From the Principal's Desk

Welcome to Week 5, Term 1!

We have reached half-way through Term 1 with a fresh new facelift across the grounds!! Most visitors to the school have been blown away with the result our hardworking GA, Mr Hine, and our generous volunteers; Simone, Ben and Stef have achieved during the recent working bee. Years of undergrowth has all successfully been cleared and a much needed manicure has taken place of our existing bush and low-lying branches, to assist with visibility of potential snakes. This has eliminated any additional (unnecessary) hideouts! What a wonderful result in such a short space of time. I look forward to seeing our enthusiastic Mr Hine continue with his hard work and determnation in this space!

The 2025 Commemoration Day Service

On Sunday 16th February, The Armidale and District National Servicemen’s Association held their annual Commemoration Service at the Monument in Central Park, Armidale. The service was in remembrance of the national servicemen (conscripts) who were killed in action during WW2 and Vietnam, who died during their service and those who have passed away since completing their military obligations as well those who served Australia since 1911. I was very proud to represent our school with Miss Miller and some of our School Captains, who were invited to lay a wreath in memory of the departed national servicemen. The wreath was supplied by Eve Flowers, Uralla, and a beautiful contribution on behalf of Rocky River Public School.

Parent/Teacher Conferences

I recognise that in previous years, Term 1 included a formal meet the teacher or parent/teacher conference. With the close-knit nature of our small school, rather than scheduling formal blocks of time for our teachers to stay back outside of school hours and engage in back-to-back meetings, I encourage you to make contact with the school to plan a time with your child's teacher, if there are any areas of concern, or if you are wanting an update on your child's progress at any point during the school term. This can happen at any point during the year as you see fit, and I believe, should not be exclusive to a formal block of scheduled interview times, as a one-off occurrence. Further to this, I recognise many parents have already touched base with their child's teachers this year, or are having regular touch points to monitor areas of interest or supports requiring special attention and monitoring. If you have any questions or concerns around this, please contact me so I can ensure we are working in partnership, with all families in our community. 

Homework

Your child may have received a homework pack, which they have brought home over the past fortnight. I would like to remind parents, that our school policy is that homework is not compulsory, and there is no expectation from the school that additional work is completed outside of school hours. This is optional as we do have some students who enjoy this routine. Your child is not missing out on any of the curriculum by not completing any homework. If I can encourage anything at all, it would be reading at home with your child, for enjoyment. This could look like parents reading aloud to children, children reading aloud to parents or reading together. Just modelling a joy for reading can be so impactful on our children. Research reminds us time and time again of the impacts of reading with our children, and the positive life-long outcomes instilling a love for reading can empower our children with. 

PSSA Zone Swimming Carnival

Congratulations to our disciplined swimmers who will represent our school and Thunderbolt Alliance of schools on Thursday 27th February at the Armidale town pool. It's a testament to the dedication and effort applied by all of our students to see so many representatives there on the day. Thank you to Miss Miller who organised a training session at the pool last Friday for these swimmers to perfect their strokes and prepare before the big event.

NAPLAN

A note was sent home informing parents of the upcoming NAPLAN assessments for students in Year 3 and Year 5. The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a literacy and numeracy assessment that students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit each year. It is the only national assessment all Australian students have the opportunity to undertake. As students progress through their school years, it is important to check how well they are learning the essential skills of reading, writing and numeracy.

NAPLAN assesses the literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through the school curriculum and allows parents/carers to see how their child is progressing against national proficiency standards. NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process. It does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance, but it can provide teachers with additional information about students’ educational progress. NAPLAN also provides schools, education authorities and governments with information about how education programs are working and whether young Australians are achieving important educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy.

Please see the attached flyer for further detail:

Evacuation Drill

On Monday, we completed an Evacuation Drill as part of our bi-annual WHS processes to ensure staff and students are prepared in the event of an emergency. I was pleased with how smoothly this drill went, and impressed with how well students listened, and promptly moved out to our evacuation point near the cricket nets.

P&C Meet and Greet

On Monday of Week 6, we are holding a parent information session at 4:30pm, before the P&C meeting, to assist families in setting up the parent portal for School Bytes. The P&C are also hosting their Pizza & Disco meet and greet evening that night, which will allow parents to find out how they can get involved and meet the committee, whilst a supervised evening of fun can be enjoyed by children.  Thank you to the families who have indicated their planned attendance for Monday. If you haven't already, please do return the note to assist with catering organisation.

Our next assembly

Our first Term 1 assembly is on this Friday 28th February at 2:15pm. We look forward to seeing families attend to join us in celebrating the fantastic learning happening at Rocky River!

Attendance

Reasons for absence

Thank you to all who are prompt in notifying the school of their child's absences both full day and partial day, including the justified reason of why their child was away. It is important that this communication comes through to the school via the correct channels:

• Phone call to the school office: (02) 6778 4122
• Email to the school email address: rockyriver-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au 
• Notification through the school Audiri app

Soon, this will be able to be done through the School Bytes Parent portal, which will be a much easier way between families and the school to log and record student absences.

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