23 October 2025
Principal
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Welcome back! I hope the holidays gave you and your family a chance to relax, recharge, and enjoy some time together.
As we begin Term Four, the energy across the school is high. It’s a busy term full of special events and milestones as we head towards the end of another successful year. With that in mind, let me draw your attention to a few important actions that parents and carers need to be aware of early in the term.
Class Placements 2026
If you believe there are special circumstances or considerations that should be taken into account for your child’s 2026 class placement, a form is now available via the link below or from the Front Office. Please note, this is not a request for a specific teacher.
We are starting the class placement process much earlier this year, and all completed forms must be returned to the Front Office or emailed to avalon-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au by 4.00pm on Thursday, 31 October (Week 3), addressed to the attention of Mrs Crutcher.
Previous class placement forms are not considered and do not carry over from year to year. No correspondence will be accepted after the due date, as the formation of new classes will have commenced.
Leaving our school? Extended holidays?
We have now actively commenced the school planning process for 2026. If you have a child enrolled in Years K-5 who will be moving from our school at the end of this year, please notify the school in writing as soon as possible.
The same applies if your child will have a delayed start to the new school year due to an extended holiday. Please return your correspondence to the school office, ASAP, to the attention of ‘Mrs Crutcher’.
Student Achievement
We are incredibly proud to celebrate the outstanding achievement of Alina Drain, who recently competed at the National Future Problem Solving Competition.
Alina was selected as an individual competitor in the Junior Division (Years 5 and 6) and spent the weekend competing on the challenging topic of Nanotechnology. Her creativity and critical thinking earned her 1st place in Australia, along with an invitation to represent Australia at the International Conference at Indiana University (USA) in June next year.
In addition to her individual success, Alina also joined a team for the Action Plan Presentation component of the competition, where the team placed 4th nationally.
This remarkable achievement is a testament to Alina’s hard work, dedication and passion for problem-solving. We are so proud of her efforts and look forward to following her journey as she prepares for the international stage.
Congratulations, Alina!
School Counsellor and School Psychologist Recognition Day
Friday 7th November 2025 is School Counsellor and School Psychologist Recognition Day, and we will be celebrating Mrs Poss Logan, our school psychologist.
This year’s theme, “Together, We Grow,” perfectly reflects the vital role Poss plays in our school community, fostering growth, connection and resilience in students, families and staff.
Poss, we are so grateful for your expertise, compassion and unwavering commitment. Thank you for your dedication and for helping us all grow together.
Nura Djaroba
We are excited to share that our beautiful native playground and learning space, Nura Djaroba will be re-opening soon.
This project has been a true community effort, with students contributing their ideas through a co-design process supported by staff, the P&C, parents and the Department of Education.
We will be hosting both an official opening and a soft opening so that all members of our community have the opportunity to explore and enjoy this special place.
Stay tuned for more details — we can’t wait to welcome everyone back into this beautiful space.
Avalon in Wonderland Musical
What an incredible experience it was to see our students bring Avalon in Wonderland to life on stage! The musical was filled with energy, creativity, and talent, showcasing the dedication and hard work of our students, teachers, and all involved behind the scenes.
Thanks to the support of our amazing school community, we raised $17,195.45 through ticket sales for the musical. These funds will go directly back into supporting our students and school programs, helping us continue to provide enriching experiences like this.
For those who couldn’t attend or would love to relive the magic, we will be sharing recordings of the shows in the coming weeks. Keep an eye out for details so you can enjoy the performances from the comfort of home.
Enrol Now for 2026!
If you are ‘in area’ for our school, or already have a sibling here, and have not yet enrolled your child at Avalon for 2026, please complete their enrolment online via our website. Your promptness in this matter will greatly ease our planning for the 2026 school year.
Please note, you will need to be enrolled to attend our Kindy Orientation sessions that are commencing in Week 4.
Have a great week and terrific term!
Bianca Howarth
R/Principal
Hold the Phone
Don’t miss this important conversation about giving children more time to simply be kids.
Join us in the Bilgola Plateau school hall on Monday, 27 October at 7:00pm for an evening focused on digital wellbeing and childhood in the modern age.
Specialist speakers will unpack how smartphones, devices and social media are shaping children’s lives today. A clinical psychologist will share practical insights into how screens impact young minds, and you’ll learn about the inspiring Wait Mate movement—a campaign encouraging families to hit pause on smartphones and give children space to grow, play and connect offline.
