Stories and highlights
There's always something to celebrate at our school! From exciting events to proud moments and everyday wins, here are just some of our highlights - visit our Facebook page for even more images of our amazing school and students!
2026 at our school
WELCOME TO RAND PS!
To start our year, we welcomed two brand new kindergarten students and one Year 2 student to our school!
We also had a photos of the generations as part of our Centenary year.
WALBUNDRIE SMALL SCHOOLS SWIMMING
Our students participated who attended the carnival were very keen to do well and challenged themselves in every race.
Well done Sophie, who was named 11 year girls runner-up age champion.
RAND PUBLIC SCHOOL IS 100!
On 19th February we recognised the school's birthday when Mr Herbert Birrell opened the school for the first time in 1926 with 17 students (9 boys and 8 girls).
On 27th February, we welcomed over 250 current & previous staff, students, families and their descendants to walk down memory lane and share the stories that make our school so fabulous.
WALBUNDRIE SMALL SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY
On 2nd April all of our students participated in the WSSN Cross country carnival at the Jindera Golf Course.
At the end of the day we were the CHAMPION SCHOOL!
A fabulous example of school spirit and support of peers.
Huge thank you to our staff who organised the carnival and the P&C who provided a delicious lunch for everyone!
MOTHER'S DAY AFTERNOON TEA
We recognised all the mothers and maternal role models with a delicious afternoon tea that was prepared and served by our students.
PAUL KELLY CUP
Our boys were fortunate enough to be invited to by Culcairn PS to join their team for the Paul Kelly Cup. They had a fabulous day and came away winners on the day. They are very excited about participating in the next level of competition in Griffith in August.
Henty PS were very grateful that we had a young lady who could play for them - they are also off to finals in Griffith!
WALBUNDRIE SMALL SCHOOL ATHLETICS
What an amazing day we had at athletics. We had so many committed competitors who gave their very best - leading Rand PS to be WSSN Champion Athletes for 2026!
IILYSH & JOHN VISIT
Thanks to the generosity of Billabong HS, we were lucky enough to have Iilysh Retallick and John Van Beek spend a day at the school. They helped our stage 3 students video the school's newly revised Acknowledgement of Country before running a fabulous singing session.
WALBUNDRIE SMALL SCHOOL CROSS NETBALL
We had five girls who were selected to participated in the NSW PSSA netball knock-out as members of the Walbundrie Small Schools Team. They had some very solid wins and lost a very close quarter final. We received A LOT of positive feedback about their sportsmanship, teamwork and attitude.
NAIDOC
We recognised NAIDOC with a day of dance, stories and artwork.
FEAST
At the start of term 3, the Wallaby class started the OzHarvest FEAST program. They are learning about minimising food waste while they learn new cooking skills and sharing some delicious treats with the rest of the school. They have started working on their cookbook which will be ready for sharing at the end of the year.
SMALL SCHOOL PUZZLE COMPETITION
In July, we attended the inaugural Hume Small Schools Puzzle competition. Two enthusiastic teams (who had been practising) went to Brocklesby PS to compete agains other small schools in our area. Maximum time allowed on the 300 piece puzzle was one hour. Our team were winners on the day in a time of 28 minutes and 10 seconds!
PRINCIPAL'S DAY
Some great poetry writing helped mark this occasion!
LOCKHART LIONS CLUB SPELLING BEE
This year, we had 10 enthusiastic Stage 2 and 3 students put themselves forward to compete in the Lockhart Spelling Bee. We had some excellent feedback on their manners, attitude and handwriting!
42nd FOOTBALL-NETBALL CARNIVAL
Our P&C had fabulous sunny weather for the 42nd football-netball development carnival. A great attendance and positive sportsmanship made the day a huge success. Another testament to the dedication, passion and organisational skills of our amazing parent body.
PAUL KELLY CUP FINALS
Our students joined Culcairn and Henty Public Schools as part of their teams for the finals in Deniliquin. It was a cold and windy day and everyone gave their best effort.
BOOK WEEK
We had some absolutely amazing costumes for our annual Book Week parade. A huge thank you to our mobile pre-school staff for taking on the very difficult job of judging!
FEAST FOR MRS TOOK
We had the pleasure of Mrs Took travelling all the way from greater Sydney to teach Possum for two weeks while Miss Dean was on leave. To thank her, the Wallaby class made a FEAST for her: chicken carbonara, mini tacos, golden syrup dumplings, stewed apples and wrapped s'mores. They are showing excellent skills and are all fully engaged in FEAST sessions
SASS WEEK
School Administration and Support Staff week gave us the opportunity to say a huge thank you to Carole, Meg, Sara, Ruth & Dave, whose professionalism and dedication to the school is invaluable.
