Welcome back to our students, staff and community members for what I know will be an incredibly busy Term 3.

This term, our Preps and One/Twos have kicked off with their Swimming program, which from all accounts has been really positive so far. Later in the term our 3/4's are heading off to Camp Toolangi and later in the term again, we are holding our Annual Book Week Parade on Monday the19th of August at 9am (that was your ever so gentle reminder to start thinking about costume ideas!).

We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all parents, teachers, and staff for making this week’s parent-teacher interviews a resounding success. Your participation, collaboration, and commitment to our students' education is truly appreciated.

NAPLAN 2024

Earlier this term, our Year 3 and 5 students were given their NAPLAN results. Following on from the release of this information, Northcote Primary School has since received initial comparison data across core curriculum areas to support our performance analysis.

Please take a look at the 2024 NAPLAN results below, comparing Northcote PS results to Similar Schools and our Network Schools.

Similar Schools are other government primary schools that are approximately the same size, with similar cultural diversity and Student Family Occupation and Education (SFOE) index. It's a complicated formula, but it just means we are comparing apples with apples. Northcote PS is located in the Darebin and Yarra Network and so our network goes from Richmond, all the way out to Reservoir.

Year 3

Reading

Writing

Numeracy

Year 5

Reading

Writing

Numeracy

The data gives us plenty of reasons to celebrate. As a school, we’re always looking at the results to see what we're doing well and where we can get even better. We will continue working with teachers on our focus on the Big Ideas in Numeracy and start to dip our toe into Literacy in preparation for 2025.

I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the fantastic work of our teachers at Northcote Primary School. Their dedication to improving student learning and their teamwork in striving for continuous improvement is something we can all be proud of as a community.

If you would like some additional information about NAPLAN, please refer to the following hand-out: NAPLAN Information for parents and carers

Landscaping Update

I am very pleased to announce that our Landscaping project is progressing quite nicely. We are currently working with the Landscape Architects to finalise our design. This work will include working with the Junior School Council (JSC) and the School Council Environments sub-committee to help make a decision about the final design for the new Junior and Senior playground. While it is still a little bit away, we are on track and working towards construction starting in Term 4. I'll keep you updated as we continue to make progress.

Parent Opinion Survey

Our school is conducting the annual Parent/Caregiver Opinion Survey offered by the Department of Education and we are seeking your feedback.

The survey is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behavior, and student engagement. The survey is optional, but we encourage and appreciate your participation.

Our school will use the survey results to assist in identifying areas for improvement and professional development needs in the school, to target school planning and improvement strategies.

The Parent/Caregiver Opinion Survey will be open online from Monday 29 July to Friday 30 August 2024. All families are invited to participate in the survey and you will recieve an email with all the details, early next week.

The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones.

Social Calendar

We have quite a few upcoming events, so please be sure to check the dates to remember section of the newsletter or visit the calendar in the Parents Information section of the website (https://northcoteps.vic.edu.au/parent-information ).

Parents Battle of the Bands is on again at The Northcote Social Club on Thursday the 8th of August .

The Annual Northcote Primary School Trivia Night is on at Welcome to Thornbury on Thursday the 12th of September.

Take Care,

Shaun.