Leadership Report

It's great to officially be back into learning! I want to say a big congratulations to the students and staff for how well they have settled into 2025. There was added excitement this week as our specialist program finally kicked off. A big thank you from the office staff for making sure that students are not been collected during 3:00 – 3:30, it has already made an incredible difference. 

State School Spectacular

For the last three years, our students have been performing at the State School Spectacular. As always, there are so many students that have auditioned to be able to dance at the John Cain Arena event but unfortunately we are only able to have 14 students be a part of the show. A big thank you to Clara for being our State Spectacular leader and congratulations to not only the students that were successful in been chosen to represent Newlands, but to everyone that tried out!

Whole School Assembly – Badge Presentation Postponed

Unfortunately, the badges did not arrive in time. Not only  was it disappointing for the students but the parents as well, we apologise but will make sure that our next assembly will be a fantastic event. Assembly begins at 3:00pm every second Friday unless there is a special occasion/event. For more information about times for the upcoming assembly, please check the SENTRAL calendar. 

School Council Nominations

Newlands Primary School’s School Council is seeking four new members from the parent community to join our team in 2025. The School Council meets eight times throughout the year. If you’re interested in nominating yourself, please complete the nomination form available at the office by Friday, 23rd February.

In the event that we receive more than four nominations, an election will be held where the parent community will vote for their preferred candidates. Further information will be provided if this occurs.

If you have any questions or would like more information, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

Cybersafety Session with Preston Police – Monday 9:00am

Andy Morton from the Preston Police will be running a session on CyberSafety and how to support your children on making good choices online. Starting at 9:00am. Due to the amount of interest, we are going to move the session to the new Gymnasium instead of the Staff room as previously communicated. 

More importantly, what’s been going on in the classrooms…

Foundation

I visited all the Foundation students during their sessions today, and they were eager to share what they were doing.

There was lots of drawing in Visual Arts, Bee Bots and Lego in STEAM, drum work in Music, and plenty of running around in the new gymnasium. Here are just a few photos!

We know there have been some requests for the specialist timetable. Here it is!

1/2

I jumped into Moira’s class before her reading session started and asked all the students in 1/2C about the highlights of their week. It was wonderful to hear a range of different answers! It was amazing how smoothly they transitioned back to their reading session, where they were answering questions about their story using the "Who, What, Why, Where, and When" sentence starters.

Here are some of the students' responses:

• Eliza: I really like Moira and Paula because they are nice and very good teachers.
• Grace: I loved the Wellbeing Specialist because the activity was fun.
• Sourcha: I love drawing pictures of our holidays with Moira.
• Tex: I am really enjoying free drawing during the soft start.
• Miles: It was great getting to play games during the hot day timetable.
• Gene: It has been great meeting new classmates, learning about them, and being the PE monitor.
• Corbin: I liked Inquiry with Nerida because we read Pig the Pug and asked and answered different questions about it.
• Jannik: I can't wait to get to aftercare, see Jill, and eat some food.

3/4 

Unfortunately for Ramona, she forgot her hat and had to spend lunchtime with me inside the Wellbeing room. However, it turned out to be the perfect opportunity to catch up on all the 3/4 news.

Ramona shared that coming back to school and moving into the 3/4 Learning World has been really exciting. While the expectations are mostly the same, there are lots of new resources, the chance to use their own laptops, and even some different furniture.

She spoke enthusiastically about her teachers: "Lisa is really organised and makes sure everything is in its place, and Diego is amazing at art." Ramona added, "They are both really nice, and all the students are so happy to have them as their teachers." I just want to give a big shout to Ramona who started reading a book to some of the other students at lunch time in the wellbeing hub! Absolute champion!

5/6s

I walked into a calm and focused 5/6 room where students were busy writing letters to their future selves. They were reflecting on the goals they hope to achieve this year. The 5/6 teachers plan for the students to read these letters later in the year to see how much they've accomplished.

It was inspiring to hear some of their goals:

• Djuna: To be able to do multi-digit multiplication.
• Eadie: To get past multiplication in Facts on Fire.
• Bonnie M: To improve my spelling in writing by committing to practicing with Nessy regularly.
• Sonny: To improve my handwriting by practicing more often.
• Mei: To consistently use capital letters in the right places.
• Charlie: To be a good school leader by following through on my promises.
• Abigail: To get better at algebra.
• Marco: To complete Facts on Fire this year by practicing at home.
• Freddie: To help Newlands become basketball champions in Interschool Sport.

Such thoughtful goals show their commitment to personal growth and leadership this year!

We hope you have a fantastic weekend, 

Luke Cripps