The Newlands Times

Leadership Report

Welcome back to Newlands Primary School! It’s absolutely fantastic to have our students back on the grounds, running around, smiling, high-fiving, and hitting the slides with excitement. A big shout-out to our new 2025 Foundation students and their families - welcome to the Newlands community! There were a few tears from the parents, but everyone made it through just fine. The students, on the other hand, were all eager to jump into their 2025 school year. A huge thank you to Remmy and Agus, who worked tirelessly over the holiday break to ensure our school looks absolutely beautiful! Here’s to a wonderful year ahead!

 

 

A big welcome to our new staff at Newlands. We have been lucky enough to have Diego leave his former school to join the Northside (some say the better side). Diego was working at our school in Term 4 last year and is already familiar with so many of the students and families at the school. We are absolutely pumped to have him be a part of our 3/4 and Spanish Team. Also joining the 3/4 team is Connie, who has been a teacher in Australia for many years, most recently teaching English in Broadmeadows. Finally, Lucinda joining is the 3/4 team and she has come over from the Independent system to join the great community of Newlands. Lucinda has been teaching for a few years across all year levels. 

 

We have convinced Florencia and Paula to leave their Argentinean homes to become a part of the Newlands Community. Once again, both Florencia and Paula worked at Newlands in Term 4 and are already familiar faces. Florencia will be a part of the 5/6 team and Paula will be an integral part of the 1/2 team. Finally, we have locked in the uniform fairy to take over the Librarian role in 2025. Jess who has dedicated many hours to our school, in many sub committees, the school council and multiple events, has finally agreed to officially join the Newlands Roster. She will be working over three days to make sure the library is open for the students to enjoy throughout the week. Last but not least, you may notice a beautiful Akubra being donned around the school. Rhenny and his signature outside hat apparel is not only appreciated for his style, but for the incredible work in making sure our grounds are maintained. Make sure you introduce yourself to all of our new staff!

 

Term 1 – School Hats

Straight to the fun stuff! Starting Monday, all students are required to wear hats at recess and lunchtime, in line with the department's policy - this is not optional. Students who forget their hats will need to sit inside the Wellbeing space, where there will be activities set up for them to enjoy. We ask for your support in ensuring your child brings a labelled hat to school so they can make the most of the sunshine and the new playground! Let’s keep everyone safe and ready for some fun in the sun!

 

The School Crossing

One of the great things about being a part of the Newlands Community is that we are all upstanding law abiding citizens. On both Elizabeth Street and Murphy Street we have school crossings that are being manned by two fantastic road operators (Colin & Jeirge) who not only love a hello in the morning and afternoon but love for our community to be safe. Help them stay happy by using the school crossing. Let’s lead by example and ensure we are using the crossing before, during and after school. The idea of anyone being hurt in our community for not walking an extra five metres seems pointless. 

 

Picking Up Students from School

Through observations during Term 4, we have decided to have clearer expectations around when students can be picked up at school during learning time. Students will only be asked to leave the classroom when the parent arrives. There have been too many times where students have been waiting for long periods of times waiting for their parents to turn up. Students will also not be able to be picked up during recess and lunch breaks, as it proves to be difficult to look over the school to find a student, so we are asking that if a child needs to be collected, it will be between 9:00 – 11:00, 11:45 – 2:00. If your child needs to be collected early at the end of the day, it needs to be between 2:30 – 3:00. Due to the amount of families in the office between 3:00 – 3:30, it has proved highly difficult to organise so close to the end of the day. We appreciate your support with this.

 

Administration Reminders

All students who have a medical plan or are on medication are encouraged to hand in plans directly to the office by the end of next week. All families who are able to access a health care card are encouraged to fill out the CSEF form to provide additional financial support. If you need more information, please click the following link. Forms are available at the office. 

 

Intervention Begins Next Wednesday

Families have been contacted to join in our morning Numeracy & Literacy program for Term 1. Please ensure that your child arrives for an 8:20am start. Also, please note that the school yard is not officially supervised until 8:45am. 

 

Our First Assembly is Next Friday at 2:45pm

Newlands has an assembly in the Gymnasium every two weeks. Next week is our first for 2025 which will officially begin at 2:45pm as we will be presenting our badges to our 2025 school leaders. We hope to see you there. 

