Mr. Barclay's Bulletin

Hello NPS Families

The weather this week has been mixed however I hope you've managed to enjoy what sunshine we've had! 

My apologies in advance - this week's Principal update is a long one! ;) 

There have certainly been several highlights over the past fortnight however it is hard to go past our Bookweek Parade on Monday of this week! Our students and staff looked amazing and thank you to all of our families for putting in the effort to ensure your children were dressed up as their favorite book characters! 

Another highlight for myself this week was spending some more quality time with our school captains and spending part of the $1000 grant money we received to develop an indigenous garden. The great people at the GenU Geelong Community Nursery were brilliant and after a discussion and a bit of planning, we walked away with 85 indigenous plants local to the Geelong area, most of which are edible! In the coming week, we will be planting these in and around Dave's Courtyard to brighten up and reinvigorate that space.  

Last Thursday Mr. McKinnis and I attended the Barwon Area Regional Principal Forum at GMHBA stadium. As these days often are, it began with an opening address from our Deputy Secretary for Schools and Regional Services – Dr David Howes.  

David outlined some very important messages to all 300+ Principals starting with the core areas of challenge that schools are facing currently across the state.  Workforce pressures and teacher shortages, student behavior, learning achievement and growth, and the mental and well-being of students and staff were the main points. 

David additionally spoke about the risk we as schools also face, and that is losing sight of the things that are going well. There are certainly challenges however there are also things occurring on a daily basis that we are doing very well. In our context, the growth we have seen in Numeracy, the adoption of a phonics-based approach to reading in F-2, and an increase in school connectedness are just a few. 

As Principal I am extremely proud of our students and our staff. We are doing many things exceptionally well. We also know where renewed, and new, foci need to be targeted and we continue to work hard on what has been identified.  

Below, you will find a snapshot of our 2023 NAPLAN Data and the percentages of our students who received Exceeding and Strong results, compared also to our Network Schools and Statewide Data.  

Due to the changes in how NAPLAN is now assessed, we are not able to compare our performance with that of previous years because of the change to the scale. As a school and state, our only real measure of relative performance this year is to compare our performance with that of other states and territories. As reported by DET this week; "On this measure, the results Victorian schools have achieved are nothing short of extraordinary. Of the 20 tests across grades 3 and 5 and years 7 and 9, Victorian ranked first or second in 16, more than any other state or territory, and an improvement on the 2022 results when the equivalent figure was 12. 

NAPLAN results for Grade 3 are of course of particular importance because the first 3 years of schooling establish the foundation for further successful learning. Victorian Grade 3 students achieved the highest results in the country for both reading and numeracy". 

A letter to parents and families from David Howes can be accessed below; 

2023 Newtown Primary School NAPLAN Data. 

As a reminder to ALL NPS families, the 2023 Parent and Caregiver Opinion Survey is open for you to complete. Along with our 'Always On Feedback Portal', this is the MAIN avenue for you to give us feedback and what we are doing well and not so well. As always, I welcome feedback from our families and the data from this survey will strategically influence future school-wide planning for 2024.  

We have a VERY busy 3 weeks remaining in term 3 with our School Concert, Indonesian Day, RU OK Day, Jump Rope for Heart, Robotics Incursions, and Divisional Athletics all taking place! Please make sure you are aware of what is being shared via Compass as well as through our social media channels. 

Thank you for reading and have a GREAT weekend! 

Corrie Barclay

Principal.