commence until 8:30am. Students who arrive at school before this time are expected to sit quietly near their classrooms until supervision begins.

Afternoon departure is an extremely busy time, and we ask all families to help us ensure that students leave the school grounds safely and promptly.

At the end of the school day, children are expected to make their way promptly to their designated pick-up or bus area. Infants students are accompanied by the duty teacher to the bus area, where they remain supervised until their bus departs. Older siblings who are meeting Infants siblings are asked to meet them at their designated departure point, unless an alternative arrangement has been made with the classroom teacher.

Supervision continues until the departure of the last bus, at approximately 3:50pm.

To support a safe and smooth afternoon dismissal, students are expected to leave promptly rather than remaining outside classrooms, playing or dawdling after being dismissed. Students who are walking home are also asked to leave the school grounds promptly.

Thank you for helping us to ensure that the end of each school day is safe, organised and efficient for all of our students.

3-6 Social Wednesday 2 September

The school social will run from 3:30–5:00 pm. The cost is $2 per child or $3 per family.

A canteen will be available during the social. Children may change into alternate dancing clothes after school before the social begins.

Please ensure you collect your child from outside the hall at 5:00 pm.

Assembly Award Recipients

Congratulations to the following students who have received awards at assemblies:

Week 5

Benji Deaves, Caleb Warrener, Timothy Krzystofiak, Charlie Harmon, Jack Crichlow, Manan Sunar, Sarah Stanborough, Hollie Hoskins, Hallie Cutmore, John Boland, Eva Roberts, Dominic O’Connell, Aliarna Dye, Daisy Eddy, Dominic Murphy, Christine Vale, Ned Morris, Ashton Apthorpe

Week 6

Gianna Fenton, Hildie Turner, Ziarah Sims, Macey Simpson, William Newton, Thea Kimmince, Lillian Rogers, Ruby Reynolds, Archie Pages, Iyda Clove, Cohen White, Charlton King, Sophia Mill, Charlotte Clarke, Ronny Brooker, Olivia Pages, Alexandra Best, Willow Turner, Alexander Butcher, Jackson Dawson, Tennyson Allport, Amariah Rennie, Isla Pordage, Eden Murphy, Koby Colley, Isabel Caskey, Amalia Blair, Remy Norman, Katalaya Dye, Harrison McGregor, Harriet Devlin, Noelle Morgan, Joey van Der Merwe, Athena McBean, Claude Hall, Carter O’Conner, Ava Reynolds, Rocco Pettiford, Miette Sargeant, Phoebe Sims, Liam Lawson, Pip Shephard, Chimi Lladen, Harvey Edwards, Maggie Sweeney, Chayce Ridley, Elsie McCosker, Baz McDonald, Alexis O’Connell, Ian Jung, Zara Caskey, Ava Coleman, Alice Hoscher

Upcoming Dates

Week 6

• Book Week (see library section for more details on all Book Week events)
• ICAS Mathematics Competition
• Brain Olympia Heat @HTS
• Reconciliation for 6L and 5M
• Book Parade - Wednesday 
• PP Meetings
• Kinder Transition
• Mass: 3S

Sunday 30: First Communion

Week 7

• PP Meetings
• Dream Cricket
• 3-6 Social 3:30-5:00
• Father’s Day Breakfast 
• Prayer Celebration: KTM 9:30 am

Sunday: Father’s Day

Contacting Staff

We ask that all correspondence with staff is via the Compass portal.

If you would like to speak with the classroom teacher, please arrange a mutually convenient time to meet or leave a message at the front office for the teacher to get back to you. 

Please try to avoid just popping into a classroom in the morning when the classroom teacher is preparing for the day's learning.

K-6 Staff 

Samantha Gleeson -  KM

Tania Moore - KTM, Leader of Student Care ES1/S1

Laurelle Wales - 1W

Robyn Ditchfield - 1D

Carmel McCosker - 2M

Cath Doyle - 2D

Terri-Lea Selig - 3S + Inclusion Support

Elissa Murphy - 3M, Leader of Student Care S2

Chloe de Gunst - 3D

Amanda White - 4WL

Cathy Lane - 4WL

Mary ann Wilson - 4W

Kate McCosker - 5M

Courtney Fleming - 5F

Peter Baz - 6B

Jaide Daniels - 6D

Casey Lea - 6L, Leader of Student Care S3

Maddy Devlin - RFF

Gabby Campbell - RFF + KM

Sarah Edwards - RFF

Chris Myers - RFF and K-11 Sport

Jodi Uebergang - 3S + RFF

Lisa Wilson - K-11 Music

Toni Fraser - Librarian

Aimee Gaias - Leader of Pedagogy

Renee Stewart - Inclusion Support 

Mary-Jane Guest - REC