Stories and highlights

Harry and Sophie represented our school proudly this morning at the ANZAC Day Dawn Service. We were thrilled to have a collection of staff and students join us to march at the 10:30am service through town, representing our school with pride.

Congratulations to our SRC leaders for 2026. These newly elected students are excited and committed to represent their class with pride this year, being the student voice for each class on school matters.

Well done Sprouts on winning the Term 1 attendance award! The Kindergarten students demonstrated the most consistent attendance for Term 1, and as a reward enjoyed a special picnic lunch in Miss Starcevic's office. What a great start to school for these young learners.

Our students abilities were definitely on show at our recent swimming carnival, with our improved swimming for sport skills resulting in some impressive swimming. It was wonderful to have all 8 year old students and above spending the whole day at the pool, with our younger swimmers enjoying a shorter, fun filled afternoon of swimming. We look forward to seeing how our representative swimmers do at their next level of competition in 2026.

It was a triumphant return to the Tenterfield Eisteddfod for The Sir Henry Parkes Memorial Public School, with the school band and Stage 1 choir delivering successful performances. Students at Sir Henry Parkes have weekly music lessons with their specialist music teacher, Emma Ritchie, developing core music skills in the areas of performance, composition and listening. This strong musical foundation has allowed for many students to transfer these skills onto a band instrument this year, with 20 keen students engaging in weekly lessons and ensemble rehearsals.

The band came away with a first place in their instrumental section, with the adjudicator commending them for their balance and ensemble skills- a high compliment for a beginning band. She made mention that this group of students was a very promising young ensemble, so keep an eye out for their next public performance.

Stage 1 students in the Waves and Protons classes used their weekly specialist music lessons to prepare for this performance as a choir, developing their in tune singing and part work skills. The adjudicator commented on the level of challenge of their repertoire and their strong intonation. The Sir Henry Parkes students loved sharing their hard work with the wider Tenterfield community, showcasing their love of music and learning.

A huge congratulations to our boys soccor team on an incredible win against Glen Innes Public School today!

The first half saw us leading 1-0, and we managed to slot back in a second goal after the break. Glen Innes fought back hard, equalising with two quick goals to take us into extra time- but neither side could break the deadlock.

With the score still tied, it all came down to penalties. Both teams netted 3 goals, and made 2 saves, sending the shootout into sudden death. After both sides denied two more attempts, Blake stepped up and scored, with Patrick making the final save to seal the victory!

Well done boys, what a nail biter!

Early Stage 1 and Stage 1 students had an incredible time at the Darling Downs Zoo. They were lucky enough to be able to pat a baby alligator and boa, and were amazed at the large variety of different animals on display at the zoo.

Our Stage 2 students had a ball at Camp Goodenough. They were pushed out of their comfort zones, serving food to their fellow campers and washing up! For many of our students this was their first night away from home and their famililes. They loved the variety of activities on offer, with the giant swing being a highlight for many.

The teachers were thrilled to see so many of our students demonstrate excellent citizenship skills over the course of the camp and are so proud of the kind and thoughtful people they have become.

Science week started with a band, with a wall of mentos rockets to begin the week. The whole school participated in science rotations on Monday afternoon, exploring a wide range of scientific experiements. From magnets to reactions to decibels, there was something for everyone.

We are looking forward to our scientific learning deepening further later on this term at our Astronomy night!

Here at Sir Henry Parkes we love reading! Students were left guessing all week on the identity of their masked readers.

Friday was a very exciting morning as students and staff showcased their book week costumes on our annual book week parade down the main street. The community was very excited to support our students as they made their way through town.

The morning ended with the grand reveal our masked readers- some were easy to guess and some were a huge surprise!

Our Christmas in July breakfast was a lovely community event which gave us an opportunity to share a meal with students and their caregivers. There were plenty of activities to engage in, with biscuit decorating, guessing games and a variety of crafts.

There were some very impressive 'ugly christmas jumpers' on display, but Mrs Caldwell, Lisa, Cooper and Kris took out the top prizes.

Thank you to all families who joined us for this special event.