We need to start the newsletter by saying a big thank you and congratulations to our Parents & Friends Association for the organisation and delivery of the Welcome Picnic. It was such a fantastic event with solid tunes, picnic rugs and appropriately cooked sausages. Thank you to our family community for supporting the event!

International Women's Day

Happy International Women's Day! I just would like to celebrate all of the women in our Newlands Primary School community who continue to inspire, influence and shape the future of our students.

Foundation

I had the chance to jump in with the foundation classes soft starts this week. The foundation teachers are providing the student a range of activities for the students to enjoy before the official day beings. Eva told me how much she like talking to a few of her friends in the classroom about ‘Stuff!’.

Grade 1/2s

The students in Grades 1/2 have finished the drafts of their narratives this week. I sat down with Chloe and got to read her story about ‘Forest the Cat’ who seemed a little clumsy. Chloe told me how excited she was to publish her piece of work and do the drawings about the story. It is great to see all of the Grade 1/2 s excited about publishing!

Grade 34

The 3/4s have been creating comics based on the characters they created, who have a variety of strengths, but when combined have the ability to solve anything. Geneive, Elsa and Lennox showed me the cards they created. Lennox showed me ‘Spikeachan’ who had a creative personality and was interested in Karate! Lennox and his group are now writing a comic about how Spikeachan and the rest of the team are going to save a radioactive cat. Genevieve, Isla, Mei and Elsa are creating a comic about their characters including Opol, the famous plant giant and Sanna McAlfy, the diligent Traffic Instructor who are trying to find a way for people to be able to travel around the world in 10 or less seconds. I cannot wait to read the final products!!!

Grade 5/6

While enjoying the coolness of Lisa and Karren, the 5/6s just want to talk about Interschool Sport. Regardless of the results, the feedback from other schools has been overwhelmingly positive as they consistently demonstrate our school values. Keep up the great work!

Parent Teacher Interviews

At Newlands, we provide the opportunity for our families to meet with their child’s teacher every term. Families will be able to book their times on SENTRAL from Tuesday next week. The interviews coincide with your child’s Specialist Day. If you need support in booking an interview time, please contact the office on 9354 2928.

NAPLAN Next Week

It is that time of the year when our Grade 3s & Grade 5s are involved in the national assessments.

Pokemon Cards

Unfortunately, as of Monday the trading of Pikachu, Squirtle and thousands of other Pokemon cards will not be allowed to be in the playground. We understand that this will bring some sadness to the carding community, but due to unsupervised trading negotiations we feel this is the best way moving forward. Our local Pokemon trainer Sophia will be giving up her Wednesday lunchtimes to allow students to bring in their cards weekly and trade in a safe, supervised environment.

Leadership Conference

Today, the team leaders at Newlands Primary School were involved in a conference focused on supporting their leadership development. It was great to be working with such a strong leadership team who are passionate about our school and the programs we deliver. Newlands Primary School is a community of learning regardless of whether it is our students, staff and community.

Ride2School Day

Our Week 8 assembly will coincide with Ride2School Day. We are encouraging students and our families to dress up their bikes for our Ride2School day on the 22nd of March. Due to the current building works, we won’t be able to have our usual Bike Parade, but Raul has organised lots of prizes for the most creatively designed bikes. More info can be found on the Ride 2 School page!

Student Representative Council

A student from each double classroom has been chosen by their peers to represent our SRC this year. Badges will be presented at our Week 8 ceremony.

Last Day of term Thursday 28th of March 2:30 Finish / Spanish Fiesta

At Newlands, the last week of each term is always cultural week. This term students will be building their knowledge of Peru, through a range of activities that includes cooking and dancing. We celebrate the week with a special assembly where our students showcase their learning. The celebrations begin at 1:30. At the conclusion of school, we are inviting our community to join in our Spanish Fiesta which will have a range of food trucks, live music and activities including the monster jumping castle (back by popular demand). It is always an incredible way to end the term with this event. A big thank you to Luisa for organising the event and ensuring the evening is always successful!

Enjoy your long weekend and we will see you on Tuesday.

Thanks, Luke

Foundation Classrooms