Principal Report

Hello parents and families,

It’s been wonderful seeing the students be so resilient during the hot days of February and still engage fully in their learning tasks and collaborative activities in the classrooms.

This week we’ve moved from our ‘First 10 Days of Learning’ curriculum, setting the classroom foundations for the year, to the more academically intensive Victorian Curriculum. I have been proud of the way the students have built connections to their new peers and teachers in order to feel safe and supported to then be able to switch their focus as well as they have. We also have an adjusted daily schedule / lesson structure (more about that below) so both the staff and students are learning the new way together this week.

Our New Foundation Students Begin Full Time!

We welcomed our 63 new Foundation students last week and I was so impressed with how independent they were from the very first day. This has continued this week, with all of them following the morning routine of lining up on their specific shape, walking in safely, putting bags away, and getting their yellow book bag and water bottle out. Although a little overwhelmed for the first few playtimes out in the yard, they have all managed to be part of our larger cohort and seem to be enjoying their time, albeit being very quiet and tired in the afternoon sessions! Well done also to parents for helping to get your children into the school routine so quickly. I look forward to meeting more of you at the Foundation Family Picnic on Thursday 27th February.

2025 Annual Implementation Plan

2025 will be the last year of our current School Strategic Plan and hence this year’s Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) is mostly about consolidating existing good practice across the school, particularly in the areas of growing active learners and ensuring inclusion, as well as incorporating an updated approach to how we are teaching Literacy (further information below) as part of our work around Goal 1.

This year’s AIP visual is below. Note the five selected Key Implementation Strategies are listed as well as their related activities. As Mat mentioned in his newsletter piece last edition, our theme for this year is ‘Be the Change: Learning Together’.

One Major Change in Teaching & Learning at NLPS in 2025

As part of our commitment to maximise learning growth in literacy, please note that NLPS is moving towards conducting a Literacy learning block rather than the ‘Reading’, ‘Writing’ and ‘BQT’ (Inquiry) separate units that you’re used to seeing on our teacher/PLT term overviews.  The Literacy block will combine interesting and specific knowledge building units (based upon the curricular areas of the Humanities, Geography and Science) with the explicit teaching of phonics and phonemic awareness, handwriting, vocabulary, grammar and morphology, oral comprehension, written responses to text and genre based writing, and reading groups in the upper years. The focus on a more explicit teaching and learning model also incorporates more opportunities for revision through Daily Reviews and the weekly class timetable and lesson structures have been adjusted accordingly.

The change has been made in response to less than expected student growth data (particularly from Year 3 and above) over the past three years in the ‘Reading & Viewing’ and ‘Writing’ strands. It is also in line with the Department’s move towards a more explicit model of teaching and learning, and forms part of our commitment to ensuring that we deliver evidence-based practices that are backed by research. The change was also informed by leadership visits in 2024 to high performing primary schools (including Bentleigh West, Templestowe Heights and Docklands Primary), where they are all using a similar approach to what we are now implementing. There will be a period of adjustment over the coming weeks as both staff and students get used to the updated way of teaching and learning but we are looking forward to seeing the improvement in student growth data over the next 12-24 months.

Staying Child Safe

To reduce the risk of harm to our students, Department of Education policy ensures that any non-staff adults that are onsite during learning time must be signed in via Compass and have an up to date Working with Children Check as well as having undergone our Volunteer or Contractor induction.

Therefore, we ask that parents, family members and carers do not remain in classrooms or the school yard after 9am. If you and your child are running a bit late, the administration staff are more than happy to accompany your child to their classroom should they need assistance once you have helped them with a late pass at the Compass Kiosk at the office. 

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter as we ensure that NLPS is implementing our Child Safety Standards correctly. 

A Reminder re. No Pets in the Yard

Whilst on the topic of yard safety, the school only allows service animals, such as guide dogs, within the school boundary. If you are out and about with the family dog, please ensure that it stays secure and outside the fence to assist with OH&S issues regarding student and staff allergies, possible yard mess and student anxiety around dogs. Thank you for your cooperation.

Personal Accident Insurance and Ambulance Cover - Families are reminded that the Education Department does not provide personal accident insurance for students. Parents and guardians are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including any transport costs.  Student accident insurance policies are available from some commercial insurers. These cover a range of medical expenses not covered by Medicare or private health insurance.

Carly Bannon

Proud NLPS Principal