Stories and highlights

NAIDOC Week 2026

National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia in the first week of July each year (Sunday to Sunday), to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth.

What a wonderful week of celebrating, learning and connecting at Cardiff South Public School!

Throughout the week, students, staff and the community participated in a range of meaningful experiences, including our Smoking Ceremony and Flag Raising, K–6 book and activity rotations, a whole-school assembly, fantastic performances, engaging cultural workshops with Roo and the team and our NAIDOC BBQ.

A huge thank you to the Kiwanis volunteers for helping with the BBQ, we appreciate your support.

Combined Schools ANZAC Commemorative Event 2026

Our Year 6 students attended the 70th Annual Newcastle & Hunter Combined Schools ANZAC Service.

The 2026 theme, “LEST WE FORGET – Carrying the Flame of Remembrance,” explored the many ways Australians honour Anzac Day - from public cenotaphs and war memorials to personal acts of remembrance.

Following the service, students made their way to the Cenotaph in Civic Park to lay red poppies, while student bagpipers joined the catafalque party of Air Force cadets.

With more than 3,000 students participating, this powerful event highlights the importance of storytelling and invites us all to pause and reflect on the freedoms we enjoy, thanks to those who have served.

NSW PSSA State Swimming Championships 2026

Congratulations to Emily who competed at the NSW PSSA State Swimming Championships today at the Olympic pool in Sydney. In her race, 10yrs girls 50m freestyle, Em set a new personal best of 34:83 seconds which ranked her the 23rd fastest swimmer in NSW for this event out of a field of 41 from around the state. The school community is so proud of your dedication and wonderful achievements. Well done!

Junior Zone Cross Country 2026

Congratulations to all of our junior competitors. Some wonderful results. Maxine coming in 1st and Lynx coming in 6th. Both are off to Regional. Hallie placed 9th and is a reserve for Regional. As always, Southy’s excellent behaviour and sportsmanship shone through. We are proud of all of you!

Senior Zone Cross Country 2026

Congratulations to our Senior Cross Country Team. All students tried their best and should be proud of their achievements. Thanks to our lovely families for coming to cheer us on!

Hunter PSSA Swimming Carnival 2026

Congratulations to Opi, Isaac and Emily who represented Cardiff South and Crossroads at the Hunter PSSA Swimming Carnival. Opi finished 11th in the 8yr 50m freestyle and Isaac was 13th in the senior breaststroke. Both boys achieved personal best times. Emily had a busy day competing in 5 events. She finished 5th in the junior individual medley, 6th in junior backstroke, 13th in junior butterfly, 12th in junior breaststroke and 3rd in the 10yrs 50m freestyle. Her 3rd placing means that Emily has qualified to compete in the State PSSA swimming carnival. We are very proud of you all and celebrate your achievements!

Zone Crossroads Netball 2026

Lila was selected in the Zone Crossroads Netball team. She competed against 27 students in our zone area and should be very proud of this awesome achievement, especially being in Year 5. We can’t wait to hear how she goes at the Hunter trials!

Mountain Bike Racing Competition 2026

Emily and Penny recently competed in a mountain bike racing competition.
Emily finished 2nd in the Cross Country and 5th in the Funduro (downhill) event.
Penny finished 4th in the Cross Country and 3rd in the Funduro (downhill) event.
Congratulations to them both on their excellent results.

Harmony Day 2026

Our whole school celebrated Harmony Day on Friday 20th of March. Our preschool groups had a wonderful time celebrating Harmony Day throughout the week! Together, they explored cultures from around the world with hands-on activities such as collaborative artwork, music, dancing, and bracelet making. It was a week filled with learning, creativity, and friendship!

Lions Eye Health Screening 2026

We would like to extend our gratitude to the wonderful volunteers from the Lions Eye Health Program who came to conduct free vision screening on students in Kindergarten, Year 2, Year 4 and Year 6 yesterday.

With their support we were able to screen over 120 students and send home their reports that same day.

We look forward to working with the Lions Eye Health Program again next year!

The National Young Leaders Day 2026

This is Australia's largest gathering of young leaders and is an annual event on the calendar for thousands of primary and secondary schools. It provides a unique opportunity for students to gather at world-class event venues to hear some of Australia's most high-profile people share insights from their own leadership journey.

