Leadership Report

Newlands Primary School felt a bit quieter this week, with most of our students off enjoying camp. The 3/4s and 5/6s returned with big smiles and plenty of stories, especially about the excitement of mountain boarding and the ever-popular giant swing. A huge thank you goes out to all the dedicated teachers who spent time away from their families to make this camp a memorable experience for our students.

While Coburg's streets buzzed with Halloween celebrations, Newlands students embraced the spirit of Día de los Muertos. This year, every student had the chance to experience the remarkable Newlands Ofrenda, which was truly awe-inspiring. Huge thanks to Egmont, Alberto, Abner, Tere and Edgar for providing our school with an authentic window into this rich Spanish tradition. Their dedication, months in the making, has created a unique learning experience, and we are incredibly fortunate to have such wonderful families in our community. The photos below hardly capture its true beauty!

Last Friday was Grandparents Day, and we had an incredible turnout from our families! The students were thrilled to share their classrooms and showcase their learning with their loved ones. Here are just a few snapshots from a wonderful afternoon.

Sunday’s Working Bee was a huge success! Kristy, Tim, and Scott—well known for their commitment to the Buildings and Grounds Subcommittee—led a team of enthusiastic families in painting, weeding, and mulching around the school. A big thank you to everyone who gave up their Sunday to help make our school even more beautiful!

Foundation

I had a quick chat with Noah and asked him about his favourite part of the week. He was absolutely thrilled to talk about how amazing the Learning Worlds are and shared how excited he is to join them next year. Katherine, always going the extra mile, took all the Foundation students over—not just for learning, but as a mini transition to get them ready for 2025.

1/2

Passing by Moira’s calm classroom, I found all the students immersed in writing narratives. Olive, inspired by Halloween, shared her spooky story about Sofia and Lilly, complete with an incredible cat that transformed their lives! Leroy’s story featured *Footsagnlore*, a magical dragon described with such vivid detail that he didn’t even have time to finish—I can’t wait to hear what happens next! Carolina’s story about Ella, Jack, and Zoe was delivered with such expressive reading that I was hooked, wanting to know more. Molly made sure I didn’t leave without hearing her tale about a fifteen-year-old bunny that falls into a river… but I won’t spoil the ending!

3/4 

After her guitar lesson with Patrick—where she’s nailing her E minor and A minor patterns—I caught up with Nancy to chat about camp. Nancy had an absolute blast! Although the bus ride was a bit long, she was thrilled with her cabin mates and couldn’t stop praising her awesome activity group leaders, Sophia and Simon. She loved mountain boarding and the giant swing, with archery as another big highlight. While the pasta Bolognese was tasty, it still didn’t beat her mum’s cooking! Nancy was glad to return home, missing her bed and family, but she said everyone had an amazing time. And a special shoutout to 3/4C, who, during Community Inquiry, gave me all the reasons why we need dolphins!

5/6 

They were all on camp! Judging by the smiles before camp and the tiredness upon their return tells me it was a great time at the Ranch!

Next Friday

Join us for our final open classroom event of the year! Classrooms will be open from 2:30 to 3:00, giving families a chance to see what students have been working on. Afterwards, we’ll have a special Inauguration Ceremony for the Wildlife Garden, as the gates finally come down to officially open it to our community. Huge thanks to Agus for her incredible dedication and organisation in bringing this garden to life!

Fete De Primavera is NEXT Saturday!

The biggest event of the year for Newlands is almost here, and the excitement is building! Students are eagerly counting down the days to get their wristbands. Our amazing PFA has truly outdone themselves, and next Saturday promises to be an unforgettable day for our community. For more details, head over to the Fete page in the newsletter.

We hope you have a fantastic weekend. 

Thanks, Luke