Message from Principal Sarah

It's clear that Term 4 is one of the busiest times of the school year and we are just over halfway. We’ve had a wonderful start with plenty of celebrations and successes already, and there’s still much more to look forward to so please ensure you keep an eye out on Compass to have all the up-to-date information and dates for the following events:

• Year 3 Camp to Forest Edge
• Swimming Program
• 2025 Prep Transition Program & Whole School Transition Day
• Year 6 End of Year Events

Twilight Fete

It was a pleasure to welcome everyone to our Twilight Fete last Friday, 8th November!

It was lovely to see the community come together (under sunny skies) to enjoy a variety of the attractions, including the petting zoo, carnival rides, and the popular food stalls such as the bake sale and sausage sizzle. The event created a lively atmosphere and highlighted the strong community spirit at our school. 

I’d like to thank the Parents and Friends Association, led by Penny Hewson, for dedicating countless hours to creating a fantastic experience for all. I also want to thank our staff and families who volunteered their time in the lead-up to the fete and on the day itself. We are grateful to the wider community for their generous support—whether through volunteering, donating prizes for the silent auction, or providing goods for the stalls. 

Year 3 Camp

We extend our best wishes to our Year 3 students as they embark on their first adventure camp next week. We are sure they will have a wonderful time and create many lasting memories! We look forward to hearing all about it when they return to school.

Student Swimming Schedule

In week 8 and 9 we have our upcoming swimming program, where students will learn essential water safety and swimming skills at the local pool. You should have received a Compass event invitation to complete the necessary consent forms for your child. 

• Prep to Year 3: 25th to 29th November
• Year 4 to Year 6: 2nd to 6th December

If you’re available to volunteer to assist with walking our students to and from the pool, please reach out to your child’s teacher. All volunteers are required to have a valid Working with Children Check. 

Prep Transition 

We are excited to welcome our 2025 Prep students for their upcoming classroom transition days over the next few Fridays. These sessions will give our future Preps a chance to familiarise themselves with their new learning environment, meet some of our staff, and connect with future peers. We look forward to supporting them as they begin their journey at our school.

Whole School Transition Day

The State-wide Transition Day falls on Tuesday 10th December this year. On this day our students from Grades 1 to 6 will step up to their new grade for the day and meet their new teacher for next year. Our 2025 Preps will also be joining us on this day for a half day. Please mark this day in your calendar, and more information will follow as we approach the date. 

Last Day of School – Change of Hours for Errol Street Campus

School Council has endorsed a change of school hours for our Errol Street Campus on the last day of the school year, Friday 20th December. The school hours for both the Molesworth Street Campus and Errol Street Campus will be 9am – 1:30pm on Friday 20th December. School gates will open at both campuses at 8:45am.

This change has been approved so we can come together as a whole school for our end of year assembly at our Errol Street Campus, in which all students will be dismissed from the Errol Street Campus. 

This is an opportunity for the whole school community to farewell our 2024 Year 6 students as they embark on their journey to Secondary School. More information about the end of year assembly will be shared with the school community closer to the date.

Ramp Upgrades to Errol Street Campus

Over the remainder of the year and into the beginning of 2025, we will be upgrading the ramps at our Errol Street Campus. These works may impact direct pathways around the school, however we will ensure there are access points to all areas at all times. This work is led by the Victorian School Building Association.

2025 Grade Placements (as shared in previous newsletters)

NMPS is such a large school and as such we are not able to accommodate parent requests for grade placements, this includes requests for friendship groups and/or individual teachers.  

Our 2025 classes will be randomly generated. Teaching teams, Specialist staff, ES staff and Leadership will review these classes considering the needs of all students from a social, academic, wellbeing and behavioural perspective.

A range of factors are considered based on some simple principles:

• Classes need to have a gender balance
• Classes need an academically and wellbeing compatible balance
• Classes need a ‘social behaviour’ balance
• Children need to be placed with familiar faces while at the same time acknowledging that some children work better with certain students than others irrespective of friendships. 

Staff also look for compatible learning partners, considering current friendship groups, and encourage the development of new friendships.