‘Show your Mo’ - day

Last Wednesday, when the 3/4 students woke up, a strange thing had happened. Not only was it the first day of Spring (which they learnt is also the beginning of Poorneet (tadpole) Season), they had all grown moustaches overnight! Even the teachers had some extra facial hair. Check out what happened on that very strange Wacky Wednesday, when they had the theme ‘Show Your Mo’! Lots of fun had all round.

2021 Year 3 and 5 NAPLAN student results

Our school are making the Year 3 and 5 NAPLAN results available (click and collect NAPLAN!) to be collected on Thursday 9th or Tuesday the 15th from 2.30 to 3.15 pm, in a COVID safe way.

Any reports not picked up will be mailed out to parents after that.

NAPLAN provides a snapshot of a child’s achievement in the fundamental skills of literacy and numeracy, at a single point in time. The data provided can be used by families, schools and education systems to support students in their learning. Individual student results should always be considered together with other school-based assessments.

As always, NAPLAN only gives an indication of a student’s performance on the day of testing, and the results should be interpreted with care. If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s NAPLAN results, discuss them with your child’s teacher, who will have the best insight on your child’s educational progress.

Excellent results!

Both our year 3 and 5 cohort of students in general, have significantly outperformed the Statewide results in every area (Reading; Writing; Spelling; Grammar & Punctuation and Numeracy). Likewise, the relative learning growth of our students from years 3 to year 5, have outperformed schools similar to ours in Family Occupation and Education, schools in our Yarra-Darebin Network and the Statewide averages in all areas of Reading, Writing, Spelling, Grammar & Punctuation and Numeracy. Outstanding work by our students, staff and parents/carers in the face of considerable disruption over the last 18 months. Worth celebrating!

Staff are in the process of analyzing individual and aggregate data to see how our results are measuring up against the school goals and priorities. This data will be further discussed at the Education Sub-Committee and School Council in coming meetings next term with a view to deepening our understanding of this school performance data and future priority areas.

Favourite Colours and Footy Day Comes to NPS!!!

Junior School Council will be hosting our annual favourite colour and football dress-up day next Tuesday, 14th September. Students are invited to dress up at home (or on-site) as their favourite football player or any player from a rugby or soccer team or just wear their favourite colours.

Junior School Council will be using the event to raise money for a very worthwhile cause – children with cancer. See further on in newsletter for link to make a donation.

Moving out and leaving the school?

If you are moving location and considering leaving our school, could you please contact the office to let us know as soon as possible? It is vital that we have accurate student numbers to cater for adequate staffing and programs for the 2022 year and more importantly, to secure your child’s school placement for the following year.

If you are aware of any families who are yet to enrol their child at school, could you please encourage them to make contact with us as soon as possible otherwise they may miss out on a place at our school in 2022.

R U OK? DAY

What is R U OK? Day?

2021 has been another challenging year for all of us and circumstances have made it even more important to stay connected, check in and support those around us if we’re able.

R U OK? day is a national day of action dedicated to reminding people to ask family, friends and colleagues, ‘Are you ok?’. This year R U OK? Day is today, Thursday 9th September.

R U OK? plays an important part in increasing awareness and conversation around mental health.

It is important to bear in mind that mental health is a continuum, and that at any point someone may not have a diagnosed or diagnosable condition but due to the current circumstances may not be in a healthy space. You might hear people asking if those around them are feeling okay, and you might have some friends, family members or work colleagues that you’d like to check in with too.

“When people are aware and noticing their friends and families not looking too good, asking the question is really important,” explains psychologist Dr Marny Lishman. “It opens that dialogue that would ordinarily be brushed off. And if they don’t seem to be doing too well but they do brush you off when you ask if they’re okay, ask them again. That can be really powerful.”

The purpose of R U OK is to inspire and empower everyone to meaningfully connect with people around them on a regular basis to make a difference to anyone who might be struggling. It’s a way for us to reach out and demonstrate that we genuinely care.

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