Leadership Report 

Great to be BACK...........Yeah!

What a different feel.... 'the vibe' in the school this week. Happy staff, happy kids and smiling parents. We have missed the little treasures running through the buildings, we missed the groans complaining the work's too hard. Ahhhh........ the dulcet tones of reality! For me I've missed seeing the little treasures limping to the office needing a band-aid, or ice pack and of course the lost hat. But seriously it is so much better having the staff and the kids back in the school.

New classroom arrives

Yes we are on DET's radar for need. This new building will accommodate the extra two F/1 classes we expect in 2021.

Infrastructure Grant - $860,000

Yes, it's true! You may have visited Robin Scott's facebook page and seen the announcement that Newlands is receiving an $860,000 grant. I can confirm that the school will be upgraded sometime. This grant is to develop concepts for future design concepts and other elements to accommodate a projected enrolment of up to 475 students. I know I can hear the groans as you are reading this page. I know there has been frustration and disappointment, but this is really great news for the school. I'm will able to provide more detail in the future, so watch this space over the coming weeks.

Update on music in schools

As advised in the previous newsletter, we have been advised by the Department that there are very strong restrictions on certain music activities.

Specifically, they have placed restrictions on activities that require deep breathing, which includes choral-type singing and playing wind instruments (including recorders - so no more recorders in class until next year!)

This is the reason we have had to cancel this year's Concert, and unfortunately it also means the school choir is not allowed to go ahead this term. In Music lessons, we have restricted any singing or spoken activities to short songs, poems or chants that are simple to perform. We can still sing "Happy Birthday"!

Hopefully updated advice will be published on this in the coming weeks. Some of the music education advocacy groups have been pushing for changes to these restrictions, so with fingers crossed we may be able to hear from the school choir before the end of the year. No promises, though!!

Face mask disposal protocol

This is a serious message. As we are all in difficult Covid times wearing masks we need to consider the little creatures. The disposable masks we are now seeing littering our streets, for a range of reasons. So environmentally we need to break the elastic cord that goes over the ears so the little creatures won't get caught in the elastic after the mask has been disposed of in a BIN!