Term 1 Week 6

2 March 2026

Our P&C AGM will take place Monday 16 March in the Auditorium at Woonona Bulli RSL. As we strive for a representative and inclusive school community, new members are always very welcome. Joining the P&C is a meaningful way to contribute to school decision-making, support our educational goals, and stay informed about the initiatives benefiting our students.

As we look ahead, we anticipate several vacancies on our Executive Team and Sub-Committees due to families graduating from our school or changing personal commitments. During this meeting, we will be seeking nominations for several vital roles, including:

• P&C President
• P&C Fundraising Coordinator

Additional positions may also become available as all positions will be deemed vacant for nominations. We encourage you to consider how you might share your skills to support our school's growth.

As it is a new school year, we will have P&C membership forms available on the night ($5.00 fee) as only financial members can vote at the AGM, as per P&C Federation guidelines.

Thank you to Woonona Public School who has extended an invitation for interested families from Russell Vale Public School to join the following event: 

Woonona Public School P&C is hosting renowned parenting educator and author Michelle Mitchell for an insightful evening on “What Kids Need NOW – Before the Teenage Years.”

Michelle will explore common challenges for primary-aged children including friendship issues, mood swings, confidence dips, tech habits and preparing for the teenage years. Michelle offers practical, compassionate guidance for parents and carers.

📅 Wednesday 18 March
 🕒 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
 📍 Woonona Public School Hall
 🎟 Tickets $35

Book here:
https://wpsuniforms.square.site/product/michelle-mitchell-parent-speaker-event/YY57UNVOI43GDAGTD4KKGNHL

All parents, carers and grandparents are welcome.

We are thrilled to share that our school is once again part of the HPAG Extend program. This special program, organised by the Wollongong and Shellharbour Primary Principal’s Councils, is for High Potential & Academically Gifted Year 5 students who love learning and show high potential within the academic domain. A specialised enrichment program will help them explore new ideas with rich content, while developing their creative and critical thinking skills. 

The program has been around for over 20 years and now includes students from more than 65 schools across the Wollongong and Shellharbour areas. It gives students the chance to learn faster, explore new topics, and dive deeper into their favourite subjects. They will work with other students who enjoy challenging themselves at very high levels in subjects like science, maths, literacy, art, and engineering.

Each week, selected students will join one of seven classes hosted at different schools nearby. The classes run from 9:00 am to 2:30 pm, with families organising transport to and from the host school.

To be part of the program, Year 5 students will take a special online test at school in Week 6. About the top 10% of students from each cohort will be invited to join the program after the HPAG Extend Executive selection panel reviews all applications across the 65 schools. 

We’re really excited to see our students take part in this wonderful learning opportunity. Expressions of interest notes were sent home with all Year 5 students and posted in our app last week. All notes should be returned to Mr Cuthbertson.

Disability adjustments are available for NAPLAN to allow students with disabilities to participate on the same basis as other students. The adjustments provided for NAPLAN should be similar to the type of support and assistance your child is already receiving for classroom assessments.

Parents/carers of students identified at the school level who require adjustments have been contacted by our Learning and Support teacher, Ms Amy Dawson, via email during the past week to give consent for these adjustments.

If you have a child with a disability and have not yet received an email, please contact Ms Amy Dawson directly as soon as possible to discuss.

As a reminder to all families, detailed information regarding NAPLAN was in the previous newsletter. NAPLAN assessments will begin Wednesday 11 March and continue through the following week. 

The date for our Cross Country Carnival has been set – Friday 20 March with the back-up date to be Friday 27 March.

The date has also been set for our Russell Vale Show Awards Assembly and Easter Hat Parade. Both events will take place Wednesday 1 April. Detailed information will come in the future. 

Scripture and Ethics lessons begin last week for all students. Thank you in advance to our wonderful volunteer teachers from Catholic, Protestant and Ethics.

As the Principal, I am continually impressed by the strength of our school community. Our Parents and Citizens’ Association (P&C) plays a vital role in enhancing the educational environment for all our students, and I would like to share some of their latest achievements and upcoming opportunities.

Our Strategic Improvement Plan targets an uplift in the percentage of students attending school more than 90% of the time. While we appreciate families keeping children home when unwell, regular "discretionary" absences can create gaps in learning that are difficult to bridge.

The Importance of arriving on time: 

Arriving at school and class on time:

• ensures that students do not miss out on important learning activities scheduled early in the day;
• helps students learn the importance of punctuality and routines;
• gives students time to greet their friends before class; and
• reduces classroom disruption. 

Lateness is recorded as a partial absence and must be explained by parents. 

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 ill, or having an infectious disease;
• having an unavoidable medical appointment;
• being required to attend a recognised religious holiday; and
• having an exceptional or urgent family circumstance (e.g., attending a funeral).

Following an absence from school, you must ensure that you provide the school with a verbal or written explanation for the absence. If the school has not received an explanation from you, you will receive a text message from the school. If there is no response, a follow-up email will come.

