Don't forget to keep all your receipts from back-to-school expenses so that you can take advantage of the Education Tax Refund. The refund gives eligible parents and caregivers a 50 per cent refund on a range of primary and secondary school education expenses, including school uniforms. For the 2011-2012 financial year you may be eligible for the following: Primary school child You can claim a maximum of $818 for each of your primary school children – that is a refund of up to $409. Secondary school student You can claim a maximum of $1,636... Read more

~ P&C Meet Greet and Mingle Information Sessions ~ Tuesday 28th February, 2012 from 6pm starting in our school library . Classroom Information sessions will follow during the evening. Come along and meet the staff and other families both old and new to the school. Information sessions for each stage will give you an insight to the year ahead for your child. We look forward to seeing you there.... Read more

Regular attendance at school is very important and arriving at school on time is vital in ensuring success throughout the day. Throughout 2012 students who attend school regularly will be rewarded with a variety of incentives including morning tea with the principal, certificates and prizes. The responsibility of regular attendance is a partnership between school and home. The school has very clear procedures to ensure that we provide genuine support in this area. Let's work together to ensure that the students attend school regularly.... Read more

A suite of resources, including the School A to Z website and the annual back-to-school hotline, is available to help parents prepare for the new school year. School A to Z website The School A to Z website provides you with practical help to get involved and support your children's learning and includes a webcast on the theme of ‘Getting off to a great start at school'. The School A to Z webcast answers commonly asked questions that range from how to motivate children for learning, to tips on how to manage technology use at home, bullying,... Read more

The state's most talented young singers, dancers and musicians displayed their skills during four exciting and extravagant performances at the 2011 Schools Spectacular, held recently at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. If you missed the live shows or if you just want to enjoy it all again, you can catch the highlights on ABC TV. Two telecasts are scheduled (check your local TV guide for confirmation): 7.30pm Sunday, 18 December on ABC1 (1hr version) 7.00pm Saturday, 31 December on ABC2 (2.5hr version). The brilliantly choreographed and... Read more

Royal Life Saving NSW has emphasised the importance of swimming and water safety education, saying 50,000 children are leaving primary school every year unable to swim. The organisation says participation in swimming lessons has been in decline for the past 10 years and many Australian children are at risk of drowning. Both Royal Life Saving and the NSW Government agency Sport and Recreation offer learn-to-swim lessons throughout the state under the Swim and Survive banner. The Sport and Recreation program caters for children aged between 18... Read more

You can't always trust what you read when researching information for assignments. Here are ways your child can tell a good website from a bad one. With so much information on the web and no-one responsible for fact checking, kids need to look out for: bias and hidden agendas factual errors outdated information information which is country-specific commercially motivated information. Play the detective The ability to question information is a vital tool for all school kids. People can publish something that looks great but is full of factual... Read more

You don't have to be an expert to help your child with writing. Simply supporting your child with the areas of writing that you feel confident with will benefit them. When you're writing something down such as the shopping list, sending an email or filling in a form, talk to your child about what you're doing, why you're writing it and who you expect to read it. When writing at home, make it purposeful and interesting for yourself and your child. It's essential that kids learn that we write for a purpose It's important that your child... Read more

The Flying Start transition to school program commenced this week and the response has been very pleasing. This will provide our Kindergarten students for 2012 with a wonderful opportunity to get to know the school, staff and routines before they officially start school. This program will take place for five weeks this term and two weeks in Term 4.... Read more

The school choir performed at the Sydney Opera House this week. The students represented the school with pride, professionalism and sang beautifully. Mrs Low has excelled in preparing the choir for this event and on behalf of the school community I would like to congratulate her for this outstanding work.... Read more

The NRL PACE program was held at the school this week and the students, parents/carers and visiting NRL players had a great day. Hazem El Masri and Rod Silva spoke to our students about goals and achieving success in life. Students participated in a variety of activities and games to promote community participation and harmony. This innovative program will continue next term with a visit from some of the NRL players of today.... Read more

Book Week – One World, Many Stories This year's book week falls in Week 6. All children are involved in learning activities around the theme "One World – Many Stories", during their library lessons each week. We are encouraging all children to dress as a book character and join in our Book Parade on Thursday, 25 th August starting at 9.30am and invite all family members to come along and join in. There will be prizes for the "Best Dressed" in each Stage, as well as "Best dressed Staff member" and "Best dressed Parent". There will also be 2... Read more

The school is in the process of reviewing the Anti-Bullying Policy. Effective consultation is an important aspect of the review. The purpose of the review is to ensure that the school's policy is up to date. This is a very important policy and I would like to thank the community for their involvement with the review. I would like to encourage parents/carers to read the policy and to return the evaluation sheet to the front office with any constructive suggestions or comments regarding the policy.... Read more

The inaugural Bathurst West Public School NAIDOC community dinner was held last Thursday night. It was a great success with over 100 people in attendance. This provided a wonderful opportunity for school and community to connect in a very productive and positive way. A big congratulations to Tracy Crawford and the team for organising the event.... Read more

Parents can now access quality information to help with their child's homework and assignments while on the go. The School A to Z mobile app, available free for iPhone, iPad and Android devices, is part of a new online parent resource developed by the education department. The app features: plain-English definitions of maths, English and technology terms, including videos and help sheets information and useful links to help with common classroom assignments Maths Monkey times tables learning game Spelling Bee learning game. The Spelling Bee... Read more

Parents can support their child's learning with a new purpose-built resource that includes a website, mobile applications and social media channels. The School A to Z online school community, developed by the education department, provides practical advice about homework, tips on learning, wellbeing, technology and resources to help parents and carers support their child's social, physical and mental development. It includes a free mobile application for iPad and smartphones that features hundreds of definitions about maths and English terms,... Read more

Book Week - One World, Many Stories This year's book week falls in Week 6. All children are involved in learning activities around the theme "One World – Many Stories", during their library lessons each week. We are encouraging all children to dress as a book character and join in our Book Parade on Thursday, 25 th August and invite all family members to come along and join in. There will be prizes for the "Best Dressed" in each Stage, as well as "Best dressed Staff member" and "Best dressed Parent". There will also be 2 competitions running... Read more

This week is Education Week and it provides a wonderful opportunity for the school to showcase the fantastic work, great classrooms and the pride that we have for Bathurst West Public School. As Principal of this great school I am immensely proud of the commitment that the staff display every day to ensure the success and positive engagement of their students. The school offers a range of innovative and exciting programs that ensure that students needs are met in a variety of areas. We are also very fortunate that the P&C, Canteen Committee... Read more

***ENROLLING NOW*** ‘Flying Start' Kindergarten Transition Program Our Kindergarten Transition Program will be starting this Term 3. This year our program will be held on Wednesdays for 7 weeks. You have a choice of 2 session times - 9.15am to 10.30am, or 11.30am to 12.45pm.The program will commence in Term 3 on 24 August and finish in Term 4 on 19 October. Applications are now open for this years program. Please collect an application form from the Front Office and return it by Friday, 5 August. If you have any questions, please contact... Read more