Student Reports

From this term, we’re introducing updated school reports.

• The new format has been developed by the NSW Department of Education in response to feedback from parents and educators to make reports easier to read and understand.

• Your child’s report will still show their progress across all subject areas.

• Teacher comments will appear in English, mathematics and the general comment section, in line with department policy.

• The general comment for Kindergarten also covers all other key learning areas including, creative arts, HSIE, PDHPE, and science and technology.

• A new achievement scale and descriptions are included to provide a clearer picture of your child’s progress in Years 1-6.

Parent–teacher interviews remain an important way to discuss your child’s progress and achievement in more detail. Tamworth West Public School parent-teacher interviews will be held in weeks 9 and 10 of this term. Schedules will be communicated in the coming weeks. 

We welcome your feedback or questions about the new report format

Staffing

Ms Dee Burns will be taking leave from this week until the end of week 9. In her absence, Mrs Erin Hickey will be teaching 5B. We welcome Mr Nick Driscoll back as a School Learning Support Officer for the remainder of the term. 

Gates

We would like to express our gratitude for your continued support regarding our morning gate opening times. Please remember that teachers are officially on duty in the playground starting at 8:55am. Before this time, there is no supervision available for students. Gates open at 8:25am, and we kindly ask that students remain seated under the COLA until 8:55am for their safety and the effective management of the school. It is crucial that teachers can use their preparation time without needing to manage student behaviour.

Additionally, please note that the gates automatically lock at 9:26am to ensure the safety of all students. Parents who are on school grounds after 9:25am will need to exit through the Bridge St gates. We understand that this may not always be convenient, depending on parking locations, but the safety of our students is our top priority. Any students arriving after 9:25am must enter through the Bridge St gates, and an adult must provide an explanation for their lateness.

The music that plays at 9:21am serves as a reminder for students to head to class, and we encourage parents to use this signal to exit the school grounds before the gates automatically lock.

Thank you for your cooperation in ensuring the safety of our students. We appreciate your understanding and support.

Major Excursions Stage 2 and 3

We are excited to remind you that the major excursions for Stage 2 and Stage 3 are just around the corner! These trips offer students a fantastic opportunity to explore Sydney (Stage 2) and Canberra (Stage 3), aligning with our HSIE units while providing a valuable social experience.

Payment schedules have been shared with families, but if you prefer, you are welcome to make smaller, more regular payments leading up to the designated dates.

These excursions are made possible by the commitment of our teaching staff, who generously volunteer their time to accompany the students for three or four days. It's important to note that they do not receive days in lieu or additional pay for these overnight trips. Therefore, we encourage you to express your gratitude to our teachers when they depart for the excursion and upon their return — a simple thank you goes a long way.

Thank you for your support and involvement!

Sara Spinks

R/Principal

NSW Public Schools Survey

In Term 2, we are offering our students the opportunity to participate in the NSW Public Schools Student Survey. The survey gives students the chance to share their thoughts and feelings about life at school, including questions about their engagement, learning experiences and wellbeing at school.

Hearing directly from our students will help us understand what’s working well and where improvements can be made to our school. The survey is confidential, takes around 10 to 15 minutes to complete, and will be conducted online during school hours.

Participation is voluntary. If you prefer your child not to participate, please complete the opt-out consent form, which has been provided on School Bytes, Further information about the survey is available at https://education.nsw.gov.au/npss

-Jo Sheedy

Deputy Principal

New P&C Secretary

We would like to send out a warm welcome to Amy Reading, who has been voted in as the new Secretary for the P&C! 

Mother’s Day Stall

Thank you to everyone for participating in our Mother’s Day Stall. It was wonderful to see all the students excitedly buying their loved ones a gift. We hope you all had a wonderful day!

Clothing Pool

The clothing pool is still full of jumpers and a variety of winter clothing. It is run by Jenni who advertises regularly on the Parents & Carers Facebook page. If you’re after any uniform items please comment on one of her posts or send her a message.

Next Meeting

Our next meeting will be Monday 16 June at 5.30pm in the staff room and on Zoom. It would be great to see some more faces. There are no commitments when coming to a meeting, but it is great to see new faces and gain new ideas for the P&C. 

-Laura Jahnke

P&C Vice President

Canteen Menu - WINTER 2025 [Download]

Yaama Maliyaa

Aboriginal education at TWPS is forging ahead with some great activities underway and more planned for the remaining of the term. 

