Dear Parents,

We have had a busy week in and out of the classroom. Our extra curricular activities are in full swing and our PSSA sporting commitments are commencing. Thank you to all the staff for their work providing such a diverse range of opportunities for our children. A reminder that children can be involved in K-2 Drumming, 3-6 Drumming, Primary Choir, Craft Club, Chess Club, Mindfulness Mornings, Circus, Sketch Club, PSSA Cricket and PSSA Netball at this stage in Term 1. Please refer to the Extracurricular and Sporting pages of the newsletter for further information and weekly updates.

Our School Photos were taken by Advanced School Photography last week, and a make up day was held on Monday. We are hoping school photos may be back before the end of Term 1. We will ensure we keep you informed.

A reminder that our Parent/Teacher Interviews have been organised for Wednesday 25th February and Thursday 26th February for the Support Unit classes and Tuesday 3rd March - Thursday 5th March for all other classes. These meetings will allow parents to meet teachers, talk about what is to be taught this year and how your child has settled into the 2026 school year, plans for the school year, class expectations and parent expectations. Interviews can now be booked through the Sentral Parent Portal and will be face to face or via phone. If there are any issues, please contact the office at school.

The timetable for Parent/Teacher Interviews in week 5 and 6 is as follows:

                  Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th February – K-2R, K-6R, 2-4B, 3-6J and 3-6N

                  Tuesday 3rd March – KMc, KM, 1/2M, 1/2G, 1/2W and 1/2SP

                  Wednesday 4th March – 2/3F, 3/4M 3/4GW and 3/4W

                  Thursday 5th March – 5/6D, 5/6C, 5/6B and 5/6T

Attendance   * Our current Attendance Target for 2026 is 91%.

                           * We have 396 children enrolled at Bathurst Public School

                           * Our current school attendance rate is 92.1% - let’s keep up the great work.

                           * 71.3% of our children have attended school 90% or more of the time in the                               past week.

                           * In Weeks 4/5, we have had 30 unexplained absences across the school.                                   Please help us bring this down to 0 by contacting the school if your child is                               away.

                           * If you are going away on a family holiday or you need to go away for a                                        period of time during the school term, please contact the school so we                                      can assist you to make an application for approved leave.

Parents of children from Kindergarten to Year 6 must ensure their children attend school every day. On occasion, your child may need to be absent from school. Justified reasons for student absences may include:

• being sick or having an infectious disease
• having an unavoidable medical appointment
• being required to attend a recognised religious holiday
• exceptional or urgent family circumstances e.g. attending a funeral.

Parents must provide an explanation for absences to the school within 7 days from the first day of any period of absence. Where an explanation has not been received within the 7-day timeframe, the school will record the absence as unexplained on the student's record.

Harmony Day – will be held on Friday 20th March, in Week 8. Students and staff are invited to wear orange or their national dress to school on this day. The colour orange represents harmony and social communication.

The outline of our celebrations is;

12:30pm - 1:20pm - Open classrooms – families are invited to attend and visit their child’s classroom. Families may like to share something about their culture with their child’s class.

1:20pm - 2:00pm - Whole school picnic - parents are invited to sit with children to have lunch or join for play time during Break 2.

We hope it is going to be a very fun day and a lovely opportunity for families in our community to come together.

BATHURST PUBLIC SCHOOL FAIR - Ourfair will be held on Saturday 14th March on the Bathurst Public School grounds. Come young and all, this is bound to be a sensational event. Unlimited ride bands are available. Please see the School Fair page of this Newsletter to purchase one at the early bird rate. Tickets for the sensational raffle are also available. Once again, please see the School Fair page in the Newsletter and use the QR code the secure your tickets in the enormous raffle. 

General Reminders:-

• Food Allergies - We do have several children at our school who have peanut allergies and have severe reactions if exposed to this food. Parents are asked to be mindful of this when packing recess and lunch and are encouraged not to send products which contain nuts in them to school. 
• All items of clothing and personal belongings should be clearly marked with your child’s name.
• All children require a broad brimmed hat each day as our school has a “No Hat, No Play” policy.
• All gates around our school are kept closed during the day. This is a to ensure our children and staff are able to learn and play in a safe and happy environment. When parents and friends come to the school during the day, please come to the gate in George street and press the buzzer. The office staff will then open the gate. Please ensure you QR code in (QR code on the gate area). All parents and visitors should present to the front office on arrival.  This is a Legal and Workplace Safety requirement and is followed for the safety and security of all children and staff.

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

Kate White

Principal