Dear Parents,

It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of our colleague and ex staff member of Bathurst Public School, Mrs Kate Naylor. Kate passed away on Sunday 8th March at home after a long battle with illness. Kate was a passionate Special Education Teacher who was a wonderful advocate for inclusion and children and adults with a disability. Kate was a loyal friend and colleague who was caring and creative. She had a wonderful and wicked sense of humour and was always ready to listen and have a chat. Kate will be missed by all that knew her. Our thoughts and heartfelt sympathy are with her wife, Linda, family and friends.

The excitement is building for the Bathurst Public School Fair. Ourfair will be held on Saturday 14th March from 10am-4pm on the Bathurst Public School grounds. Entry is through the bus bay gate in Rocket Street (near the old dental clinic building). Come young and all, this is bound to be a sensational event. Unlimited ride bands are still available till Friday afternoon. Please see the School Fair page of this Newsletter to purchase one at the early bird rate of $35. Tickets for the sensational raffle are also available. Once again, please see the School Fair page in the Newsletter and use the QR code the secure your tickets in the enormous raffle. 

Tickets for the rides are available through the website below or by using the QR code in the picture below.

https://www.trybooking.com/DIISU

Congratulations to Will Skein who has been selected in the Western Region Tennis Team. Will will represent the Western Region at the PSSA State Championships in Parramatta in May. Super work, Will! We are all so proud of you.

School Sporting Teams

Lots of training and school team trials are occurring in the coming weeks. Please check the School Sports page of the Newsletter for information about individual sports.

Multicultural Public Speaking

If any child in Stage 2 or 3 are interested in being involved in the Multicultural Public Speaking Competition, please see Ms Roberts at school by Wednesday 18th March.

Attendance   * Our current Attendance Target for 2026 is 91%.

                           * We have 398 children enrolled at Bathurst Public School

                           * Our current school attendance rate is 92.2% - another great result.

                           * 69.4% of our children have attended school 90% or more of the time in the                               past week.

                           * In Weeks 5/6, we have had over 30 unexplained absences across the

                             school. Please help us bring this down to 0 by contacting the school if

                             your child is away.

                           * If you are going away on a family holiday or you need to go away for a                                        period of time during the school term, please contact the school so we                                      can assist you to make an application for approved leave.

NAPLAN - has commenced this week. Well done to Year 3 and 5 for trying your very best during these assessments. 

NAPLAN 2026

BPS Years 3 and 5 Test Schedule -

Harmony Day – will be held on Friday 20th March, in Week 8. Students and staff are invited to wear orange or their national dress to school on this day. The colour orange represents harmony and social communication.

The outline of our celebrations is;

12:30pm - 1:20pm - Open classrooms – families are invited to attend and visit their child’s classroom. Families may like to share something about their culture with their child’s class.

1:20pm - 2:00pm - Whole school picnic - parents are invited to sit with children to have lunch or join for play time during Break 2.

We hope it is going to be a very fun day and a lovely opportunity for families in our community to come together.

Aboriginal Parent Meetings - On Tuesday 24th March we will hold Aboriginal Parent Meetings from 3pm-4pm to write Personalised Learning Plans (PLP's). We invite all Aboriginal Parents and their children to join us for afternoon tea and to talk to classroom teachers about goals for the 2026 school year.

General Reminders:-

• Food Allergies - We do have several children at our school who have peanut 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 which contain nuts in them to school. 
• 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.
• All gates around our school are kept closed during the day. This is a to ensure our children and staff are able to learn and play in a safe and happy environment. When parents and friends come to the school during the day, please come to the gate in George street and press the buzzer. The office staff will then open the gate. Please ensure you QR code in (QR code on the gate area). All parents and visitors should present to the front office on arrival.  This is a Legal and Workplace Safety requirement and is followed for the safety and security of all children and staff.

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

Kate White

Principal