Principal's News

Dear Clayton North Primary School Community

Welcome to Term 3 and our first newsletter! 

We've had a busy start to this term with Parent-Teacher-Interviews, a student-free Curriculum Day, industrial action, incursions and the Foundation 100 days celebration! 

It was encouraging to see a large number of parents attend the Parent-Teacher-Interviews to discuss their child’s progress with the classroom teachers. I trust that families benefited from this opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of what their child is learning at school and how they can support their child at home.

The online platforms, Reading Eggs and Mathletics, are support strategies that parents can employ at home as consolidation activities. Fifteen minutes daily on each will help to increase children’s confidence and skills. If you are yet to organise a subscription for your child, please contact the school office.

As part of our recent Curriculum Day, staff took a closer look at our updated Behaviour Matrix and Behaviour Response Chart, both of which have been developed with staff input. This important work marks the beginning of creating ‘The CNPS Way’—a consistent, whole-school approach that clearly communicates how we learn, behave and treat one another at Clayton North Primary School.

We are also in the early stages of developing a new school values recognition system to replace our current raffle tickets. The new approach will provide meaningful and engaging ways to acknowledge students who consistently demonstrate our school values of Respect, Responsibility and Resilience. We look forward to sharing more details soon and believe this is something our students will be very excited to embrace!

Staff also strengthened their understanding of the requirements involved in preparing for the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD). Accurately identifying and documenting the reasonable adjustments provided to students as part of everyday teaching and learning, not only ensures that students’ needs are properly recognised, but also directly informs the funding and resources available to support their learning, participation and wellbeing.

School Goals and Targets 

Parents should have received their child’s individual NAPLAN results earlier this term. We are pleased to celebrate several positive NAPLAN results. Year 3 and Year 5 Writing outcomes were above Similar Schools, with fewer Year 3 students assessed at the Needs Additional Support level across all tests. In Year 5, our results exceeded Similar Schools in the Strong and Exceeding proficiency levels across all five areas. Pleasingly, 92% of Year 5 students also achieved medium to high growth in Writing, Spelling and Numeracy.

We will continue to maintain a strong whole-school focus on literacy, with particular attention to Writing across all year levels, as well as Year 3 Reading and Spelling, and Year 5 Grammar and Punctuation.

The 2026 Student Attitudes to School Survey (Yr 4-6) has produced very positive results:

• Effective teaching time – 93%; Differentiated learning challenge – 92%; Stimulated learning – 92%

• School connectedness, Attitudes to attendance, Sense of inclusion, Managing bullying – an average favourable response rate of 92%, a strong reflection of our students’ engagement, wellbeing and connection to the school.

While the overall data is extremely positive, our key areas for continued growth will be strengthening student resilience and creating further opportunities for student voice and agency.

Year 1/2 STEM Incursion

This term, Year 1/2 students have the opportunity to participate in Sustainable Engineers, an engaging, hands-on STEM program facilitated by Inspire Robotics.

Across six weekly 40-minute sessions, students will work collaboratively to design, build and code a robot that sorts rubbish using colour sensors, LED lights and a moving lid. Through this practical project, students will develop skills in engineering, electronics, coding, problem-solving and teamwork, while exploring how technology can contribute to a more sustainable future.

The program will conclude with a fun “Rubbish Sorting Extravaganza”, where students will test their robots and celebrate their learning.

For just over $10 per session, this represents excellent value for a high-quality, hands-on STEM learning experience. I hope all Year 1/2 parents will support their child to participate in this exciting one-of opportunity! 

Facilities update

During the holidays, more than 100 solar panels were installed on the roofs of our Year 1/2 classrooms. The installation has now been inspected and is fully operational.

Members of the solar design and engineering team attended Tuesday’s assembly to explain the installation process and the benefits the system will provide to our school. It was wonderful to see so many students from across the school showing a genuine interest in the project and asking thoughtful questions.

Our new Covered Outdoor Learning Area (COLA) is also complete and already being enjoyed by students. It has been wonderful to see our tennis program making excellent use of the sheltered space. Plans are underway to resurface the concrete flooring, and we look forward to using the area for assemblies, learning activities and other school events during the warmer months.

35 Years of Service Recognition

Last Tuesday, I had the honour of attending the Department of Education’s 35 Years of Service recognition event. I am incredibly proud to have reached this significant milestone and grateful for the opportunity to have contributed to Victorian public education over so many years. It was a special occasion and one I am pleased to share with the CNPS community.

 Sue Simadri