Dear Families,

It has been great to join many of the check-ins this week and see our students smiling and enjoying working with our amazing teachers. It has been incredible to see our students be so adaptable and resilient as they work through phase 2 of the lockdown. While it's fantastic to still see some of our great students at school, we can’t wait to have you all back, so Newlands Primary School can be the buzzing learning environment it is. It has still been a very busy week at Newlands and we have a PFA Community Event. Please keep reading for more information!

Firstly, I would like to thank the Foundation/1 team for organising and running our first virtual Information Night. The teachers seem to be at their best, it must be from all the practice from doing so many conferences and check-ins during remote learning. It was very inspiring to see our teachers talk about our school with the same consistent language and with utmost pride. It really reinforces what fantastic staff we have both professionally and personally. I would also like to thank two parents, Sarah and Trish, who spoke so highly of their school and the positive impact that Newlands Primary School has had on their children. A special thank you to Brendan (Mark’s Husband), who not only directed the night but ensured that the night went without a glitch. The night was recorded and can be found on our website in the 2021 Enrolment section of the website.

You may have already seen the messages sent out via SENTRAL, but the PFA’s Trivia Lockdown is tonight!

The PFA has been working tirelessly in ensuring opportunities for our community to still be connected, so please make sure you sign up and attend the evening. It begins tonight at 8:00 pm and finishes at 9:30. Here are the links you need, followed by a flyer to further get you excited about the evening. You can invite anyone you like!

Trivia link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0rceyqqjotH9Uy9qONM5GRWud8orEGSp6h

Donation link: https://www.mycause.com.au/events/lockeddowntrivia

There have been some changes to school processes and guidelines due to Stage 4 Restrictions, please read below:

Office Hours – Due to department guidelines, the Office Administration hours have been reduced to 9:00 – 12:00 Monday to Thursday. If you need to contact the school outside of these hours, please email Newlands.ps.@education.vic.gov.au. A staff member will reply to you as soon as possible.

Onsite Supervision - A new permit system has been implemented to allow some parents to access onsite supervision of their child/ren during Melbourne’s Stage 4 lockdown.

Two documents are now available to be filled out on the Victorian government’s website, https://www.vic.gov.au/worker-permit-scheme#childcare-permit for people who need to work onsite and those working from home. As with the permitted worker’s permit, both the parent and their employer must fill in the form.

Those required to work onsite under a permitted worker’s permit must not have anyone else in the household who can supervise their children. This may be because the other parent is also a permitted worker, or the child lives in a single-parent household.

Parents will be required to show this permit when they drop their child/ren off at school each morning.

Parents will still need to continue to complete our Onsite school supervision form weekly. This can be found on the front page of our school website newlandsps.vic.gov.au

Thank you in advance for ensuring that you have the necessary documentation so that our morning processes will run smoothly.

Please contact Sonya O’Brian if you have any questions regarding this process.

We want to thank you again for all your support in ensuring students are being supported socially, emotionally and academically through remote learning. If you need support, please don’t hesitate to contact the school. We are in this together.

Thanks, Luke Cripps

A big happy Principal day to Ross Dudgeon! Ross continually works hard to ensure Newlands is a workplace that develops our staff professionally and personally, creating a thriving, safe and secure learning hub where students can develop their learner dispositions while being themselves and creating a welcoming environment for all of our community that is focussed on developing our students. Ross continually encourages our staff to be creative and innovative and ensures his decisions align with our school values.

I speak on behalf of the whole school to thank you for your commitment in developing staff and supporting staff in taking risks and being creating. Newlands is very lucky to have you leading our school. We hope you are resting up and we look forward to having you back at school very soon.

August

Friday	28th	Book character day - Curious Creatures/ Wild Minds (TBC)

September
Tuesday	1st	Day 1 Newlands Whole School Transition -including 2021 Preps (TBC)
Tuesday	15th	Day 2 Newlands Whole School Transition - including 2021 Preps (TBC)
Wednesday	16th	Staff Professional Learning - Pupil Free Day (No School)
Friday	18th	Last day of Term 3

Calendar

*Please note that some dates/activities may change due to COVID-19