Tamworth West Public School

P&C Annual General Meeting

Please be advised that the Annual General Meeting for our school P&C Association will be held from 5:30 pm on Monday 13 March 2023 in the staff room. 

Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend as all positions will be declared vacant. 

Entry to the school for the meeting is via the Denne Street pedestrian gate near the school canteen. 

Upon completion of the Annual General Meeting, the regular March meeting will occur. 

The P&C is an important body within our school and works hard to contribute funds and improve the learning of all of our students. I look forward to seeing you in attendance.

National Assessment Plan – Science Literacy 2023 (NAP-SL)

This year, we have be selected for the NAP-Science Literacy 2023 assessment. The NAP-Science Literacy assessment is overseen by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) and is managed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER).

The National Assessment Program is an ongoing program of assessments designed to measure progress towards the goals outlined in the Mparntwe Declaration, 2019.

In an increasingly technological environment, students who can understand natural phenomena and apply scientific method to make sense of what they experience are at a significant advantage. By interpreting information on scientific issues, asking questions, conducting investigations, making decisions, and communicating their findings, students develop their problem-solving skills and are able to participate more fully in the world around them. The NAP-Science Literacy assessment recognises science literacy as essential to this process.

The NAP-SL assessment is an online test. Students will access it using internet-connected devices.

At our school, a sample of 20 students from Year 6 will undertake the assessment. These students will be randomly selected by ACER. The assessment session will last approximately two hours.

The assessment will be conducted early in Term 2 and further information will be sent home with the randomly selected students in lead-up to the assessment.

Tamworth Show Excursion

On Friday 3 March students have been invited to participate in an excursion to the local show. Students will be able to interact with animals, view a variety of displays, including some students’ artwork, liaise with many community members and observe many different items in the show grounds.

An information and permission note was sent home in week 4 regarding this wonderful opportunity for our students.

I know our students are really looking forward to attending this excursion and I thank Miss Cunneen and Mrs Deaves for organising this.

Please remember that students will not require any additional money for this trip as they will not be going on any rides or purchasing show bags, food or drinks at the show ground. 

Students are required to being a packed morning tea to eat at the show and something additional to eat for afternoon tea. The canteen will be accepting orders as normal and students will have a lunch break on returning to school.

I know our students will have an amazing time.

Student Leaders Induction Ceremony

On Wednesday 8 February, it was an absolute pleasure to be involved in the presentation of badges to our wonderful student leadership team. 

Our student leaders for 2023 are:

General Permission Packs

Last week, I sent home an envelope containing medical information, contact information and permission notes with every student in the school.

As stated in the pack, each year the Department requires an update of medical and contact information for our students. This year we are also required to seek permission for students in all grades to use third-party web and cloud-based service providers and we require consent for our Kindergarten and newly enrolled students to participate in Special Religious Education.

At Tamworth West Public School, we have also decided to try and streamline some processes for both yourself and staff and so we are introducing two general permission notes for participation in local, minor excursions and sporting activities and events.

If you have not yet returned your pack to school, could you please do so at your earliest convenience?

If you require assistance with this, please speak with one of our lovely administration officers or your classroom teacher and they will do what they can to help you.

Moving forward, we are hoping to transfer this process to an electronic permission system which will not only save a number of trees, but also your time.

School Swimming

Our school swimming carnival was held on Friday 10 February. Congratulations to our competitive swimmers who took to the water like fish. Unfortunately, this was such a small number of students. 

It is concerning that we have such limited numbers of students who can, or are willing to, swim 50m of the pool in at least one stroke. 

Upon discussing this, we felt it was important to reintroduce water activities as part of our sports program here at Tamworth West Public School for years 3 to 6. Unfortunately, updated guidelines now require a supervisor to hold qualifications in AUSTSWIM Teacher of Swimming and Water Safety or ASCTA Swim Teacher Australia Certificate, RLSSA Bronze Medallion, Swimming Teacher Rescue Award, SLSA Patrol Bronze Medallion or SLSA Surf Rescue Certificate.

