SCHOOL NEWS
Explicit Teaching
Explicit teaching happens every day in classrooms across NSW, including Bellbird Public School. But what is it?
Explicit teaching is a powerful evidence-based teaching practice that has been proven to improve student performance.
Neuroscience has given us a greater insight into how we learn, and explicit teaching aligns with how students process, store and retrieve information. It works for students of all ages, and all backgrounds.
Our staff have been strengthening their knowledge around explicit teaching practices to select the right strategy at the right time for the right purpose. We have begun with building a shared understanding of how learning occurs, the limitations of working memory and having high expectations for student learning to embed these strategies into our teaching and learning programs.
For more information around the background of our explicit teaching journey, visit
Kindergarten 2026
A reminder that now is the time to enrol your child for Kindergarten 2026. This allows us time to get everything we need to support enrolment, including liaising with any early childhood settings or external providers to ensure we best support a successful start to school.
If you have a child at home or know someone who does who is starting school next year, please fill out an enrolment form online or contact the office for support in completing a paper enrolment form.
If you have any questions about the enrolment process or starting school, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
ANZAC Day
On April 25th, a number of our Bellbird students proudly represented our school at the Cessnock ANZAC Service. As they participated in the march and attended the service, they displayed tremendous respect and attentiveness, honouring those who have served or continue to serve to ensure the safety of all Australians. Upon returning to school on Wednesday, May 1st, we held our own ANZAC Service. During this event, our school leaders, Ebony a placed a wreath in memory of the ANZACs and their courage. Our whole school listened to The Last Post and observed a minute of silence to honour those who have fought for our nation and those who are still serving. Lest We Forget.
Just Like Me
Years 1-6 enjoyed a visit from Kylie who shared with us an insight into her world, living with impaired vision. This valued program, generously delivered for free to schools by The Variety Club, builds awareness of our similarities and differences, abilities and challenges; but most of all, our opportunities to be kind to everyone.
Acknowledging others and accepting our differences develops empathy, supporting inclusiveness. These lifelong skills continue to develop over time through effective opportunities like Just Like Me. Thanks for visiting Bellbird and we look forward to seeing you again next year.
Keeping Safe and Healthy with Harold!
To round off Term 2, Harold made a visit to Bellbird to share his messages around safety, healthy lifestyles and respect. Most students participated in visiting the van with their skilled teacher presenters, meeting Harold for the first time or reconnecting with him once more. The Life Education Program is a valuable addition to our classroom learning with engaging interactive online lessons continuing with Harold throughout this term in every classroom.
Rockit Cyberbullying Workshops
Adding to an already hectic Week 11 of last term, Stage 2 and Stage 3 were fortunate to participate in workshops building upon identifying, proactively acting upon and preventing bullying on a variety of platforms.
Our school bases its culture on kindness, filling others’ buckets and in turn filling our own. Our enthusiastic presenters built self-esteem, presented real life examples and engaged our students to identify and discuss how to improve relationships with others to prevent bullying behaviours occurring.
We thank Rockit for this valuable free opportunity for our students.
Busy Bellbird Bees
We have almost harvested 50kg of honey from our flow hive at Briar Ridge since placing it there at the end of last year, our colony is thriving! Last year we sent out taster pots to our Stage 2 families and we are looking forward to sending home some sweet gifts for Mothers’ Day! We have noticed that each of the 5 different collections we have received have all looked different, reflecting on the flowers that were in abundance at the time.
When our next batch arrives, we will be offering it to our school community. We will let you know when we have excess so you can send in your jar for filling.
Children’s University
Students are building their hours of learning both outside of school and at lunchtimes. We meet each Monday in S2R at lunch play to learn a variety of new skills. Remember to write down the hours you are collecting in the community or online on the portal, I will remind you when to bring in your passport to be updated.
Remember we will be heading off to Newcastle University towards the end of the term to take part in a variety of experiences, we look forward to you coming with us.
Easter Hat Parade
Thank you to our wonderful school community for coming along and attending our Easter Hat Parade, one of the most exciting days on our school calendar. The weather was spectacular, students looked amazing in their Easter hat creations and it was the perfect finish to a busy Term 1. We extend our sincere appreciation to the P & C for organising the colouring-in competition and the fantastic Easter raffle prizes. Thank you to everyone who purchased tickets and made prize donations. Lastly, thank you to Year 6 for the delicious bake sale.
STEM
STEM Sparks Creativity with Micro:bits, LEGO SPIKE Kits, and Podcasting!
Last term, our Stage 2 students have been explored the exciting world of STEM through hands-on learning and creativity. Using Micro:bit micro controllers, they learned how to write simple code to control lights, sensors, and buttons. Students turned the Micro:bits into pedometers, to track the number of steps taken and coded games like Paper, Scissors and Rock and Snap the Dot, which tested their hand-eye coordination and reaction times. With LEGO Education SPIKE kits, students then brought their ideas to life by building breakdancing robots and clever hopper machines which were designed and built to race, all powered by code.
Meanwhile, our Year 5 and 6 students also stepped into the world of media and communication, learning the basics of podcasting. From writing scripts and recording audio to using editing tools, they’ve been preparing to launch our very own school podcast! It was an exciting term full of innovation, teamwork, and discovery across all year levels. Be sure to tune into our first ever school podcast episode which we will be aiming to launch later in Term 2.
Harmony Day
For Harmony Day 2025, students across K-6 participated in a variety of activities to support cultural awareness and diversity. Each class participated in a range of activities that highlighted our support and commitment to cultural diversity and creating an inclusive Australia. Some activities classes participated in were, investigating a Country or language, discussing family cultures and traditions, moving to music and creating diverse artworks. Each class shared their learning and activities on Seesaw throughout the week and at the Week 10 assembly.
Busy Bee Readers
This term, our Busy Bee readers buzzed over to Honey Tree Preschool as part of their Book Week celebrations! The students read stories to the preschoolers and shared their knowledge about books — teaching them all about the front cover, back cover, spine, author, and illustrator. The preschoolers absolutely loved the visit, and we’re excited to return throughout the term to share more stories!
Mothers Day Breakfast
Thank you to our families for supporting our annual Mothers Day breakfast.
