Dear Parents,

Welcome back, everyone. I hope you had a wonderful break. The staff are well rested and are excited to welcome all of our children and parents to the 2024 school year. Children have been settled into their tentative classes today. We are currently finalising classes and hope to have all official classes in place next week. If any parents have any queries regarding class structures, please contact the school.

We welcome to our school Ms Heather McLean, Miss Leah Barber, Ms Abby Palay and Mrs Shell Hanrahan. We welcome all of our new staff to our team and know they will enjoy teaching at Bathurst PS.

Today we have welcomed our new Kindergarten children and parents to Bathurst Public School. The children and staff have had a wonderful day in the Kinder classrooms and have been involved in lots of activities.

Lots of work has occurred over the holiday period around the school. Painting externally and internally, plumbing, carpeting in the Library, work on the external school grounds and an excellent project supported by our P&C; building a vertical garden in the top quad area. We thank Stephen Rogers for the work he has done over the holidays planning, preparing, building and planting succulents in the vertical garden. The vertical garden is a welcome change to a very big plain brick wall. Thank you again, Stephen.

The Induction Ceremony for our 2024 Leadership Team will be held next Tuesday 6th February in the McMullen Hall. Parents and friends are welcome to join this on this special occasion.

Sentral Parent Portal - All of our notes for all activities are published on the Sentral Parent Portal. Please ensure you have access to the portal. You can give permissions and pay for activities also using Sentral. Please refer to the Sentral page for further information on how to access the Sentral Parent Portal.

Trixie - Most parents have now met 'Trixie', our school Assistance dog. Trixie is highly trained by Assistance Dogs Australia and is fully accredited. We have teachers who are trained in handling Trixie at all times. Trixie is rostered to go into all classrooms throughout the term. Trixie is a very loved member of our school community. All parents and friends are reminded to not bring any pets including dogs and cats onto the school grounds at any time.

Extra Curricular Activities will be commencing soon. Further information will be placed in the Newsletter next week. This week we have information for anyone interested in joining the School Band. Please refer to the Band page for further information.

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 of our children and staff. We have a number of children that are deemed as flight 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.

Classroom Stores - All children will be supplied with books, pens, rulers, scissors, glue sticks, and other classroom needs to use at school. Children will need to have pens, pencils and glue sticks to complete their homework at home.

On Thursday 8th February, our Annual School Swimming Carnival will be held at the Manning Aquatic Centre. Children in Years 3-6, as well as those children in Year 2 who are turning 8 this year and can swim 50m unaided, are eligible to attend. Notes have been sent home via the parent portal today. Parents are very welcome to attend the school swimming carnival.

Our School Photos will be taken on Thursday 15th February. We will be using Advanced School Photography. Envelopes for school photos have been sent home today. Family photo envelopes are available from the front office.

As a staff, we continue to modify our Assessment and Reporting practices so we can ensure parents obtain feedback each term on their child’s progress from their child’s classroom teacher. At any time, if parents have any concerns or issues about your child’s learning, you are encouraged to contact the school to make an appointment to speak with your child’s classroom teacher. The Assessment and Reporting schedule for 2024 is:

Term 1 Week 5 – Thursday 29th February – Support Unit Parent/Teacher Interviews
Term 1 Week 6 - Tuesday 5th March- Friday 8th March – Parent/Teacher Interviews
Term 2 – Semester 1 Reports home
Term 3 – Parent/Teacher Interviews
Term 4 - Semester 2 Reports home

Parent/Teacher Interviews have been organised for Thursday 29th February for the Support Unit classes and Tuesday 5th March - Monday 8th 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 2024 school year, plans for the school year, class expectations, and parent expectations. The parent portal will be set up late next few week to allow parents to book their meeting time. Teachers will contact parents regarding your allocated time prior to the interviews.

Interview Dates for the calendar;

Thursday 29th February- Support Class Parent Teacher Interviews
Tuesday 5th March - Stage 2 Parent Teacher Interviews
Wednesday 6th March - Stage 1 Parent Teacher Interviews
Thursday 7th March - Stage 3 Parent Teacher Interviews
Friday 8th March - Kindergarten Parent Teacher Interviews

Food Allergies - We do have several children at our school who have peanut and nut 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 that contain nuts in them to school.

Canteen - The school canteen will operate every Friday throughout the year. The first canteen day is this Friday 2nd February. Mrs Chaffey will manage the school-operated canteen. The menu and how to order using Flexi schools is in this newsletter. If any parents can volunteer on any Friday, please contact the school. We would love to see you!

General Reminders:-

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.
When parents, friends and visitors come to the school during the day, they should QR code before entering the premises. This is a Legal and Health and Safety requirement and is followed for the safety and security of all children and staff. There are no longer pen and paper sign in sheets; the QR coding is now an electronic visitor register for each school.
We continue to encourage parents to make appointments to come and talk about your child’s progress, problems that may arise, ideas etc. It is reminded that the education of your child is a team effort with teachers and parents being the main stakeholders. With this in mind, it is an important reminder that the parent/teacher relationship always needs to be cohesive and supportive and one of mutual respect. I am sure we will continue to work with one another in a positive manner for the betterment of every child at our school.
All permissions and payments for activities can now be made on the Sentral Parent portal.

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

Kate White

Principal