At this stage, we do not have any staff with the above-mentioned qualifications and therefore we have had to postpone our planned water activities for this term.

Please be advised that we are investigating opportunities for staff to obtain these credentials throughout this year but in the meantime, if you are qualified and would be happy to support a school recreational swimming program in the future, please contact me.

I would take this opportunity, however, to encourage all parents and carers to ensure that your children are enrolled in learn to swim classes if they are not able to swim 50m in a pool. This skill could one day save their life.

Thanks for your ongoing support of our wonderful school.

Terrie Kay

Principal

What if my child has to be away from school?

 On occasion, your child may need to be absent from school. Justified reasons for student absences may include:

• being sick, or having an infectious disease

• having an unavoidable medical appointment

• being required to attend a recognised religious holiday

• exceptional or urgent family circumstance e.g. attending a funeral.

Explaining absences

Following an absence from school you must ensure that within 7 days you provide your child’s school with a verbal or written explanation for the absence. At Tamworth West we send automatic text messages to families at 11:30am each day to advise your child has been marked as absent. When you receive this message, you are able to respond to it and explain your child’s absence. This will then automatically feed into Sentral and to the class teacher. At times when an absence has not been explained your child’s teacher will send a blue note home asking for an explanation, or they may phone you. It is important that all absences are explained.

Travel

Families are encouraged to travel during school holidays. If travel during school term is necessary, you are encouraged to discuss this with Mrs Kay, our principal. An Application for Extended Leave may need to be completed. Absences relating to travel will be marked as leave on the roll and therefore contribute to your child’s total absences for the year.

Moving to High School – Year 7 2024

To enrol your child in Year 7 for 2024, you will need to complete an Expression of Interest for Year 6 to Year 7 transition. The Expression of Interest (EOI) is now an online process and lets you indicate which school(s) you would like your child to attend in Year 7.

The EOI process opens on Monday 6 March 2023, and will be available under the Enrolments tab on the Tamworth West Public School website. After you submit an EOI and it has been assessed, your child will be offered a place at a high school.

If your child will not be attending a NSW Government high school next year, please let us know by completing a Placement Not Required form online.

If you are unsure whether they will be attending a NSW Government school (you’ve applied for a private school, or you are moving interstate), we ask that you still complete an EOI and follow up with your school once a decision has been made.

The online process will guide you through your options and collect the information required to make the process as smooth as possible.

For parents/carers who are not able to complete an application online, a paper EOI form can be collected from the school office. If you have any questions, or need assistance, please contact Sara Spinks through the administration office. 

School gates morning and afternoon

It is lovely that COVID restrictions have finally been eased, it feels like we are back to some sort of normality. I wanted to take this opportunity to reassure parents and families that you are very welcome to come through the gates of a morning to bring your children to school and in the afternoon to pick them up. I see many families waiting outside the fences each afternoon and was asked last week by a few parents if they were allowed to wait in the school grounds. Staff will continue to walk students to the main exits, however, if you would like to organise with your children to meet under to COLA, or perhaps under the trees near the kindergarten rooms, you are very welcome to do this. The gates are unlocked at 3:20 each afternoon so please feel free to come in and find a nice shady spot to wait.

Staff Development Day Term 2 2023

The department is excited to announce an entire school development day in 2023 to be focused on Aboriginal Education so that we can have a focused effort on improving outcomes for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students K-12 and increase knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal histories and cultures. At Tamworth West our areas of focus will be:

• Engaging our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Community

• Authentic Personal Learning Pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students

Due to the entire state engaging in professional development in this area on the same day, the experts in these fields are in high demand. Our school has approval from our Director Educational Leadership to participate in our areas of professional learning on Tuesday 7 March and Tuesday 21 March, from 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm. We are very much looking forward to welcoming Michelle Claire and Laurel Swan from the Aboriginal Education Team at Tamworth Education Office, Delivery Support, to lead us in this exciting opportunity. These two professional learning sessions are in lieu of the Staff Development Day scheduled for Monday 24 April. Staff will return on the same day as the students in Term 2, Wednesday 26 April.

