Dundurrabin Public School Newsletter Term 1, Week 7, 2025

Principal's Message

Welcome to week 7. 

It's great to be back!

I hope this newsletter finds you well. As we return to school following the recent closures due to Tropical Cyclone Alfred, I want to take a moment to thank you for your support and understanding during this time.

Your cooperation made it possible for us to manage the disruptions effectively. Whether it was adapting to remote learning or providing your children with the necessary resources, your efforts played a significant role in helping us navigate this situation. It’s great to have everyone back at school and reconnecting with their peers and teachers. 

Making our surroundings great... First class gardening!

I am excited to share some wonderful updates regarding our recent playground beautification projects that have enhanced our school environment. We have made significant improvements, including the installation of soft fall under the play equipment and fresh sand has been added to the sandpits.

Additionally, we have planted a green screen of Lilly Pillies along the bottom field, which not only beautifies our grounds but also offers some natural shade. Along the playing field, you will also notice a new planting of native shrubs. We are very proud of our school. It is certainly an inviting space for our students to learn and play.

Leah Keough

Every Day Matters

Please remember to explain all days your child is away from school. You can do this in person, by phoning the school, or by sending a text to the school mobile at 0411 939 188. Thank you for your cooperation!

What's on for Term 1

• Wednesday 12 to Monday 24 March - NAPLAN ( Years 3 & 5 )
• Tuesday 18 March - Special P&C Canteen - Mini Pizza's
• Friday 21 March - Harmony Day 
• Monday 24 March - P&C Meeting - 4pm
• Wednesday 26 March - Ride to School Day
• Thursday 3 April - Big Vegie Crunch - 10am
• Wednesday 9 April - Term 1 Assembly & Easter Parade & Parents V Students Sport Afternoon - 2pm

Consent Notes to be Returned

• Updated Details Forms (being sent home again today)
• Lunch Orders & money - if ordering (return by tomorrow)
• Stewart House Charity Drive 2025 Envelopes & Money  (Not Compulsory)

Fortnightly Awards

Term 1 - Week 7

K-2 Class

Tom Duckett for focused independent work in writing lessons.

3-6 Class

Charlie McGuire for demonstrating a growth mindset and a mature attitude towards learning.

Supporting Your Child’s Reading Journey

In their first year of learning, your child will focus on understanding letter sounds and how to blend them to read short words. As they gain confidence, they will start reading decodable books that match their skills and help reinforce what they've learned.

What Comes Next?

As they progress, your child will learn about more complex sound combinations, like digraphs (two letters that make one sound, such as "sh" in "she"), trigraphs (three letters making one sound), and quadgraphs (four letters for one sound). Once they're comfortable with these, they can begin reading simple texts that are not strictly decodable.

Building Reading Skills

As they continue to grow, your child will read more challenging texts, using their knowledge of sounds, syllables, and word parts to read accurately. The goal at this point is for them to read aloud fluently—meaning they can read accurately, at a good speed, and with expression.

Ways You Can Help:

Read Together: One of the best things you can do is read with your child. It makes reading fun and supportive!

Encourage Them: If they make a mistake, gently ask them to try sounding out the word again. Then, read the whole sentence together to help with understanding.

Ask Questions: Talk to your child about the stories they read. Asking questions helps them connect what they're reading to their own experiences.

Take Turns: Make reading enjoyable by taking turns reading pages. This will help them learn how to read smoothly.

Celebrate Achievements: Celebrate every book they finish! Acknowledge their effort and hard work, no matter how small.

Happy reading! If you have any questions or need more tips, please reach out!

Schools Clean Up Day

On Friday, 28 February, our school participated in Schools Clean Up Day. Our students took to the school grounds and the area in front of the school to help improve our environment.

It was inspiring to see our students working together as a team to collect and sort a significant amount of rubbish. Their enthusiasm and commitment to keeping our school clean is commendable.

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden News

Week 5

This week we participated in Clean Up Schools Day during gardening.

We harvested shallots, eggs, loads of cucumbers, including cucamelons, zucchinis and capsicums. The children also picked flowers which they arranged decoratively in vases to place on the tables.

This week in the kitchen, we made mini muffin zucchini slices, with a fresh tomato dipping sauce, cheese, herb and garlic bread knots, and a warm chocolate zucchini cake for dessert. Oh, and we also made a jam melon pickle from our  donated jam melon.

This week, the cooking award goes to Jaxon Bennett for precise dicing of the jam melon. Congratulations!

Week 6

No Kitchen Garden this week due to the school closure.

Dylan Edwards Legend 7’s Gala Day (Yrs 3-6)

Due to the severe weather warnings last week concerning Tropical Cyclone Alfred the Dylan Edwards Bellingen Valley Legends Gala Day at Urunga was postponed.

When a date is decided we will send home new consents notes. The school will hold the money over until then, unless you would like it refunded, if so please let Melissa know.

Gubi Gabun - This Wednesday 12 March

Special Lunch Order

We will have a special "pizza and ice-cream" lunch day next Tuesday 18 March.  Lunch orders were sent home last week. Please return them with money by tomorrow, Wednesday 12 March, as it makes organising catering so much easier. Thank you.

Ride2School Day

Get ready to roll, everyone! On Wednesday, 26 March, we will be embracing the thrill of Ride2School Day, and we want all students to join in on the fun! Bring your push bikes or scooters and helmets to school, as we have an action-packed day filled with exciting activities planned just for you.

This fantastic day is all about promoting physical activity and getting our students moving! Starting from Monday, 24 March, please start bringing your bikes or scooters to school. We’ll ensure they are safely stored until the big event.

If you don’t have a bike or scooter, don’t worry! Just reach out to the school, and we may be able to arrange a few spare ones for you.

