Greetings from Shaun

Working Bee

This is the final call out for volunteers because tomorrow is the day, Saturday the 17th June, from 12pm to 3pm.

 If you intend on helping out on the day please don't forget to bring gloves and personal tools. Some of the jobs we are hoping to get done, will be gardening on the block, planting seedlings in the garden boxes, leaf blowing, tidying the gardens, weeding and cleaning the sand pit.

Any of those jobs take your fancy?  Then join us for the Working Bee tomorrow, the more people the merrier. 

Landscaping Works

I have been working with the Departments Provision and Planning unit and the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA), and I am happy to report that our landscaping project has progressed to the next stage of planning.

We are currently working with our case manager from the VSBA who will lead us through the project. We are in the process of engaging DET vetted landscape architects who will put together a schematic design that will then form part of the next stage of our submission. Once the VSBA has approved the next stage of our business case, the project will be advertised and go out to tendor. Due to the scope of the works to be completed, this will be managed by the VSBA through consultation with me on behalf of the school. 

To give you all a rough timeline, I am hoping that we will be in a position to commence construction by the end of this year or early in 2024. 

I will keep you updated via the school newsletter as we progress through the stages of work. 

Student Reports and Parent Teacher Conferences

Student reports will be available to access on Compass next week from Thursday the 22nd of June . Parents and guardians will be able to log into Compass to view your childs report for semester one. It is a really good idea that you check your Compass account information and log-in credentials beforehand to ensure easy access. If there are any issues, please contact the office for assistance. 

Parent Teacher Conferences will be held on Wednesday the 19th of July. This is the second week of Term 3. To support this important oppurtunity, the students will be dismissed at 12pm. OSH will be available for parents and guardians to register their children from this time. 

Mid-year parent-teacher conferences are a valuable opportunity to discuss a student's progress with parents, celebrate achievements, identify areas of improvement, and collaborate to create a plan for continued success. During these conferences, teachers can provide specific feedback on academic and behavioral performance, share insights into learning and offer suggestions for ways parents can support this learning at home. This two-way conversation is essential for building a strong partnership between teachers and families, and ensuring that every student has the resources and support they need to thrive.

Pasta Fundraiser 

The Northcote Community Sub Committee would like to shout-out a big thank you to all those who supported this fundraiser- who doesn't love pasta!

The money raised will go towards building a new bike shed and some new musical instruments for the Music program. 

And a great big thank-you to Lucy Sinclair for taking on the task of key organiser and pasta order spreadsheet navigator!

School Production 

Our wonderful music teacher Anita is well into the planning of our bi-annual Whole School Production and I have even heard whispers that the students have started rehearsing their acts. 

So while we will send your more information around ticketing and show times next term, we don't want anyone to miss out! Please make sure you save the date, Thursday the 14th September.

Parent Battle of the Bands

A great big thank-you for everyone who bought a ticket and attended the Northcote Social last week to support the Parent Battle of the Band and raise money for our school music program. A  very special thank-you to Jude, Jason, Bianca, Laura, Matt, Patsy and Steve who really did our school and the community proud. 

I would also like to send out an enormous thank-you to Jasmin for the hardwork and persistence she put in to making the Northside Parent Battle of the Bands happen. 

School Review 

Thank you to everyone who participated and provided feedback as part of our school review over the last couple of weeks. We really appreciate your contribution and input. Your thoughts and suggestions have been invaluable as we work towards setting our goals, strategies and targets for the school for the next four years and as we work towards providing the best possible education for our students. 

I would like to acknowledge the hard work that Martin Winfield, our school reviewer, undertook to support the school and community through this process. I look forward to receiving the report from Martin in (approximately) six weeks. Please note that the public component of this report will be made available on the school website. 

A great big thank you to Steve Meade, Principal of Brighton Primary School, and Megan Dell, Principal of Richmond Primary School, who stepped into the important role of challenge partners even though it meant a considerable amount of time out of their own schools. Another special thank you to Jane Greig-Hancock (SEIL), Alex Fonstin (EIL) and Leona Smith (Student Excellence Division) who also supported the review process and our school based staff Bale, Bec, Natalie and Anita who rounded out the review panel.

I also need to acknowledge the staff at Northcote Primary who did an absolutely incredible job, were flexible with timetable changes, open and honest, invited us into their classrooms and team meetings and contributed in such a positive way to the review process . It was a busy time, but in true Northcote spirit, everyone worked together to make it happen.

We value your continued support and cooperation as we strive towards our next strategic plan. Thank you again for your commitment to our school community.

Sports Gala Day

This year our interschool sports has taken on a new, experimental format and I have to say our first-ever District Sports Gala Day was a huge success.  The Grade 5 and 6 students have still been practising and playing the same sports: soccer, netball, tee-ball and AFL. However, this year this culminated in a full day of competitive matches between teams from schools across the District. 

Congratulations to all the Northcote students for their efforts and a big thanks to all the Grade 5 and Grade 6 teachers for their support in the lead-up to and on the day. A special mention needs to go to Dale, our PE teacher, for organising interschool sports this term.

Lost Property

It’s that time of the term again when we put a call out to families to check lost property. The pile of jumpers, jackets and lunchboxes is overflowing! To help us out with this, could you please encourage your child to check for any of their missing items - or drop past during drop off / pick up and times and see if you recognise anything. 

For those who aren’t sure, the lost property is located just outside the hall (just near the Music Room entrance). Over the holidays we will sort through the items and anything that is unlabelled will be donated to charity. 

Swimming Program

Our 3/4 swimming program commences VERY early in Term 3,  Monday 10th of July, so please be sure to check the Compass events if your children are in Grade 3/4 to make sure you are organised and ready to go on day one. 

If your children are in Year 1/2 their swimming program is scheduled to commence on Monday the 24th of July, please check Compass for further details. 

The Prep and Year 5/6 swimming program is scheduled to commence in Term 4 and we will communicate further information as those dates get closer. 

Term Dates

As this is our last newsletter before the end of the term, I would like to first take this oppurtunity to remind you that the Final day of Term 2 is Friday the 23rd of July. Please remember we have an early dismissal time of 2.30pm.

Don't forget that school recommences for Term 3 on Monday the 10th of  July. 

Wherever you go these holidays and what ever you do, please look out for one another. Have a restful break and be sure to spend some quality time with family and friends and  I will see you all for Term 3!

Take Care.

Shaun.