Yaama, 

Lots of great things have been happening for our students so far this term. 

Our Yarning circle has been completed with impressive grass trees in the surrounding garden beds. Our beautiful artwork designed by Neo Shepherd (year 6 student 2022) has been installed which provides a great backdrop to the area. We have already had some positive comments from community members who have seen it when passing the school. We will have an opening ceremony later in the term.

Gamilaraay language lessons are continuing this year with Mrs Spicer and students are enjoying time at the yarning circle.

We have also introduced Aboriginal instructional language to support our PBL focus which which takes part at our Monday morning Meet and Greet assembly. 

We look forward to sharing other aspects of our language lessons and further cultural happenings in the future.

Yaluu

Welcome

Welcome to all the new kindy parents and new families across the school and a big welcome back to those of you who are already a part of our wonderful school. We have a small but dedicated team of P & C members and volunteers at TWPS who successfully run a number of fundraising events. 

If you haven’t already, we encourage all families to become a part of the Tamworth West P.S Parents & Carers Facebook Group. Reminders about upcoming events are posted on the page. 

School Hats & Clothing Pool

Our P&C manage the school hats sold through the office, which have just been restocked, and run the clothing pool. It is located in the school near the canteen and opened by one of our volunteers, Jenni. She advertises opening dates and times on the Parents & Carers Facebook Page.

Our P&C also hold the Mother's and Father's Day stalls every year. We have a wonderful group of people that volunteer their time every year to help manage this but we always welcome and encourage some new faces. 

Bunnings BBQs are also a great fundraiser and we try to commit to at least one a year.  To run this successfully we ask helpers to volunteer for a 2 hour shift. It's a great way to meet some other parents and we have a number of amazing teachers who commit their time every year. 

Keep an eye out soon for our Easter Raffle. We would appreciate donations towards the raffle - it could be some Easter craft, chocolate eggs, Easter themed books, anything Easter related. We ask that the donations be given to the office. More information will be sent out closer to the time. The tickets will come home with your children a few weeks before the end of term and the raffle will be drawn at the Easter Hat Parade, Wednesday 5 April.

We hold our meetings on the second Monday of every month (unless Public or School Holidays) in the school staff room at 5.30pm. Entry is through the canteen gate. A reminder will be put on the Facebook page a few days before. 

Our next meeting will be Monday, 13 March which will be our AGM followed by the normal monthly meeting. We encourage new members. In order to be a financial member and eligible to vote there is a $2.00 joining fee. This will be collected prior to the meeting starting. All the positions will open again for the year and we encourage you to attend and consider becoming a part of the team. It's a great way to meet some new people and get involved in the school. 

Last year we managed a number of successful fundraisers and made the decision to work towards making a substantial contribution towards a bus shelter. This is a big project and will mean a few years of fundraising which we will continue this year with our stalls, Easter Raffle, Bunnings BBQ & Christmas Carols. We encourage new ideas and welcome anyone who has a spare minute to help us with our various fundraising efforts. The kids love seeing their parents and their friends' parents helping out. 

Lastly, a HUGE thank you goes out to the amazing members and volunteers who helped last year at our Christmas Carols. It was held for the first time since COVID and was a huge success . A special thank you to the lovely volunteers on the food stand who were too run off their feet to watch any carols, the amazing staff who go above and beyond every year for our wonderful school and the fantastic guests who sang beautifully. 

Canteen Menu [Download]

Welcome to Term 1 from the canteen. I look forward to another great year as Canteen Manager.

Thank you to those who have said they can help with our sausage sizzles; I will be in contact with you.

Due to the food safety regulations I must abide by at the canteen, I am unable to reheat or cook any food sent in from home with your children. I apologise for any inconvenience.

As the weather cools down, I will be making some yummy canteen made meals available to order on flexischools and at the window of a morning. These will include spaghetti bolognese, ham and cheese potato bake, a cheeseburger pasta and a few others. 

