10 April 2025
Principal’s Report
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
School Cross Country
We were fortunately able to hold the School Cross Country Carnival on Monday 7th April. Well done to all students for their efforts completing the 2km or 3km track around our school. A huge effort!
The students who came in the top four places will be going on to the Zone Cross Country Carnival to be held on Tuesday 20th May.
Thank you to Mr McMurtrie for coordinating such a terrific event.
Easter Hat Parade
Our annual Easter Hat Parade for Kindergarten to Year 2 Students was held on Wednesday this week. It was wonderful to be able to have many families join us on the school courts area for this great event. Thank you to Mrs Hurst and Miss Gafa for your efforts coordinating this great event.
Harmony Day/Festival of Cultures 2025 – Thursday 15th May - Term 2
This year our Harmony Day will be having a name change. We will now be calling the day when we celebrate the many cultures we have in our school as The Blacktown South PS – Festival of Cultures.
It will be held in Term 2, on Thursday 15th May and will include our school cerebrations and parade.
Attendance Update
Improving school attendance is a target of the NSW Department of Education and therefore Blacktown South School. Starting next term Blacktown South Public School will be rolling out a number of initiatives to encourage and reward good attendance. These include:
- Student Attendance Report: Over the first two weeks of Term 2 we will be producing and sending home a report on your child’s attendance for Term 1. The purpose of the report is to clearly show to families the number of days your child has been away from school.
- Attendance Awards: From Term 2 onwards we will be providing Student Attendance Awards to those students who achieve either 100% attendance over the term or 95% attendance for the term. These awards will be distributed early Term 3 and 4.
- Daily Notification of Student Absences: It is Department Policy that parents should be notified of their child’s absence within 24 hours. We will be either initiating a daily text message or email to parents from Term 2.
Term 2 Events
There are a number of special events that will be held over the first few weeks of Term 2. They include:
- Summer/Term 2 PSSA to start Friday 2nd May – Friday Week 1.
- Book Fair – Friday 2nd May to Thursday 8th May
- P&C Mothers’ Day Stall – Tuesday 6th May, Catch-up day Wednesday 7th
- OC & Selective High School Tests- Friday 2nd May to Sunday 4th May
- Year 4 Excursion to The Rocks – Wednesday 14th May
- Festival of Cultures- Thursday 15th May
Uniform Shop
During Week 1 of Term 2 the Uniform Shop will open on:
Wednesday 30th April, the day the students return to school. Hours – 8.30am to 10.30am
Thursday 1st May – 9:20am to 10:20am
End of Term 1 and Term 2 Dates
Friday 11th April: Last day of Term 1 for students and teachers.
Saturday 12th April to Sunday 27th April: School Holidays.
Monday 28th April: Staff Development Day 1- Staff only attend.
Tuesday 29th April: Staff Development Day 2- Staff only attend.
Wednesday 30th April: Students return to school.
Important Changes Staff Development Days – Term 2
Parents/Carers, please note the change in the Department of Education’s arrangements for Staff Development Day Term 2. For next term there are two pupil free days – Monday 28th and Tuesday 29th April. Students first day will be Wednesday 30th April.
This is the last newsletter prior to the beginning of the school holidays. I wish all families a very safe and restful school holidays. I look forward to seeing you all next term.
Andrew Bowmer- Principal
Cultural Calendar April & May
Dear Parents,
I endeavour to include as many cultural events as possible, unfortunately I do accidently miss some. If I have missed an important cultural event for your culture or religion please inform me so I can correct it in the coming newsletter. Thanks for your help.
April 12th - Orthodox Lazarus Saturday (Christian) An Orthodox celebration of Christ raising Lazarus from the dead. This day is observed eight days before the Orthodox Easter Sunday.
April 13th - International Turban Day is observed annually on April 13th since 2004, is an occasion that celebrates Sikh Identity.
April 13th – Palm Sunday (Christian) is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
April 13th – Orthodox Palm Sunday (Christian) is the first day of the Holy Week — known as the last week of Lent and commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
April 13th – First day of Passover (Jewish) holiday. also called Pesach is a major, biblically derived Jewish holiday. Jews celebrate Passover as a commemoration of their liberation by God from slavery in ancient Egypt and their freedom as a nation under the leadership of Moses.
April 13th – 15th April: Songkran New Year. In Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand the new year is celebrated by cleansing images of Buddha in homes and temples, young people sprinkling water on older people, tying strings around the wrists of others and expressing good wishes for the new year. In Thailand this festival is known as Songkran.
