It's getting cold!

Buenos Dias for the last time in Term 2. It has been an incredible term and we couldn't have done without our incredible students, staff and supporting community. While we will finish the term today with an Argentinian ‘La Murga’, it is also a great opportunity to reflect on the other special events that have happened throughout the term!

What have our staff really been doing?

Our Curriculum Day at the start of the term was focused on our English/Spanish Curriculums and finding more opportunities to infuse them  and ensure more cohesion. All teachers were involved in finding the commonalities between our two curriculums, allowing a stronger collective focus moving forward. Jess has led this process and ensured that not only was it successful but is already having a positive impact on the way our school plans and delivers learning!

Professional Learning this term has continued to focus on developing and refining our Wellbeing practices at our school. The school has dedicated the whole year of professional learning to ensure that what we do at Newlands is visible and clearly understood by all members of our community. This term, the staff have developed their understanding of neurodiverse students and different strategies to support these students. We want to thank Sonya and the Wellbeing team on leading this initiative that continues to grow and evolve. 

Term 2 is always a jam-packed term for our teachers as they complete assessments and prepare for the reporting period, as well as parent/teacher interviews. I want to thank all of our teachers for their hard work during this time. The hours that go into working together and triangulating a range of data to make accurate judgements around learning is a rigorous process. The great part about this is being able to celebrate your child’s success in the interviews that took place last week. 

Once again, our termly Open Learning afternoon was a success. We want to thank the teachers for providing an opportunity for our students, families and teachers to come together to share in the learning that takes place at our school.

I would like to thank our staff who gave up their Friday morning to celebrate Mother’s Day. It was a fun filled morning with the creation of the Newlands Values Bun which has been making waves in the local food industry. 

The school has continued to educate our students on significant and important events. This term we have ensured that we have developed student understanding about ANZAC day, IDAHOBIT, Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week. The students were also involved in the great Camp Quality incursion. Our school will continue to prioritise events that our community values. 

The school continues to value professional learning for our teachers, including the following:

Writing Revolution 

• Lis and Lisa are involved in the Science of Learning Space 

BASTOW Leadership 

• Sophia, Raema, Jose & Angelica are currently working through the first workshops
• Karren who will be a part of Masters of Inclusive Education, officially begins Semester 2 

Melbourne University 

• Newlands continues to support Jess through her Masters of Instructional Leadership
• Graeme has been successful in Masters of Instructional Leadership  
• Sophia has been successful in Masters of Evidence Based Learning  
• Lis has been successful in Masters of Evidence Based Learning  

BASTOW CREATE Middle Leaders Course 

• Luisa has been successful and started the introductory sessions 

Principal Conference 

• Luke attended Victorian Principal Conference – further insight into Indigenous Education, Cultural Leadership & Developmental Management 

Is the school really doing anything in class besides chanting Sergio’s name?

F/1 

Writing Spanish Recipes, recording Podcasts about ethical dilemmas and writing recounts about lots of different important events have had the F/1s enjoying life at Newlands. What topped it off was the excursion to Ninja Kids. Students are still talking about it, which is raising many questions on favourite karate suits, headbands and alternative monkey bar climbing. A big thank you to Sophia, Katherine & the F/1 teams for all their hard work.

2/3

Angelica & the 2/3 team have been providing so many exciting and memorable experiences for their students. Not only were they learning about creating ethical zoo dioramas, but they also visited the Werribee Zoo and most importantly, had our students on the big screen at Pentridge Cinema celebrating our school values. The school will be releasing pirated copies of the feature movie via a YouTube link once it is finally uploaded. 

4/6

Jose & the 4/6s had a very successful mid-term event, where our students had a taste of small business ownership by creating products and selling them to our community. This was such a fantastic event, and we look forward to providing more opportunities just like this one. The students raised money to lower the prices for Term 3’s snow camp which is the first week back after the school holidays.

