Deputy Principal's Message

Welcome to Week 8. Over the next fortnight, students in 3-6 will be participating in the NSW Public Schools Student Survey. The survey gives students the chance to share their thoughts and feelings about life at school, including questions about their engagement, learning experiences and wellbeing.
NAIDOC Week
The theme of this year's NAIDOC Week is The Next Generation: Strength, Vision and Legacy.
Ben Venue will be celebrating this year's NAIDOC Week through a range of student activities in Week 10 involving art, history and artefact workshops, Emu in the Sky sessions, damper making and Dreaming stories.
As part of our celebrations, we invite all families to our NAIDOC Week Opening Ceremony at 10:30am on Friday 27 June, followed by a morning tea from 11:10am in the library. We will be holding our closing ceremony on Friday 4 July, where all families are invited to share in our celebrations at an assembly at 12 noon, followed by a community BBQ from 1:10pm. We look forward to welcoming you to commemorate NAIDOC Week with us and join in the celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth.
Student Representative Council
Last week, our 2025 Student Representative Council (SRC) met for the first time. The council is comprised of 2 representatives from each class in Stages 1 to 3 and is designed to promote a positive school culture and leadership qualities among students. In their first session as a council, we discussed what it meant to be an SRC representative and the roles and responsibilities of each member. The students were excited and honoured to be representing their class. They recognise the importance of being the voice for our students and modelling appropriate behaviour.
The Ben Venue SRC represents all students in the school. It works democratically to represent the student body in school decision-making. The SRC organises activities, events and groups for students to participate in school life and maintains open communication between students and school staff.
Parents and family members of SRC representatives are invited to an assembly at 2pm on Thursday 26 June to induct and acknowledge the 2025 SRC.
We look forward to seeing what the SRC achieves for our students and our school over the coming semester.
Combined ACOS Primary Schools and ASC Dance Workshops
Last Friday, 2 of our Stage 3 students participated in the first of 2 combined rehearsals for a dance performance at the An Evening with ACOS concert in late August. The workshop was held in ASC's purpose-built dance studio and was run by Mrs Cordingley, one of ASC's specialist dance teachers. It was a fantastic opportunity for students across Armidale's public schools to work together on a group performance. We look forward to seeing it on stage in August!
Lana Howlett
Deputy Principal