Leadership 

Great to be back!

I spent my time away from school with my son, his partner and their three kids, who we have not seen for the last three years as they live in Germany. It was great to connect with them and observe bilingualism in action. Thanks to Luke for filling my role and doing a wonderful job and supporting staff, students and our community. 

This week has been action packed for the kids and staff - NAPLAN, Cross-country. A big thanks to Raul for organising such a very successful event. We also had a very successful Family information for 2023 Foundation evening. It was a great night and to hear the teachers speak with passion and confidence about Newlands was an affirming moment for me as a school leader. 

Big thanks to Jess for overseeing such a great night. These events don't happen by themselves, so thank you to the parents who attended and to the teachers who could attend also. Special thanks to Beth and Nerida, two of our current parents who provided their perspective of Newlands.

Luke, Luisa and myself met with the DET managers of the Language Division. It was an opportunity for us to showcase the many successes we have had introducing Spanish. It was also an opportunity for us to explore some challenges we see as a bilingual school. We then also met with our Senior Instructional Educational Leader (SEIL), where she observed how our teaching teams planned the curriculum and content.

Reminders

School Tours for 2023 Foundation Students

2023 School Tours – Every Tuesday between 9:00am and 10:30am, the school leaders and student leaders will be running school tours. We would like to encourage families of siblings to return 2023 enrolment forms ASAP. For any family that would like to book a school tour, please follow the links on our webpage under ‘Starting at Newlands’.

The next tour will be Saturday June 4th at 10:00 a.m. If you would like to attend, please contact the office. 

Supporting the classroom learning – Monday May 9th – Onwards

Beginning in Week 3 of Term 2,(please note that this will begin in week 4 for our 2/3 classes due to Naplan) we are inviting families to support our literacy program. We are asking families to come into the classroom to read and work with our students. Notes from each area have been sent home this week with more detailed information. (Grade 2/3 notes will be sent home next week)

We look forward to finally having parents in the classroom supporting the learning again! Parents will need to provide their vaccination certificate and a WWC check.

NAPLAN 9th – 13th of May

NAPLAN commences Week 3 for our Grades 3 and 5 beginning Tuesday 10th May. 

Please see the Sentral Calendar for the full schedule.

Outdoor Cinema Movie Night – Friday May 13th 

The PFA’s first community event for the year will take place on Friday May 13th. The flyer is in Community News, please see Adam, Sarah or any of the other wonderful PFA representatives!

Newlands Working Bee – Sunday June 19th of June

There will be a Working Bee announced during Term 2 which will take place on a Sunday between 10:00am- 2:00pm. 

COVID-19 Program 

The Department of Education has announced the RAT testing initiative will continue for the first four weeks of Term 2. RAT tests have been handed to students. There are RAT tests available at the office if needed. 

Lost and Found

Please check the lost and found boxes which can be found in the school quadrangle if your child has misplaced an item they have bought to school.

Have a great weekend

Ross Dudgeon

Principal