Mr. Barclay's Briefing!

Hello NPS families, 

Confucius once (allegedly) said - "It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop."

I cannot say that I've ever been compared to Confucius, confused, yes, but Confucius, no. That quote resonates strongly with what we try each and every day as a school to do. We are consistent and constantly improving, for all members of our school community, especially our students. Seeing that we are now halfway through term 2, almost halfway through the 2026 school year... we'll continue to push forward, grow, improve, and we will not stop.  

Following on from our success at AFL and Soccer lightening premierships, we've also had positive results at Netball. We also has students represent our school at the Divisional Athletics recently. A huge shout out to Rose T and Quinn M for both finishing in the top 10 and progressing to the Western District finals!  

It has come and gone, however our annual Scholastic Bookfair was a great event with many students building on I am sure, their already stacked libraries at home! The love our students have for reading and printed text is always great to see and something that we as a school, and community, should continue to promote and celebrate! 

As the weeks are getting colder as we head into Winter, it is important to note that if our students are presenting ill, it may be best to keep them home for a day or two to recover. We do of course, want our students to be at school every day, on time, and ready to learn; however, we know all too well that the "ready to learn" part can be a big challenge when our students are unwell. As a reminder, please use Compass or call the school office to report all student absences - regardless of the reason for non-attendance. 

This week, on Tuesday evening, we held our latest School Council meeting. School Council is always such a positive environment to discuss our great school, its growth, and ways to make us even stronger. A big part of Tuesday night's discussion was the need and desire to increase our enrolments, with a core focus being our 2027 Prep numbers. Tours for 2027 prep enrolments have been very positive and continue to take place. Families coming through are VERY impressed with our learning spaces, the manners of our students, and the quality of teaching on display. As an FYI, and something that is usually a misconception, we can, in fact, enrol new students from outside our school zone. We are not at capacity, and due to this, we are able enrol students from all over Geelong - something that makes us unique, diverse, and inclusive.

Finally, a huge thank you to Andrew B, one of our parents and school council members, for organising with Landcare Victoria, the donation of up to 30 new plants for our school. Andrew and the members of our Year 6 Sustainability Impact Team have worked together to plant these, which will certainly flourish and brighten the front of the school!

Thank you, everyone, and have a GREAT weekend! 

Corrie Barclay

Principal

Our Staff - Get to know the people...

Hi, for those who do not know me, my name is Meg. I have been part of Newtown Primary as an ES for two and a half years. I am currently part of the ES team in the junior year levels alongside Rob Steinman. In my time at Newtown I have had the privilege of meeting and supporting a wide range of kids, from many different year levels. 

I am a proud mum to three girls, Olive, Elise and Lucy. I absolutely love spending time with my girls. I feel incredibly lucky. 

I enjoy all things creative when I have a bit of spare time. I love reading, drawing, writing and going to the movies when I can. Its been such a joy getting to know all of your little people. I absolutely love working alongside children, I love seeing their growth and often unintentional humour. 

My hope for Newtown PS is to continue to grow the community within our school, if you see me around, please come and say hi!