 

Term 1 Events

  • For the next 4 Mondays, our Foundation students will be involved in assessments. Foundation students are not required to attend school on any of these days besides their time allocation for their assessment. If you are unsure of your child’s time, please speak to your child’s teacher. 
  • Monday Feb 10th – Andy Morton from the Preston Police will be running a session on CyberSafety and how to support your children on making good choices online. Starting at 9:00 in the staffroom!
  • Thursday Feb 20th – Uncle Trevor will be presenting to our community a session about Koorie Cultural Understandings for families. This is a 2 hour session that begins at 1:30pm and will take place in the staffroom
  • Friday Feb 21st – Foundation Incursion focused on Team Building will be presented by Supreme Incursions. Payments for the incursion will be found on SENTRAL next week. 
  • Friday Feb 21st – Grade 5/6 Interschool Sports – Newlands are ready to play against other schools in our district in Basketball, Softball, & Bat Tennis. Parents are invited to attend all home and away games. These games begin at 11:30am & finish. More information about the school venue – check SENTRAL!
  • Sunday Feb 23rd – Newlands Working Bee. Our dedicated Buildings & Grounds team have a list of priorities and needs your help. This is always a fantastic day where we weed and build relationships! The day starts at 10:00am and finishes at 1:00pm.
  • Monday Feb 24th – Vanessa Hamilton has been running sessions at Newlands Primary School over the last 3 years and we invite all families to join our online session ‘Talking the Talk’ sexuality education. This session starts at 8:00pm. A link will be sent out soon for families to join in.
  • Wed Feb 26th – Sonya, our Wellbeing and Engagement Co Ordinator, will be running a session about Disability Inclusion which is the new initiative to support Newlands in receiving additional funding to support students with additional needs. The session begins at 2:30 in the staffroom
  • Friday Feb 28th – Classroom Information Session – All families are asked to join the classroom so they have an understanding of the instructional models, approaches and expectations of their child’s grade. This is a one hour session that will allow parents to speak to teachers to gain further understanding of how teaching and learning looks. This begins at 2:30pm. 
  • Friday Feb 28th – Wellbeing Handbook Celebration – The staff at Newlands have been working with experts and spent considerable time on its expectations around supporting all students at our school. We can’t wait to share not only the handbook but have demonstrations to detail how we support all students at Newlands. This begins straight after the Classroom Information Session. 
  • Friday Feb 28th – Welcome Back Picnic – Our amazing PFA puts this event of every term. A chance to bring a picnic rug listen to some music and meet the rest of our school community while the students run around and enjoy the grounds after school hours. 
  • Monday March 10th – Labor Day Public Holiday – There is no school on this day. 
  • Tuesday March 11th – NAPLAN for Grades 3 & 5. There are 5 national assessments that take place over a two week period in Reading, Writing, Spelling, Grammar & Numeracy. 
  • Friday March 14th – Resilient Warrior Day – To coincide with our Inquiry focus on Building Personal & Social Capabilities, the 1/2s have organised an incursion with Pro Activity to celebrate the end of the unit. More information and payments will come through SENTRAL closer to the date.
  • Wednesday March 18th – Margaret, our glorious Visual Arts Teacher, will be taking the 5/6s on an excursion to the NGV to support her program ‘ Thinking like an Artist’. The 5/6s will visit many exhibitions in the NGV. More information and payments will come soon. 
  • Friday March 21st – Raul, our passionate Physical Education teacher has organised our annual Ride 2 School day. We encourage all students to dress up their bikes and ride to school. Raul will have lots of prizes for the day which is always enjoyed by all the students. 
  • Wednesday March 26th – Our School Leaders are off to the Convention Centre to hear a range of speakers discuss all things leadership. What it is, what it means to be a leader and some of the challenges leaders face. It is a fantastic day that has been organised by our Wellbeing Specialist Karren. 
  • Friday March 28th – Raul has organised the students to enjoy a range of fun activities at the Coburg Athletics Track while all the families will be involved in our termly parent teacher interviews. The first Interviews will be with both your child’s English and Spanish teacher to discuss your child’s progress. Interview times will be sent out later in the term. 
  • Monday March 31st – School Photo Day – Newlands has been working with the ‘School Photographer’ for the last 5 years and aim to bring out your child’s incredible smiles into capture. Forms and more details to come. 
  • Friday April 4th – Panama Cultural Week Celebration – The last week of each term, Newlands focuses on learning about a Spanish speaking country. The students celebrate their learning with many performances and is an excellent way to finish the term. The assembly begins at 1:30pm for a 2:30pm finish which leads into the Spanish Fiesta.
  • Friday April 4th – Spanish Fiesta – From 2:30pm to 6:30pm, our school has a massive community who come together in celebrating Spanish Culture with lots of performances, food and activities. This is a must attend event!

 

Term 1 looks to be a fantastic time! Have a fantastic weekend and we will see you ready for Week 2 at Newlands!

 

Thanks, 

Luke