From the Principal's Desk

Welcome to Week 7, Term 3!

This week, Rocky River Public School proudly joins schools across NSW in celebrating School Support Recognition Week, a special time dedicated to honouring the amazing contributions of our School Administrative and Support Staff. Our school support staff are the backbone of our school communities. They create calm and well-organised front offices, provide essential one-on-one support in classrooms and to teaching staff, keep school grounds safe and welcoming, and build trusted relationships with families and communities. While their work is often behind the scenes, their impact is deeply felt across every part of school life.

I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Anne, our School Administrative Manager, whose kindness, passion, and unwavering dedication truly make her the backbone of our school’s operations. Nicole, our committed and positive SLSO, continually goes above and beyond to uplift everyone around her. Helen, our hardworking General Assistant, consistently shows initiative and integrity as she enhances our school grounds. Faye, an SLSO in training, is already making a wonderful impact with her kindness and responsiveness to student needs. Abby, who supports us every Friday as an SLSO, bringing warmth and attentiveness that greatly benefits our students.

Together, these incredible staff members contribute enormously to our school community. On behalf of everyone at Rocky River, thank you for your dedication, professionalism, and care - you truly make a difference every day.

Great Aussie Bush Camp: Years 3-6

We were pleased to attend a Zoom meeting with the Thunderbolt Alliance Year 3-6 students yesterday afternoon, receiving a thorough overview of what to expect at camp next week. Logan from the GABC team explained all of the exciting things students have to look forward to; from activity details to a day-by-day breakdown of the menu. We hope students are ready to start packing. We look forward to the early bus trip from Uralla on Monday - the countdown is on!

Aboriginal Mural Community Consultation Meeting

Thank you to all who attended our second community consultation meeting for the Aboriginal Mural design, which will be permanently fixed to the front of the new Rocky River school building next year. On Monday 31st August at 4pm, we welcomed members of the Uralla AECG, senior Anaiwan community elders and members, as well as Rocky River parents and staff to meet and discuss the design progress, held at Rocky River Public School.

Mima Dave Widders shared a rough outline of the design (the purple you see will be the Rocky River maroon), with specific additions discussed and agreed upon; such as the inclusion of three significant animals, some meaningful text in Anaiwan language, and symbols which represent the generations of families who have moved through the Rocky River community over time.

Our third and final meeting is set for Monday 26th October at 4pm (Week 3, Term 4) where the complete design will be shared with us, including a copy of the digital design to be printed on new student and staff uniform shirts.

As we endeavour to strengthen partnerships with our local Aboriginal community and celebrate the rich Aboriginal history of the land on which we work, learn and play, we look forward to welcoming all interested community members to attend our final meeting for this special project.

School Rebuild Project

An official project update will be issued this month (September). The following interim update has been provided by the project manager:

• Construction is progressing well and remains on schedule. The building is now emerging above ground level. The walls have been built up to the floor level, and everything is almost ready to pour the concrete floor.  
• The new school building has moved through several important milestones to reach this stage, including design development with MCA Architects and site preparation ahead of construction. We thank the school community for their patience and understanding as the project continues. 
• Thank you for your patience and support as we deliver this important project and we'll keep the community updated as construction progresses. If you have questions about the project, you can contact the department on 1300 482 651 or schoolinfrastructure@det.nsw.edu.au during business hours from Monday to Friday between 9 am and 5 pm. 

New School Fencing Upgrade

A start-up meeting occurred on Friday 28th August 2026 with the Project Manager Tom Murray, the contractor and I. Tom is working with planning to deliver the project in a timely manner. This project is expected to begin in about a month, with the full duration of the project only expected to be about 2 weeks. Tom and the contractor are working with neighbours to ensure suitable placement on the legal boundary fenceline.

Good luck at North West Trials!

We wish the best of luck to Elyse Swilks and our Nigel Bagley Relay team; Lucy, Chanse, Finn and Patrick who will compete at the North West Athletics Trials on Friday 4th September in Tamworth. We are very proud of our our students and the phenomenal sportsmanship we know they will showcase at this event.

Book Week Dress Up - Week 9

This years Book Week Dress up parade will occur at our second assembly of Term 3, in Week 9 (Friday 18th September at 2pm) in conjunction with the Diggings RFS Get Ready visit from the local RFS crew! We look forward to seeing everyone's exciting costumes at this event.

Save the Date - Presentation Day 2026

Presentation Day will be held offsite again at Uralla Central School, on Friday 11th December at 9am-11am (Week 9, Term 4). We will host Rocky River’s Got Talent at 11:30am-12:30pm. We look forward to sharing more information in due course but hope you can save this date for this important celebration of learning!

2026 NRL & NRLW Grand Final Raffle

A friendly reminder that ticket sales close at 10:00 am this Friday, 4 September 2026. The raffle will then be drawn at 2:00 pm on the same day at Rocky River School. The draw will be conducted by school staff with student representatives assisting. To ensure the draw is fair and transparent, it will be filmed and shared on our school Facebook page. All funds raised will go towards our new school playground, which will be built once our new school building project is complete. Thank you for supporting the Rocky River school community. Every ticket purchased helps us create an exciting new play space for our students!

To buy a ticket go to: https://tickets.rafflelink.com/rocky-riverpandc

Good luck, and thank you for your support.

Gabi Gabun Play Sessions

We love seeing little ones aged 0-5 attending the Gabi Gabun service at our school. Sessions are 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.

Transition to Kindergarten 2027

Our transition program for students commencing at Rocky River Public School in 2027 will run on Mondays in Term 4, 2026. Please see the flyer below and contact our school office to let us know you're coming.

You can enrol your child online now: https://rockyriver-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/ 

Dani Clyde-Smith

Principal