Dear Parents,

On Tuesday, Bathurst Public School welcomed Ms Simone Hughes, Relieving Director, Educational Leadership, Bathurst Principals Network. Ms Hughes came and visited many of our classrooms, spoke with the children and staff and learned a lot about what makes Bathurst Public School a great school.

Congratulations to the children who represented Bathurst Public School and Bathurst District at the Western Swimming Trials in Dubbo last Friday. We had a wonderful day in the pool. A special congratulations to Addison Jones who has qualified to attend the NSW PSSA Swimming Championships in Sydney on the 10th and 11th April. Addison secured her spot after outstanding performances, achieving;

3rd place – 11 years 50m freestyle
3rd place – 11 years 50m Breaststroke
3rd place – 11 years 50m Backstroke

What a fantastic achievement. Well done, Addison. We are super proud of you.

Our Year 3 and Year 5 children commenced NAPLAN this week, completing the writing assessment yesterday. All of the children tried their absolute best. We are so proud of all the children. NAPLAN will continue for the next week. NAPLAN is an assessment all children in Year 3 and Year 5 complete every year. Students sit assessments in writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. It is the only national assessment all Australian students have the opportunity to undertake. As students’ progress through their school years, it’s important to check how well they are learning the essential skills of reading, writing and numeracy. NAPLAN assesses the literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through the school curriculum and allows parents/carers to see how their child is progressing against national standards and over time. NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process. It doesn’t replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance, but it can provide teachers with additional information about students’ educational progress.

NAPLAN also provides schools, education authorities and governments with information about how education programs are working and whether young Australians are achieving important educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy. Parents will be sent reports once they are released later in the year.

NAPLAN 2025

BPS Years 3 and 5 Test Schedule - Morning Session

Week 7

Monday

Tuesday

11th March

Wednesday

12th March

Thursday

13th March

Friday

14th March

Year 3 and 5

Writing Catch-up Writing Catch-up

Writing

Week 8

Monday

17th March

Tuesday

18th March

Wednesday

19th March

Thursday

20th March

Friday

21st March

Year 3 and 5

Year 3 and 5

Year 3 and 5

Catch-up Testing

Reading

*CoL

Numeracy

* Conventions of Language.

An important target for Bathurst Public School in 2025 is Attendance. Our school staff pride themselves on knowing, valuing and caring for every child at our school. For optimal learning, cultural, social and sporting opportunities to be obtained, children need to be at school every day. Some current attendance facts for Bathurst Public School are below. Please ensure if your child is absent from school that you supply a letter, phone the school or send an SMS explaining the absence.

The current attendance rate for our school is 93.0%.
76.9% of our children are attending more than 90% of the time.
23.1% (105 children) are attending below 90% which is putting them educationally at risk.

Congratulations to KM for having the highest attendance rate, and to 5/6B, 3/4F, 3-6J,

3-6B, and 1/2C for no unexplained absences.

Some general reminders;

Morning Drop Off - teachers commence duty at 8.30am. Parents are asked to drop children off to school anytime after 8.30am each day.
Afternoon Pick Up - we ask parents to ensure they park their car when arriving to pick up children after school from the Lambert Street and George Street sides of the school. All school staff have been instructed to not let children leave the grounds until the car is parked and it is safe to do so. We are trying to ensure that all children leave the school safely and this can only be done if everyone follows the safety advice given to us by Bathurst Council, the RMS, and NSW Police.
Gates around the school - During the school day, all gates around the school will be kept shut. This is for the safety and security for our children and staff. We have a number of children that are deemed as flight/safety risks and keeping the gates closed can ensure all of our children are safe. If parents need to access the school throughout the day, please come to the gate in George Street directly outside the school office.

Information Reminders:-

The School Library is open Break 1 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
Breakfast Club is open from 8.30am-9.00am Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
Lunch Club is open from 1.15pm-1.30pm Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

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

Kate White

Principal