Parent Information
Welcome to Bradshaw Primary School, and thank you for considering Bradshaw for your child’s education. We trust that your time spent at Bradshaw will be personally satisfying and rewarding.
Our vision statement sums up what it means to be part of the Bradshaw community – “At Bradshaw we all belong to a diverse community of inspired learners, growing together.” Bradshaw is renowned for its educational excellence, diverse opportunities to learn within and beyond the classroom, and for its supportive and inclusive learning environment.
Bradshaw offers high quality, innovative, research informed teaching and learning programs, from Preschool to Year 6. At Bradshaw we believe that all students can and will learn when given the right support and encouragement. We set high expectations for behaviour and academic progress and support students to reach their goals. At Bradshaw we believe that challenges are exciting and mistakes are to be welcomed in the learning process. We believe in our students. Social and emotional skill development play a vital role in improved learning outcomes and the wellbeing of everyone is paramount to our success. We welcome and celebrate diverse cultural backgrounds, benefiting from the rich contributions that each family brings to our community. Our Bradshaw Learner Qualities reflect these beliefs and are part of our everyday conversations with students and families.
The school Leadership Team invites all families to talk to us regarding the learning needs of your child. Communication between home and school is key to your child’s success and you are encouraged to discuss any issues, as well as provide us with feedback on what is going well and what we can do to improve. It is important to remember that our school is your school and that your children benefit from your active involvement in school life and in the fostering of a positive home-school partnership. We look forward to working with you in partnership to foster your children's learning and to help make Bradshaw the best that it can be.
Typical School Day
The school office is open daily from 8am to 4:00pm.
The school grounds open at 8am, the bell rings at 8:30am for students to move to their classrooms, ready for learning to begin.
At 9:30am most classes have a Crunch n' Sip break where they enjoy a snack of fresh fruit or vegetables while they work. Then at 10.30am the students have recess. They head out to play for 20 minutes and return to eat in their patios or classrooms for 10 minutes. Music plays at the end of breaks to give students time to go to the toilet. The middle session is from 11am – 1pm. Lunch is from 1pm – 1:50pm including a 10 minute supervised eating time. Again students play before they eat. At 1:50pm, the students head back to the classroom for the last learning session of the day, school then finishes at 2:50pm.
House Teams
Students and staff belong to one of four houses, which are the Arrernte words for colours:
House Leadership
All students in Year 6 have the opportunity to develop their leadership skills through the three leadership domains of:
The students meet weekly with the teacher for the domain and the four elected student leaders to plan and lead activities across the school which focus on the domain. Students in the Coaching domain lead Sports Day and their Sports House.
All year 6 students have a class that they lead in fortnightly Whole School Fitness. The students work together for the whole year with the Year 6 students selecting games and activities for their class and then planning and teaching them.
Sports Day is held in Term 2, with the Inter School Athletics Carnival later in Term 2.
Student Leadership & Events
Leadership
Student Leadership and Student Voice are fostered throughout the school.
The Student Representative Council is made up of two representatives from each class from years 4 to 6. The students are elected from their peers at the beginning of each semester and serve for the semester.
The SRC undertake a number of school community service and fundraising activities. They also represent the school at formal events such as ANZAC Day. The SRC meet fortnightly to raise issues and discuss plans.
Our Year 6 students all have the opportunity to develop and use leadership skills in a preferred domain area - either Community, Coaching or Communication. Within their domain, students undertake leadership learning each week.
Year 6 students lead Whole School Fitness on a fortnightly basis. In small groups students design, plan and teach fitness games and activities to a class of younger students. As the year progresses the students grow in confidence in the type and complexity of the games that they introduce.
Through the Bradshaw Learner Qualities, all students are encouraged to be the leaders of their own learning and therefore leading the learning of others.
Events
Students and staff come together to celebrate and participate in events that strengthen our relationships with each other and with learning.
At Bradshaw we love an excuse to dress up and have some fun together.
Harmony Day, NAIDOC Week, Book Week, Simultaneous Story Telling, Sports Day, Bullying No Way!, Central Australian Eisteddfod, Alice Can Dance, School Disco, Alice Beat Festival, Eco Fair and Alice Springs Bird Festival are just a few of the ways that we come together to celebrate the uniqueness and diversity of our school, our school community and the broader Alice Springs community.
A highlight of the calendar is our school concert held in Term 3 at the Marian Centre at OLSH. One Spooky Night, Musicals, The Toy Shop, Destination Unknown and Bright Ideas are a few of our recent themes. I wonder what the theme for 2023 will be?
The students take enormous pride in the school grounds. Planning and caring for and making improvements to our gardens is an activity that all students are eager to be a part of.
Policies & Procedures
Hats
Our hat policy is in place to make sure that children are protected from the harsh sun of Alice Springs and its short and long term effects on their health. For outdoor play and activities, all children are required to wear a hat that provides all around shade such as a broad brimmed, bucket or legionnaire style hat.
Bradshaw has a
YES HAT, YES PLAY policy that requires children without a hat to remain in the library, eating area or hall during breaks.