Specialists

We are so lucky to have Raema, Margaret, Joel and Raul running such an incredible specialist program. It is the one of the highlights of the week for our students. They have been making melted Crayon Art, playing the piano and glockenspiel to practice songs and create their own, playing lots of games in PE to practice fundamental movements, tactical skills and improving physical activity. Margaret is starting preparations for the Art Show which is set to be the Newlands Primary School event of the year!

Lunch Time Clubs

During lunch times, recess and before school, the school continues to provide opportunities for students to be involved in different activities, such as:

 Garden Club, Lego Club, Robotics Club, Art Club, Maths Club, Soccer Club, Ballet Club, Chess Club, Yoga Club, as well as Band and State Spectacular for our students. These clubs are run by teachers and students who go above and beyond to ensure that students have multiple options to develop new interests and meet new people. 

Student Leadership

Our school leaders have finished off the school tours for the term. The school has received many more enrolments than anticipated and have found this is a direct correlation to the students who showcased our school so well. I want to thank the 25 students who were involved in this and want to thank the 4/6s for recognising and allowing such an authentic leadership opportunity. A big congratulations to both Woody & Oliver who have been presenting at each School Council meeting this term about the progress of our student leader’s goals this year. A big thank you to Clara for running the Student Congregation!

I hear about these Sub Committees, it just seems like an excuse to catch up and talk about the last Ted Lasso episode.

The PFA ‘Encanto’ Movie Night – It was cancelled, but people still rallied on the date change. The event was a huge success, with feedback saying it’s the best event the school has had. PFA raised over $4000 dollars. An incredible Success!

A big thank you to all the families involved and a special mention to Adam for finding the floodlight off switch like he was Bond in Golden Eye.

The Buildings and Grounds Sub Committee’s Working Bee was a huge success. Once again weather delayed the event but, approximately 30-40 families gave up their Sunday to help clean up the school and set up the vegie garden. Thank you to Tim, Melissa and Kristy for all their hard work!

The Out of School Hours Care Sub Committee led by Jill and Chloe have not only changed the starting time for before care from 7:30am to 7:00am, but they have also been integral in ensuring that Newlands will be facilitating a Holiday Program at school, beginning in the Term 3 holidays. This is a very exciting announcement, and we look forward to being able to offer this to our community. 

 The Finance Sub Committee have been working on ensuring that the school is not spending all of its money on cryptocurrency (hodl) and supporting all of the invaluable programs at school. They are finalising hiring agreements to ensure a clear process for our community who may want to utilise our brand-new school gymnasium and other areas of the school grounds. A big thank you to Scott and Mandy for their continued support.

The Spanish Sub Committee led by Luisa has not only ensured that the school is offering Spanish Lessons for our community on a Wednesday night this term, but have also provided social opportunities for parents to enjoy dinner and join in on the Spanish Conversation. In term 3, the committee are banding together to search far and wide for contacts in Spanish speaking countries to continue to build resources for our classrooms and library. Spanish Lessons will continue again in Term 3 and we will be providing the option for a new group of parents to begin the Spanish journey. 

The Education Sub Committee led by Jess has continued to work through 2022 Parent Opinion Survey results and identify ways to further improve. The school continues to work with our parent community to drive improvements in communication processes around the school. 

A big thank you to the School Council team for their commitment, ideas and perspectives on how we can continue to improve our school!

I thought Raul just wore tracksuits…

Raul organised the Newlands Cross Country Carnival and had students committed to running long distances throughout the term. This led to 3 students competing at Division Cross Country. This has been a first since I’ve been at the school. Congratulations to Paxton, Florence and Gabriel. 

Finally, a big thank you to Jessica, one of our fantastic F/1 parents who took home all of our lost property, washed and redistributed to classrooms. Absolutely above and beyond.

I hope everyone has a great, safe and relaxing break. While we will be hitting the middle of winter in Term 3, Newlands promises to continue to create experiences that allows students, teachers and families to be engaged in all aspects of our school.

I look forward to seeing you at 1:30pm today for all the Argentinian festivities!!

Thanks, Luke