Yamandhu….hello in Wiradjuri.

Welcome back to Term 2. It has been a fresh and ‘invigorating’ start to the term but there are lots of smiling faces and positive attitudes so we will hold on through the cold weather ‘til Spring arrives.

Today we will celebrate the NAIDOC liturgy with schools in the region. This is a significant celebration/commemoration of NAIDOC Week (National Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observance Committee). It occurs annually in July, and celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians all over the country and overseas. We welcome all our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to our school and celebrate all of our ATSI students achievements, experiences and culture. Thank you to Mrs Maher and Mrs Sannazzaro for their consistent and unwavering support of our students. Also thank you to Mrs Maxwell for her organisation and passion to celebrate NAIDOC in the liturgy. We will share a sausage sizzle with the wider community following the liturgy.

We have started with another heavy agenda for Term 3. We have lamington making/fundraising, Smalls Schools competition and a school snow trip just to name a few. Despite lots of commitments we are still stressing that attendance at the school is vital as students learn best when they are in the classroom with the support of the teacher. We will be chasing some poor attendance issues in coming weeks. 

Unfortunately due to the inclement weather at the end of last  term we had to postpone the inaugural NAIDOC Gudhamangdhuray Schools Games Day. It will now be held at the end of this term. More details and the specific date will be sent home as soon as it is clarified.

Next week we will be sending home the student reports for the NAPLAN Assessment that was completed in March 2023. There are some changes to the reporting system and the students are now placed against proficiency standards (exceeding, Strong, Developing, Needs Additional Support) rather than the traditional bands. In the coming weeks the staff will unpack the reports and identify strengths and areas of concern. Parents will be informed of general findings and any concerns as soon as possible. Please check students’ bags for the NAPLAN envelope.

Please remember that the SCHOOL TIE is part of the school uniform. We expect that all students wear the school tie with their winter uniform and that they wear it correctly.

This is just a reminder for the start of Term 3 about pick up at the end of the school day.  We request that parents do not pick students up from the bus stop of an afternoon which necessitates students walking from the kerb between or in front of buses to the waiting cars on the opposite side. This is a very dangerous practice that can have dangerous possibilities. Please make arrangements to pick up children from Morris St or Temora St or again meet them at the front office rather than the Sutton st bus stop. Each afternoon it is very congested with buses arriving quite quickly and departing quickly that we are trying to keep all our students safe all of the time. I would like to add to this that people are especially vigilant on Morris St as well because many children are ducking out between cars to cross the road to parked cars or to walk down Thompson St.

Please remember that there is always a reason to be kind and that we may never realise or understand the benefit that it may have to someone’s day if we are kind.

God Bless

Ms Nicky Trinder

Principal