Specialist News

Physical Education (P.E)

On Friday, 19th June, students from Years 5 and 6 participated in the Oakleigh District Winter Gala Day. All students were fantastic ambassadors for our school, had a lot of fun and achieved some fantastic results. The highlight of the day was our volley stars girls' team making it all the way to the grand final and being crowned champions! They now move on to the Monash Waverley Divisional Volleyball Championships, to be held on Wednesday the 14th of November. All the best girls and well done. 

The following is a selection of recounts composed by students who competed at the Winter Gala. 

Winter Gala 2026 Girls Netball Student Recount 

On the 19th of June, the 5/6s went to the 2026 Winter Gala. There was a total of three sports, Netball, Volley Stars and Soccer. Each sport had two teams, a girl’s and mixed team. I was in the Girls Netball team, and I think we did a pretty good job. 

The first school we played was Oakleigh Primary School. Although we lost 4 goals to 1, we tried our best and kept our hopes up.  

The second school we played was Christ Our Holy Redeemer Primary School, we won with a score of 4-1! At this point we were overjoyed, but we couldn’t celebrate for long, since we had a match coming up against Sacred Heart Primary School. In the first half of our game, our hearts were starting to sink, as we were 3 goals to 1 behind. In the second half, we caught up and made it a draw with scores tied at 4 goals each. 

Our next game was against Huntingdale Primary School, and that resulted in a tie of 3 goals for each team. Our final game was against Clarinda Primary School; we had a spectacular win. We beat Clarinda Primary School 6 goals to 0. Winter Gala Day was a great experience for all of us. 

By Saarah Zaman 5/6 A 

Winter Gala 2026 Girls Volley stars Student Recount  

On the 19th of June 2026, the 5/6s cohort took part in Winter Gala. The volley stars and the netball teams went to the same location, Dingley Village’ netball courts, while the soccer players went to Oakleigh soccer stadium to compete. 

At the start of the day, the girls and mixed volley stars teams had to listen to the rules and how to play the game once again, just to make sure we understood the rules and game tactics for volley stars. Before starting our first game, the girls volley stars team had about 20 minutes, so we practiced. Our first match was against Oakleigh Primary School. We started off the game with some doubt, but we pulled through and won the game, 21 points to 15. 

Our next game was against Clarinda Primary School, which we went on to win 21 points to 13. Then we played a game against Huntingdale. We took our positions, started to gel as a team and ran out winners 21 points to 5. 

Then it was on to the semi-finals. Our opponent was Oakleigh team B. At the start of the game, we were agitated because of the light foam volleyball we had to play with. The weather was very windy, and the ball would go out of bounds all the time, pushed by the wind. We asked them to swap balls and use our one, they agreed. After we switched balls, we found our rhythm and quickly gained the advantage. Some of us were a bit frustrated when we were not winning any points, but we were resilient and, in the end, pulled off an amazing win with a final score of 21 points to 17. 

Now it was time for the Grand Final; our opponent was Sacred Heart. The team's spirits were high. All was going well until the umpire announced we had to win one more point until 1st place was ours. Even though we led by a few points, Sacred Hearts Primary School started scoring with multiple spikes. They were coming at us and were only 2 points behind; we seemed to be stuck on match point. We rotated and breathed, with a final hit of the ball, Clayton North had won 1st place with a 21 to 19 victory. Soon after, we all shook hands with Sacred Heart, the sweetest team ever! After that, we were presented with our 1st place pennant and brought CNPS back a win for the first time in history, at Winter Gala Day. 

By Anna Kojic 5/6 B 

Winter Gala 2026 Mixed and Girls Soccer 

On Friday the 19th of June 2026, our school took part in the Winter Gala Sports Day which was an exciting and enjoyable day for everyone involved. Both the girls' soccer team and the mixed soccer team represented our school and played a total of five rounds of soccer each. The mixed soccer team performed well and won against Oakleigh Primary School and Huntingdale Primary School, while the girls' soccer team achieved a great victory against Huntingdale Primary School. All players showed excellent teamwork, determination, fair play, supporting one another and trying their best in every match. Although neither of our teams went on to the semi-finals, everyone should be proud of their efforts and achievements. The day gave us the opportunity to develop our soccer skills, make new friends, and represent our school with pride. Most importantly, we had a lot of fun and enjoyed the experience. 

By Mahdiya Hasan 5/6A 

Winter Gala 2026 Mixed Netball 

We had a great day at Winter Gala, and all my teammates had lots of fun and gave it their all. It was a windy day, and it was tough playing netball. We gave it our best, winning 3 out of our 5 games. We did not make the finals, but we still held our heads high. We improved our netball skills and got to meet lots of students from other schools. 

By the mixed netball team 

Winter Gala 2026 Mixed Volley stars Student Recount 

We arrived at Dingley Village netball centre, ready to give our all and have lots of fun. It was so windy, making it very tricky to play volley stars. We won 3 out of 4 of our games, which was a great result. Even though we did not make the finals; we were still winners. You don't have to win to be a winner, if you give it your best and play fair you will always be a winner. 

By the mixed volley stars team. 

Tennis Hotshots

During the first three weeks of Term 3, all students from Foundation to Year 6 have taken part in a tennis incursion, during PE lessons. All students have had a great time and have been engaged and very respectful to our visiting tennis coaches.  

Upcoming PE Events

On September 11th, 20 students from Years 5/6 will take part in the Oakleigh District Tennis Hot Shots Tournament at Clarinda tennis club. Selection trials will be held next week during 5/6 sport time. 

Finally, the Oakleigh District Athletics carnival will take place at Knox Athletic Track on August 24th. All students attending this event are encouraged to attend the training organised during recess or lunch time. Consent and payment will be required via Compass for both events. 

Visual Arts

Hi, I’m Simone, the new Visual Arts teacher here at CNPS! I have really enjoyed getting to know all the fabulously friendly students and staff (and some parents) here at this super school! I am so impressed by our students’ willingness to ‘have a go’, and to ‘trust the process’ – both very important skills when making art!

This term, Foundation students began with learning about primary colours and how they can be mixed to create secondary colours. They have also explored the colour wheel and are using this knowledge to create a wonderful winter artwork.

Year 1/2 students have explored printmaking using the ‘collagraph’ technique. They created their own printing plates, using cardboard and bubble wrap, and then printed onto paper. They loved peeling the paper away from the plate to reveal the print. 

Year 3/4 students are making animal collages which requires them to use a variety of techniques to create interesting designs on papers, which are then torn into strips and glued down to create the ‘fur’ of their animal. They will then study the facial features of an animal and incorporate them into their work.

Year 5/6 students are continuing with their Pete Cromer inspired collages, which they started designing late last term. This involves cutting and carefully layering painted papers to create a stylised animal of their choice. They are all nearly complete and looking incredible! 

Performing Arts

It’s great to be back at CNPS and in the Performing Arts room. I would like to say a big thank you to Carmen, who did a spectacular job replacing me in Term 2. The students have spoken very positively about her.

This semester, students are combining their skills in music, dance and drama to create original performances. They are learning how their artistic choices shape an audience's experience and help communicate ideas through performance. Students have been choosing places in Australia they would like to visit and creating short performances that bring those places to life for an audience.