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Newport Lakes Primary School
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Principal Report

Hello again families,

 

It’s been a wet, windy, and wild week so far! We've had wet-haired students everywhere—either from walking to school in the drizzle or returning from the pool. The Foundation and Year 2 students participating in this year’s intensive swimming program have quickly settled into the routine, though they’ll likely be quite tired by the weekend. Thank you to Mr A and the other wonderful staff members who help manage this busy schedule and new routine for the 150 students involved.

 

Green Compass Chronicles

We are always on the lookout for students who demonstrate our school values and strive to be the best they can be. We acknowledge their efforts through our ‘Student of the Week’ awards, our monthly ‘School Values’ award, and also via Compass through a ‘Green Chronicle’.

 

The Compass system uses colour-coded chronicles (under the code Positive Behaviour Support) that teachers use to record incidents or send messages to parents. As you might expect, green is the best colour—it indicates that a staff member (usually the class teacher) has noticed the student doing something wonderful in their learning and/or social interactions.

 

If you receive this type of notification, please click through to read the full message, share it with your child, and celebrate their positive actions.

 

School Vision

Many in our wonderful school community are familiar with our five school values—but do you know our school vision? Believe it or not, it’s now 10 years old. We think you'll agree that much of it remains relevant today, with its emphasis on high expectations and inclusion (though it might be a little wordier than our post-COVID/TikTok brains are used to!).

 

The vision of Newport Lakes Primary School is to develop students who are resilient, responsible, respectful and compassionate within a safe and nurturing environment. We provide a rigorous educational program that empowers students to excel, take action and become lifelong learners. We believe all students can learn, and as members of diverse communities, we can make a difference to the world around us.

 

With our School Review scheduled for Term 2, 2026, we’ll be asking our school community to provide input on what they believe should be included in our values and vision moving forward. Please take a moment to reflect on what we currently have in place and consider how it might evolve for the next decade.

 

Foundation Transition Program for 2026

We’re proud of the thorough transition program we provide for students beginning Foundation the following year. For the past two years, this program has run over three sessions. Its aim is to build student confidence and familiarity with the school environment, routines, staff, and future classmates—helping to ensure a smooth and positive start to their school journey.

 

This year's sessions will be held on:

  • Thursday 13th November
  • Thursday 20th November (includes a Parent Information Session)
  • Tuesday 9th December

 

If you have a child starting primary school with us in 2026, you would have received an email with further details. If you did not receive this, please contact the front office as soon as possible. 

 

Class Formations for 2026

As mentioned in my last newsletter and Compass note, our dedicated teachers work collaboratively during Term 4 to form class groups for the following year. They’re well placed to understand which students work well together and which friendship dynamics should be taken into consideration.

 

Each student will complete a ‘Learning Buddies’ list, where they will nominate five peers they work well with and would like to be in a class with in 2026. We guarantee that every student will be placed with at least one (if not more) of these nominated peers. Please chat with your child/ren over the coming weeks about who they might include on their list.

 

If you have a strong preference for your child to be separated from a particular peer in 2026, please contact me via Compass or by emailing the school at newport.lakes.ps@education.vic.gov.au before Monday 27th October.

 

Please note that we cannot accept requests for specific teachers or preferred friendship pairings/groupings.

 

Following on from this, if your family is not returning in 2026, we kindly ask that you also email the school as soon as possible. Please note that this is not required for students finishing Year 6.

 

2026 Curriculum / Student-Free Days

We can now confirm the following student-free days for 2026. 

Dates for Terms 2 and 3 are still to be confirmed; we will notify you as soon as they are finalised.

 

Term 1

  • Tuesday 27th January  – Curriculum Day (First day back)
  • Friday 27th February – Curriculum Day (Staff culture)

 

Term 4

  • Monday 2nd November – Curriculum Day (Report writing) 

 

Curriculum Day - Melbourne Cup Eve (Report Writing) Monday 3rd November  2025

Please be advised that we have one remaining Curriculum Day, allocated to student reporting, on Monday 3rd November, 2024. This is a pupil free day with students either staying at home or attending the Out of School Hours Care (QB). 

QB will be operating on Monday 3rd November, should you require care. 

Please contact them to make arrangements for care directly, https://www.qbcc.org.au/ or phone 03 9742 5040.

 

Note also that Tuesday 4th November is a public holiday (Melbourne Cup) and there is no school or care on that day.

 

Have a wonderful fortnight.

 

Carly Bannon

Proud NLPS Principal