Dear Parents,

As a school we have celebrated lots of amazing achievements this week. Many children have been trialing for school sporting teams and have elected to attend District and Western Trials. We have new children involved in Choir and Recorder. Our Stage 3 Dance troupe is busy rehearsing for their Schools Spectacular audition, and many children have elected to participate in the Stage 1, 2 and 3 Dance Troupes which commence in Term 2 (parents can sign their child up for Dancing on the Sentral Parent Portal). We have also had several children nominate to take part in the Multi Cultural Public Speaking competition. Thank you Ms Roberts for coordinating this. Well done to everyone for participating in these extra curricular opportunities.

A parent survey was emailed to all families earlier this week. Thank you to those who have had the opportunity to complete this student behaviour survey. It would be wonderful if all parents could spend 5 minutes completing it please. A major part of our work is student behaviour in 2024, and this will assist us in our planning. The survey will close at 3pm this Friday.

Our Year 3 and 5 children commenced their NAPLAN assessments yesterday. We commenced with writing and will spend today and tomorrow catching any child up who missed the assessment on Wednesday.

We have celebrated some excellent sporting performances over the past week. Beau Francis was selected int the Western Boys Netball Team. Beau will travel to Syndey in August to participate in the NSW PSSA Boys Netball Championships. Well done, Beau

Congratulations to Cruz Fischbeck and Clara Wood who were selected in the Western Region Basketball Team to compete at the NSW PSSA Girls and Boys Basketball Championships to be held in Newcastle in May. Super work, Cruz and Clara.

Well done to all our swimmers who represented our school, and the Bathurst District, at the Western Swimming Carnival last week. Lots of terrific results.

Congratulations to Addison Jones who had a stellar day in the pool, placing in 4 events. Addison won the Junior girls breaststroke, came 2nd in the Junior girls butterfly, 2nd in the 10 year girls freestyle and 3rd in the Junior Individual Medley. Addison will now represent the Western Region at the NSW PSSA Swimming Championships in Homebush at the end of this term. WOW! We are so super proud of you, Addison.

Our K-2 Easter Hat Parade is quickly approaching. Thank you to the many Easter Egg donations we have already received. Please keep sending in donations of Easter Eggs for our Monster Easter Egg Raffle. All K-6 children can donate eggs. Children who donate Easter Eggs will be acknowledged at a daily stage assembly. A reminder that our K-2 children will require an Easter Hat for the parade which they make at home. We can't wait for this exciting event.

Our first School Disco for the year will be held on Friday, 5th April. The K-2 Disco will be held from 5pm-6.30pm and the 3-6 Disco from 6.30pm-8pm in the McMullen Hall. Entry is $2 and a Sausage Sizzle and treats will be available for purchase. BYO drink bottle as water stations will be available for refills. More information will be sent home closer to the date.

Extra Curricular

• The PSSA District Netball Trials are coming up in Week 10. These selection trials are for girls only. Trials to attend this selection afternoon will occur at school next week and notes will be handed out. Students will need to watch out for announcements on Sentral so they know what day this is.
• The Girls School Basketball squad has been announced. Congratulations to the following children: Clara Wood, Alexis Hickey, Holly Gillespie, Adelaide Fulthorpe, Charlotte Morris, Isla Barnes, Sarah O'Brien, Hannah Skein, Elena Noonan, Cindy Ngo, Tearani Cowell and Billie Lindsay.
• The Boys School Basketball squad has been announced following the trials. Congratulations to the following children; Issac Gafa, Cruz Fischbeck, Beau Francis, Theo Lyle, Thor Sutton, Harvey Glasgow, Archer Kolkman, Lachlan Abbott, Nick Rice, Ewan Long and Max Naylor.
• Our School Cricket Team will play their first PSSA Knockout match against Bathurst West PS on Wednesday 27th March. The team consists of;  Zoe Clayton, Hannah Skein, Sidney Shoemark, Max Naylor, Adam Abdalla, Beau Francis, Yusuf Usmani, Theo Lyle, Issac Gafa, Raiyan Mohammed, Lincoln McLaughlin-Sharp and Jack Hair.
• Bathurst PS Boys School Soccer team trials will be held on Tuesday 26th March during Break 1. Mrs McPhee is the coordinating teacher.

Attendance Celebration

We definitely feel like celebrating. Our Week 6 attendance data shows an improvement in all areas: unexplained absences, attendance rate and percentage of students attending >90%.

Thank you, parents, for remembering to explain your child's absences through the parent portal app or by contacting the front office. We have seen a decrease in the number of unexplained absences, from 54 in Week 5 to 31 in Week 6.  

Well done, KD, 1C, 2I, KD, K/1K, 2/3F, 3-6R, 3-6J and 3-6B with no unexplained absences!

Congratulations to 2/3F for last week's highest attendance percentage. 

Our attendance rate and percentage of students attending >=90% continues to climb. 

Every Day Matters for your child’s learning

Attending school every day allows your child to get the most out of their learning and improve their career and life options.   This includes attending school on rainy days or birthdays. Regular school attendance can help expand your child’s learning and create positive relationships with their peers. If you require support in getting your child ready and motivated for school, please reach out to us. Read more about the benefits of regular attendance on the department website.  

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

Kate White

Principal