Dundurrabin Public School Newsletter Term 1, Week 9, 2025

Principal's Message

Welcome to week 9. 

Celebrating Positive Attendance 

Our school attendance tracker is loaded with stickers! I'm pleased to share that our students continue to demonstrate outstanding attendance. We are appreciative to all families for providing reasons for absences when a day off school is needed. We know the consistent attendance is vital for student success, and we want to commend our students and families for their commitment to being present and engaged in learning. 

Positive Partnerships

Last week Mrs Sangster attended Positive Partnerships professional learning. This learning will support us in further strengthening our understanding of autism and improve our skills and expertise when working with children with autism. We are excited to explore strategies and resources to strengthen our approach and to support strong relationships between home and school.

Harmony Day

Harmony Day is celebrated annually on March 21st and is a day to promote inclusiveness, respect, and a sense of belonging for everyone. It is an opportunity to celebrate Australia’s cultural diversity and encourage understanding and acceptance of all cultures. To celebrate Harmony Day this year, our students and staff will share an Asian inspired lunch on the final day of term. We encourage everyone to wear orange clothing to show our support.

Ride at School- this Wednesday

Mr Williamson has an afternoon of rolling fun planned for this Wednesday's Ride at School event. We're looking forward to promoting healthy lifestyles, road safety, and environmental awareness among our students. Please remember to bring bikes or scooters and helmets into school beforehand. 

Have a great week!

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

• Monday 24 March - P&C Meeting - 4pm
• Wednesday 26 March - Ride to School Day & Gubi Gabun Playgroup - 10am to 12noon
• Thursday 3 April - Big Vegie Crunch - 10am
• Wednesday 9 April - Term 1 Assembly & Easter Parade & Parents V Students Sport Afternoon - 2pm                                                                 & Gubi Gabun Playgroup - 10am to 12noon
• Friday 11 April - Harmony Day

School Holidays - Start 12 April to 30 April, 2025

(Easter Weekend & ANZAC Day are included in the Holidays)

What's on for Term 2

• Monday 28 April - School Development Day
• Tuesday 29 April - School Development Day
• Wednesday 30 April - Students Return for Term 2
• Friday 2 May - District Cross Country 
• Friday 16 May - Walk Safely to School Day
• Wednesday 21 May - Finlayson Cup at Chandler PS
• Thursday 22 May - National Simultaneous Storytime - 12noon
• Thursday 22 May - Year 6 Grip Leadership Conference - Coffs Harbour
• Monday 9 June - Kings Birthday Public Holiday

Upcoming Holiday Dates

The last day for Term 1 is Friday 11 April 2025. Staff will return on Monday 28 April and Tuesday 29 April for a School Development Days and students will return on Wednesday 30 April. Don't forget ANZAC Day is during the second week of the holidays for students who would like to march on the day. 

Consent Notes to be Returned

• Updated Details Forms (being sent home again today)
• Stewart House Charity Drive 2025 Envelopes & Money  (Not Compulsory)

Fortnightly Awards

Term 1 - Week 9

K-2 Class

Lachie Bergs for amazing sentence writing.

3-6 Class

Bailey Freeman for fluently reading and writing numbers up to 9-digits.

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden News

Week 7

Even though the sun was finally out and we were blessed with a beautiful day, everything was very wet post ex-tropical cyclone Alfred. So this week we continued with a creative kitchen garden art activity.

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

This week in the kitchen, we made stuffed giant zucchinis, topped with melty cheese and crispy breadcrumbs, homemade big soft pretzels, zesty cucumber salad, and an apple and rhubarb crumble with vanilla custard.

This week, the cooking award goes to Beth Green for consistent effort and enthusiasm in cooking. Congratulations!

Week 8

This week we participated in a variety of learning experiences as there were arborists removing a dead tree from the school grounds. We did kitchen and garden drawings, prepared harvested seeds ready to save and harvested fresh produce.

We harvested butter beans, purple bush beans, cucamelons, shallots, cucumbers, rosemary and fresh potatoes.

In the kitchen we made homemade cavatelli with our new hand cranked pasta press, hearty vegetable and lentil bolognese pasta sauce, potato and rosemary pizza, crispy zucchini and carrot fritters, and some homemade potato chips with our freshly harvested potatoes. What a treat! We even harvested some fresh flowers to decorate our table, to top off our delicious lunch.

This week the cooking award goes to Bailey Freeman, for showing maturity and leadership skills across all areas of cooking. Congratulations!

Gumbaynggirr Language Learning

In Gumbaynggirr language lessons with Lesley, our students are learning the numbers 1-20. They are also learning to express their age and describe numbers in their surroundings.

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

We have received the new date for the Dylan Edwards Bellingen Valley Legends Gala Day at Urunga. Unfortunately, this date coincides with our end of term assembly, so we will not be attending.

For those that paid their $15.00 towards the bus cost, we can either take it off your child's unpaid compulsory SAKG Fees or have it refunded.

Please let Melissa know what option you would prefer.  Thank you.

Gubi Gabun - This Wednesday 26 March

Ride2School Day - this Wednesday

Get ready to roll, everyone! This 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!

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 by tomorrow, and we may be able to arrange a few spare ones for you.

Year 6 Parents - High School EOI Forms Online by this Friday - 28 March

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 was sent home previously for those who can not complete it online. Included was 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 this Thursday 27 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 of tag league to start the year off!

ANZAC Day March

Dorrigo RSL Sub-Branch ANZAC Day is Friday 25 April, which falls in the second week of the school holidays.

Students are invited to attend the 11:00am March and Wreath Laying Service. We will assemble at the front of Dorrigo RSL Club at 10.40am, ready for step off at 11.00am.

Mrs Keough will march with our students. Young marchers are encouraged to wear their families’ medals and decorations.

Parental transport and supervision before and after marching is required. To look our best, full school uniform (school sports shirt) and navy hat must be worn.

Please return the consent note to indicate if your child/ren will be attending. 

District Cross Country

The Bellinger District PSSA Cross Country will be held on the first Friday in Term 2, 2 May at Urunga (location to be confirmed). It starts at 10am for a walk of the course for the runners. Races start at 10.45am. If your child is 8 years old and above and interested in participating, please talk to Mrs Keough for more information and a permission note.

It is not compulsory for all students to attend and school will operate as normal. Parents will need to provide supervision and transport for this event, as no teachers from Dundurrabin PS will be attending on the day.

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. 

Daylight Saving Time Ends Shortly

Just a reminder that Daylight savings is going to end shortly.

Daylight Saving ends Sunday, 6 April, 2025.

At 3:00am clocks need to be turned backward 1 hour to 2:00am.

2025 Learning Contributions - SAKG Fees

Book Club Issue#2 - Due Tomorrow

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 tomorrow, Tuesday 25 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 - Today

Our next P&C meeting will be held today, 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.

Free BBQ - Tailgate for Mates - Friday 28 March 4pm 

At Janet's Heritage Hut near Tyringham Shop.

Good food, good vibes, chat with Mark & Nathan, bring along a mate.

Community Conversation & Autumn Market - Sunday 13 April 10am-12noon

At Dundurrabin Community Centre. Yummy cakes & savoury bites $10 - $15 bring cash

Come together over a cuppa to discuss your ideas about the future of the Dundurrabin Community Centre. Debrah Novak from CVC will provide info about roles & responsibilities of s355 committees. Easter Egg Hunt & Felting for Kids.

Volunteers needed. Stalls Welcome.  E: blicks2453@gmail.com or Leonie 0413 158 466