Messages from the Principal
The school year continues its great start which has been so pleasing to see. The energy and enthusiasm from our students have been very positive, and we've been so impressed with their eagerness to learn and engage.
Building on from the first two weeks of the school year, the dedication towards establishing strong routines and expectations for learning as well as developing and fostering a sense of community and connectedness to school has clearly been evident.
Recently Ms. P and I attended a day-long workshop at the VATL (Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership) investigating the Department of Education's new Positive Classroom Management Strategies. This is a new set of evidence-informed instructional teaching practices that can be applied in any classroom setting to create safer, more purposeful learning environments, and to support student learning, well-being, and engagement. At Newtown, we have a great PBS Matrix that I am highly confident all of our families are aware of, and it is this document that drives our Positive Classroom Management Strategies.
There are 8 strategies in total and as the year progresses, we will be pulling these apart as a staff, identifying what we are doing well, and where growth can be made!
This week we've had our SLA continuing with their Bike Education Program which has been wonderful to see. Something that our students very much look forward to each year and although our traditional Bike Ed. Camp in Maldon is no longer available, we are still wanting to expose our students to this popular, and important, area of the curriculum.
In speaking of bike education and being safe on the roads, this week our 3-6 students engaged in the RACV Safety Squad Incursion learning all things road safety. Again, very important learnings to be had for our students in how to navigate simple road rules, signs, and crossings.
After an extended period of time, our 2025 School Council Nomination Process has ended and I deeply would like to thank those parents listed below in coming on board. Our School Council is a VITAL aspect of our operations and is the main point of reference for our families and community to work closely with us to make our great school an even greater one!
A huge thank you to the following people who haved formed our new School Council:
- Georgia Lea - Parent and Current President
- Nat Bugler - Parent
- Andrew Butler - Parent
- Paul Hehir - Parent
- Simon Hoye - Parent
- Kathryn Matthews - Parent
- Adelaide Smith - Parent
- Max Tilley - Parent
- Russ Yell - Parent
- Emma Wilkins - Parent
- Jarrod McKinnis - Assistant Principal
- Laura Young - NPS Staff
- Bianca Taverna - NPS Staff
We have recently been discussing internally what the focus for our 2025 Fundraising Fundraising Focus will be. Each year we attempt to rotate between internal and external needs and wants and for 2025 we will be having an internal focus.
This focus will be a HUGE replenishment of our School and Classroom Libraries, as well as a face lift to the school library space. This obviously will involve the purchasing of new, engaging, and relevant texts for our students to access and read as well as new furniture and shelving. A lot of schools are shifting away from having a dedicated library however for us here at NPS, we believe that having an inviting and literacy-focused space is very important.
That is it from me for another fortnight. Thank you to everyone for reading and have a super weekend!
Principal
Newtown Primary School