I will also be running various specials throughout the year. These will all be available on flexischools only. When I run these specials, I will have them available between specific dates. To order, you order on those dates not for the date the special goes out to the children. This is so I can have numbers in advance.

Thank you for your ongoing support of our canteen.

-Amy

Tamworth West Public School is a Positive Bevahiour for Learning (PBL) school. PBL is a whole school program that encourages positive behaviour and allows students to become responsible for their own actions. Students and teachers work together to create a positive learning environment within our school using consistent procedures, language and expectations.

We have three expectations that underpin teaching and learning at Tamworth West Public School.

These are:

RESPECT

RESILIENCE

RESPONSIBILITY

We encourage students to uphold these expectations to a high standard. Our PBL motto is:

EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE, EVERY TIME

Positive Rewards

We have a school wide behaviour system that recognises and encourages positive behaviour. Students receive raffle tickets for displaying the correct behaviour. 

Weekly Lessons

Students participate in weekly school wide lessons that focus on a specific behaviour which is determined by data. There is a fortnightly focus area taught after each PBL assembly, for example, sportsmanship in games.

RESPECT

• We keep our areas tidy

• We use our manners

• We speak nicely to others

• We keep our hands and feet to ourselves

RESILIENCE

• We accept our consequences

• We use also inclusive

• We seek help when needed

• We solve problems peacefully

Introducing Kindergarten 2023

Kinder have been busy settling into the routines of school life. We have been borrowing from the library with Mrs Ward and learning how to log on to a computer. In English we have been reading quality texts, including ‘Going on a Bear Hunt” by Michael Rosen. For a little fun we all went on a Principal hunt and found Mrs Kay working in her office. In Math we have been learning about attributes and patterns and in Science we have been learning about ‘Living Things’. 

Here is a glimpse of what Kinder have been up to over the last month…

KW have been experimenting during our art lessons. We have been learning how to use different mediums. Through a directed drawing lesson, we produced the cutest pigs using textas and then painted using waterpaints. In week five, we cut up crepe paper and laid it on art paper, spraying it with water. We weren’t sure if it was going to work but we decided to take a risk and see what happens. We left our creative experiments overnight to dry and in the morning we had beautiful backdrops for our self-portraits. 

KV have been busy being creative across all learning areas. Here is a small sample of some of our many creations. 

Coming up:

• Tamworth Show – 3 March: Kinder are very excited about the upcoming outing to the Tamworth Show. Please send in notes and money as soon as possible. 

• Bus Safety Program –  March: Further information will be sent out over the next week. 

• Parent/Teacher meetings  - Week 7 and 8: Instead of an information session, Kindergarten will be conducting 30 minute parent meetings. Bookings will be made on Sentral so when opened, please make a time to come and meet your child’s teacher. 

• Cross Country – 4 April

• Easter Hat Parade – 5 April: Students design and decorate their own hats at home and bring into school for the school Easter Hat Parade. 

From the Kinder Team

We have had a great start to the year in Year 1! We have been learning lots of news things, making new friends and having a lot of fun! 

In Math, we have been learning the friends of ten and using dominos to learn about doubles and near doubles. We have even learnt some fun games to practice our new skills. 

In writing we have been reading the book, “Our Island” by Alison Lester. The students have loved looking at all the beautiful pictures and learning about all the animals that live on Mornington Island. We have been focusing on verbs, adjectives, nouns and noun groups and using these to make some interesting sentences to use in our own class narratives.  

In reading groups, we have been working on our sound knowledge and blending skills. The children’s reading is improving everyday and we can’t wait to see the growth that will occur throughout the year. 

Year 2 have settled in quickly and happily to the new school year.  We welcome our new families who have joined our school community. It is always exciting to make new friends. 

In Mathematics, Year 2 have been learning about patterns. We have explored number patterns, repeating patterns and have learnt about pattern cores and how to record them. 

We have investigated the attributes and properties of 2D shapes.

