Principal report

Here we are at the end of Term 2, and all the students and staff at NLPS are looking forward to a well-deserved break. We hope that our community enjoys some family time together and gets to make some happy memories, as you do your best to mark the winter school holiday break.

Term 2 was a short term, but we managed to pack in a few highlights! Some of these included the Yr. 3 & 4 camp, ANZAC Day ceremony, 2024 Prep Tours and Information Session, the P-6 STEM Day celebrating science and technology at NLPS, the school wide Dance Program, the Family Day Breakfast, Band Camp and the multiple incursions and excursions attended by students in all grade levels.

Amongst all these activities, we have had significant student and staff absences throughout the term due to Covid, influenza and other illness and then had to overcome the daily task of covering these staff absences in a time when there is a critical staff shortage of supply or replacement teachers. A huge show of appreciation is given to Carly, for undertaking the massive role of Daily Organiser, and to all the staff and students for their flexibility in assisting with these daily changes and coverages and also to the parents for their support and understanding during this difficult time. Hopefully we can all have a bit of a rest and recovery over the holidays and optimistically plan for a less disruptive time in term 3.

Wellbeing at Newport Lakes Primary School

At Newport Lakes Primary School we feel it’s important to educate the whole child. This directly aligns with the Department of Education (DET) FISO 2.0 model, where learning and wellbeing are acknowledged as being as equal and important as each other. DET’s acknowledgement that wellbeing is a vital pillar in education, ‘as educators we know about the important reciprocal and interconnected relationship between wellbeing and learning. Wellbeing positively influences student learning outcomes, and success in learning enhances student wellbeing,’ also aligns with our school’s vision ‘to develop students that are resilient, responsible, respectful and compassionate within a safe and nurturing environment.’

Some examples of how we have implemented whole school wellbeing priorities are by:

Being a Lead school for the implementation of the Respectful Relationships (RR) Program. The RR program supports schools to promote and model respect, positive attitudes and behaviours. Explicitly teaching our children how to build healthy relationships, resilience and confidence.

Having RR Student Leaders who hand out ‘Gotcha’ cards, to reinforce our school values and provide a positive school culture. These children are then invited to a ‘Special Morning Tea’, to celebrate at the end of each term.

Having a whole school Restorative Practices approach, that encourages behaviour which is supportive and respectful. It puts the onus on individuals to be truly accountable for their behaviour and to repair any harm caused to others as a result of their actions. Ultimately, enabling student relationships that have been damaged to be repaired.

Utilising School-Wide Positive behaviour Support (SWPBS) framework, which brings together our community to develop positive, safe, and supportive learning cultures. SWPBS assists to improve social, emotional, behavioural and academic outcomes for children. This results in:

increased respectful and positive behaviour
increased time focused on instruction
improved social-emotional wellbeing
positive and respectful relationships among students and staff
a predictable learning environment with improved perceptions of safety and increased attendance

Our updated Values Matrix which is in line with the SWPBS approach. Newport Lakes has chosen 5 core values, these are: Respect, Responsibility, Resilience, Compassion and Critical Thinking. Our values underpin all that we do. Teachers also give a ‘Value Award’ each fortnight at whole school assemblies. By having school values, we further encourage, support, and nurture the development of our students. Our values empower staff and students to be authentic and proactive, whilst ensuring ethical intelligence, academic diligence and relational trust, which supports the development of good behaviour and character.

Our well-regarded Health curriculum. This of course, is embedded in our regular lessons and activities and includes activities from the Respectful Relationships learning materials , Child Wise, cyber safety and from Bounce Back! - A whole-school program that uses blended learning and provides teachers with practical strategies to explicitly teach wellbeing and resilience skills, to help students ‘bounce back’ and cope with the complexity of everyday life.

Prioritising and providing opportunities for student voice, both in the classroom and wider school community, which ensures students feel empowered as learners. At NLPS primary school we acknowledge that student voice is a powerful driver to motivate learning and recognise that all students are able to participate, learn and lead. Student voice and agency acknowledges that students have unique perspectives on learning, teaching, and schooling and should have the opportunity to actively shape their own education.

Junior School Council (JSC) is one avenue where students are able to access authentic opportunities to develop a voice. The chance to be heard and be involved as key stakeholders ensures that viewpoints from a range of perspectives are heard and this in turn leads to more informed decision making.

Having an AIP goal around student agency since 2018 helps us to always be mindful of providing students with opportunities to drive their own learning – deciding on what to learn and how, setting independent learning goals, becoming self-managers and reflecting regularly on effort and achievement, ensuring they feel more engaged in the school experience.

Having a Chill Room which can be accessed by some students when the yard is too overwhelming for them a lunch time. The ‘Chill Room’ room offers a quiet, relaxed environment students can access during lunchtime under the supervision of staff.