Principals may decline to accept an explanation that you have provided if they do not believe the absence is in the best interest of your child. In these circumstances, your child’s absence would be recorded as unjustified. 

Principals may request medical certificates or other documentation when frequent or long-term absences are explained as being due to illness. Principals may also seek parental permission to speak with medical specialists to obtain information to collaboratively develop a health care plan to support your child. If the request is denied, the principal can record the absences as unjustified.

My child won’t go to school what should I do? 

You should contact the principal as soon as possible to discuss the issue and ask for help. Strategies to help improve attendance may include a referral to the school’s learning and support team or linking your child with appropriate support networks. The principal may seek further support from the Home School Liaison Program to develop an Attendance Improvement Plan. 

What might happen if my child continues to have unacceptable absences? 

It is important to understand that the Department of Education may be required to take further action where children of compulsory school age have recurring numbers of unexplained or unjustified absences from school.

Family travel can be educational and enlightening, and there are many experiences in life that cannot be taught in the classroom. However, any absence, short or long, impacts on each child’s education. If a student is not engaged in any part of his/her education, that student can fall behind in classroom work and returning to school can be traumatic.

All family circumstances vary so please consider whether a family holiday is an appropriate reason for missing school. While students may take homework on a trip, they risk missing out on direct teaching and learning and the classroom experience. This message is not about singling families out or guilt trips, but we do need to recognise that when a child is standing out front of some of our national wonders, they may be learning a lot about our country, but they are not necessarily learning everything that they would be learning at school. Parents and carers should ensure that their child is keeping up with his or her reading, writing and mathematics skills if you choose to take these journeys.

The extended leave form is available in School Bytes under forms and must be submitted 2 weeks prior to any holidays of 6 days and above.

Missing just one day of school has negative consequences for a student’s academic achievement, and studies have dispelled the common belief that there is a safe level of absences that students may take before their grades will suffer.

Times have changed and they are going to continue to change at a rapid pace in what has become a very technological society. Children these days have their own phones at a much younger age than most of us did, and, understandably so, as phones are a form of communication for students who travel to and from school on their own. Many of these students travel outside the Russell Vale PS boundaries. I bring to your attention, however, that our school policy does not allow students to have phones in classrooms or in their bags during school hours. This does not mean that they cannot bring them to school at all as our policy states that if they choose to bring a phone to school, it is to be signed in at the office in the morning and then signed out at the office at the end of the school day. This also includes other cellular/mobile devices such as smart watches that can send messages, unless they are set to school settings locking them from being used during school hours. Thank you for your assistance in ensuring that your child is following this procedure.

Paul Cuthbertson
Principal

If you are collecting your child early from school for an appointment please come to the office and wait for them to be called up. Please remain at the office until your child arrives so that we can sight you leaving together.

If you would like to view a previously submitted permission note, please follow the instructions below. Please be aware that permission notes are removed from the system one month after the event date.

1. Log in to the School Bytes app.
2. Select the ‘Activities’ icon or menu.
3. You will see a list of activities and permission notes.
4. If you have provided consent, a green box labelled ‘Consent given’ will appear next to the activity.
5. Click on the name of the activity to view the permission note with your submitted responses.

• 7      Russell Vale Farm Bunnings Sausage Sizzle 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
• 11    Woonona High School HPGE Program start date
• 16    Years 4 & 5 Woonona High School Open Night 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
• 16    P&C AGM  at Woonona Bulli RSL at 7:00 pm
• 17    South Coast Swimming Carnival
• 18    Parent Education Evening - Michelle Mitchell at Woonona PS Hall 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
• 20    Cross Country Carnival
• 25     Illawarra Sports HS Talented Sports & Development Program Year 6 Trials 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
• 27    Cross Country Carnival back-up date
• 27    Expression of Interest (EOI) for High School due date 

• 1    Russell Vale Show Awards Assembly
• 1    Easter Hat Parade
• 2    Last Day of Term 1

Isabella P, Tyler M, Esther A, Sebastian B, Ava P, Scarlett P

Tilly J, Ollie H, Eden-Rose G, Kade M, Indi W, Oliver P, Keira D, Amelia C-F, Sophie C, Grace C, Dominic H, Poppy G, Brody T, Louie S, Melanie T, Callum T, Angus M, Imogen S, Clarence H, Sadie C, Ellie K, Willow B

Cruz C

Sam W

Jasper K, Hendriks S, Luca B, Koa A, Cooper H, Sune M, Thea S, Ava T, Angus Mc, Madilyn T, Ella M, Raphael R

Zara J

Ava P

A reminder that on Saturday 7 March, our school has the opportunity to host the Bunnings Sausage Sizzle at Bellambi. This is one of our most successful annual fundraisers. Please come along and support our farm.

Come take a look around our school! All parents and students are welcome. There will be a BBQ and an opportunity to talk to our amazing teachers.

Disclaimer: Russell Vale Public School advertises in this column as a service to parents. Russell Vale Public School does not endorse, sponsor or accept responsibility for the management or organisation of the advertised events or services.