Principal Report
Hello families,
Spring has well and truly sprung and the changeable weather has provided some interesting times at NLPS so far this term - including some mini lakes during last Friday’s downpour. The intense rain also allowed us to test the new roof on the Resource Room, which thankfully passed with flying colours! This week's nicer weather (so far) has also meant our F-2 Swimming Program has gotten off to a super smooth start and less wet-haired students back in classrooms.
Yard Safety - No kicking games in Area 2 (Basketball and Downball Courts)
In an effort to reduce the number of injuries due to errant airborne balls landing on bystanders (students, staff and parents alike), we have decided to only allow throwing games on the basketball and downball court areas. If you wish to kick the ball with your child before or after school, we request that you do so on the soccer pitch or footy oval areas.
Update on Building Works
As well as a now weather proof roof, the area that houses 2CB and 2MM was recently restumped and recarpeted. The staff and students moved back in late last week and are enjoying their refreshed spaces. The builders will begin to replace the old louvred windows in the Admin/Foundation corridor over the coming weekends. Lastly, the final lot of restumping will occur over the summer school holidays, so we will start 2025 with safe and revitalised spaces in all our learning areas.
Community and Parent Support
You may recall that as part of our school’s Annual Implementation Plan (AIP), the school is aiming to build the partnership between home and school in order for families to feel connected to the school and have a better understanding of what is happening in our classrooms. We introduced Open Afternoon’s last year as a way to assist this understanding, as well as Compass ‘green’ chronicles, and the Parents Club continues to organise events that bring our community together on site. In this way, we are holding our Semester 2 ‘Open Afternoon’ on Thursday, 28th November, which will be followed by a family picnic that will be organised by the Parents Club. More details to come about the picnic.
Another way parents can be more involved and aware of student activities is to volunteer to assist with events - either one off excursions and Parents Club run events, or ongoing activities such as Classroom Helpers in Foundation & Year 1, or the Victorian Model Solar Competition (see the news item in this newsletter). Parent volunteers are an essential part of the school and both staff and students value your contribution!
If you are interested in taking up the reins of the Model Solar Competition AKA Solar Boat Challenge, please let me know and I will put you in touch with Martin Foster and David Child, the wonderful volunteers that have run the program in recent years.
Foundation Transition Program for 2025
We are proud of our thorough transition program that we provide to our students who are starting Foundation the following year. Last year we expanded the program to occur over three days, with the aim of these transition sessions being to help develop student confidence and familiarity with our school environment and routines, and with our teachers and their new peers. In doing so, our future Foundation students will be better prepared for the commencement of their school journey.
This year's sessions will occur on Thursday November 7th, Thursday November 14th and Tuesday, December 10th. If you do have a child starting primary school with us in 2025, please keep an eye out for further details via email.
Class Formations for 2025
As per my last newsletter and Compass note, class formation is a complex process which is carefully curated throughout Term 4 by our leadership team and current staff. When creating classes and allocating students, teachers pay consideration to a balance of factors including gender balance of male/female, academic abilities, behaviours, and students with a disability or a diagnosis.
Teachers will work in collaborative teams during Term 4 of this year, to allocate students to 2025 classes. If you have any ‘educational considerations’ for your child’s 2025 placement, please contact me via Compass / the school’s email address (newport.lakes.ps@education.vic.gov.au) before Monday 28th October, noting that we do not accept requests for specific teachers. Thank you to those parents that have already responded to this opportunity to provide input into this process.
Curriculum Day Term 4 - Melbourne Cup Eve (Report Writing) Monday 4th November
Please be advised that we have one remaining Curriculum Day, allocated to student reporting, on Monday 4th November. This is a pupil free day with students either staying at home or attending the Out of School Hours Care (QB). QB will be operating on Monday 4 November, should you require care. Please contact them to make arrangements for care directly, https://www.qbcc.org.au/ or phone 03 9742 5040.
Note also that Tuesday 5th November is a public holiday (Melbourne Cup) and there is no school or care on that day.
Have a wonderful fortnight.
Carly Bannon
Proud NLPS Principal