From the Principal's Desk

Athletics Carnival - This Friday

Our 2024 athletics carnival will be held on Friday at the Uralla Sporting Complex.  The day will start at 9am and will be finished by about 2.30-3.00pm. All students from Kindergarten to Year 6 will be participating in this carnival. Woolbrook, Yarrowitch and Niangala schools will also join us for the day however they won’t directly compete against our students.

IMPORTANT: Students who normally travel to and from school by bus will still catch the bus as normal but will be dropped off and picked up at the Uralla Sporting Complex. All other students must be dropped off and picked up at the sporting complex and not at school as there won’t be any staff on duty at school.

There will be a canteen operating on the day. 

Students are required to wear school sports uniform and bring a hat, sunscreen and water bottle. There won’t be a set time for recess or lunch, students will eat between their events in order to save time and get through the program before the end of the day.

Please click the links below for further information:

Grip Leadership Conference - Year 6

Students in Year 6 will join over 300 other students from across the region at the GRIP Leaders Conference in Armidale.  This is an annual event for our students as they learn about being a leader and are provided strategies in how to make changes as part of their role.  We look forward to seeing how they use their new skills as part of their school leader role back at school.

Eisteddfod Preparation

Students in Upper Division are busy preparing for their event at the Armidale Eisteddfod on Thursday 23rd May.  Our students will be competing in two sections, a small school ensemble group and small school choir group.  We will have further information soon!

Book Fair - This Week

 We currently have a Book Fair in the bottom classroom all week. Books and merchandise are on sale for families to purchase if they wish. The school receives a commission from sales which we use to purchase resources for our library and classroom use.

The Book Fair is open from 8.30am each morning and until 3.30pm each afternoon. The last day for purchasing is Monday morning until 9am.

External Validation

Every 4 years, all public, high and central schools undertake an external validation.  This is a process where we assess ourselves against the School Excellence Framework and provide evidence and examples to justify our assessments.  The process is not an audit, rather an opportunity to reflect and make on-balance judgements about our programs and systems.  As a staff, we are all working hard on preparing our submission which will result in a panel discussion in September.  Once we have completed the process, we will have a very clear direction in creating our new school plan for the next four years.

Assembly - Next Friday

Our first assembly for Term 2 will be held Friday 17th May from 2.15pm.  As always, we welcome all members of our school community to come along and join us.

Relieving Principal

Expressions of Interest to relieve as principal of Rocky River have been distributed by the Department of Education. This is being managed by the Director for the Armidale Principals Network, Matt Hobbs. I will conduct a thorough hand over to the successful applicant to ensure our programs and events continue without any interruption. My last day at Rocky River will be on Friday 31st May.

PSSA Zone Cross Country

Information has been sent home for those students who have qualified to attend the PSSA Zone Cross Country event at UNE on Friday 24th May.  Please read through the information and return permission notes to the school as soon as possible. Congratulations to all of our students who have made it to such a high level! Well done!

CPR Training for Students

Once again we will hold CPR and emergency care training for our students in Upper Division on Monday 20th May.  The sessions are conducted by Surf Life Saving Australia and provide students with some skills in managing an emergency, including first aid, if they are ever in such a situation. The program is fully funded by the school.

Congratulations Harrison!

Congratulations to Harrison (Year 4) on his selection for the Armidale PSSA Zone Cricket Team for 2024.  This is a fantastic achievement Harrison.  Well done!  We look forward to seeing Harrison playing later in the year as part of this representative team.

Congratulations Naomi!

We also congratulate Naomi (Year 6) on her selection to the Children's Ensemble for Opera Australia!  Naomi performed at an audition late last term and was successful in her application to be a part of the ensemble group from Armidale. Well done!

Let's Hang It! - Reminder

Just a reminder to those students wishing to submit an art work for the UNE/NERAM Let's Hang It! exhibition to have their completed work, plus their signed entry form to Miss Miller by Tuesday morning.  We cannot accept late entries.  In the past, we have achieved great results from this event so I encourage interested students to consider entering their work!

Have a great week!

Brad Hunt

Principal