You can now easily subscribe to updates from the award-winning website for parents, School A to Z. Each term you'll receive newsletters with the latest information to help you manage your child's homework and study, health, development and technology use. School A to Z has been created by parents at the education department to answer the common questions and challenges we all face as we support our kids growing up. This month's newsletter includes: a series of videos to help you when bullying becomes an issue for your child tips for getting... Read more

An MP3 player, such as an iPod, is an essential item for many kids but listening to them for long periods of time can cause permanent hearing loss. And the experts say the volume doesn't have to be ear-splitting to cause damage. The loudness of sound is measured in units called decibels (dB). Conversation is generally 60dB. Traffic noise can be around 80dB. Louder noises, such as a plane taking off, a motorcycle or firecrackers can range from 120dB to 140dB. Listening to music at levels above 80 decibels is going to damage hearing. The... Read more

Students from Years 4, 5 and 6 were treated to a great surprise during the Children's Program at the Byron Bay Film Festival. The students from Bangalow Public School were excited to watch the short films that made up the Childrens Program at this years Byron Bay Film Festival but the highlight was certainly meeting one of the film makers. The students had the opportunity to meet and have question time with Alison Teal. She inspired them with her tales of surfing adventrues from around the world and shared with them 2 pieces of advice. The... Read more

A new website and mobile app have been launched to help parents and students address bullying. The Bullying, No Way! website includes interactive applications, including a choose- your-own-adventure game for students to learn how to deal with bullying, and videos for parents and students. The site also includes information on: helping your child if they are being bullied identifying the signs that your child might be bullying others getting help and support. The website and the Take a Stand Together mobile app were launched to coincide with... Read more

You may have already heard of ‘Pause, Prompt, Praise' or the ‘Three Ps' as the strategy is sometimes called. These three catchy words describe a simple technique that, used well, will help your child practise their reading and develop their reading confidence. The principle of pausing, then prompting and then praising is handy to remember any time your child is reading aloud to you. Teachers and trained tutors often use a more structured version, but the following tips can help you to try out the Three Ps when reading with your child at home.... Read more

Bangalow Public School kicked off the year with our school swimming carnival on Friday 10th February. It was a day thoroughly enjoyed by all. The weather was great, records were broken and the cheers were loud. Congratulations to all the students who swam so well they went onto the district swimming carnival.... Read more

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

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

Each year the North Coast School Sports Association presents an award for outstanding achievement in each of the sports contested by students in our region, which encompasses over 66,000 students. Brianna C has been named recipient of this year's award for Athletics and Cross Country. Brianna remained undefeated through all levels of competition to be awarded Regional Age Champion in Cross Country, and for the 100m, 200m and 800m events in Athletics. Her impressive performance at the Regional Athletics Carnival in Coffs Harbour also saw her... Read more

Students from Bangalow Public School have been achieving some great results in academic competitions recently. Tomas, Abbie and Julian each achieved a Distinction in the Newcastle Permanent Mathematics Competition. Maths Olympiad 14 students took part in the Maths Oympiad held at Byron Bay High School in early November. ICAS A group of students from Stages 2 & 3 achieved Credits and Distinctions in the ICAS tests this year.... Read more

Campfire Skills Canoeing Hiking The last week in Term 3 saw Stage 2 students head off for 3 days at the Tayalgum Ridge Retreat. The sports and recreation camp put the 54 students and 4 teachers through days of adventure and nights of fun. Everyone had the chance to be challenged on the high ropes course, jump on a flying fox, go canoeing, treck through the beautiful surrounding bushland, get up close and personal with lots of wildlife and learn how to build a campfire and cook damper. A great place for a few days of... Read more

A great Sydney adventure, 44 students, 3 teachers and a fantastic bus driver named Mark. Late in Term 3 Stage 3 set off bound for Sydney. The days were action packed and the weather sensational. We left Bangalow at 8pm on Sunday night as ready as we could be for the 12 hour bus trip ahead. Day 1 : A morning stroll over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Power House Museum, Opera House tour, Sydney Aquarium and night wander through Hyde Park Day 2 : Walking around The Rocks, Hyde Park Barracks, Justice & Peace Museum, Parliament House and... 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

A dance troupe from Bangalow Public took part in The Lighthouse Valley Community of Schools Dance Festival held at Byron Bay High School. The troupe put on a great performance over 3 days.... Read more

The Bangalow Alive! ~ Imagination Art Show was held in conjuction with the Bangalow Community Children's Centre from August 18 to 20 at the A&I Hall. As well as every child having an individual artwork on display, each class created a masterpiece which was auctioned on the opening night. These eight artworks attracted nearly $3,000 in bids!... Read more