Year Level News

Upcoming Excursions and Incursions

Please ensure you have processed all consents and payments on your Compass portal to guarantee your child's participation in all upcoming incursions and excursions. 

If your child is unable to attend any of the events, please notify the office via email - here.

Foundation News

What an amazing two weeks we have had in Foundation, filled with fun, learning, and special events!

Newport Lakes was absolutely flooded with book characters as we celebrated Book Week 2025. It was such a joy to see everyone dressed up and sharing why they chose their character, along with a little blurb about the book they came from. A huge thank you to all our parents for the time and effort put into costumes; you truly made this celebration even more special. The whole-school parade was a highlight, and students had a great time hunting for the Where’s Wally pictures throughout the day.

We were also lucky enough to have a special session with author and illustrator Leigh Hobbs. Students experienced what it’s like to be an illustrator and had a go at bringing their own drawings to life. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn and create.

In Writing, students have been using checklists to make sure their work includes capital letters, spaces, and full stops. They have also been practising pair-sharing, giving each other feedback, and celebrating their successes while identifying ways to improve.

Maths has been lots of fun too! We have been busy exploring measurement through weighing and comparing items, thinking about things that hold more or less, are longer or shorter, and experimenting with balance, hefting, and comparing heavier and lighter objects.

Last week, we also recognised Bullying No Way Week. It was heart-warming to hear students show compassion and empathy as they learned how to recognise when someone might need help and explored safe and kind actions to support others who are feeling left out, hurt, or treated unkindly. We have been practising how to be bold, kind, and speak up!

It has truly been a busy and wonderful fortnight of learning, sharing, and growing together.

Year 1 News 

Book Week Author Visit – Leigh Hobbs

As part of our Book Week celebrations, students in Foundation, Year 1 and 2 were treated to a very special visit from award-winning author and illustrator Leigh Hobbs. Leigh is the creator of much-loved characters such as Old Tom, Horrible Harriet and Mr. Chicken. The children were thrilled to meet a real author and illustrator whose stories they have enjoyed in class and in the library.

During the sessions, Leigh guided the students through step-by-step drawings of his famous characters. With pencils in hand, our budding artists followed along to bring Old Tom and friends to life on their own pages. The students loved learning some of the tricks illustrators use to show expression and personality through simple lines and shapes.

Leigh also shared the history and inspiration behind his characters, helping students make connections between stories, ideas, and their own experiences. The children were highly engaged, asking thoughtful questions and proudly sharing their drawings. It was a memorable visit that sparked creativity, encouraged a love of reading, and gave our youngest learners the chance to connect with one of Australia’s most celebrated storytellers.

Book Week Wrap-Up: What a Week! 

Book Week was an absolute blast! The school was buzzing with excitement as students showed off their amazing character costumes and shared the stories behind them. From superheroes to storybook animals, everyone brought their favourite characters to life and the writing samples that followed were just as brilliant. A huge shout-out to all the Year 1 legends who put pen to paper and wrote about their dress-ups. Your creativity, humour, and imagination were on full display, and we loved reading every single piece!

Special mention to Flavia in 1EM for her Peter Rabbit poster, it was awesome! The colours, the pictures, the cheeky little rabbit; it had it all. You could tell she really connected with the story, and it was awesome to see that come through in her artwork. Well done, Flavia!

Why Reading Rocks…

Reading for fun is one of the best ways to spark creativity. When kids dive into a good book, they’re not just following a story, they’re building worlds in their minds, imagining new possibilities, and learning how to express themselves. It’s like a workout for the brain, but way more fun.

And let’s be honest, some of the best ideas come from stories. Whether it’s dressing up as a character, writing your own adventure, or just laughing at a silly plot twist, reading opens the door to all kinds of creative magic. So here’s to more stories, more imagination, and more moments like Book Week!

Year 2 News

Our Year 2 students have continued exploring important social skills, focusing on understanding the consequences of behaviour and how both positive and negative actions can impact others. These discussions have helped students reflect on the power of their choices in building a caring classroom community.

In addition, the students enjoyed learning about the catastrophe scale, helping them think about what is truly a catastrophe and how to keep things in perspective when challenges arise.

We also had an amazing time celebrating Book Week! A highlight was a special drawing session with the incredible author and illustrator Leigh Hobbs, where the children learned creative techniques and shared their love for books.

Year 3/4 News

During book week we met a GREAT illustrator named Judy Watson. Judy Watson showed us different things she used to make her unique characters, she taught us how to draw efficiently good characters and her creativity inspired us all she also taught us great skills to make us better drawers and maybe in the future some of us will be illustrators. We drew some of her characters such as calamity cow and a awesome koala and it was so fun to do! 

By Ines and Sienna 34M

Hobson's Bay Civic Centre & Library Visit

On Monday we went to the library and they had computers, Nintendo switches, PS5s and then we hopped on the bus and went to the Hobson bay council. Angela taught us about the government and what the council does. 

At the games centre in Altona North my favourite part was playing all the games. I would like to go back there one day, it was fun.

By Leo G

On Monday we went to the Altona North Games Centre and our groups were split into two. For 30 minutes, half of us played on the computers and the other half made up a quick story. I thought it was really fun and I love Minecraft now! After that we went to the Hobson’s Bay City Council and Caitlin’s mum organised a presentation telling us what they do when they are sitting in the meetings and what the council looks after. We got to pretend to be the councillors and we got to decide on a rule.

By Phoebe E 

I thought that the games centre was really fun because they didn’t just have one game, they had lots of different games that you could play. They didn’t also just have games on screens, they had board games too! Then kids in the game room don’t have to spend the whole time on the screen games. I would like to go back there, it was really fun!

By Evie K 

On Monday the 25 of August 3/4M went to Hobson’s Bay Chambers, and Altona North Games Centre. First 3/4M went to Altona North game Centre. We got split up into two groups, one in the library, one in the games. In the game, they did two sets of big TVs, one Uno game, and they used a computer. The people in the library did drawings with stickers, and they looked at the books and tried and tried to scan books. We spent an hour at the library, then we got on the bus.

Next we went to Hobsons Bay City Council. We saw Angela who was hosting us. 

 by Flo. B 

On Monday 25th August, we visited Altona north games centre as well as the Hobson bay council chambers. At the council chambers, we learnt about how the council meetings work and some people got to act as councillors. We also learnt about the government and the process of voting. We had lots of fun, and thank you to Angela for planning the excursion. At the games centre, we split up into two groups and did rotations. We played on a Nintendo, Xbox, and Minecraft on the computers. We really enjoyed it and would love to go again!

By Sarsha & Sophie

As we hopped off the bus I could smell the excitement of the 3/4s. We were finally at the library after ages of waiting in the bus. When I stepped inside the Altona North Game Centre I saw heaps of fun video games & board games! “I can’t wait to try them!!” I cried. We got to play Minecraft Education or read books at the library section. We got split into 2 groups because there was too many people in 1 group.

The game group was once again split into groups and there was Nintendo, overcooked on the ps5, board games and on the computers was minecraft. On the other hand we drew and learned more about books in the library and it was fun!

By Milla & Sienna 

Auslan News

⭐️ FUN FACT ⭐️

Auslan currently has 38 major handshapes with 28 variants. 

There are 66 handshapes in all.