Binalong Public School

Binalong Bulletin

Term 2, Week 1 2025

Binalong Public School

Ngunnawal Country

'Towards a Higher Place'


From the Principal

Welcome back to Term 2! I hope you all had a restful break and are ready for an exciting new term filled with learning and growth. It’s wonderful to see our students returning with enthusiasm, ready to tackle new challenges and opportunities.

This term, our dedicated staff have been engaging in professional learning focused on the High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE) policy. This initiative aims to enhance our approach to supporting our students so that all students have opportunities to experience opportunities to reach their full potential. We are committed to providing an enriching educational experience for every student, and this professional development will play a crucial role in that mission.

Mrs Edwards has also travelled to Cowra to attend an art workshop coordinated by the Operation Art team. Speaking of Operation Art, we are looking forward to seeing our student artworks on display at next week's art show. I know that the students have been carefully planning and creating their artworks to bring joy to those who view them.

Today I was thrilled to receive a lovely birthday surprise from the 3-6 class who threw me a surprise birthday party. There were decorations, balloons, music, food, cards and even some gifts! It was the most thoughtful celebration and I felt very valued and cared for. Thank you for raising such beautiful children! This is a jam packed newsletter, so enjoy!

Mother's Day Events

Dates for the Diary 2025

TERM 2

Week 1

Monday 28 & Tuesday 29 April - Staff Development Days - Pupil Free Days

Wednesday 30 April - Rugby Union Clinic

Thursday 1 May - Operation Art workshop, Mrs Edwards

Week 2 - Book Fair - Please support our Book Fair

Monday to Thursday - Scholastic Book Fair purchasing opportunities

Monday 5 May - P&C meeting 5.30pm @ school

Tuesday 6 May - SRC Mother's Day Stall at lunchtime - gifts for purchase for $5 or $10

Wednesday 7 May - Binalong Preschool visit for Book Fair and Art Show, Kinder 2026 Open Afternoon Friday 9 May - P&C Student Art Show, SRC Mother's Day Stall at lunchtime - gifts for purchase for $5 or $10

Friday 9 May - Mother's Day Breakfast 

Week 3

Tuesday 13 May - PAX Heroes PL for Mrs Arabin & Mrs Ranie - Mr Godman on 3-6

Friday 16 May - Small Schools Cross Country @ Bongongo

Week 4 - National Volunteers Week

Tuesday 20 May - Student Leadership Day @ Murrumbateman PS for 5/6 students - Mr Godman on 3/4

Wednesday 21 May - National Simultaneous Storytime (pre-school to join us), Biggest Morning Tea and Volunteers Morning Tea appreciation

Week 5 - Reconciliation Week

Monday 26 May - National Sorry Day

Wednesday 28 May - Assembly

Thursday 29 May - UFLI PL - Miss Grace, Small Schools Conference - Mrs Arabin

Friday 30 May - Small Schools Conference - Mrs Arabin, CDPSSA Cross Country @ Harden

Week 6 

Thursday 5 June - Director Visit

Friday 6 June - PLC Binalong TBC, PAX PL - Miss Grace

Week 7 - Southern Tablelands Dance Festival - Day TBA

Monday 9 June - King's Birthday public holiday

Tuesday 10 June - Southern Tableands Dance Festival TBA

Wednesday 11 June - Southern Tablelands Dance Festival TBA

Friday 13 June - UC Aspire visit

Week 8

Tuesday 17 June - EnviroMentors Visit

Thursday 19 June - Middle Leaders Network Day - Mrs Ranie

Friday 20 June - Wagga PPA Meeting - Mrs Arabin

Week 9

Wednesday 25 June - Binalong PS Athletics Carnival

Friday 27 June - Yass Network Meeting - Mrs Arabin - Mr Godman on 3-6

Week 10 

Wednesday 2 July - Back-up date for BPS Athletics Carnival

Friday 4 July - Last day of school, Binalong's Got Talent, Assembly (time TBA).

High Performing and Gifted Education

This week staff have been engaging in professional learning around the High Performing and Gifted Education (HPGE)  Policy. We are proud that at Binalong Public School, we provide equitable opportunities for High Potential and Gifted Education and leadership development. Our tailored programs foster student talents in an inclusive environment. By building strong relationships, setting individual learning goals, and prioritising student voice, we empower every student to reach their full potential. This newsletter showcases many of the HPGE opportunities that have been offered in Term 1 across the 4 domains of HPGE - Intellectual, Physical, Creative and Social and Emotional. 

Anzac Day Service

We would like to commend our students for their respectful and enthusiastic attendance at the recent ANZAC Day Service. It was heartwarming to see so many of our school community come together to honour and remember those who have served our country.

A special mention goes to our school captains, Audrey Corcoran and Elouise Giles, for their outstanding leadership and excellent public speaking skills in leading the service. Their heartfelt words and poise greatly contributed to the solemnity and significance of the occasion.

We are proud of their efforts and grateful for their dedication to representing our school with such dignity. This was also recognised recently on the ABC Radio. Thank you to everyone who participated and helped make the day memorable.