Healthy Eating
Children are encouraged to make healthy eating choices for their own health and well-being. Families are asked to provide lunches and snacks that meet the nutritional and healthy eating requirements for learning and progress.
Students are supervised while they eat. Pack a healthy snack for Snip n' Crunch (mid morning), recess and lunch. An ice brick in the lunchbox helps keep food fresh.
Bus
School buses organised through the Department of Transport are available to transport students to and from school. Details of bus routes and times are available by clicking here.
Students are dropped off and collected from the bus stop on the western side of the school which is supervised by teachers after school. This service is provided free of charge to students. A Code of Conduct applies to all Bradshaw students. Click here for the
Code of Conduct.
Mobile Phones
Students bringing mobile phones to school must leave these at the front office on arrival at school and collect them before going home.
Excursions & Camps
Bradshaw students regularly go on excursions, because we appreciate the learning opportunities that exist in the broader community. We need parents to provide consent before students can participate in excursions.
Camps are part of the school program for classes in years 4-6 and all children are expected to participate. We believe strongly in the benefits of camps in developing class cohesiveness, cooperation, independence and social skills, as well as providing an opportunity to learn about the environment. The cost of these camps depends on location and duration.
Back To School payments may be allocated in Term 1 to pay for the school camp for the year.
Car Park
Many parents drive their children to and from school. For the safety of everyone at the school, please drive slowly in the car park and around the school.
The main car park is on the western side of the school. There are more car parks adjoining Flynn Drive Oval on the eastern side of the school.
There is a Kiss ‘n’ Go zone in the main car park of the school. The zone is immediately inside the entrance following the footpath. NO PARKING IS PERMITTED. If you have to wait for students to come out of school or you are walking in to collect your child please park in the designated spots.
The main car park gets incredibly congested at the end of the day. Many parents choose to make arrangements for their children to meet them in the car park adjoining the Flynn Drive Oval.
Fit for School
Parents must ensure that children are in good health and ready for the school day. The school has a sick room where students who are hurt or who become ill during the school day can rest quietly while parents are contacted to take the child home. Children who are ill should not be sent to school, as we cannot adequately care for them in our facility, which is only for emergencies.
Parents and carers must let the school know if a child is diagnosed as having an infectious disease as many diseases have specific exclusion periods. Chickenpox, measles, mumps, rubella, impetigo, ringworm, scabies, conjunctivitis and hepatitis are examples of diseases that require treatment and an exclusion period to pass prior to re-entering the school.
Click here for exclusion times for students with or exposed to infectious diseases.
Zoning
To enrol a student at Bradshaw Primary School, students must reside within the priority enrolment zone. Click here
for the Priority Enrolment Policy.
School Uniform
Our school uniforms are designed to suit the weather of Alice Springs and use the school colours of navy blue and gold. They make students of Bradshaw recognisable representatives of the school.
School uniforms are compulsory
in all NT government schools and can be purchased from the office during school hours.
Our uniform is a Bradshaw polo shirt with plain, non-denim navy shorts, skorts, pants or a school dress. Families can choose to purchase shorts from the school or from another retailer.
For cooler weather students wear a Bradshaw jumper or jacket over their polo shirt. Appropriate footwear such as runners, school shoes or sturdy, flat sandals must be worn at all times. Thongs are not permitted.
Students must wear the school uniform every day, including during winter when a school jumper must be worn. Uniform items are on display in the school foyer.
Students need to have a hat, school bag and book bag, although these items do not need to be purchased from Bradshaw.
Year 6 students can choose to wear the Year 6 shirt as an alternative to the gold and blue shirt. Year 6 shirts are ordered in Term 1 and are unique to that particular year as they list the students and teachers names.
Hats must provide all around shade – a broad brimmed, bucket or legionnaire style hat is appropriate.
School Assembly
Whole School Assemblies are held on the Friday of even weeks of the school term. They start at 8.40am in the Jill Tudor Hall. Families are always very welcome to attend.
Teachers will endeavour to let you know if your child is going to receive an award at any particular assembly. Senior students lead the assemblies and perform a class item, dancing is usually a feature of these. Assemblies start with the national anthem and often include the school song.
A highlight of assembly is the announcement of the clasess with the highest attendance and Class Awards for the Bradshaw Learner Qualities.
We look forward to seeing you there to celebrate the learning and achievements of our students.
School Map
Arrernte language is the traditional language of Mparntwe (Alice Springs) and is spoken by the people of the Alice Springs region.
Areas of the school are identified with Arrernte names for children. These translations are:
Classes are known by their location in the school. eg. I am in ampe akweke 1, I am in Transition and my teacher's name is Miss March.
New signage is being installed along the concourse and on the classroom doors in 2023 to identify the new classroom names.
After School Care
YMCA operates a quality After School Care program from 2.50-6pm in the arelhe ampwe kenhe Hall at Bradshaw School.
A Vacation Care and Staff Development Day Program is also offered. Booking arrangements are available by contacting the YMCA on