Principal Report

Good afternoon students and families of NLPS,

As I write this, we're in the middle of Science Week, and I want to congratulate the many students (and their families!) who completed the home project around this year's theme. The terrariums, flower pots, and posters all look wonderful, and you can really see the effort that's gone into them. Thank you for getting involved!

We're also looking forward to Book Week next week, with author visits, special activities in the library, an outdoor quiz to solve, the Book Fair running Tuesday to Friday, and the dress-up parade next Wednesday. After that big week, we'll all need a little rest before our Year 5 classes run their much-loved Market Day stalls in Week 9 as part of their Economics unit. There's also a whole host of other activities happening - incursions, excursions, Footy Colours Day, and the Colour Run fundraiser, so it's no wonder Term 3 flies by so quickly!

School Review Update

After a very thorough review process, including three days on site, the final plan can be found here: School Strategic Plan 2026-2029. 

For further context, rationale, or related activities, please feel free to contact me via the office.

We've used the new School Strategic Plan (SSP) to shape a new Annual Implementation Plan (AIP), which continues our school-wide priority of embedding updated Instructional Models in Numeracy, Literacy (F-2) and Literacy (3-6). This AIP is currently awaiting approval and will be shared with the community once it's been signed off by regional staff.

A big thank you to everyone who contributed to the review process - staff, students, and parents. Your input made a real difference.

2026 Parent Opinion Survey

Our school is once again conducting the annual Parent/Carer Opinion Survey (POS) offered by the Department of Education, and we'd love to hear from you. The survey helps schools understand families' perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, and student engagement.

The survey is optional, but we truly encourage and appreciate your participation. We'll use the results to help identify areas for improvement and professional development, and to guide our school planning and improvement strategies. Following last year’s POS, our School Council put together a survey of their own earlier this year - Mat writes more about this in his piece in this week's newsletter.

The 2026 Parent/Carer Opinion Survey will be open online from Monday 24th August to Friday 18th September 2026. As with last year, all families are warmly invited to take part. The survey is conducted online, takes about 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time on a desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. More details, including the survey link and PIN, will be sent out via Compass over the coming days.

Year 5 & 6 Performance

As I mentioned in my last newsletter, we have our senior students' performance taking place at the Newport Substation on Thursday 29th October, with a matinee and an evening performance scheduled. Promotional material will begin to go out soon. Tickets will be available to families of Year 5 & 6 students first, in early September, and then made available to our entire school community after that.

Equal Opportunity in the Yard Space

As per the reasons I’ve outlined in my Compass note to the whole school community on Friday 8th August, the school has started to trial a new sporting field timetable for the remainder of Term 3, in order to give students who don't currently feel they belong on our footy oval and soccer pitch (i.e. a lot of our girls) the chance to become more comfortable and feel a sense of ownership over them. That way, they're more likely to keep playing even without a gender-split timetable going forward. There are some expectations to the formal gender split, as outlined in my notification. The new fortnightly timetable was created in consultation with our Year 6 House Captains and they will help to monitor use as part of the trial. I am disappointed that we need to take this action, but am hopeful that it will change some attitudes and create a new, more equitable, normal.

My Long Service Leave

Finally, just confirming that I am on leave from the Friday of Week 8 (4th September) until the last Friday of the holidays (2nd October). Regional office staff are happy to have Mat on higher duties as Acting Principal for the time I am away. Mat will be on LSL for the first two weeks of Term 4 (until 16th October) so we will look to ensure that we have a consistent Acting Assistant Principal over the four school weeks, to help ensure continuity.

Enjoy the last of winter and may your team make the footy finals!

Carly Bannon

NLPS Principal