Principal Report

Hello parents and families,

I hope you and your family got to enjoy the long weekend, hot as it may have been, and you created some happy summertime memories. Although Week 7 has been a short week, it has been an important one, with NAPLAN going on and our Open Classrooms this afternoon.

Open Classrooms - from 3:15pm to 4:00pm for Year 1-6 TONIGHT 14th March

It will be wonderful to see families on site this afternoon during our Open Classroom afternoon  that we have held once a semester since early 2023. It is a great opportunity for mums, dads, siblings, grandparents etc. to come into our classrooms and see what their child/ren have been doing - including sharing what learning they are proud of, and what is exciting in their 2024 classrooms. There are many wonderful things happening at every year level and in every classroom here at NLPS and this is an afternoon where some of those things are showcased.

Attendance - Every Day Counts

I attended the Western Metropolitan Region’s Principal Forum last week and was pleased to see that NLPS has already begun work on many of the region's priorities for the year (e.g. a focus on engagement and wellbeing, numeracy and collaborative learning with other schools). 

One big bit of data that they pushed was attendance. Our attendance data is tracking slightly better than this time in 2023 which is wonderful, and it will be a continual focus at region as it is thought to be a direct result of levels of student and family engagement. Absences, be it for appointments, a general rest day or for family holidays, all add up as the chart below shows. Of course, teachers do their best to ensure that they try to catch students up on the learning they have missed, but it is not always possible and hence important learning is often missed out on. The school, and department ask you to please be mindful of booking things during the term. Thank you for your support.

Year 4 Off to Camp Next Week!

I would like to wish all 4 students and staff all the best for a wonderful three-day camp to Campapse Downs in Tylden next week, March 18-20th. I’m certain it will be an exciting and fun time, filled with many engaging and challenging activities conducted over the three days.

The children will arrive home on Wednesday evening full of stories from their experience but without doubt, will also be very exhausted. We encourage where possible, that your child rests up at home the following day and catches up on their sleep and energy.

If this is not an option, students are obviously very welcome to attend school, noting that the planned Thursday classroom program for Year 4 will be passive activities for the entire day as the regular Year 4 teaching staff will be taking the day as Time in Lieu in line with their EBA.  These passive activities will include board games, reading activities, a movie etc. and will be supervised by CRT staff.

I would like to thank all the staff (teachers and education support) and their families for being available to care for, conduct and supervise the students on the camp and giving our students this wonderful, memory-making experience.

Harmony Day 2024

As part of the school’s ongoing commitment to celebrating differences, including our wonderful cultural diversity, I am pleased to say that we will be holding Harmony Day at NLPS next Friday, March 22nd. The children are encouraged to wear a touch of orange to school on the Friday and will all be taking part in related planned activities during the day, including a specially designed scavenger hunt. 

Like many Melbourne schools, we have a wealth of cultures in our community. You may be surprised to know that 35% of our parents were born in a country other than Australia, and approx. 17% of our students speak a language other than English at home. As part of our commitment to celebrating the differing cultures that make up our school, we will also be inviting parents to special coffee mornings from Term 2. Stay tuned for further details.

Before School Supervision Reminder 

Just a friendly reminder that students that are dropped off before 8:45am are not being supervised whilst in the yard if not with their parents. School based supervision starts at 8:45am. If you are not comfortable dropping your child off to play with strangers in a local playground/park without adult supervision, we would appreciate it if you do not do so in the yard in the mornings. 

Please contact our wonderful out of school hours care provider, Quantin Binnah, if you cannot avoid an early drop off on 03 9742 5040 or admin@qbcc.org.au. Thank you for your understanding.

Hope to see you this afternoon at our Open Classrooms! Have a wonderful fortnight.

Carly Bannon

Acting Principal

Student Charges, Building, Library & First Aid Funds

Thank you to everyone who has already paid their student charges for 2024, for those families who have elected to pay in 2 instalments please be aware that the 2nd instalment is scheduled to come out on the 20th March.  

NLPS thanks our families who continue to contribute to the curriculum contributions and the other contributions such as Building and Library Fund (which are both tax deductable) and the First Aid officer which is not a funded position from the Department of Education.  Without the support of our families, we would not be able to have a dedicated person such as Carolyn as our first aid officer.  I am sure your child/ren have had the opportunity to meet Carolyn over the first term and if they haven’t please take the time to read below so you are familiar with her and her role

Introducing Carolyn our First Aid Officer

Hopefully,  you and your children have had a great start to the new school year. For those families who are new to Newport Lakes Primary School, my name is Carolyn and I am the First Aid Officer. 

My role is to look after the students if they are feeling unwell, have an accident in the yard, need medication and everything else in-between.  Any visit to first aid requiring that ‘little bit extra’ will get a compass note recording their visit and any treatment given.  Sick Bay is located in the main office, so, if you are needed to collect your child if they are unwell, this is where you will find us. 

If students are needing medication to be administered during school hours, there is a Medication Authority Form that needs to be completed. This is attached below and on the Parent Info page in this newsletter, on the website and available in person from the office.  

Please note that all medication is to be kept in the sick bay and not in the student’s bag. 

Students can pop into sick bay for all sorts of things, for example they might come in with a ‘sore tummy’ as they are feeling anxious, they might be getting over a virus, they are having a flare up with their asthma or they just need a bandaid for a grazed knee or elbow. I also liaise with class teachers, leadership and our mental health and wellbeing leader should a situation require it.  Life and needs change from time to time, so please let me know if there is anything I can do to help support your child with their health care needs.