We enjoyed playing games that reinforced our learning activities, such as how to use ten frames for addition and subtraction, trading MAB blocks during place value tasks and exploring the properties of numbers. 

In English, we have been learning and writing about what it means to be Australian. We have explored our local area and identified things that are meaningful to us. We have shared special moments in our lives and explained why they are so important. We are learning about tier 1, 2 and 3 words and how using a variety of them enhances the quality of our writing.

For Sport, Year 2 have been practising our dance moves. We really enjoyed the Heel and Toe Polka and quickly mastered the rotating partner version.

In Geography, we are learning about the continents, the oceans and Australia’s location on a world map. In Science, we are exploring living things.

-Stage 1 Teachers

Wow! What a busy start to our 2023 school year! 

We have already had a busy start to our year and look forward to more exciting events as the year progresses. We have 2 new additions to our Stage 2 team (and our school) this year. We welcome Miss Firth-Panetta and Miss Rivenell to our Stage 2 team! It’s my pleasure to be working with such collaborative and enthusiastic team members. 

Teachers and classes are:

• Miss Chelsie Rivenell  - 3R

• Mrs Courtney Lyon - 3L

• Miss Grace Firth-Panetta - 4F

• Miss Felicity Bagshaw - 4B (Stage 2 Assistant Principal)

Throughout the past few weeks, we have been focusing on writing persuasive texts. A part of this has been to include some persuasive elements such as alliteration, emotive language, rhetorical questions and exaggeration. We would love to be able to persuade Mrs Kay to let Miss Bagshaw bring her dog to school!

This year Stage 2 students are doing streamed math groups across years 3 and 4. This allows students to develop their mathematical knowledge and skill base through the explicit teaching of number and algebra. Groups are determined by ability levels and are fluid to allow movement and growth within the groups. Our math groups have been running for the past few weeks and we are enjoying working with different students from different classes. Some of the topics we have covered have been addition/subtraction and multiplication/division.

Over the past four weeks, students across all the Stage 2 classes have been placed into 4 different groups that are then used to rotate around different activities. This includes sporting activities on a Thursday where students are given the opportunity to learn new skills and games with different teachers. Students are enjoying a variety of games and the overall participation has been excellent. These 4 groups have also been used for Creative Arts groups on a Friday afternoon where again students are taught different skills and techniques for both visual arts and drama. 

We also welcome 9 students from 3-6L and K-3M to join us for Sport and Health as part of their integration.

Week 8 and 9 will see our Year 3 students complete NAPLAN from the 15–27 March. NAPLAN results allow parents/carers and educators to see how students are progressing in literacy and numeracy over time – individually, as part of their school community and against national standards. We wish our Year 3 students all the best!

Stage 2 saw some students attend the school swimming carnival a few weeks ago. It was great to see the number of students who joined in numerous swimming events across the day. 

Based on the school carnival results, we had a number of students attend the Zone swimming carnival on Friday 24 February. They were: Isla Eldridge, Jace Eldridge, Savannah Mills, Myles Carrigan and Carter Radford. All of these students swam very well and Savannah, Carter and Jace are heading off to the regional carnival on Monday 6 March. 

We are looking forward to upcoming events including:

• School cross country - Tuesday 4 April

• Easter Hat parade – Wednesday 5 April

• ANZAC assembly/last day of Term 1 – Thursday 6 April

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

Assistant Principal

Welcome to another year of learning and exciting challenges

This year we are fortunate to have both experienced staff and beginning teachers who bring new ideas to Stage 3. 

Mr Jono Willis has been a constant in the upper primary for many years now. He is an experienced teacher who students respect. He continues to share his passion and vast knowledge of basketball to students through regular coaching sessions, managing teams and coordinating events locally and statewide. TWPS is fortunate to have his skill set. He is an active member of the local PSSA committee and ensures our students attend all local sporting opportunities. Mr Willis is also the creative genius behind the Year 6 presentation day item. We eagerly look forward to what he and Mr Munday will create this year.

