Principal Report
A warm welcome back to school to our students and families for Term 3!
It has been a pleasure catching up with students in their classrooms this past week and seeing their smiling faces, eager to jump back into learning and classroom routines. Thank you, families, for setting them up for success when returning to school and for ensuring they had a restorative school holiday break.
Term 3 is a favourite for many teachers as it's a time for deep, quality learning. By now, we’re all connected, we know each other well, and expectations are clear. It’s also packed with fun and themed activities like Science Week, Book Week, Footy Colours Day, the Father’s/Special Person’s Breakfast, and a special transition day for our 2025 Foundation students on Friday. With this term being a nine-week one, it’s shaping up to be a great term for everyone!
Parent Teacher Interviews
It was wonderful to see and hear about so many parents attending our Term 2 Parent Teacher Interviews—whether online or face-to-face in the classrooms. It was especially great to hear how well the student-led conferences went for our Year 5/6 cohort.
If you weren’t able to attend during the final week of last term but would still like to connect with your child’s class teacher or a specialist teacher, please contact the school and we’ll arrange a mutually suitable time to meet.
Attendance – Every Day Counts!
Attending school every day means students experience what really counts: the learning, friendships, fun, and opportunities that shape their future. It was fantastic to celebrate the 31 students who didn’t miss a single day of school during Semester 1 at our final assembly of the term.
As a principal, I attend various meetings and conferences at the local, regional, and state levels. A consistent focus across all of these is improving student attendance across our region.
At NLPS, we prioritise regular attendance and work closely with families to keep students in class with their peers and teachers, enjoying all the benefits that brings. We understand there are times when your child will need to miss school. To minimise disruption to their education, we ask families to please schedule holidays and medical/dental appointments outside of school hours whenever possible. If your child is well enough to attend but is feeling unsure about friendships, schoolwork, or assessments, we encourage them to come in. Avoiding school can make these feelings more difficult and may create negative patterns.
Our current attendance data is tracking slightly better than at this time in 2024, which is wonderful! Attendance will remain a strong focus for our school and the region as it’s closely linked to student and family engagement. Absences—whether for appointments, general rest days, or holidays—all add up, as you can see on the table below. While teachers do their best to catch students up, important learning is sometimes missed. We ask that you please be mindful when making bookings during term time. Thank you for your ongoing support.
Attendance – Entering Details on Compass
If your child is absent, please ensure you enter the reason for their absence correctly on Compass, as this impacts our data reporting to the regional office.
When submitting an Attendance Note on Compass, the drop-down ‘Reason’ menu is important. ‘Medical/Illness’ is the only option automatically approved by the Department of Education. If your child has a ‘Medical Appointment’ and is on the SSG list or has an IEP, this is also considered approved leave.
If you select ‘Parent Choice’, please provide further detail so the school can determine whether the absence is approved or not. Thank you.
Additionally, if your child does need to attend an appointment during school hours, please note:
- Drop-offs before 10am or pick-ups after 2pm are not counted as absences.
Personal Accident Insurance and Ambulance Cover
A friendly reminder that the Department of Education does not provide personal accident insurance for students. Parents and guardians are responsible for covering the cost of any medical treatment for injured students, including ambulance transport.
While needing an ambulance is rare, it can happen—as it did late last year following a very serious fall.
Curriculum Day
Our next curriculum day is on Monday 11th August, therefore there is no school for students.
Quantin Binnah will be operating on this day for families who require care.
Please contact them at https://www.qbcc.org.au/ or Ph: 03 9742 5040
Hoping we all stay warm and well as we make our way through winter!
Carly Bannon
Proud NLPS Principal