Camp Elim - Stage 2 2025

Stage 2 students had an unforgettable experience at Camp Elim, where they embraced adventure, teamwork, and fun! During the day, students challenged themselves with exciting activities like archery, the adventure tower, the giant swing, and team-building games.

These experiences not only brought smiles but also helped build resilience and perseverance as students stepped out of their comfort zones and supported one another. As night fell, everyone came together for lively games with the teachers, creating lasting memories and strengthening friendships.

Camp Elim was more than just an adventure—it was a chance for our students to grow, connect, and enjoy every moment. The laughter, challenges, and new friendships made at camp will be remembered for years to come!

Southy Showtime - Dancing in a Disney Dream 2025

What an incredible week! Our Southy kids put on two amazing shows, and we are so proud of them!

Thank you to our Southy teachers for choreography, costume design and creation, backdrop design, lunch time practices, drama scripts, that amazing opening video, the unsung heroes of the backstage chaos and for so much more.

Thank you to the true superstars…. Our students! The smiles (and the energy backstage) said it all! They were fantastic!

And thank you to our Fairy Godmother Mrs Metcalf for joining in on all the fun and using her magic wand to transport us into our magical wonderland.

Thank you to Miss Murray and staff for organising an amazing show that was loved by everyone!

Mother's and Father's Day Breakfasts 2025

Our school celebrates Mother's and Father's Day with special breakfast events that bring families and the school community together.

These celebrations are a wonderful opportunity to enjoy delicious food, heartwarming moments and a chance to celebrate the important role families and carers play in our student's lives.

To our mums and dads, you are your child's first teacher and their forever teacher - we appreciate opportunities to work together to provide your child with a quality educational experience.

Stage 3 Bathurst Camp - 2025

Cardiff South Public School offered our Stage 3 students the opportunity of going on an overnight educational excursion to Bathurst this year. This excursion linked to the Stage 3 History units being studied in Terms 1 and 2. Day 1 was spent gold panning, experiencing colonial history, including damper making, colonial games, mud brick making and tent making. Students also develop important skills such as independence, resilience while spending time away from family, but surrounded by supportive friends and teachers.

Book Week 2025

Book Week is a fun filled annual event held in August. Every year our library hosts a Book Fair and bi-annually we hold a Book Week Parade. Both events are a wonderful celebration of reading, imagination, and creativity bringing the whole school community together. The book fair is our annual fundraising event for our library. The bi-annual book week parade offers students the opportunity came dressed as their favourite book characters, filling the school with colour, excitement, and a love of stories. From classic heroes to new literary favourites, every costume shows how much our students enjoy reading and bringing stories to life.

Our school library situated in the middle of our school is a fun and colourful space that encourages imagination, storytelling, and a lifelong passion for books, not only during book week but every week of school life.

Todd Woodbridge Cup Tennis Gala Day 2025

Twenty students from Stage 2 and Stage 3 had an awesome time representing our school at the Todd Woodbridge Cup at Broadmeadow. They played doubles and mixed doubles in fun, modified tennis games against teams from lots of other schools. Everyone picked up new skills and got better with each game.

The students showed great sportsmanship and team spirit, making our school proud. Both teams did an amazing job and made it all the way to the semi-finals! It was a fantastic day of learning, playing, and working together – well done to all!

EV Challenge 2025

Our students had the opportunity to race our mini solar car at Tighes Hill Tafe. After spending most of the term building, testing and modifying their car they were ready to race. We won our first race in the straight track event which was very exciting. We didn’t have much luck in the pursuit race this year- but all of the boys showed excellent sportsmanship and had a great day competing.

Colour Run 2025

Thank you so much to all of our Southy families and community for making our colour run a huge success. A special thank you to our volunteers on the day. This event couldn’t happen without your help.

We are so pleased to announce we raised $26,268!!

Congratulations to our top class 1W for raising $4630 and congratulations to our top fundraising student, Mackinley W for raising $2150!

Science and Engineering Day 2025

Congratulations to the Stage 3 students that participated in the Science and Engineering Day. The students had a great day participating in activities that challenged and engaged them.

Well done for working so well in your groups and displaying such excellent behaviour. After the day's events we came an impressive 3rd - well done!