Dear Parents,

It was wonderful to see our parents back on school grounds yesterday for our Infants and Primary Assemblies. Thank you to all of our parents who were able to join us and congratulations to the children who won awards this week.

It has also been lovely to see our children mixing again on the playground now cohorting has eased. The teachers are continuing to revise the expectations of behaviour on the playground with children every day. Next week, children will go directly to the playground when they arrive at school from 8.30am. Parents will also be able to access the office area if required after QR coding at the front gate.

Congratulations to several children who have been selected to represent Bathurst Public School and Western PSSA in a range of sports in the past week. Well done to Milla Cole (Western Girls Cricket), Salman Wally and Max Clements (Western Boys Cricket) and Hannah Skein (Western Tennis). We are all super proud of the accomplishments of these children. Great work everyone.

Good luck to our 19 swimmers who will travel to Dubbo tomorrow, Friday 11th March, to compete at the Western Swimming Trials. We know all of the children are very excited and will represent Bathurst Public School and Bathurst District PSSA extremely well.

Parent Teacher Interviews will be held in week 8, from Monday 14th to Friday 18th March. Each teacher will be provided with one day off class to hold their interviews. Please ensure you have booked your Interview time on the Sentral parent portal or returned a note to school electing your preferred time band so an appointment can be allocated for you to meet with your child's teacher. Parent Teacher Interviews will be held in the McMullen Hall and can be conducted face to face or via phone. Please contact the office and let us know what option you would prefer. Please note, the Interviews for 2M have been moved to Thursday 17th March. The office staff will contact parents in the next day or so to reschedule these interviews. The scheduled days for Parent Teacher Interviews are;

Monday 14th March - KB, KP and KG
Tuesday 15th March - 2I, 2T and 2Mc
Wednesday 16th March - 1G, 1C and 1MW
Thursday 17th March - 5/6C, 5/6D, 5/6W , 5/6B and 2M
Friday 18th March - 3/4L, 3/4S, 3/4M, 3/4C and 4/5A

COVID Restrictions - As you are aware, there have been many changes to the COVID restrictions and guidelines we have been working with. We have planned a very steady change in our school organisation as we move to lift restrictions as we are extremely mindful of the well being of all children and staff. Some reminders about our plan;

We have now moved to symptomatic testing. Tests are to be used at your discretion such as if your child is symptomatic, has flu like symptoms or there are cases in your child’s class.
From Monday 7th March, masks will no longer be mandatory for all staff in Primary school settings. However, those who wish to continue to wear masks will be supported to do so. In line with community settings, workers who support our students in support units and some mainstream classrooms will be required to wear masks while working with students for the remainder of Term 1.
From Monday 28 February, visitors, parents and contractors are permitted back on school sites at the request of the school. All visitors to the school are asked to follow our usual sign-in and sign-out process by QR Coding at the front gate before entering.
We will continue to ensure our core COVID-smart measures are in place, including vaccinations, maximising natural ventilation in learning spaces, continued good hand hygiene practices and enhanced cleaning. We will continue to use the core layered COVID-smart measures to minimise risk when planning activities and events.
Our Easter Hat Parade will go ahead with a completed COVID plan under the COLA on Friday 8th April from 12.00pm-1.30pm for all Kinder, Year 1 and Year 2 children. Children will be asked to make Easter Hats at home and bring them to school for the parade. The children will learn dances in preparation for the Easter Hat Parade. Our annual Easter Raffle will occur and parents and friends are invited to join us.
Parents/Visitors/Contractors - Parent Meetings - Teachers can organise meetings with parents onsite. Parents must QR code in and wear a mask indoors until 7th March (Week 7). Parent/Teacher interviews - Parents will have the option to attend face to face meetings or have a phone interview. Entry will be through the Lambert street gate. Parents will need to check in using the QR code at the gate. Mrs Lepaio will greet all parents at the McMullen hall and check QR codes. Parents accessing front office - From 14th March (Week 8), parents can ring the bell at the gate, QR code in and access the front office. Volunteers - Must QR code in and show double vaccination certificate. P and C Meetings - Can be held on school premises. Parents must QR code in.
Cohorting - Our plan for before school, break 1 and 2 as well as after school from week 8 is outlined below;

Week 8-11

Before School – Students will be supervised in the playground from 8.30am-9.00am (Kinder children in the Kinder quad and Years 1-6 in the top quad and COLA areas).

Break 1 and Break 2 - Kinder, Year 1, Year 2, Support, Stage 2 and Stage 3 move to using open playground (Netball Courts - Year 1 and Year 2 only, Nature Area - Kinder and Support only, Oval – Stages 2 and 3 only, Library - Years K-6, Community Room - Years K-6, Top quad and Canteen area - Years K-6).

After School - Cohorts will continue exiting through different gates in George and Lambert Streets to assist with ease of children leaving school grounds and to assist with social distancing of parents on the footpath areas.

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

Kate White

Principal

Trixie