From the Principal's Desk

Welcome to Week 2, Term 2!

We have been delighted to welcome back our wonderful Rocky River learners to school this term after an unforgettable Easter Hat parade and P&C Easter egg hunt on the last day of Term 1! 

We were pleased to hear exciting stories about children's holiday adventures - congratulations to Riley in Year 5 for participating in the Tour de Rocks bike ride for charity this year during the break. What a gruelling ride it is; making it such a wonderful initiative to be a part of! 

Thank you to the families who were able to attend the Uralla ANZAC Day march on Saturday with Miss Miller, and to our wonderful school captains Harrison and Ivory for laying a wreath at the monument on behalf of Rocky River. With our Small Schools Athletics Carnival fast approaching, we have hit the ground running with our school-based high jump training and qualifying rounds. We look forward to seeing students and families enjoy the combined carnival this Friday, organised by Rocky River and Kingstown schools. We can't wait to see what wonderful moments Term 2 brings with our safe and respectful learners!

Thalgarrah EEC HPGE Offerings

At the end of Term 1, Ivory, Annabelle and Sarah were accepted into the Inquiring Minds HPGE camp at Thalgarrah. The camp featured multiple streams of workshops which the girls were able to access based on their interests and high potential in areas of visual arts, STEM and biology. Thalgarrah Environmental Education Centre offer many opportunities for High Potential and Gifted students in public schools across our network, which we value at our small school. 

The next Stage 3 Visual Arts "Colour the Earth" camp notes have been sent home to students, with a new Stage 2, single day Visual Arts "Fabulous Forrest Floor" offering added to the HPGE offerings this year. Please note, only 4 students from each school can be accepted due to limited places available.

Important dates:

Stage 3 Colour the Earth Camp Nomination form Due 6th May 2026

Please phone the school if you have any questions about these opportunities for your child.

Parent Teacher Interviews

It was a pleasure to meet with parents to discuss their child’s individual learning plans for the semester at the end of last term. We honour open communication and a positive working partnership with parents around their child’s progress and encourage parents to make a time with teachers if wanting to further discuss how their child is going at school, especially if you missed the opportunity to book in a time last term.

Cross Country

On the last day of Term 1, we enjoyed a beautiful day at the Uralla Golf Club for our Small Schools Cross Country event. I was very proud to see so many Rocky River students giving their race a go and ending their event with big smiles on their faces! Thank you to the Kelly’s Plains Public School for organising this event, with their P&C offering a delicious canteen to keep us fuelled up! We look forward to cheering on our students progressing to the Armidale Zone Cross Country on Friday 15th May (Week 4, Term 2).

Toilet Pod

Last term, a toilet pod (small demountable) was installed between the administration and bottom classroom demountable. The purpose of this toilet pod is to offer a space for student showering and changing facilities.

Staffing

Congratulations to Helen Hine who is our new permanently appointed General Assistant (GA) at Rocky River Public School. Helen is a seasoned professional who has worked in this role at Kentucky Public School for many years. We have treasured the work of Tim Hine over the past year and thank him for all of his hard work and efforts across the school as he finishes his final day with us this Friday. The school has been kept in tip top shape, and we are confident that Helen will follow closely in her brother’s footsteps!

New Music Stands & Covers

After much research and planning, we are excited to receive and begin using our new music stands, and their covers which will be used at assemblies and other formal events. As we enter our third year of the school band program with NECOM, we thank the P&C for investing in our students and upgrading the presentation of our student’s performances, to better meet the quality of their performances. It is also safe to say that all students can comfortably enjoy weekly rehearsals with a music stand that holds well, and does not collapse mid-piece! A well-deserved upgrade which will be enjoyed for decades to come.

Year 6 Shirts

This week we received our 2026 Year 6 shirts. The Year 6 students collaborated earlier this year to decide on a design option and their preferred colour scheme. Thank you to Mrs Northey who coordinated the selection and ordering of the shirts, the students (and staff) love them!

Congratulations to Elyse!

