Principal's Message

This  week marks the end of a busy school term and semester. Next term will start at a frenetic pace, with athletics field events, 100 Days of Kindergarten, Stage 2 Thalgarrah visits, the Opera House Choir excursion, Stage 3 Great Aussie Bush Camp, and Education Week all occurring within the first few weeks.

NAIDOC Week

This week, Ben Venue will be holding NAIDOC celebrations ahead of the official NAIDOC Week occurring in the school holidays. Throughout this week, there will be dance workshops, language workshops, damper cooking and class-based activities occurring across all stages. Regular learning programs will also continue, but will be adjusted to accommodate the week's activities.

P&C Bunnings sausage sizzle

Thank you to our small but dedicated team of volunteers who, led by President Jodie Andrew, raised nearly $1000 for the P&C to support our school and students last weekend. As always, your support is greatly appreciated.

Sporting  selections

Congratulations to Eliza Magann, Grace Ince and Sofia Hogan who tried out for the North West touch team last Wednesday. The girls displayed great sporting attitude and took on feedback from the team coordinator.

Congratulation also to Lachlan Percival, who was selected to play in the North West rugby union team, and to Nate Archibald and Imogen Holmes, who have been selected to play in the NSW PSSA Football Championships.

High potential and gifted extension

At Ben Venue, we pride ourselves on the support provided for students striving to reach stage outcomes, as well and the variety and quality of support for students achieving at higher levels in the four domains of potential - intellectual, creative, physical and socio-emotional. Below are some of the extension opportunities that Ben Venue students have been involved in so far this year:

Literacy extension groups -18 students

Orchestra - 14 students

Art Unit dance workshops - 17 students

Arts Unit drama workshops - 25 students

Visual arts camp - 4 students

Art competitions - 20 students

Science camp - 25 students

Debating - 10 students

Public speaking - 4 students

Aboriginal cultural extension opportunities - 24 students 

Leadership development and community service - 36 students (Year 6)

Student Representative Council - 36 students (Years 1-6)

Representative sport - many students

2026 Kindergarten enrolment

2026 enrolment interviews are currently underway and it has been lovely to meet with many of our future students this term. It is tremendously helpful for both school planning and provision of any required individual transition support if families approach their school for enrolment before the end of July.

If you are seeking enrolment at Ben Venue in 2026, please contact the school office to book an interview at your earliest convenience.

Uniform standards and sunsafe hats

Increasingly, students are modifying their school hats in a manner rendering them no longer sunsafe. From the first day back in Term 3, students will only be allowed to play in the sun with a sunsafe school hat. This gives students time to restore their hats to an appropriate condition or, in the case of badly damaged hats, purchase a $12 replacement from the office. Support in the case of financial hardship is available by contacting the Principal.

In addition to maintaining sun safety, I ask for the support of families to help foster a sense of pride in the Ben Venue uniform. Dressing well, in full and correctly worn school uniform shows self-respect, represents belonging to our school community and valuing the educational opportunities provided.

Academic reports

Academic reports for all students will be published in the School Bytes Parent Portal (under 'resources') at the end of this week. Parents/carers will also receive an email containing a copy of their child's report.

The Ben Venue PS reporting template has been updated to reflect the new state-wide guidelines. The new template aims to enhance readability and clarity regarding each student's effort and achievement in each subject. All reports retain the general comment and student self-reflection. 

We invite you to make an appointment with your child's class teacher early next term should you have any questions regarding their report.

I wish everyone a safe and enjoyable break. 

Students return to school on Tuesday 22 July.

Cam Pryce

Principal