Year 6 Parents - High School EOI Forms

Is your child currently in Year 6 and moving into Year 7 in 2026? 

In NSW Government schools, applying to move from primary school to high school is a 2-step process:

Step 1: Complete a Moving to high school expression of interest. This form will be available on 03 March 2025 and must be completed by 28 March 2025.

Step 2: Submit an enrolment application, this will be emailed to you by the high school.

For more information please click here.

Alternatively our Year 6 student's parent information on Year 7 Enrolment Procedures for Public High Schools is being sent home today for those who can not complete it online. Included is an "Expression of Interest for Placement in Year 7 at a NSW Government Secondary School in 2026" form (if applying this way) which needs to be completed and returned by Monday 17 March.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to phone and ask Mrs Keough. 

The Big Vegie Crunch - Get Ready to Crunch!

On Thursday 3 April at 10am will we be participating the The Big Vegie Crunch. The Big Vegie Crunch is an annual event aimed at promoting vegies in schools and also healthy eating in NSW primary schools. It involves students across NSW crunching together on vegetables simultaneously to help build healthy eating habits. We'll help try to break the record for most kids eating vegies at the same time! The Big Vegie Crunch & Vegie Week is for everyone!

Term 1 Assembly, Easter Parade & Parents V Students Sport Game

Please join us for our Term 1 Assembly and Easter Parade on Wednesday 9 April at 2.00pm. The P&C Easter Raffle will be drawn after the Assembly. Parents and friends are invited to stay on after the assembly for a student V parent sporting event. Don't miss out, it's sure to be a hotly contested game to start the year off!

Update Details

In preparation for the coming year, it is important to have accurate contact details in case of accidents, evacuations and possible temporary school closures, like we just had. 

To ensure our contact details for each family are correct, we are requesting each family provide up to date contact details. If your phone number and email have changed, please indicate that on the form.

We would also like to know if any of your child/rens medical details / health conditions have changed as well as dietary requirements or preferences for our SAKG cooking.

Also if their are any changes in your child/rens travelling details or drop off and pick-up arrangements.

Forms are being sent home again today. If you would like a copy of the information that we have on record, please let Melissa know. If you have no detail changes, please still return the form with your child/rens name written on it and stating “No Changes”.

Please return them as soon as possible, so we can update our records.  

Thank you to our families that have already returned theirs, we appreciate your quick response. 

2025 Learning Contributions - SAKG Fees

Book Club Issue#2

Book Club Issue#2 brochure has been sent home today. If you wish to place an order from this issue, please have your loop online order completed or your order forms and money (cash) back at school by Monday 24 March.

Stewart House Donation Drive

Stewart House Donation Drive envelopes were sent home recently. To enter the draw for the prize there is a $2.00 minimum donation.

The winning entry is for a $4000 family holiday travel voucher to the destination of your choice. The winner will be contacted by telephone and email.

Please have your money and envelopes (with details filled out) back at school by Monday 31 March, 2025.

P&C News and Community News

P&C Easter Raffle

P&C Easter Raffle Hippity Hop! It's time for our annual P&C Easter Raffle. As Easter approaches, our P&C is looking to raise funds via our annual Easter raffle.

We are asking if all families could please make a donation to be used as raffle prizes. This can include chocolates or anything Easter themed.

Please send your donations into the school office by Monday 7 April.  Thank you.

Tickets will be sent home in the coming weeks, with the draw to take place on Wednesday 9 April at the school Easter Parade / Assembly. 

P&C Meeting - Monday 24 March

Our next P&C meeting will be held on Monday 24 March at 4pm. It would be wonderful if we could have as many people as possible attend. This is a great opportunity to find out about and get involved with what is happening within the school. Please come along, share a cuppa and enjoy a relaxed and friendly gathering. We’d love to see more faces for new ideas and support.

Congratulations to our newly elected office bearers for 2025:    President: Hayley McLennan                                                                                                                                                                               Vice President: Isabella Jones                                                                                                                                                                               Treasurer: Nickey McDowell                                                                                                                                                                                  Secretary: Cassie Sharman

Upcoming Events

Hernani Soil Workshop with Local Land Services - Monday 10 March

Join us for a two-part soil health workshop. Learn about your soil types, nutrients, and fertility flows across your farm—plus how to manage your soil to its full potential!

📅 Day 1: Soil Health Basics (10 March)

🔹 Explore soil formation, properties, land capability, DIY testing in a hands-on session.

📅 Day 2: Nutrient Smart Soils (May 2025)🔹 Attendees for both days will receive farm maps & 2 free soil chemistry testing kits per farm. Introduction to nutrient budgeting. Dates, locations & more info: https://bit.ly/4gKiNJT        Contact: Julie Dart 0427 007 501 E: julie.dart@lls.nsw.gov.au

Field Day for National Eucalypt Day – Saturday 22 March 10am to 2pm

At Mount Christopherson Estate 458 Muldiva Rd, Bostobrick

Talk on Forest Restoration with Barry Hicks and planting workshop with the Flying Kanukas. RSVP by 20 March for catering E: monleon@mac.com 0466 229 377

Saver Plus

With Saver Plus, families can receive $500 in matched funds to assist with expenses like devices, laptops, school uniforms, school camps and school supplies. Here is how it works: 

Save up to $50 a month for 10 months, and your savings will be matched up to $500.

In additions to financial support, participants will have access to free financial education workshops, that cover budgeting, saving tips and more.

‘Saver Plus has proudly supported Australians for 21 years, and we are thrilled to announce that the Federal Government is committing to funding the program for the next 5 years! 

We accept Fulltime, Part time, Casual wages, Child Support, Carers Payment, and Cash in Hand as regular income.

Don’t miss out on sharing this fantastic opportunity, to lighten the financial load of your families.  

https://www.thesmithfamily.com.au/programs/financial/saver-plus