Is there a better way to start the week than with a huge Colombian Morning Tea?This should definitely become a regular treat for our school community! If every day started with arepas, patacones, and hogao, life would be even sweeter. And just a quick reminder — it’s Colombia, not Columbia! Huge thanks to Aggie, Luisa, and Elkin for making it happen. Here are a few snaps from the morning. While I’m not usually one to share food, I can wholeheartedly encourage you all to attend these fantastic morning teas!

Branding Team Update

Today, the Newlands branding team met for the first time. Over the next 18 months, the school will undergo a rebranding process to better reflect who we are and what we value. This will involve consultation with students, staff, and the wider community. More details will be shared soon. The team wants to reassure everyone that there will be no uniform changes in 2026 and the process will be gradual and well-managed. A big thank you to Jess for leading this exciting initiative!

Community Visit

We were pleased to welcome our local members, Nathan Lambert and Anthony Cianflone, to the school. It was great to discuss how the gymnasium is being used by the community and to talk about future plans related to our masterplan. We appreciate the ongoing support in sharing the fantastic work happening here at Newlands Primary.

Sports Update

Our Soccer Team played in the district final today and are still on the field as I write this! Win or lose, congratulations to them — and to all students who participated in Interschool Sports this term. It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet students from other schools and maybe even future high school friends. It’s inspiring to see our students playing together with such sportsmanship and support, both for their teammates and opponents. That’s what makes Newlands so special!

Spanish Film Festival Tonight!

There are still a few tickets left for tonight’s Newlands Spanish Film Festival screening of Babies Don’t Come With Instructions (hopefully, I got that right!). If you want to spend your Friday night practicing Spanish and enjoying popcorn at Brew Dog, it’s not too late. Grab your tickets here: [Tickets for Babies Don’t Come With Instructions - Spanish Movie Night].

School Reports & Parent-Teacher Interviews

School reports will be available on SENTRAL by 5:00 pm today. Graeme has included a helpful guide in this newsletter to explain progression points and offer tips on preparing for your upcoming Parent-Teacher Interview. Speaking of which — if you haven’t booked your interview yet, there’s still time! Please do so via the SENTRAL parent app.

NAPLAN Results

We’ve received our NAPLAN results for this year. These align with the ongoing data we collect to guide improvement and meet our students’ learning needs. Here’s a brief overview showing the percentage of students performing at Strong & Exceeding levels compared to 2024:

Grade	Reading	Writing	Spelling	Maths	Grammar
3 (2024)	88	83	71	82	76
3 (2025)	89	85	82	89	77
Difference	+1	+2	+11	+7	+1

Grade	Reading	Writing	Spelling	Maths	Grammar
5 (2024)	90	83	79	72	76
5 (2025)	84	90	74	86	88
Difference	-6	+7	-5	+14	+12

Individual results will be shared with families in late July.

End of Term Celebration

We’ll finish the term with an Open Learning session in classrooms starting at 1:30 pm, where students will showcase their fantastic work from the term. Please remember that classes finish early at 2:30 pm next Friday.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Thanks,

Luke

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