From sandbags and flood waters to laser tag, face painting and colour runs.

The Eugowra Public School welcomed the change of scenery last week when the school opened its gates to students from all schools and learning centres in the region for a free activity day, organised by the NSW Department of Education.

The day was the third in a series of events arranged by the department in the flood-impacted town during the school holidays to support both the students and families following the difficulty of last year.

Regional, Rural and Remote Education Policy Unit executive director Ben Ballard said the purpose of the activity days was to offer some fun for students and relief for parents during the holidays.

“It’s been a tough year for many of our rural and regional communities who have been dealing with extreme flooding events,” Mr Ballard said.

“It’s amazing to see the strength and resilience of these communities, and the support offered from surrounding communities to get them back on their feet.

“The Eugowra community was particularly hard hit at the end of 2022 and we wanted to make sure the kids didn’t miss out on their holiday fun because of this.”

Eugowra Public School principal Carmel Doyle said the staff and families were excited to start the new school year.

“There will be lots of new programs and different activities will be happening within the classroom and outside the classroom,” Ms Doyle said.

“We are really looking forward to having a less hectic year at Eugowra Public School.

“Our focus last year after the floods was to get back to some sense of normality for the students and the holiday activities have been really great for the kids and parents to enjoy their holidays before starting school again.”

The final school holiday activity day, run by Creative Community Concepts, featured outdoors games including laser tag, mini-golf and league-tag as well as face painting and a colour run.