Mr. Barclay's Briefing!

Hello NPS Families, 

I hope you're all keeping warm on these freezing cold days. 

I’ll start with a very special thank you to all our Shannon House families who rolled up their sleeves and came along to our recent working bee. Working bees are one of those things that don't happen without generous people giving up their weekend, and the difference you made was great to see. The digging, weeding, and spreading of a mountain of mulch has not gone unnoticed. 

As shared at assembly last week, the launch of our new house tokens and points system is well underway! Students have now been earning tokens for their house through everyday moments linked to our PBS matrix and popping them into their house's ‘tower’ each and every day. These tokens will add up across the term, with each house working together toward a fantastic reward come the end of term. The token system is a simple idea with a big purpose – to help our students see that the small positive things they do each day, contribute to a GREAT school environment.

Our much loved Breakfast Club runs thanks entirely to the generosity of those parent volunteers (thank you Jacinta, Pat, Brian, Kate, and Merryn) , and right now we're on the hunt for 1 - 2 new inductees to help out on Friday mornings. If you can spare 40 minutes max to butter toast, pour cereal, and share some cheerful conversation with our students, that would be appreciated. No experience necessary - although I am sure you all have it!

A reminder that next Friday, 7 August, is a Pupil Free Day. Students will not be at school, while our teaching and education support staff team spends the day at the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership for some intense and relevant professional learning. 

Finally, I am thrilled to share that our brand-new school website is nearly ready to launch. The first draft has landed, and it looks absolutely fantastic. It's fresh, easy to navigate, and really captures the heart of our school community. I look forward to sharing it with you all very soon. 

That’s it from me! Have a great and warm weekend! 

Corrie Barclay

Principal

Our Staff - Get to know the people...

Hi everyone, my name is Cindy Podhorsky and I am the teacher of Middle P (Grade 3/4) 

I have tasked my class to write an article on my behalf, I have no control over what they will write so lets all enjoy together! 

Hi Parents and Carers,

Ms P falls over or trips a lot, but its OK because we all look after her and help if she needs help. (Ohhhhhh that is so sweet. From Cindy)

Sometimes Ms P lets us do fun things ‘out of the kindness of her heart’. She says that a lot. When we need help Ms P always helps us. (This is another ‘Ohhhhhhhh, how nice moment for me. From Cindy). 

Ms P loves times tables and tries really hard to make us love them too. (Middle P absolutely loves times tables and know the benefits for their learning – From Cindy).

She makes us do physical brain breaks and rarely lets us do the ones on TV!!! 

Ms P can be super strict, but it helps us learn better.

We love when Ms P lets us use Minecraft for challenges for our work. We used Minecraft to make a model of our school and designed the bell tower to match our animal stories. 

PS - Ohhh Ms P has been a teacher here for 25 years.

Thanks Middle P for writing this for me, you can all have next Friday off... haha HOORAY 😊