Elyse Swilks travelled to Sydney to compete in the State Swimming Championship yesterday. We were very proud of her efforts and excitedly cheered her on via the live stream link. The race can be rewatched at the link below:

School Photo Day

Our school photo day this year will be Friday 5th June (Week 7). Anne and I will share more information with families in the lead up to school photo day.

School Bytes Calendar

We are working hard to keep the School Bytes digital calendar updated with events and updates for the school term ahead. Parents can access this through the School Bytes Parent App, selecting the ‘calendar’ option at the bottom of the home page. If you would like assistance to access the school calendar on the app, please reach out to our staff so that we can assist you in keeping up to date with the exciting events this term.

Centacare Support

This term, our school is receiving Centacare support from staff at the Armidale office. This free community service provides counselling and wellbeing supports for our students, in addition to the work of our wonderful school counsellor who attends Rocky River on a fortnightly basis. We are pleased to commence the Resilience Kids program for boys in Years 3-6 which will be run by Centacare on Wednesdays, for a five-week period. These workshops will provide our students with an opportunity for students to strengthen healthy communication and self-confidence when interacting with each other. We look forward to trialling this new program and spreading this offering across the school to other year groups in future terms.

Athletics Carnival

This Friday, 1st of May, we will be holding our small schools Athletics Carnival at the Uralla Sporting Complex. Please note, staff will not be at school this day, and students are required to be dropped off and picked up from the Uralla Sporting Complex. Information regarding this event has been sent out on School Bytes, including a yummy canteen menu on offer from the Kingstown P&C from 8am. After contributing to early morning set up of the event, I will be supporting the Selective High School testing in Armidale, so won’t get to see the events firsthand this year. Miss Miller will be leading the day with Mrs Harper from Kingstown, and all of our wonderful small school staff are looking forward to facilitating a strong event. I am very keen to hear all about the successes of the day and just know it will be an exciting experience for all of our keen competitors.

Scholastic Book Fair

Get ready, book lovers! The most AMAZING new children’s books are arriving at our school VERY SOON! From Monday 4th to Friday 8th May, dive into a world of adventure, magic, and learning at our Scholastic Book Fair! This is your chance to explore an incredible selection of books that will inspire your child to become a lifelong reader. 

Join us every day from 8:30-9:00am and 3:00-3:30pm to browse and buy – maybe you’ll discover your child’s new favourite! PLUS – every book you purchase helps our school earn commission to bring even MORE fantastic books to our Library! Let’s work together to make reading fun and exciting for everyone! Mark your calendars and don’t miss out! See you there! 

Building A

We are awaiting the appointment of the new building contractor which we expect to be appointed soon. We are looking forward to seeing the final design plans come to life this year. We expect a project update from NSW Infrastructure to be ready for the next P&C meeting on Monday 4th May.

Bus Travel

As catching the bus to and from school becomes more of a popular choice across our school, we want to remind families about the behaviour code for students. When travelling on the bus to or from school, students are not supervised by teaching staff, and are expected to follow the behaviour code of the Oxley Explorer, which echoes the values of our school. 

We expect that students are being safe by staying in their seat with seatbelts on, keeping their hands and feet to themselves, and are showing respect by using appropriate language and demonstrating kindness to others and towards the bus driver. 

When waiting for the bus, we are marshalling students at the eating area under the COLA, to allow for a safe and secure waiting space, until the bus arrives in the afternoon at 3:25pm. Students are asked to sit and wait patiently with their friends, talking or playing in a way that is not creating risk of harm towards themselves or others. 

We thank you for understanding how we ensure safety for students travelling on the bus and hope you can instill similar language and values when discussing expectations around bus travel at home.

Gabi Gabun - Term 2

We love seeing little ones aged 0-5 attending the Gabi Gabun service at our school. Sessions will be held on even weeks this term on Wednesdays between 10am-12pm. The resources from Gubi Gabun are wonderful, we encourage all to take up this enriching and FREE service to all! Please spread the word to ensure everyone can make the most of this fantastic offering.

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.

Enrolling Now for 2027

We are enrolling now for our 2027 Kindergarten intake! Please contact the school office to chat with Anne or myself or visit our website to complete an online enrolment application https://rockyriver-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/ 

Kindest regards,

Dani Clyde-Smith

Principal