Miss Natalie Deaves was formerly a learning support officer in our school. After a year teaching in year 4, we are very excited to have her working with our team. She is a very efficient teacher who has been creating some exciting units of work to deliver to all students in Years 5 and 6. Miss Deaves is passionate about teaching and is a welcome addition to the team. 

Mr Cody Edstein-Boyes has moved from Newcastle to Tamworth this year to teach at TWPS. After completing a practicum in kindergarten last year with Mrs Wilson, he has returned to teach Stage 3. He is a talented athlete and since moving to Tamworth has been participating in local sporting teams. Specialising in sport at university level, he will be improving the skills required to be in competitive sporting teams such as cricket and football.

Mrs Nicole Lothian is an experienced teacher who is currently working with target groups of students, remedial, extension and building confidence in all Key Learning Areas. She will be leaving NSW at the completion of the term and her talents will be greatly missed. TWPS are actively seeking ways to improve student outcomes. Mrs. Lothian is enthusiastic and determined to make a difference before she heads off to Victoria.

I, Mrs Kirrily Milton have also been working for several years with Mr. Willis in Stage 3. As the relieving Assistant Principal, it is my privilege to support and lead a dedicated team of professionals to teach your children. I am passionate about student wellbeing and the effects their attitude about themselves, and their identity make to educational outcomes. I also am an active equestrian and would like to see any students keen to participate in the TWPS horse sports team. 

We also have the following staff supporting students in the classroom in student support officer roles; Kelly Paulton, Ash Chaffey, Alex Taggart, Ash Reeks and Lochie Power.

Kirrily Milton

Assistant Principal (Relieving)

It has been a tremendous start to the year for our students and teachers as we settle into new routines and learning.

We started off by welcoming new students and staff to the Support Unit. They have all settled in wonderfully and we are enjoying each other’s company. 

Students are looking forward to going to the Tamworth Regional Show on 3 March and have been working on lots of artwork with Ms Cunneen which will be entered into the art competition. How exciting for the students to see their own artwork on public display. They have also entered the show’s colouring-in competition (watch out because Mr Lyon is trying to sneak his own in so he can win the free tickets to the show!).

The Science and Engineering Day is fast approaching on 31 March, expressions of interest (EOI) should already be out for year 5 and 6 students. Mr Lyon will be busily organising a team to send on the day. Places are limited, so if you would like your child to go please send back the EOI as soon as possible.

Yoga has commenced for all of stage 3 and so far, the students have enjoyed learning some different ways to move their bodies and the mindfulness that yoga instills.

3-6T and 3-6L have been enjoying combining for sport and play a very competitive game of modified netball (rumour has it that the staff are a little more competitive than was expected!). While K-4M are working hard on their tennis and cricket skills and dance moves. 

K-4M have enjoyed harvesting their carrots and strawberries as well as the rosemary and lavender.

3-6T are accompanying their yoga with the Smiling Minds meditation program and enjoying working with 3-6L to develop their teamwork and strengthen relationships between the students.

K-4M has been working on different math components. They had fun combining their knowledge of 2-dimensional space and artistic skills, to produce some lovely geometric shape art. They have also been working hard on their writing and have enjoyed reading and exploring ‘Our Island’ as the first text of the semester.

We look forward to meeting you all at our students personalised learning and support plan meetings that are coming up in week 8. More information on these meetings will be sent out in the coming weeks.

Chris Lyon                           Kylie Taber                     Linda McEnerny

3-6L                                     3-6T                                     K-4M

Welcome back to the Library for 2023. My name is Natalie Ward and I am the Teacher Librarian. I am so very excited to be back in the Library for 2023. Every class participates in a 40 minute library lesson every week which will include a reading and library skills. Library days are as follows:

Monday – 3L, 3R, 4F and 4B

Tuesday – 5/6D, 5/6W, 5/6E, 1SD and K4M

Thursday – 1D, 2H, 2P and 5/6M

Friday – KV, 4/6T, 3/6L and KW

Students in Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 will need a waterproof library bag to borrow a book for home, although all students borrow for their ‘Class Library’. Students need to return their books on their specified day. Overdue notices are sent out twice a term (week 5 & 10).