April 14th – Hindu New Year: The Hindu New Year is based on Panchang, the lunar calendar and therefore the date changes annually. 2021 is 2078 in the lunar calendar. Different communities celebrate on different dates around the beginning of spring. Celebrations vary across India but usually people go to the temple to pay their respect and seek blessings, and gifts and sweets will be exchanged between friends and family members. The Goddess Lakshmi and the elephant-headed God Ganesha are especially venerated on this day.
April 14th - Silk New Year –Vaisahki (1 Vaisakh 551). (Sikh) This date is significant as it marks the founding of the Khalsa Panth and commencement of the Sikh Baptism (referred to as taking ‘Amrit’). It so happens that this date also coincides with a culturally significant ancient harvest festival which marks the beginning of a new solar year and harvest season.
April 17th - Maundy Thursday is the Christian Holy Day falling on the Thursday before Easter. It commemorates the foot washing (Maundy) and Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles.
April 17th - Independence Day – Syrian Arab Republic
April 18th – Independence Day – Zimbabwe
April 18th – Good Friday (Christian) is a holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary
April 18th – Orthodox Good Friday (Orthodox Christian) also known as “Great Friday” to remember the events leading up to Jesus' crucifixion. The Orthodox Easter dates usually differ from the dates used by western churches because most Orthodox churches retained some version of the Julian calendar, which is older than the Gregorian calendar, commonly used today.
April 20th – Easter Sunday (Christian) or Resurrection Sunday, is a festival and holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial after his crucifixion.
April 20th – Orthodox Easter Sunday (Orthodox Christian)
April 20th – First day of Ridvan (Bahá’í) is a twelve-day festival in the Bahá'í Faith, commemorating Bahá'u'lláh's declaration that he was a Manifestation of God.
April 23rd – St George’s Day (England)
April 25th – ANZAC Day
April 26th – Union Day – United Republic of Tanzania
April 27th – Independence Day – Serra Leone
April 27th – Freedom Day – South Africa
April 27th – National Day – Togo
April 30th – National Day – Israel
May 1st – National Day – Marshall Islands
May 1st – Twelfth Day of Ridvan (Baha’i) is a twelve-day festival in the Bahá'í Faith, commemorating Bahá'u'lláh's declaration that he was a Manifestation of God.
May 3rd - National Day – Poland
May 5th - Children's Day (Kodomo no Hi) is a Japanese national holiday which takes place annually on May 5 and is the final celebration in Golden Week. It is a day set aside to respect children's personalities and to celebrate their happiness. It was designated a national holiday by the Japanese government in 1948. It has been a day of celebration in Japan since ancient times.
Important Australian Milestones
April 25th - The ANZACs landed at Gallipoli 1915
April 29th - Captain Cook landed at Botany Bay 1770
May 6th - The Commonwealth Migration Act 1958 was amended, effectively dismantling the White Australia Policy 1966
Attendance Matters
As we come to the end of the school term, it is important to remember that every day the school is operational, is a day students are expected to attend school from 9.15am to 3.15pm. Please remember that if your child needs to be absent from school, you must inform the school about the reason for the absence. Using the school app is the best way to keep the school informed of any absence.
If you are intending to take leave for any length of time, please fill in a leave application form to help keep us aware of your child's attendance patterns. Leave application forms are available from the school office or on the school website in the notes section. This application is a very important part of the attendance tracking process for your child.
Thank you to all parents who are keeping us informed of absences. Now let's work on reducing absences. Every day absent is a day's worth of learning lost. At Blacktown South let's continue to improve student attendance to ensure maximum success for all.
Have a safe holiday and we look forward to a very exciting term in regard to school attendance and being recognised for being at school.
#AttendanceMatters
Kindergarten
Kindergarten have had a wonderful and productive start to the year. They have settled into school routines very well and are showing how to be safe, respectful learners. Students are making great effort throughout the day, showcasing their amazing learning. They are also participating in a variety of activities in the classroom including literacy centres, math games, science investigations, history, health, sport and creative arts. The kindergarten teachers have had a wonderful time getting to know the students and their families and look forward to watching them learn and grow throughout the year.
P&C and Uniform Shop
Our Parent and Community organisation is managed by a dedicated team of parent volunteers. Our objective is to engage with the school community and secure funding to enhance school facilities, equipment, and student support.
We have had lots of fundraising this term:
- Harmony Day Donuts saw us sell 635 donuts.
- We have sold 271 Easter Cookies and 35 hats.
That's a fantastic effort.
A big thank you to our school community for purchasing and supporting our school.
