Dear Parents,

We are at the end of week 4, our classes are settled and working hard. We have welcomed more new children to our school this week. We know they will love Bathurst Public School as much as we do.

There are lots of events, excursions and extra curricular activities being planned for the year ahead. Our children will have lots of opportunities to be involved in additional activities once restrictions start to lift.

We are hoping that some of our COVID restrictions will begin to change from Monday 28th February. More information will be sent home to parents as soon as it is released by the NSW Department of Education in conjunction with NSW Health. I ask all parents to remain vigilant for any flu like symptoms children may develop. Obviously if children have symptoms, they should remain at home. If your child tests positive to COVID, please inform Mrs White at school.

This week we have had our first Assemblies for 2022. We are super proud of all of our children and how they have settled into school in 2022. Well done everyone. The children met in their Year/Stage groups where awards were presented to some children from each class. The class award winners for Week 4 are;

Big Steps, Little Feet - This Friday 18th February, we will be taking photos of our Kinder classes and school captains and vice captains for the Big Steps Little Feet feature that is published in the Western Advocate each year. Notes have been sent home with children regarding this local feature. Along with the photos, the children's first and last names will also be attached to the class photos. If any Kinder parents have any queries about this photo, please ensure you contact you child's teacher by 9am on Friday 18th February.

Lambert Street Taxi Zone - A reminder that we have a designated Taxi Zone in Lambert Street. Parents and friends should not park in this designated area as we have children that are dropped off and picked up in this area every day.

Assistant Principal Curriculum Implementation - Our school is currently preparing to have our Assistant Principal Curriculum Implementation (ACPI) advertised. This is a full time position . The role of the ACPI will be to support strong instructional leadership models in our school, coordinating professional learning for teachers, monitoring student outcomes, and supporting families to be key partners in student learning.

Thank you to our General Assistant Mr Jim Milne who has been working hard to get our grounds under control as the grass has been growing so rapidly. Mr Milne has also been moving furniture around the school to assist us in creating new learning spaces and has commenced high pressure cleaning of the concrete areas of the school. We have applied for an exemption from Bathurst Council this week to allow us to water the school grounds for an hour a day. It is amazing how much the grassed areas have dried out now that the children are on site and playing everyday.

Bathurst District PSSA Sporting Trials - During Term 1 there are many District Sporting trials. The purpose of the trials is for the Bathurst District to select representatives, to then trial for regional selection across a variety of sports. As the trials approach, we ask our primary students who are interested in trialling to ensure they are of a suitable standard to trial. This generally means participating in the sport of a weekend and playing it to a high standard. Mrs Francis will be informing children of upcoming trials. If any parent requires information about PSSA Sporting trials, please contact Mrs Francis at school.

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

Kate White

Principal

Trixie