From the Principal's Desk
Welcome to Week 2, Term 4!
We have hit the ground running with what we know will be a strong final term to a fantastic year at Rocky River! On Friday, we welcomed some special visitors from the NSW Department of Education to our school, showcasing what Rocky River is all about. Mrs Deb Summerhayes (Deputy Secretary, Public Schools), Mrs Meghanne Wellard (Executive Director, Rural North) and Mr Matt Hobbs (Director, Educational Leadership - Armidale Principal Network) took the time to meet and greet our staff and students. Mrs Summerhayes was quite taken with our students who were working on their Christmas card designs with Miss Miller for the NSW Minister for Education's Christmas card competition. Mrs Summerhayes shared that she has the privilege of viewing the design submissions and was excited to see the Rocky River cards come through. Mr Ridley was working with small groups out in the vegie garden, planting lots of exciting new things, including heirloom carrots which impressed our visitors! Mrs Wellard had some wonderful suggestions about connecting with Thalgarrah Environmental Education Centre to further enhance our vegie garden space. It was a pleasure to host these wonderful leaders of the Department of Education, and yet again, I was very proud to promote the fabulous work happening our wonderful small school.
Millie Hunt Work Experience
This week we welcomed Millie from Uralla Central School for a week of work experience. Millie has thoroughly enjoyed her time working predominantly with in the K-2 room so far; we have appreciated an extra set of hands with our youngest of learners. After her sister Annie's work experience week with us last term, we think our next generation of students will be in good hands in the not so distant future with two fantastic future teachers, incoming from the Hunt family!
Thunderbolt Alliance Teaching Rounds
This term, Year 3-6 teachers from Rocky River, Kingstown, Kentucky and Kelly's Plains Public Schools are coming together to engage in teaching rounds. Our shared focus on explicit teaching is focusing specifically on the implementation of Learning Intentions and Success Criteria in our classrooms. Miss Miller and I visited Kentucky Public School this week and were left inspired and excited to trial some new ideas we observed. Collaboration across small schools which are geographically dispersed can be difficult to facilitate - I am really proud to be a part of such a cohesive alliance which prioritises genuine collaboration, understanding the impact this type of professional learning can have on improved student learning outcomes.
Principal's Prize Box
Many students have visited my office this fortnight, to share amazing work and receive a special gift from the prize box. I had a wonderful visit from Elyse in Year 2 who wrote a fantastic piece of writing in her book. Elyse has made such pleasing personal progress in her sentence-level punctuation, grammar and spelling, increasing the overall length of her texts. She didn't hesitate with her selection of the lovely bear pictured below. Reagan and Chyler made some stand-out Halloween artworks, experimenting with colour and contrast, explaining their process to me when they came up to visit. I love hearing that the biggest decision of a student's day is deciding what to pick from the prize box!! What an honour it is to create this exciting moment for our students (a special mention to Mr Ridley who keeps the prize box stocked up with fun and interesting options!).
I've enjoyed welcoming visits to my office, from students who are achieving their personal best, and look forward to celebrating many more achievements as the term progresses!
Award winning Gymnast!
Congratulations to Chanse in Year 4 who competed at the 2025 Gymnastics NSW Country Championships in September. Chanse returned with one silver and two gold medals for his group and individual efforts! Chanse's natural talent in this realm is on display daily as he practises aerobatics during recess and lunch at school, showing the teachers and his peers all of the wonderful things he is able to execute. Last term during school sport, we had the opportunity to witness even more of Chanse's talents within the safe environment of the gymnastics centre. What a pleasure it is to see our learners find a passion and achieve great things as a result - well done Chanse!
Building A - Project Update
At the October P&C meeting last week, I shared the following updates:
- The tender process to appoint a contractor to undertake demolition has now closed. Tender submissions will be evaluated in early Term 4, and the contract expected to be awarded shortly after.
- Planning approvals are currently experiencing a delay due to heritage considerations related to the identified "Water Race."