I am actively collaborating with teachers and students in every classroom throughout the school. My focus includes supporting Personalised Learning Pathways, where I assist students in identifying and achieving their individual goals. For instance, I am helping stage 2 students enhance their artistic skills and understanding of Aboriginal symbols, guiding a stage 3 student in reaching his soccer aspirations, and working with students at all levels who wish to improve their spelling and handwriting skills 

We have Aboriginal dance groups starting on Monday lunch times with Aaliyah Morley, with identified students from Kindergarten to Year 6. These students will be performing at our annual NAIDOC assembly in week 10.

Opportunity Hub

We are excited to announce the launch of the Opportunity Hub, which will begin holding lessons for Year 6 students every fortnight on Thursday mornings. These sessions will emphasise culture, sport, and wellbeing. 

Junior AECG

Our Junior AECG is official, and the following students have been elected to positions.  

Harry Unger - President 

Layla Hatch - Vice President 

Brooklyn-Grace Furney - Secretary 

Scott Hawkins - Deputy Secretary 

NAIDOC Assembly

Please save the July 2 as the date for our NAIDOC assembly with more details to be released closer to the date.

-Dykota Hammond

Relieving Aboriginal Education Officer

Term 2 continues to be a busy time for kindergarten! 

Maths

In maths, we have been exploring the concept of 'friends of 10' and practicing adding various number combinations. We've incorporated a variety of counting resources, and many students find using hands-on equipment both enjoyable and beneficial. Additionally, we've been developing 'Number Talk' language skills, which encourages students to articulate the thought processes behind their answers. 

Literacy

In Literacy, Kindergarten is further enhancing their understanding of sounds and letters while learning to blend these sounds to form words. We have been reading books that explore the life cycle of butterflies and various bugs. Our new narrative text, “Shoes from Grandpa,” requires students to identify the beginning, middle, and end of the story. We also focus on the sequencing of events, helping students arrange them in the correct order. 

Life Education Van

We are excited to welcome the Life Education Van back to our school! A big thank you to the parents who have already submitted their payments. Programs like this add great value to our learning experience. Both KC and KW will participate in the program during Week 6 of this term. Please note that students must have completed their payment to attend. 

Reminders

Clothing

Teachers consistently encourage students to store their belongings in their bags; however, we are experiencing an increasing number of missing clothing items. We kindly ask that you label all personal items and remind your child to put their things away properly.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

-Melinda Wilson, Jordana Cooper, Alle Wirth

Kindergarten Teachers

Term 2 saw all stage 1 students participate in online assessments. Students in grades 1 and 2 have consistently used the Essential Assessment platform to evaluate their understanding of concepts taught in class. Week 4 also saw students display their comprehension through the PAT testing. Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Cooper both assisted in implementing the assessment, and the results have been analysed, indicating our areas of strengths and weaknesses in reading.

English

In Year 1, students have been exploring the concept of 'context.' They identified nouns and their corresponding pronouns, which helped them understand how these elements function within sentences. Additionally, they learned to write compound sentences, which enriched their writing by connecting ideas. Students recognised different types of settings in texts, allowing them to appreciate the environments in which stories take place. Furthermore, they practiced writing prepositional phrases to add detail to their sentences. Through these activities, they developed the ability to use logical order to sequence ideas and events across a text, enhancing their overall comprehension and writing skills.

Year 1 enjoying some netball in the sunshine for sport this term.

English

Year 2 students have been studying a book called Great White Shark, a hybrid text that supports the textual concept of context. Students learnt to use a mind map to record information on great white sharks and seals, then wrote informative sentences using a mix of simple, compound and complex sentences. They also used a visual glossary to explain the meaning of words from the text, such as serrated, electroreception and carcass. Students were able to use computers to identify and use navigational pathways on websites to gather information to assist with their writing tasks.

Maths

In mathematics, Year 2 students developed knowledge, understanding and skills of data and chance, and their interconnectedness. They were provided with opportunities to investigate topics of interest by choosing suitable questions and collecting relevant data. They also learnt how to select appropriate methods to display and interpret data. Students then were able to use data to reason about possible outcomes in familiar activities. Students continue to learn that mathematics is everywhere – in some of our favourite picture books and even when looking at superheroes!

Exploring some Chinese items from Mrs Mrs Harris...

Cooler Weather

As the weather turns cooler, our little ones may find themselves feeling hungrier than usual. To keep their energy levels up during the day, we encourage parents to pack some extra nourishing snacks in their lunchboxes. Let’s keep our kids fuelled, focused and ready to learn!

-Kirrily Milton, Sam Deaves, Kathleen Harris, Chris Lyon

Stage 1 Teachers

Welcome to the June newsletter. We are more than halfway through the term and things are still very busy across the school and Stage 2.

