Whole School News

Icy Pole Day Friday 8th December

Icy pole treat is on again tomorrow!

Students are able to purchase an ice block for 50 cents at the start of lunch time. These days will then run fortnightly on a Friday.

Friday 8th December

Medications - please collect on last day

Families that have medications stored at school for your child and require them for the school holidays, are reminded to collect them on the last day.

Please ensure these are then returned/updated on the first day of school in 2024 and an update Medication Authority form has been completed for the new year. (attached below)

If your child has updated or new medical information during the holidays, please email Carolyn on or before the first day of 2024, along with the competed Medication Authority Form and any medications also handed in on the first day of school.

Covid Tests still available from the office

With the current increase of covid cases within the wider community, and with families travelling for the holidays we would like to remind you that the school still has plenty of boxes of RAT's still available should families require any. Test can be collected from the office at anytime. 

Alternatively, if you would like us to send some home with your child, please contact the office on 03 9391 8942 or newport.lakes.ps@education.vic.gov.au

Families not returning in 2024

Parents/carers of Year 6 students, or any other students not returning to NLPS in 2024 are reminded to download all semester reports off Compass prior to the last day of school as your accounts will be automatically deactivated from Thursday 21st December. 

Please also ensure all library books, class library books, other school property are returned prior to the last day. 

2024 Shorter lunchtime and an earlier dismissal time  

Over the last 2-3 years there has been a noticeable difference in student social skills and development. With many children, there tends to be a decrease in resilience and issues with emotional regulation. This is just not specific to Newport Lakes Primary School but seems to be evident in children throughout almost all primary and secondary schools.

An increasing number of children are finding it difficult to sustain long periods of unsupervised free time including the 60-minute lunch period.  The 30-minute morning recess break seems to be sustainable, but many children find that the extended lunch break is too long, and the behaviour of many children is becoming an ongoing challenge.

Overall, the behaviour of the NLPS students is very good but having more children and less play space is certainly becoming a concern at Newport Lakes PS.

In general, recess and the first half of lunch is fine, but during the last 15-20 minutes of our lunch break there is an upturn in the frequency of behavioural incidents.  Often, this also leads to an increase in the number of students attending the sick bay for first aid due to the increased incidents in the yard.  

School data informs us that over a recently recorded 31 school days period, there were 181 presentations to sick bay during the 1-hour lunch recess. Between the 1.30pm – and 2.14 pm there were 89 presentations and between 2.15 – 2.30pm there were 82 presentations. This implies that 45% of student presentations to sick bay were in the last 15 minutes of the 1-hour lunch period.

In 2024 the school will again increase in size with our student numbers expected to exceed 570-575. The school has an enrolment management plan in place restricting enrolments to only children within its zone and siblings.  The plan is diligently enforced and yet we have our largest co-hort of 100 prep children beginning school at NLPS in 2024.

A Victorian primary school does not have a capacity limit upon its ground size – if a family lives within the designated school zone, then they are entitled to enrol at their local primary school. Although you and I may believe that our grounds size is too small and a school should be governed by the number of students per square metre of ground size, this is not the case. When we look at other inner city school such as in Carlton, Clifton Hill and Docklands, many of these schools have much less ground space and the same or more students.

At last month’s school council meeting, it was endorsed that for the benefit of the health, safety and well-being of our children, the lunch recess period will decrease from 60 to 45 minutes from the beginning of the 2024 school year.

Teaching and learning (instruction) time remains at 5 hours per day as required by Department of Education, but the end of the day dismissal time will change to 3.15pm.

Consideration was given to a split lunch period (half school has lunch from 12-1pm & the other half from 1-2pm) but this was not supported due to the following reasons.

• The disruption caused by students playing directly outside the classroom windows would have a significant negative impact on learning.
• Students working outside during school time e.g., filming, reading, group work would be inhibited due to other children playing during their lunch recess.
• It would not assist the students that find it difficult to cope with the 60 minutes lunch period.
• Incidents occurring in the toilets would increase due to children attending during their lunch recess joining in with children attending the toilet whilst in class.
• There would a considerable impact on the school physical resources e.g., art room, gym, MPR and they would not be available for lunchtime activities.
• The school and grade levels would be divided resulting in staff and students not having opportunity to build & share relationships at lunch periods. 
• It will be very difficult to maintain yard duty staff ratios with the additional time required.
• The lunch time club activities including Library, Choir, Art Club, Sports Club, etc could not be continued due to lack of staff and physical space.

The school operates an excellent after school care service which have kindly agreed to extend their operational hours to begin supervision at 3.15pm without additional charge. 

Parents can contact the OSHC service at admin@qbcc or ph 9742 5040 for information on the afterschool childcare service if required.

The shorter lunch period and earlier dismissal time falls in line with many of our neighbouring schools. Feedback from these schools has indicated the shorter lunch period resulted in significant reduction in minor and major behavioural occurrences in the school yard, less social problems and less first aid incidents.

The school realises that some parents and families may be inconvenienced by the earlier dismissal times and the decision has not been made lightly or without considerable discussion at school leadership and school council. But the decision is made in the best interests of the wellbeing and safety of the children which must be our priority.

Further reminders of new school times will be given to parents as the year progresses but it is anticipated that this early notification in October of an earlier dismissal ( 3.15pm)  in 2024 will enable all parents to make the required changes to meet their family needs.

Term 4 Lunchtime Clubs