Principal's Message

Welcome to Week 4. With a little over a fortnight of the term behind us, learning is well underway in Years 1-6.

 

This newsletter includes reports from all stages. From this point forward, each stage will provide a report every second newsletter, with two stage reports in each edition.

Welcome to our littlest Ben Venue students

It has been wonderful to welcome our newest students to Ben Venue as they commence their primary education. Their teachers are doing an exceptional job of helping them to feel at home and develop familiarity with the routines of their Kindergarten classrooms.

Thank you to Jodie, our P&C President, for delivering the welcome pack to parents and carers dropping their child to school for the first time.

National Servicemen's Day

Ben Venue PS was once again represented at the National Servicemen's Day memorial service last Sunday, helping our community express appreciation for the sacrifices of servicemen and women in the armed forces and supporting roles. Thank you to Johnny, Zeliya, Archie and Michaela for representing our school.

Upcoming events

Please check the calendar section of each newsletter for upcoming events. Soon, we have Parent-Student-Teacher Interviews, a Kindergarten BBQ and the Year 6 Leadership Team excursion to Sydney.

Attendance

We know that school is the best place to learn. By attending school every day your child will get the most out of their learning and improve their career and life options.

I am proud of the average attendance rate of Ben Venue students. In 2023, 41.7% of students across NSW attended school more than 90% of the time. In the same year, 53.3% of Ben Venue students attended school more than 90% of the time.

When your child is absent it is important you let the school know, including the reason why, on the day or the day before. This helps make sure we know where our students are and offer support for you and your family if needed. Please do not be offended if our office staff or your child's teacher ask you to provide a reason for your child's absence. It is a requirement that we seek explanations for all full day and part day absences. When reasons are provided that do not meet the criteria set by the Department of Education for a justified absence, your child may be marked as 'explained - unjustified'.

If you are having trouble getting your child to school every day or on time, please talk to our school staff so we can work together, because every day counts. 

Missing a day here or there may not seem like much, but absences add up and can negatively impact your child’s learning and wellbeing. When your child misses one day a week, that’s 40 days of school and 8 weeks of learning in one year. Over an entire school journey this adds up to 2.5 years of lost learning.

Cam Pryce

Principal