Principal's Update  

Hello NPS Families 

We're officially at the halfway point of the term and as usual, there has been a lot happening! 

By now you have all no doubt heard about our 4 new chickens in Cookie, Bob(ette), Chicky, and July! They are going great and Ms. Moran's 1/2 class has been checking on the girls daily since their arrival! We've received some GREAT feedback as well as some handy hints and tips on how we can improve the coop and life for our 4 hens - which we will action ASAP.  Thank you to all families that have either assisted and/or contributed in some way to our Chicken Coop!  

This week we began facilitating our Parent Teacher Interviews, with our remaining two nights for these taking place next Tuesday and Wednesday after school.  As has been mentioned previously, we must set aside quality time for teaching staff to meet with families to discuss the learning and well-being happenings of our students and children. 

As a small school, the organisation of our PTIs is a large, yet purposeful commitment and we have unfortunately experienced several families who had booked a time to meet with their child's teacher not attend. If you are unable to make a booked time, please contact your child's teacher or phone the administration office. To locate your booking, head to your Compass Portal Dashboard. For more information on how to do this, head to: https://www.compass.education/guide/, or feel free to call the office who can check for you.  

A reminder to all families also that the 2024 Parent Opinion Survey is now open until the 30th of August. Yes... this can be a little time-consuming and an additional thing for you all to do however we/I highly value your feedback. You will find all relevant details, including how to access the survey, via the Compass News Feed.   

Below I have shared an amazing visual that Mr. McKinnis has shared with me based on the work of Dr. Ross Greene, a clinical psychologist out of the U.S. whose work around supporting young people is widely known. As a school leader and teachers, we know that student behaviour at this time of the year - for some unknown reason - can prove to be tricky and challenging. The graphic below serves as a great reminder that as teachers, school leaders, and parents, that when we look at the actions and behaviour of a young person differently, we begin to understand the functions of that behaviour, and we do that, we can be far more productive at supporting the child to not repeat behaviours we do not want to see. Food for thought.

Our building works are continuing to forge ahead which is pleasing. We are waiting on several variations/changes to the roofing for the covered walkway to be approved by the VSBA and once done, we are hopeful this will be completed in no time. 

Finally - we'll be having our annual Book Week Parade next Monday! There has been a LOT of talk happening as to who is dressing up as what - and that is just amongst the staff! Our Parade will commence on the Basketball Court, weather permitting, at 9:15 am.  I hope that you can make it!

That is it from me! Have a GREAT weekend and see you all next week. :)  

Principal

Newtown Primary School