Students are enjoying the units of work that we have been doing in English. It is great to discuss the ways that authors use different literary devices such as humour, alliteration or a great story starter to persuade the reader. We look forward to being able to put this knowledge into action while we complete our own writing. 

Year 3 English

This term, Yr 3 have been studying the text Wandi by Farrel Parrett. This text is based on the true story of a pure Alpine dingo that was found injured in the Victorian bush and was taken to the Dingo Discovery Sanctuary.

As one of our activities for the unit our students had to create a poster to persuade people to try and save the dingoes. Below are some examples of the posters that were created.

Year 4 English

This term Yr 4 have been studying Ned Kelly and the Green Sash. Students have been working hard on their persuasive pieces. Do you think Ned Kelly is a hero or a villain?

Stage 2 have also been working on their speaking and listening speeches and presenting them to the class. Our teachers have been dazzled by exciting topics such the Hindenburg disaster, stingrays, favourite pets, favourite sports, special family events and famous people. Well done to every student presenting a speech to their class. 

Sport Reps

We have had a number of students represent our school at different sporting events in the last few weeks including tennis, softball and cross country. It is great to see so many students getting in and having a go. Keep up the great effort Stage 2!

Sport

In sport this term we have been focusing on learning and improving our athletics carnival events. These include high jump, discus, shotput, ball games and running. All the students are doing an excellent job and learning new skills to put into practice. Hopefully the rain will stay away long enough for us to keep practicing. 

Sydney Excursion

A reminder that permission to attend the excursion is due soon.  The final payment of Instalment 1 is due on 4 July 2025 (Friday week 10 – Term 2). If your child is no longer attending the excursion please let the school know as soon as possible. We will be having an excursion information night on Tuesday 29 July (Term 3 – week 2) from 5pm-6pm in the school hall. More information will be published soon. 

Upcoming Dates

Other upcoming dates include:

Week 6

Healthy Harold

Week 7

Kings Birthday long weekend (Monday 9 June)

B & G touch football gala day (Thursday)

Week 8 

STEM – Engineers Without Borders (Monday 16 June)

Boys and girls softball gala days (Wednesday 18 and Friday 20 June)

Week 10

NAIDOC Assembly (Wednesday 2 July)

Reports home (Wednesday)

Final payments for excursion due (Friday 4 July)

Warm Clothing

The weather has changed in the last week or so. As the weather turns cold, it is important that students have appropriate clothing with them. Long pants and stockings will keep legs warm and jumpers are important for our top half. Please check with your child that they have adequate clothes for the day to avoid them getting sick! We appreciate your help with this!

Crunch & Sip

Thank you also to parents for packing fresh fruit for our morning crunch and sip. Food doesn’t have to be whole piece (even an apple cut into slices is good) and it makes eating their food while doing our morning routines nice and easy.

The stage 2 teachers look forward to continuing to work with you this term. Thank you to our parents and staff for everything you do to support our students at school. 

-Felicity Bagshaw, Jonathan Willis, Hannah Roworth, Courtney Lyon

Stage 2 Teachers

We have had a busy but fantastic start to Term 2. With the cooler weather settling in, it is great to see our Stage 3 students all wearing correct jumpers and jackets, well done! We have had lots of sporting trials and gala days this term already and it is great to see so many of our stage 3 students participating in a wide variety of sports with such enthusiasm and teamwork.

English

Year 5

This term, year 5 is diving into the captivating picture book "One Small Island" by Alison Lester. This unit focuses on the beautiful story of a small island and its unique wildlife, fostering an appreciation for nature and environmental themes.

Students are engaged in various interactive activities, including storytelling and discussions about the island's ecosystem. Through these explorations, they are developing their vocabulary and comprehension skills while learning about the importance of conservation.

They are currently working on a persuasive writing piece on a chosen world heritage site which is going to highlight all of the fantastic facts they have been learning about over this unit. 

Year 6

This term, year 6 students are delving into the thought-provoking novel "Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief" by Katrina Nannestad. This unit invites students to explore themes of friendship and resilience through the eyes of young characters navigating challenging circumstances during World War II.

Throughout the unit, students are engaging in stimulating discussions, character studies, and creative writing activities that foster empathy for the characters' experiences.  They are also examining the historical context of the story, enhancing their understanding of the overcoming adversity in individuals and communities.

We are excited to see how their insights will evolve as they connect these themes to their own lives and reflect on the importance of compassion and courage.

