Principal Report
Good afternoon families!
The days are getting warmer, and longer, with many students (and teachers) getting excited as the end of year approaches. A school camp, 2025 Foundation transition days, Beach Day excursions, various incursions and an Open Afternoon / Family Picnic to look forward to have helped us fly through November very quickly! We are also mindful that the warmer weather and increased social activities mean that many students are more tired than usual, so we ask you to stick with the bedtime routine and ensure that your child is getting the 9-11 hours of sleep that primary aged students need wherever possible over the coming weeks.
For school staff, mid Term 4 means all of the above-mentioned events, plus end of year assessment and reporting, workforce planning, finalising strategic planning and related budgets, and creating and preparing for 2025 classes so I am sure we also need just as much sleep!
Year 5/6 Camp @ Phillip Island
If your child is Year 5 or 6, I am sure that you have heard all about the amazing adventures we (127 students and 13 staff) had down at Phillip Island Adventure Resort! The weather was our friend for 2 of the days, allowing everyone to enjoy a swim in the pool or a surf at Smiths Beach (or both) in the sun, before the rain arrived Tuesday evening. I was personally very disappointed to have to cancel our Penguin Parade visit due to severe weather conditions but the students took it in their stride. It was great to see the students interacting with each other in new ways, building connections and respect as they supported each other through some tough moments during the challenging group activities. My personal favourite was the support (both physical and verbal!) that was required for the Giant Swing. I was also proud of the students taking on feedback in regards to keeping their dining and cabin areas tidy - parents, please be assured that they are all very capable of clearing the table and cleaning up after themselves!
A big thank you to Mat for helping to organise the logistics of the camp and to the Year 5/6 teachers for managing the tasks of groupings and cabins, dietary requirements and other admin. School camps are big things to organise and exhausting to run and supervise, so thank you to all the wonderful staff that went along for the 3 days to support the students, helping them to make some lasting happy memories of primary school. Thank you also to the parents that were able to be home on the Thursday to supervise their sleeping / resting child in order for the school to be able to pass on the required time in lieu to some of the teachers that went to camp. I am already looking forward to next year’s Year 5 and Year 6 camp to Billabong Ranch. The 2025 Year 4 students will also not have to wait too long for their first camp, either.
‘Moving from Anxiety to Resilience’ Parent Info Session
Dr Jodi Richardson presented to over 100 parents from NLPS and our neighbouring schools last night, Wednesday November 21st. Our school has worked hard in recent years to build responsive, tiered and school specific approaches to support student wellbeing and inclusion, with it being a main focus for our school strategic plan these past three years and a personal professional passion of mine. Within that, we recognise the need that a strong school/home relationship is paramount and we have been very mindful about how we can also support parents in helping them better understand effective ways to support their children, too. We include both a wellbeing and learning focus in our newsletters with helpful ideas and also regularly offer special guest speakers for parent info sessions. As teachers, we often model, and explain to our students that learning is a lifelong pursuit, and it was great to see many parents so willing to learn a bit more about this important, and increasingly relevant, topic.
Composite Classes in 2025
With school organisation almost completely set, we are continuing with composite classes in Year 5/6 in 2025, with five 5/6 classes to be in operation again next year. With 2025 student numbers in the middle years (Year 3 and Year 4) quite different, we have made the decision to return to composite classes in Year 3/4 for 2025. We have actually had composites in these two year levels for the majority of the past 12 years and I know the 2025 Year 3/4 Professional Learning Team (PLT), many of which have taught Year 3/4 composites here before, will do a wonderful job in catering to the varied needs of their new cohort of students. It may surprise you to know that the average Australian classroom has an ability range of up to 5 or 6 years so our teachers are already adept at targeting their teaching and learning to different points of need through a variety of differentiated approaches.
At this stage, the biggest differences will be in Term 1, with Year 3 undertaking NAPLAN in mid-late March and Year 4 heading off to camp. Please remember, whatever class students are in, composite or not, there will be variation in ages, behaviours and competencies. Teachers help them to learn at whatever stage they are at, regardless of what year they are in. Composite classes can also have social and emotional benefits for students; students develop cooperation and understanding across age groups, and older students can develop leadership skills. Thank you in advance for your support in returning to this model in 2025.
Celebrating our Wonderful ES Staff
The students and teachers of NLPS acknowledged and celebrated the efforts of our amazing ES (Educational Support) Staff on Tuesday. This includes our wonderful and extremely proficient admin team (Kellie, Kerry, Brodie and Carolyn) as well as our dedicated classroom ES team (Antonella, Clare, Jacqui, Courtney, Nadiene, Freya, Helen & Daniel). Our school would not run as smoothly or be as great a place to work without all our fantastic ES staff and I know all teaching staff appreciate their support and patience, as do our students!
School Charges in 2025
Historically, NLPS has posted student charges on Compass in November for the following school year and asked for full or part payment of these in December. To accommodate family budgets and recognising that this time of year can be particularly expensive, the school will be trialling a new approach for 2025. NLPS will post the 2025 student charges in December 2024 on Compass and they will need to be paid in full by 30 January 2025. For families who prefer a split payment option, this is still available. For more detailed information, please see the article on the Whole School News page from our Business Manager, Kellie Holdich or on your Compass News Feed.
I hope the end to your November is not too frantic!
Keep smiling 🙂
Carly Bannon
Proud NLPS Principal