This is a must-attend event for parents and carers wanting to make informed, balanced choices about their child’s digital world.
RSVP now via TryBooking:
Garden Club
Welcome back to term 4 everyone, it was so nice to come back into the gardens and see that everything is really starting to kick on. Topping up with compost, mulch and manures over the last months has paid off. We will really notice the gardens blooming in a couple of weeks. We're talking about our senses this term, getting students to really take a moment and explore the Veggie gardens, looking for Ladybugs, and plants that smell are just a few of the senses activities. Watering and other garden jobs and letting them try freshly picked peas is always on the to do list. Watering is a particularly fun job in this hot weather.
Our compost sustainability collectors are continuing to do an absolutely fabulous job, collecting food scraps from the Canteen, Staffroom and play areas. Every food scrap counts towards making our rich compost gold. Thank You to the families that have also been dropping their food waste in, we really appreciate it. We've been pruning a few things hard, maintaining our rosemary hedges in the front garden being one of them. There is so much excess at the moment. If, like me, you are wondering what else you can do with excess rosemary, 'Recipe Tin Eats' has a great recipe for Rosemary Salt (Click on the link) you can also make Rosemary Skewers from your excess. So watch out for our Rosemary cuttings being put out over the next couple of weeks.
For those of you who don't know, Garden Club often puts out free produce on our little shelves at the entrance of the Bellevue garden. Happy Gardening everyone, keep on growing!
Fiona and Sue
Garden Club
Band
What a great start to Term 4! It’s been wonderful to see everyone settling back into rehearsals and thanks to daylight saving, those 7:30am starts are feeling a little easier for our young musicians (and their parents!). We have an exciting few weeks ahead with some fantastic band events:
Music Appreciation Performance
Our Performance Band will be entertaining K–3 students on Tuesday 4th November, 9:30–10:00am in Elouera Hall. This is always a highlight for the younger students and a great way to inspire future musicians!
Big Band Blow Test & Parent Information Night
On Wednesday 5th November, all Year 2 students will get the chance to try out band instruments with the help of professional tutors and our Band Director, Colden Anderson. This fun, hands-on session helps students discover which instrument suits them best. This is an exciting first step for those who might join our Training Band in 2026!
That evening, we’ll also be hosting the Band Parent Information Night. We’re hoping to see lots of interested families join us as we share what makes Avalon’s Band Program so special.
Strings
Avalon Strings had a productive end of term 3 performing for OOSH staff and students, playing at Avalon Beachhouse Preschool and in the holidays busking in the village. (See pics below).
This term Strings will be spreading the Christmas cheer playing in the village carols in week 8 and also at local kindy KU in week 10.
We also had our Strings leader Eva West, violinist Judd Wake and cellist Callan McGrath sit their AMEB exam and we wish them all the best on their pending results.
Any expressions of interest in joining Strings please contact Emma Wake 0417455598.
Canteen
Canteen Specials - Term 4
Monday:
Rice Paper Rolls (Chicken or Tuna) $6
Beef Burrito $6
Tuesday:
Meatball Sub $6
Wednesday:
Meatball Sub $6
Beef Burrito $6
Butter Chicken $6
Thursday:
Beef Nachos with Corn Chips $6
Butter Chicken $6
Friday:
Beef Nachos with Corn Chips $6
Butter Chicken $6
Recess Option
A new “Recess Option” has been set up on Spriggy. You can order Recess for your child, to be picked up from the Canteen:
You can choose from:
Cheese and Crackers
Crackers and Dip (Hummus or Guacamole)
Muffin (Chocolate, Blueberry or Apple Cinnamon)
Carrot and Cinnamon Wholemeal Loaf
Banana Bread
Waffle Wednesday… each Wednesday morning 9-9.25am. $3.
No Cash, no worries, Orders can be placed online via Spriggy under the IOU Tab, just have your child mention their online order at the counter when they come to pick up their Waffle
Uniform Shop
Uniform Store News……
We need Second Hand Uniform donations
Any Second Hand Uniform donations can be dropped at the Uniform Store, Canteen or the Office.
Uniform Store opening hours:
Monday 8am-10am
Thursday 2.30pm-4pm
Please note that there has been a slight increase in the price of the Uniforms, this has taken place Term 4.
Orders can be placed online via the School Website and will be delivered on Mondays and Fridays to your Child’s Classroom.
Any Urgent Uniform requests, (ie Hat replacements), please come to the Canteen.
Community
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