Athletics for Sport

This term, our stage 3 students have been participating in athletics rotations for sport. This has been a great experience for the students to mix with students from other classes while practicing their skills in high jump, shot put, discuss, relays and ball games for the upcoming sports carnival. 

Paddock To Plate

Stage 3 has been very fortunate this term to be able to participate in ‘Paddock to Plate’ lessons at Peel High School. These lessons have been extremely engaging and informative and the students are having so much fun exploring the agricultural elements of the school. Upcoming visits will include more exploration with the animals as well as a visit to the cooking rooms to create a delicious meal. We thank Miss May and Peel High school for organising this awesome experience.

Canberra Excursion

We thank the families for your prompt response to permission notes for our upcoming Canberra excursion. We have received the itinerary from Macphersons Coaches and it is going to be an amazing week for our students and staff. Outlined on the information sent out last week was also the schedule for payments but feel free to pay off these amounts in smaller intervals if you wish to do so. We hope to see you all at our excursion information session on July 29 at 5-6pm.

Personal Health

As we continue to promote health and wellbeing within our school community, we want to emphasise the importance of personal hygiene and the role of deodorant in maintaining it. Good hygiene practices are essential not only for physical health but also for social interactions and self-esteem.

Using deodorant can help prevent body odour and promote a fresh feeling throughout the day. Students are welcome to pack roll-on deodorant in their bags but please ensure no aerosol cans are brought to school.

We encourage parents and caregivers to have open discussions with their children about hygiene routines and the appropriate use of deodorant, ensuring they feel comfortable and informed. Together, we can foster a healthy and supportive environment for all of our students!

Upcoming STEM Workshop

Years 3-6 have been fortunate enough to gain a free workshop for our students from Engineers without Borders on the June 16. This non-for-profit organisation is dedicated to promoting humanitarian engineering. The workshop that year 5 and 6 will participate in focuses on Renewable Energy. Students will create a simulation wind turbine that maximises energy generation. Students will also learn about different forms of renewable energy and the real-world application of wind energy.

Technology

We kindly remind all students to hand in any personal devices, such as phones and smart watches, to the front office as soon as they arrive at school in the mornings. We also request that these devices remain in bags upon collection in the afternoons until students have left school grounds. 

Thank you for your cooperation in helping us create a positive and productive school environment!

Welcome to 5B, Miss Hickey!

While Miss Burns jets off on an amazing trip around Europe for the next 4 weeks, we welcome Miss Erin Hickey onto 5B. Miss Hickey has been spending a lot of time in 5B and is well known and respected by the class. We wish Miss Burns all the best for an amazing holiday and we can’t wait to hear all about it when she returns in Week 10. 

As always, we thank you for your ongoing support and we look forward to touching base with you all at our upcoming parent teacher interviews in Weeks 9 and 10.

-Kahla May, Grace Firth-Panetta, Emily Roworth, Dee Burns, Sally Nuske

Stage 3 Teachers

We have had a great start to the term! 

Science

In science, we have been learning about living things. We talked about how to identify living and non-living things and conducted experiments with flowers and coloured water to see how plants absorb water.

PDHP

In Personal Health and Development, we have been learning about sharing and kindness. We have been practicing sharing toys and taking turns during games. Students also created beautiful rainbow fish, and we then shared special silver scales to put on our fish.

Welcome!

We have some exciting news… A new kindergarten student has joined K-1N. Welcome, Cali! Everyone is settling into the new routine and building new friendships and connections.

English

In 2/6P, we are having a fantastic time diving into our new English unit focused on space! Our exploration of English concepts is engaging and enjoyable, making learning both fun and exciting.

Maths

In addition to our English studies, we've been delving into the world of shapes and symmetry. The students have created some beautiful symmetrical artworks that showcase their creativity and understanding of these concepts.

Music

We’re also thrilled to start our new music unit, where we are learning to play the recorder. It’s a wonderful opportunity for the students to express themselves musically!

Damper

Recently, we teamed up with 3/6C to make damper, which beautifully complemented our science units. It was a delicious way to connect our learning!

Overall, we are just having so much fun learning and growing together with our friends at TWPS. We can’t wait to see what adventures lie ahead!

What a busy term we have had!

Soaring Out To Space

We have been exploring the planets in our Solar System and learning to take notes about each one. Our class has learned the planet song and gathered information from it to create simple sentences. We have examined each planet and its unique features and have begun writing information reports. We are developing our skills in sequencing our ideas and expanding our note-taking to create comprehensive sentences. 