Book Club

Book Club issues come out twice a term. Students can order books either online (LOOP app) or by filling out order form and returning to the office at school. The school receives 15% of all orders to buy new books for the library.

Our winning house was Wentworth with 232 points. Parkes were close behind with 171 points followed by Farrer with 95 points and Macarthur with 68 points. Congratulations Wentworth!

A big thank you to all the parents who assisted with timekeeping and to the students from Tamworth High who offered their support at the carnival. We couldn’t do it without you. 

Zone Swimming Carnival

Last Friday, 24 February, Tamworth West had 19 swimmers attended the Zone Swimming Trials at Scully Park Pool. It was great to see so many students making it to the next level and giving it their all in the pool.  

We had some excellent results with many students going through to region in individual events or the relay by placing in the top 4. 

Jesse Sandison-Welch - 3rd in the 12 Year Girls 50m Freestyle and 4th in Senior Girls Backstroke. 

Savannah Mills -  4th in the 9 Year Girls Freestyle.

Flynn Sandison-Welch - 3rd 8 Year Boys Freestyle

All three of our Relay teams successfully made it through to the Regional Carnival. Our Junior boys placed 2nd, Senior Girls, 2nd and Senior Boys, 4th. 

Our Relay teams are:

Junior Boys - Flynn Sandison-Welch, Carter Radford, Jace Eldridge and Lyric Maru.

Senior Girls - Ryleigh Woolfe, Sienna Mulligan, Miranda Wrigley and Jessie Sandison-Welch.

Senior Boys - Cameron Mumford, Caleb Iffland, Harris Avdic and Naite Syron.

Zone Trials

Well done to Jake Cross-Felstead, Jace Dawson, Tahitia Chand and Janie Sayabath who attended the Zone Touch Trials on Thursday 17 February. 

Upcoming Trials in March are: 

Boys and Girls Hockey Trials – Friday 3

Boys and Girls Basketball Trials– Thursday 16

Boys and Girls Football (Soccer) Trials - Friday 24 

11 Year and Open Primary Rugby League – Thursday 30

Tamworth Junior Basketball Competition 

The Tamworth Junior Basketball Season is about to kick off. We have 5 teams competing on Thursdays afternoons at the Sports Dome and training at school on Monday afternoons. 

Good luck to the Tamworth West 3/4 Girls Spirit, 3/4 Boys Suns, 5/6 Girls Fire, 5/6 Boys B Thunder and the 5/6 Boys A Heat. We hope you enjoy the season ahead. 

Schools Initiative – Girls Football 

If you are a girl in Years 4 to 6 and are interested in being a part of the Schools Initiative, please see Mr Willis and put your name down as soon as possible. 

Term 1 2023 is well and truly underway. It has been wonderful to see the students return and settle into the daily routines of school life.

This year has seen the introduction, across NSW, of a new Mathematics and English syllabus for our K-2 cohort. Teachers have been engaging in professional learning sessions since term 3 of 2022, and continue to do so, in order to build their knowledge and understanding about how to plan teaching and learning experiences to cater for each student.  Reflective practice is a task that teachers are all too familiar with, however, this term alone we have enjoyed participating in numerous discussions with staff about the successes and challenges they have encountered during the initial implementation stage. Hats off to our amazing staff here for their ‘have a go’ attitude and stepping outside of their comfort zone. Our 3-6 staff will embark on this journey towards the end of this year, with the new 3-6 Mathematics and English syllabus, mandatory from 2024.

Our teachers have been spending time getting to know their new students, establishing classroom routines, building relationships and conducting assessments. Teachers use the assessment results to identify next steps in each students learning and plans lessons accordingly.

Vocabulary refers to the words children need to know to understand what they hear and read, and to communicate. Vocabulary is the most powerful predictor of reading comprehension. Knowing what words mean is essential if your child is to understand what they have read.