Offering lunchtime counselling Monday - Wednesday for students. Sam Meddis, our wellbeing teacher has her office open for students to pop in and chat. Alternately, students can add their name and grade to the whiteboard on her office door and she will follow-up with the child at a later time. This extra support option reassures students that they have a safe place where they can go and talk if they are upset. It also assists in giving students the necessary skills to manage stress and conflict, whilst improving their self-confidence, self-esteem, and overall social skills.

Offering a range of Lunchtime Clubs helps build student engagement, social skills and inclusion for all students. Our clubs also support students who may struggle with the lack of structure lunchtimes can bring. Some of the benefits for students include:

improved peer-to-peer and teacher-student relationships and wellbeing
a sense of personal empowerment and student voice
development of social and emotional skills
improved academic achievement
positive school climate and increased student sense of safety

The Student Welfare Team at Newport Lakes

We are very fortunate this year to also have Sam Meddis our Wellbeing Teacher as an extra support for the students. Sam works closely with Carly Bannon, the school’s Welfare Coordinator (as part of her Assistant Principal responsibilities), as well as classroom teachers and education support staff, to assist with the learning and wellbeing of students in a range of ways. Sam is also a member of the school’s Health Key Learning Team, the team that oversee whole school approaches (i.e., Tier 1 strategies) and drive key events that promote positive wellbeing across our student community.

The School Welfare Team also works with staff to shape the Health and Personal and Social Capability area of the Victorian Curriculum. At times they run proactive educational sessions delivered to a year level, individual classes, as well as facilitating small group or individual wellbeing or counselling sessions (also known as Tier 2 or 3 strategies according to our school’s own Response to Intervention doc).

Some areas of focus for these sessions are:

Self-awareness: Identifying and recognising emotions; recognising personal interests and strengths; maintaining a well-grounded sense of self-confidence.
Self-management: Regulating emotions to handle stress, control impulses, and motivating oneself to persevere in overcoming obstacles, setting and monitoring progress toward the achievement of personal and academic goals; expressing emotions appropriately.
Social awareness: Being able to take the perspective of and empathise with others; recognising and appreciating individual and group similarities and differences.
Relationship skills: Establishing and maintaining healthy and rewarding relationships based on cooperation and resistance to inappropriate social pressure, preventing, managing, and constructively resolving interpersonal conflict; seeking help when needed.
Responsible decision-making: Making decisions based on a consideration of all relevant factors, including applicable ethical standards, safety concerns, and social norms; the likely consequences of taking alternative courses of action; evaluation and reflection.

The Welfare Team also supports staff with strategies and upskilling to promote mental health and wellbeing for students. They use whole school data to prioritise needs and areas of focus. The aim of the Welfare Team is to promote and maintain effective learning, positive mental health, good physical health, and the social wellbeing of students within the school’s care.

What to do if you think your child needs help with their wellbeing or learning

Your first point of call is always the classroom teacher. Our wonderful teachers are well equipped, compassionate, and responsive. You can contact your child’s teacher through Compass, or you can email the school and ask them to forward the email to the classroom teacher. Teachers will aim to get back to parents within 48 hours.

Teachers will then manage these individual student needs within their classrooms however, if the teacher feels that the student requires further support, they will make a referral to the Student Welfare Team. The team will then triage and prioritise the needs of the student within in the wider school context.

Please note: all students can access lunchtimes counselling Mon-Wed by visiting Sam’s office. Alternately, they can add their name and grade to the whiteboard on Sam’s office door and she will follow-up with the child at a later time.

By working together, we can continue to build relationships, foster connections, enable understanding and break down barriers, as we navigate a pathway towards better mental health and wellbeing for our all our students, ensuring better social and academic outcomes as well.

Semester 1 Reports now live on Compass

Parents and carers were able to access student reports from yesterday, Wednesday 21st June at 4.00pm via COMPASS. An alert was sent to inform parents/carers that Semester 1 reports are available. The reports include an overview of the curriculum taught with progression points indicating the achievement of the students. Teachers have also included a continuum indicating the effort and behaviour demonstrated by the student.

Parent Teacher Interviews - Thursday 20th July 2:00 to 7:00pm

The opportunity for parents/carers to meet with classroom and specialists’ teachers will be held on Thursday 20th July from 2.00pm – 7.00pm. It is important that a time is booked and that families are on time. This is an opportunity to speak with your child’s teacher about strengths and opportunities for further improvement.

Parent Teacher Interviews will again be available as a face to face or online format. As the Yr. 5/6 students will be conducting 3-way conferences (parent, child and teacher), it will be essential for parents to attend thus the online format will not be available for this particular co-hort.

Further information on booking details will be sent home to parents via Compass very early in term 3.

End of Term – Early Dismissal

Friday 23rd June is the last day of Term 2. There will be an early dismissal on this day and students will be dismissed at 2.30pm after a whole school assembly is held on the oval from 1:45pm, which the school community is welcome to attend.

Term 3 will begin at 9am on Monday 10th July and promises to be another very busy time. The two weeks rest will be an excellent way to prepare for the upcoming term.

I hope you have the opportunity of a short break and I wish you all a safe and enjoyable holiday!

David Moss

Principal

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