Art

In art, 3/6C worked on creating pictures of black holes using oil pastels. We displayed our artwork on the ceiling to give the illusion of a black hole above us. Next, we made poster art with a starry background by flicking white paint onto black cardboard, featuring our astronaut floating in the sky. We cut out circles to represent the planets and added lines to illustrate hills and craters. Our favourite project has been the 3D illusion art, where we imagined an astronaut encountering this fascinating phenomenon in space and discussed whether he would feel scared. The artwork is amazing, and I am incredibly proud of the efforts of all the students. 

Maths

In Maths, we have been exploring symmetry and tessellations. We've created various patterns using blocks, cut out shapes, and made sure they met the lines of symmetry criteria. Currently, our focus in Maths is on multiplication. We introduced the topic by creating arrays, and then expanded this concept onto geoboards. We are now learning our times tables, starting with the twos, fives, and tens. 

Music

For Music our class has join with 2/6P to learn the recorder. Every Friday afternoon you can hear us playing and each week we are getting better and better. We have learnt three notes already which enables us to play three songs. It is a lot of fun and a great way to finish off a week.

Celebration of Learning

Every second Friday, our unit holds a “Celebration of Learning.” This is a time for us to share the wonderful things we have done, learned, or experienced over the past fortnight. All three classes receive a donut or an ice block, and we try to sit together as much as possible to acknowledge and celebrate our fantastic learning. 

Sport Representatives.

Congratulations to Ava and Maddex who both attended the Netball gala day and had a fantastic time. Huge congratulations to Maddex who has been selected to play into the school softball team to play in an upcoming gala day.

Schools Cup Netball Gala Day

30 students from across stage 2 and stage 3 participated in the NSW Schools Cup Netball Gala Day in Week 2, playing against other schools from across our region. The stage 2 team was all about having fun, learning and putting into practice the netball and ball skills they have learnt at school. Our two stage 3 teams played in the competitive division coming away with a few wins. All reports from students said they had a fun day, with a few disappointed this is their last time playing for Tamworth West. Congratulations to Addison Chambers, Keiane Lingat and Emily Vesey for receiving the Coaches Award for the day. A huge thank you to Miss Ryan, Mrs Crompton and our Oxley High umpire for your assistance on the day. Your time and help were much appreciated!

Schools Zone Cross Country 

On Friday 16 May, 31 students from Tamworth West travelled to Barraba to compete at the Zone Cross Country. The course was held on the Barraba Golf Course, and although it was very wet and the weather was cold, the rain held off. All of our students should be commended for their efforts as we had some really good results with many students in the top 20 for their age group. 

Congratulations to Patrick Miskle who was the 12/13 Year Boys Age Champion after finishing first place in his 3km run. This is an incredible achievement. Evie Glyde placed 4th in the 12/13 Year Girls. This was one place better than she finished last year. Both Patrick and Evie will head to Coolah to compete at the North West Regional Cross Country Trials. Good luck Patrick and Evie! 

State PSSA Trials

Over the last few weeks, we have had a few students representing the North West Region at their respective sporting carnivals. 

Taylor Cattle went to Bathurst to represent at the State Tennis Trials. The North West team finished equal 10th. Taylor played both singles matches and doubles throughout the week and really enjoyed the experience. Being in Year 4, Taylor hopefully will have more opportunities to attend this event. 

Carter Radford recently represented the North West Basketball team in Minto. Carter had a taste of a very high level of basketball and played very consistently throughout the week. Carter and the team finished the tournament with a 44 to 27 win against Barrier helping them to finish 13th overall.

Hamish Blackman had the privilege of representing the North West in Hockey for the second year in a row.  He headed to Newcastle who hosted both the boys and girls PSSA Hockey Championships. Hamish’s team finished with 3 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses, including an impressive 7 to 0 defeat of Sydney West. The North West boys finished 6th overall. 

Congratulations to our North West representatives! 

Gardening club has been in full swing this semester and students have been lucky enough to try some of our home grown tomatoes! Currently in the garden we are growing: tomatoes, onions, lettuce, carrots, sweet potatoes and strawberries. Student have been helpful each week by watering, weeding and planting new fruit and vegetables! 

Teaching and Learning Focus:   

Developing reading stamina

Developing reading stamina in our students is essential for fostering a love of reading and improving comprehension skills. When our students participate in formal testing in reading such as NAPLAN, PAT or Check-in, their reading stamina is tested for up to 40 minutes. 

What is reading stamina?

It’s the ability to read for extended periods without losing focus, comprehension, or engagement. It involves building the capacity to maintain concentration and understanding over a longer duration.