2025 at our school
SWIMMING
In February our students participated in the Walbundrie Small Schools swimming carnival. Everyone showed great enthusiasm and school spirit.
WELCOME BACK FAN!
Our first series of sporting lessons for the year saw us welcome Fan back to our school for some advanced taekwondo lessons. Everyone learnt about courtesy, self-control and respect while mastering a range of movements and kicks - some even did some combinations!
HALVE WASTE
In late February, Jennifer from Halve Waste did a visit to our school to audit our bins after last year's education sessions - they were excellent (very little contamination). Jennifer was very impressed by the knowledge and understanding our students have about waste and the problems it causes.
HARMONY DAY
On Harmony Day, we welcomed the students from Brocklesby Public School for a day of cultural games, music and fun. Everyone had the chance to make new friends (or connect with old ones) and develop their understanding of why everyone belongs.
CROSS COUNTRY
We spent most of March practicing our cross country running and strategies before we all competed in the Walbundrie Small Schools cross country carnival. We had winners and place-getters in every age group. We were very proud of the support that our students gave their peers as they ran the 2 and 3km courses.
ANZAC DAY
In April, we welcomed members of the Naval Protection Force, Mother Jane Trigg, retired naval seaman Bill Warburton and members of the Corowa RSL branch and to the school for our ANZAC service. The level of utmost respect shown by our students during and after the service was an absolute credit to them.
Our school leaders then very capably ran the town service on ANZAC Day
ATHLETICS
In April and May, our parents and staff worked with our student to develop their athletics skills in the lead-up to the Walbundrie Small Schools athletics carnival. On the day we had maximum participation and some students who had personal best results in field and track events. We even had some age champions.
AUTHOR VISIT
In May, we were fortunate enough to be included in the Riverina Library author visit program and had the pleasure of welcoming Adrian Beck to the school. Adrian spoke to the students about how he gets ideas and writes, shared some of his funny & imaginative stories and then gave everyone a drawing lesson.
MOTHER'S DAY DISCO
Our Year 6 leaders organised and ran a fun-filled afternoon disco for all our Mothers. They were rewarded for their efforts with an afternoon teat o finish the day.
NATIONAL SIMULTANEOUS STORYTIME
On May 21st, at 12 midday, we all stopped and read 'The Truck Cat' as part pf National Simultaneous Storytime Day.
The Truck Cat by Deborah Frenkel is a picture book about Tinka, a cat who travels with Yacoub, his owner and truck driver. When they get separated, Tinka stays with Mari, a kind bakery owner who shares Yacoub’s culture. Together, they help Tinka and Yacoub reunite, showing how family and home can be found in surprising places.
ALTINA WILDLIFE PARK
In May, our incredibly supportive P&C took all of the school to Altina Wildlife Park for the day. There were some very excited faces and great excitement about seeing familiar animals - and learning the names of some they had never seen before. The highlight was watching the keepers do some conditioning training with the hyenas and lions: they were up VERY close!
NAIDOC WEEK
To recognise the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples who were the first inhabitants of the land, we studied culture, interpreted traditional stories and created artworks.
100 DAYS OF KINDERGARTEN
In early July, we celebrated 100 days of learning with Remi. Everyone in the Wallaby class took part in English and Maths activities based on 100.
LIONS CLUB SPELLING BEE
This year the Lions Club of Lockhart invited us to participate in their inaugural Stage 3 Spelling Bee. We had four students who put their hands up to challenge themselves and back their own spelling ability by participating in this event. They all approached the day with confidence & a high level of skill.
FOOTBALL-NETBALL CARNIVAL
On Sunday, August 10th, our dedicated P&C ran their 41st Annual Football-Netball Carnival. This carnival draws junior players from the Riverina and north-east Victoria, offering the opportunity for sporting development and teamwork. With nearly 1,000 players, along with manager and coaches it was a very early start to an action-packed day! Once again, the P&C presented a well run carnival and everyone had a great day.
THE CIRCUS CAME TO TOWN!
In August, everyone had a fabulous afternoon learning and practicing circus skills at the Rand School of Arts Hall. There was hula hoops, scarfs and circus sticks. We heard a lot of cries of awe and saw a lot of happy, smiling faces.
BOOK WEEK
Our Book Week parade was well attended by families and friends - we saw some amazing costumes and it was great to see so many entries in the Best Dressed Family category (parent included). The judges were really impressed by the Best Dressed Pair - two girls in a horse costume!