A special mention to our wonderful businesses who donated towards our Easter Eggstravaganza prizes:
*Hoyts Blacktown
*Grilled
*Time zone bowling Westpoint
*Flipout Blacktown
*Nadia's Cafe Westpoint
*Raging Waters Prospect
*Woolworths Prospect
*Moore Park Family Easter show
Your donations are greatly appreciated.
Thank you to the volunteers for creating fantastic Easter Hats for our K-2 students who ordered.
This event is a fun crafty parent get together.
Special thanks to the P&C Benny the bunny for joining our Easter parade.
Term 2 fundraisers and key dates to put in your calendars:
- Mothers' Day Stall – 6th & 7th May
- Crazy Socks Day – 18th June
- State of Origin Donut Day – TBA
All proceeds of our fundraising events go towards our fundraising goals.
We are seeking lovely volunteers to join us at our Mothers' Day stall. Please contact us to come along and meet new people.
Should you wish to volunteer your assistance throughout the year, please contact us. We are always seeking volunteers, and it's an excellent opportunity to build community connections.
Uniform Shop
Our uniform shop's new opening hours and days are:
Mondays and Thursdays, from 9:20 am to 10:20 am weekly.
Please NOTE: We will be OPEN on the first day back Wednesday 30th April from 8:30am-10:30am for all your uniform needs.
We have house Tees available to purchase in size 4-2XL. We have limited sizes available so please go onto our website and purchase a house tee at just $15. They always look great.
Winter stock is readily available in all sizes and styles so please come and see us as the weather starts to cool down.
We are eagerly awaiting long sleeve polos due to arrive early Term 2 and Sports Uniforms which are scheduled to arrive late Term 2.
We also offer a second-hand rack with prices starting at just $2. We gratefully accept uniform donations, and all proceeds benefit the P&C.
Alternatively, you can order online via the link provided, these will be placed in your child's teacher's pigeonhole for distribution. We will endeavour to complete these purchases on Mondays and Thursdays.
Click here to purchase school uniforms online
Please like our P&C/Uniform shop Facebook page for updates.
Click here to view the P&C Facebook page:
Business donations are very much welcome.
On our P&C website we have added the option "P&C contribution" (link below).
This is optional but it would be a great help if each family of our school could help with a donation. Thank you.
Digital Entertainment book
This fundraiser is available to be purchased all year. The digital entertainment book is conveniently available through an app. It is full of savings on entertainment, dining, travel, activities and much more. By purchasing through our link, the P&C receive a percentage of the total, contributing towards our fundraising goals. Please purchase through the link below:
Click here to purchase:
If you too would like to join our team of volunteers, please contact us at:
pc.bsps@outlook.com.au or Renee on 0415859158
Notes
Please click below for any notes that have gone home in the past that you might have missed:
Community News
At Blacktown South Public School, we support our local community. Click on the links for further information.
School Contacts
Blacktown South Public School
183 Flushcombe Road
Blacktown NSW 2148
Ph: 9622 6034, 9622 2449
Fax: 9831 2379
Email: blacktowns-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au
Principal: Mr Andrew Bowmer
Deputy Principals: Mrs Kathy Price, Mrs Renee Radecki (Monday to Wednesday) and Mrs Sathiya Segaram (Thursday to Friday)
Assistant Principals - APCI: Miss Raelene Rillera, Ms Amanda Sheaves and Mrs Sathiya Segaram.
Assistant Principals: Kindergarten Miss Krystal Evangelou
Year 1 Miss Matilda Lee
Year 2 Miss Fiona Pearce
Year 3 Mrs Hannah Casley
Year 4 Mrs Amy Charlesworth
Year 5 Miss Alyce Rogers
Year 6 Mr Patrick Lee-Eyles
Specialist Teachers Mrs Panayiota Zouriakas
Senior Administration Manager: Mrs Claire Dobbie
School Administration Officers: Mrs Robyn Taylor, Ms Doris Mifsud,
Miss Daphne Manivong, Ms Tara Shipway and Mrs Melinda Cooper
School Counsellor: Ms Lisa Harvey, Ms Olivia Parrott and Ms Josephine Cali
P&C Association
President: Renee Tsingolis
Vice President: Mandi Ashraf
Treasurer: Sarah Noor
Secretary: Hayley Hutchison
Assistant Secretary: Position Vacant
Assistant Treasurer: Position Vacant
Uniform Shop Committee:
Manager: Hayley Hutchison
Sarah Noor, Melissa Wilson, Effie Browne, Renee Tsingolis and Mandi Ashraf.
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