- Negotiations with heritage authorities are ongoing to find a suitable resolution before a definitive start date for demolition is confirmed.
- Demolition timing will be confirmed after a construction contract has been awarded, in consultation with the principal and DEL to align with school operations.
The design is currently undergoing minor changes and finalisation, with the main design development underway.
The department is the best point of contact if you have questions about this project. The department can be contacted by phone on 1300 482 651 or by email schoolinfrastructure@det.nsw.edu.au While these processes take time, the department is proceeding as quickly as possible. Thank you for your cooperation during this important work.
Snow Debris Clear Up
On Tuesday, we saw the historic Rocky River Pine Tree, located at the front of the school, come down. This, with many other trees onsite, were removed due to the safety risk they posed for our students. After the unprecedented snow storm in August this year, heavy snow load damage left breakage and fractures beyond potential salvaging. It is always sad to see trees go, however, the safety of our staff and students is paramount, and we support the the clearing of the space to create opportunities for new beginnings. Now that the fallen debris has been chipped and moved on, our students have their playground space back - Mr Hine has been mowing and ensuring the yard is clear and accessible. We will wait until we have our new school build complete before considering where we will plant new trees in our yard.
It was lovely to read the many memories shared by past students on our school Facebook page, where we posted the footage of the pine tree top coming off. We thank the awesome crew of workers who have put in the extra effort to share this experience with our students, allowing them to take part in this memorable time of transition at our school.
Uralla Thunderbolts Festival 2025
This Saturday 25th October is the annual Uralla Thunderbolts Festival. We are excited this year to have a float for the parade, which will add some extra fun to the festivities for our students. On Friday afternoon during school hours, we will prepare the truck with our decorations. Thank you to the Swilks family who have organised the lending of and return of the truck, as well as offering to drive it for us during the parade. This is a huge boost for our school's involvement profile and I know the students are just so excited to ride in the parade together! Please read the information in the P&C section of this newsletter about the BBQ on Saturday and how you can support the P&C, with this being the biggest fundraising event of the year!
Students attending the parade should meet at Park Street at 9:45am. The parade commences at 10:30am. The theme is Wild West - come dressed in your best western get up!
Term 4 Assembly Dates
Our final regular school assembly for 2025 is Friday 7th November 2:15pm (Week 4). Our Presentation Day assembly is Tuesday 16th December 9:00am (Week 10). We look forward to parents, families and friends joining us to celebrate the achievements of our students!
Gubi Gabun Play Session Trial - Term 4
Term 4 Promotional Play Session Dates:
Tuesdays 10am - 12pm
- 28th of October
- 11th of November & 25th of November
9th of December
Last Tuesday we welcomed Gubi Gabun for their first play group session at Rocky River. Educator; Sue had so many toys and activities - she can cater for much more than the two lovely little ones who attended. Please spread the word so that we can share our beautiful school with local families looking for opportunities to connect and enrich their child's life.
Pictured below are some of our Lower Division students who engaged in shared play during Recess with Xavier (a very eager younger sibling of some current Rocky River students - hence the school polo!).
Kindergarten 2026 Transition Program
Our Kindy Transition program is running on Mondays this term! Enrolments are still open for Kindergarten 2026. To support children in familiarisation with basic school routines, and beginning to build some social connections and familiar faces that they can look forward to seeing on their first day of Kindergarten, we invite students to attend our Term 4 transition days.
If you are thinking of enrolling your child to start school next year, or know someone who is interested, please contact our school office (02) 6778 4122 or pop in for a visit!
We look forward to welcoming lots of smiling, new faces to our beautiful school.
Attendance
Please ensure your child's absences reasons are logged with the school. It is important that this communication comes through to the school via the correct channels:
- Absence submission through the School Bytes app (preferred method)
- Phone call to the school office: (02) 6778 4122
Email to the school email address: rockyriver-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au
Extended leave
Please remember to complete the extended leave or travel form if you are planning to take your children on holidays during the school terms. This must be completed prior to the planned travel.
Kindest regards,
Dani Clyde-Smith
Principal