BADMINTON
Our Term 3 external sport coach came in and did badminton lessons. We saw great improvement in racquet skills and control of the shuttle. Badminton has now become a popular playground activity.
BERNIE O'CONNOR CUP
A cold and windy August day saw our Year 2-6 students travel to Yerong Creek for the annual Bernie O'Connor Cup. There was some excellent netball and AFL skills on show as well as excellent teamwork and sportsmanship. Our school continues to be very grateful for the parents who coach and manage these sides - making it possible for us to offer our students these opportunities.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR VISIT
On September 4th, Josie Bailey ) relieving Executive Director for Rural South and West) came to visit with Matthew Gray (our school Director of Educational Leadership). She was able to spend time with parents and families before being part of an English lesson in the Koala room.
FATHER'S DAY BREAKFAST
Our annual Father's Day breakfast was attended by generations of significant men in our student's lives, from fathers to great-grandfathers and even uncles. They enjoyed ta morning of social connections and delicious bacon and egg rolls (served by our amazing student leaders). The coffee van and tea service was also very popular.
MEGAN THE MAD SCIENTIST
In late October, we had Megan the Mad Scientist visit the school. She taught everyone about forces using balloons, oil & food colouring and bubbles. Her ability to put smoke into a bubble amazed everyone! Everyone agreed that the best experiment of the day was the volcano making and explosion.
STAGE 2 - MELBOURNE EXCURSION
Stage 2 went on their overnight excursion to Melbourne and were able to visit the Melbourne Museum and Science-works, travel on the tram system and visit the zoo.
GRANDPARENT'S AFTERNOON
This year the theme of our annual Grandparent's day was 'games with grandparents' . Our students made and served an afternoon tea of sandwiches, cakes and slices before everyone spent time together playing board or card games.
MATHS MUSTER
Our school had three teams entered in the inaugural Bangerang Schools Maths Muster - an initiative asking students to identify a problem that they could design a solution for. One of our Stage 2 teams took out the win for their initiative to reduce plastic in the Murray River. Our other teams had excellent presentation for saving greater gliders from extinction and helping disadvantaged students in Mali.
REMEMBRANCE DAY
While Years 4-6 attended a leadership day at Burrumbuttock PS, we had a Year 3 future leader step up and lead our Remembrance Day service.
FUTURE CAREER DAY
One of our Year 6 leadership initiatives this year was to ask all students to come dressed as their 'future career- - without buying costumes.
We had vets, bakers, farmers, midwives, dancers and so much more!
BASKETBALL LEGENDS!
We accepted the invitation to the Riverina small schools 3 x 3 basketball competition in Holbrook. There was some dedicated practice during recess and lunchtimes before the day. the effort certainly paid off, with the 3/4 and 5/6 girls teams, as well as the 3/4 boys teams being named champions on the day
STAGE 3 BALLARAT EXCURSION
Our Stage 3 students spend 3 days and 2 nights visiting Bendigo and Ballarat. Just some of their experiences included: going down mines with Baz, panning for gold, watching boiled lollies being made, bowling on wooden lanes with wooden balls and watching the amazing Aura sound and light show.
THE RETURN OF CHESTER McSPARKLE.....
December 1st arrived - and so did our elf! He has been up to a lot of mischief, some of which includes changing the colour of the water in the bubblers, drawing on staff faces in the foyer and trapping our regular visitor, Luna.
WATER FRI-YAY with Year 6
Our Year 6 students organised a full days of water fun including bucket relays, water balloon relays and STEM boat building. It was hot and everyone had a great time
PRESENTATION EVENING
It was great to see so many of the community attend our annual Presentation Evening. We had some proud, and some surprised, faces when awards were received.
Out students did a fabulous job of writing and performing a melodrama 'Shaun's Christmas Wish'
BIG DAY OUT
It was a very hot day, but everyone still enjoyed our Big Day Out to the movies in Corowa, followed by a picnic in the park and some mini-golf.
MURRAY CONSERVATORIUM VISIT
On December 18th, we were lucky enough to have the Murray Conservatorium come and do a 'try an instrument' session with our students. The trumpets and drums were the stand-outs and we have some talent too!
Year 6 FAREWELL LUNCH.
On December 19th, we held our farewell lunch for our amazing Year 6 students - celebrating their successes and achievements. They have been an integral part of our school and will be greatly missed.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
2025 has been a very busy year and everyone has has successes. We would like to wish all our community a very happy Christmas and a relaxing holiday.
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"We love the friendly and welcoming staff at Rand PS who go above and beyond every day for all of our students." — a parent of Rand Public School
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