Leadership Report

We are finalising everything for today’s 75th Anniversary special assembly and celebration. I want to thank Sonya for all her incredible work in organising the event everything from the photos, the student leaders, the activities! The students were amazed by the time capsule from 2000… although for some of us, it feels like yesterday! I’m really looking forward to welcoming back our Newlands Primary School alumni and hearing their stories and memories. Before we dive into that, though, we need to acknowledge everything else happening at Newlands. This place never stops!

Last Friday night we held our 1/2 Sleepover. Animals, pizza and movies never fail! It was a fantastic night and the students had the best time. A big shout-out to families for some incredibly innovative bedding setups and for delivering the staff  Saturday-morning coffees. It was truly appreciated. A huge thank you to Mel for organising the event, and to the entire 1/2 team and all staff who gave up their time to create such a fun experience for the students. We hope parents enjoyed their night off, too!

Not to be outdone, our Foundation students enjoyed a magical Term 4 activity evening. There was a magician, lots of obstacle courses… and more Pizza. So much pizza at Newlands this week! Thank you to Katherine and the Foundation team for running such a joyful event. It’s hard to believe they only have three weeks of Foundation left.

Our 5/6s have been swimming at Coburg Pool all week as part of the Department of Education’s Swim in Schools initiative. We’ve received wonderful feedback about their technique and behaviour. As always, a huge thanks to Raul for organising everything and for the students in not leaving items behind!

Today, our students represented Newlands for the first time at the Lacrosse State Finals. After watching the teachers take on our students earlier in the year, we had no doubt they’d represent us proudly. Thank you to Sarah, our fantastic School Council member, and to Raul and Kaya for supporting the students as they competed south of the Yarra. With so many students now playing Lacrosse, please contact the office if you’d like more information, they can point you in the right direction.

Nerida tells me that she's spotted some true Litter Picker Legends around the school, picking up litter in their own time. We'd like to give a massive shout out to:

• Frida, for picking up litter after the school fete
• June, Sunny, and Sophia for picking up litter during OSHC

Thanks for showing such leadership and such great care for our school and environment!

As Paula and Florencia finish up at the end of this week to return home for their exams, we want to say a massive thank you. You have brought so much positivity and vibrancy to Newlands this year, and our students, families and staff have absolutely adored having you here. We can’t wait to see you back in front of our students at the start of 2026. Thank you also to Simon and Moira for ensuring all reports were completed in time for this week’s interviews. You can still book in your Week 11 interviews now on SENTRAL.

After a delayed start due to a cyclone, we are very excited to welcome Yirrkala Primary School back to Newlands this week. Yirrkala is a leading school in bilingual and Yolŋu education, located in North East Arnhem Land. It has been wonderful to learn about our shared approaches and our differences. We have promiosed that we will visit next year!

Week 9 is looking a little more normal, except for one exciting change…We’ll be welcoming a number of new faces as our 2026 teams come together for the first time. We are thrilled for our community to meet:

• Luke – joining the Foundation team. Luke has been an outstanding pre-service teacher this year working with Katherine, and we made sure to keep him!

• Bianca – joining the 1/2 team. Bianca has over six years of teaching experience, most recently at Roxburgh Park Primary School. We can’t wait for her to bring her energy to Newlands.

• Alysha – joining the 3/4 team. Aside from having exceptional taste in music, Alysha joins us from Riverbend Primary School, and we knew straight away she’d be a perfect fit.

• Emma – joining the 5/6 team from Preston South Primary School. We know students, staff and families will love having her here.

• Nicole – joining us as our Mental Health in Primary Schools Leader, a new Department of Education initiative. Nicole comes from Carlton Gardens, where she has been in this role for the past two years, and we are very lucky to have her.

We are excited for these teachers to share their knowledge and experience to make our school even better. More information about each of them will be shared in the coming weeks.

Our Bilingual School Leader speeches will take place next Friday at 11:00am, followed by student voting for who will lead Newlands Primary School in 2026. All families are warmly invited. We have so many incredible Grade 5 students! regardless of the outcome, we already see every applicant as a leader.

Three weeks left of 2025!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Thanks,

Luke