Principal's Address
Upper Hunter Beef Bonanza
Congratulations to our Show Team for their success at the Upper Hunter Beef Bonanza in Scone last week. One of the team’s steers, Duke, was crowned Champion Light Middleweight Steer, beating 90 others to the title. Mr McDonald communicated the following to staff on his return:
“I don't think even the students understand how amazing they were. On top of the responsibility and pride with which they represented our school, they competed with professionalism and confidence that belies the level of experience they have.
They were up against some of the biggest private schools in the state, who have enormous budgets and take teams of 20-plus steers — as well as professional cattle producers who specialise in showing. There were 380 steers in the competition, and 90 in the division we prevailed in. The show is roughly 10 times the size of the School Steer Spectacular in Nowra.
I have never experienced the level of success they achieved at any other show. Every single one of the students deserves accolades for being part of a team that worked together to present the steers and for supporting each other through the Paraders Competitions against 750 other students, many of whom have been competing in these types of events for many more years than them.
If you get the chance, please give them the congratulations they deserve, because this is not just the result of the work they did at the show but the culmination of effort and progress that started at the beginning of last year when they first joined our burgeoning Cattle Team program.”
Mr McDonald is now planning for 2026 and possible entry for the Show Team into a new competition — watch this space!
Artificial Intelligence – NSW EduChat for students in Stages 3-6
The Department of Education released their own generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) software in 2024 called NSW EduChat. This Gen AI is designed to assist staff with administration tasks and Boorowa Central has been exploring its use with success.
A student version of NSW EduChat has been developed for use by students in Years 5-12 and is now available to all NSW Public schools for use.
At Boorowa Central School, During Term 4 of 2025 and Term 1 of 2026, teaching staff will be completing professional learning on the student version of NSW EduChat and its use in the classroom for learning tasks. Teaching staff will teach explicit lessons designed by the Department of Education to ensure that NSW EduChat's use is appropriate in all settings. Student use of NSW EduChat will not occur until training has been completed and lessons delivered.
More information about NSW EduChat for parents and carers can be found below:
Helping parents and carers understand AI in education
Helping parents and carers understand AI in education Student use of NSWEduChat
The school will keep the school community updated on its use of NSW EduChat for students.
Preschool Update
The planning for Boorowa Central School’s Public Preschool is well underway. Whilst the initial opening date of January 2027 was first published, it is looking likely that the preschool will be built, fully staffed and resourced ready for a Term 3 2026 opening.
The preschool will consist of 2 rooms, both with a capacity of 20 children. This means that the preschool will have a 40 children capacity per day. The preschool will be staffed by qualified educators and teachers in line with National Regulations.
The operational hours will most likely be 9am to 3pm. Our preschool will offer a play-based educational program and operate under the National Quality Framework (NQF).
Whilst the building is yet to be built, recruitment procedures for the 2 preschool teachers will commence shortly. Internal staffing will be considered first before Teacher Recruitment endeavours to match applicants via transfer. If this process is unsuccessful, the recruitment procedures will proceed to open merit selection.
The 2 teachers will begin working at Boorowa Central School on day 1 of 2026 and have 6 months to work collaboratively with myself to resource the preschool and to develop procedures and programs. We will be well supported by the Department of Education’s Early Learning Team.
I also met with the Director of the Boorowa Early Education Centre this week to discuss the preschool and begin working toward a strong collaborative approach to early years learning and school readiness in Boorowa. It is our shared vision that no matter which preschool a child attends, they will start school with a strong foundation and ready to succeed at either school in Boorowa.
It is a very exciting time for our school and the Boorowa Community. Watch this space for more information.