ANZAC Day

State Swimming

We are thrilled to share that our school swimmers represented both our school and the Riverina region at the recent State Swimming Carnival in the Peter Dobson relay. Competing against strong contenders, our team placed 6th in the heat, showcasing their talent and determination. They then advanced to the finals, finishing in an impressive 10th place overall out of 30 small schools. It was such a thrill for us back at school to be watching them live on the big screen and cheering them on!

Congratulations to our talented swimmers: Oscar (Year 3), Cooper (Year 4), and Piper and Zavier (Year 5). Their hard work and teamwork were truly commendable, and we are incredibly proud of their achievements. This experience has not only highlighted their skills but also represented our school with great pride. Well done! 

State Legends!

2024 Operation Art - Opening Exhibition

Operation Art Exhibition Visit

During the holidays, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the opening exhibition of Operation Art in Cowra. It was a delightful experience to view the incredible artworks on display, showcasing the creativity and talent of young artists from across the region.

We would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to our very own students Nash, Evie E, Sophie, Charlotte, and Thomas, whose artworks were featured in the exhibition. Their dedication and creativity were truly impressive, and it was a joy to see their hard work recognised in such a prestigious setting.

Thank you to all who attended the exhibition and supported our talented artists. We are so proud of their achievements and look forward to seeing more of their artistic endeavours in the future! If you missed the exhibition, there's still a few more days before it closes on Sunda 4 May. Cowra Regional Gallery hours: Tuesday to Saturday 10am - 4pm, Sundays 10am - 2pm.

Our Talented Artists and Artworks

SRC Meal Deals

Most Fridays the Binalong SRC offers students the opportunity to purchase a “Meal deal” consisting of a tasty meal, juice and choice of a yoghurt or piece of fruit. 

Order information is sent out each week and you can submit your child's order through AUDIRI. 

ORDERS MUST BE SUBMITTED VIA AUDIRI BEFORE THE CUT-OFF TIME.

(This is critical so we can ensure we are able to supply the correct amount of food)

Payment can be made through Sentral payments, EFTPOS at school, or cash will be accepted on the day if required. 

Grip Leadership

On 26 March 2025 students from Binalong Primary attended the GRIP Leadership Conference in Canberra. The conference focused on equipping our students with the skills and knowledge to be effective leaders.

Topics included:

 

- The Responsibilities of a Student Leader

 

- Leadership Through Friendship

- New Ideas to Help Others

 

- Achieving Your Idea Before the End of the Year

Student Learning Conferences

Monday 7 April saw students share their learning and successes with parents, family or a friend. It was a wonderful opportunity for students to share their goal setting, showing autonomy and agency for their learning. This was incredibly well supported by families and we thank you for your attendance.

Easter Hat Parade and Easter Activities

Calling all Photographers!

Save the Date - Friday 9 May

2025 Premier's Reading Challenge is Now Open!

2025 Challenge dates

Challenge opens: Monday 24 February 2025

Challenge closes to students: Friday 22 August 2025

The Challenge aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure in students, and to enable them to experience quality literature. It is not a competition but a challenge to each student to read, to read more and to read more widely. The Premier's Reading Challenge (PRC) is open to all NSW students in Kindergarten to Year 10, in government, independent, Catholic and home schools.

K-2 need to read (or have read to them) a minimum of 30 books with 20 from the list and 10 personal choice books.

3-6 need to read (independently) a minimum of 20 books in total with 10 PRC books and 10 personal choice books.

Find the Booklists here

Stars of the Week

Week 9: Matilda Grigg a mature approach to learning; Audrey Corcoran showing independence and inquisitiveness to all learning tasks; Harry Spencer applying his letter sound knowledge to read CVC words; Archer Coble independently applying number bonds to 20 to solve addition problems; Jethro Grigg showing self-discipline and a positive approach to learning.
Week 10: Annabelle Vasey showing pride in bookwork and a huge effort to write neatly in cursive; Leila Vasey taking pride in her work and striving to improve her handwriting; Cooper Edwards commitment and progress in maths, especially in learning 3&4 times tables; Sophie Arabin showing enthusiasm and a keen interest in maths lessons, well done!

Stewart House - charity drive envelopes coming home

From the Office

Student absences

When your child is absent from school, please let the school know the reason for the absence by using the Sentral for Parents app.  We are streamlining our practices and recording absences in Sentral is our preferred option.  We will still accept an email or phone call absence notification.

Permission notes

We would like to inform you that permission notes will typically be sent home on Wednesdays, with a due date for return the following Wednesday. Please note that there may be occasions when events arise at short notice, and in such cases, this schedule may not be applicable. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

Contact details

Please update your details - eg your mobile phone number, emergency contact people, regular after school pick-up arrangements.  It is important that we have the correct information should we need to contact you.

P&C News

P&C Meeting - Monday 5 May at school from 5.30pm - All welcome


P&C 2025 Events and Catering

Community Noticeboard

Nathan Lyon, Australia’s best ever off spinner is returning to his hometown (Young) on the 11th of April for the clinic and will be in attendance for the whole session. Everyone between the age of 5 – 14 years old - a great opportunity for the local community to meet one of Cricket Australia’s best ever players and learn some valuable tips off the GOAT himself.

Yass Gymnastics

Boorowa Irish Woolfest

Entry forms are available at Binalong school office

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