Greetings from Shaun

NAPLAN Results

By now parents and carers of students in Years 3 and 5 should have received a hard copy of their child's indivudal NAPLAN results. NAPLAN is the National Literacy and Numeracy Assessment that students in these two years sat earlier this year and the results provide an insight into student learning progress. However, it is important to note that NAPLAN is only one assessment at one point in time and needs to be considered alongside the ongoing assessments that are undertaken by you child's teachers about their learning progress.

We are so very proud of all of our students, and I am pleased to announce that we've got some really great results in a range of key learning areas and we also have some areas that we can continue to work on. Our whole schoool NAPLAN results will become one of the key data sets that we will use to inform our four year strategic plan which is a piece of work that is the next step in our school review process. 

Understanding NAPLAN results:

For the first time this year NAPLAN results are classified into four proficiency levels, including Exceeding, Strong, Developing and Needs additional support. This replaces the previous 10-band structure and the old national minimum standard set in 2008.

 As this is a completely new scale, information on how to interpret the NAPLAN results, including the proficiency standards, was provided with the hard copy of the results sent home. 

More information on how to read the NAPLAN student reports can be found here:  https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/results-and-reports. 

One Hundred Days of Prep

Earlier this week our Prep students participated in their 100th Day of Prep celebration. Children and teachers alike came along dressed as their 100 year old selves and immersed themselves in a day full of activities all focused around the number 100. The day kicked off with a beautiful song that brought a tear to quite a few eyes, or maybe it was the pollen?  The children had the best time dressing up and celebrating this special milestone with their friends and 100 year old teachers. 

Make sure you take a look at the amazing photos of this most auspicious occasion later in the newsletter!

Lunchtime Gardening Club

Last Friday when the bell sounded there was a flurry of students gathering outside the office ready to get their hands dirty......for Lunchtime Gardening Club!

Last week we focused on 'preparing the soil' which in layman's terms is weeding. The excitement and enthusiasm for worms, grubs, weeds and the transferring of soil was astounding (and that's no exaggeration) and we haven't even begun the planting yet! 

A huge thanks to Eleanor for 'paving the way' on this initiative. We hope to continue this lunchtime club most Friday lunchtimes weather and enthusiasm permitting.

Prep 2024 Enrolments 

Letters of offers went out to our future Prep families and we have had a few very excited email confirmations and even some in person confirmations!  To support next years Preps, we have a number of special events planned for the remainder of the year to support their transition to school process and get them ready for life at Northcote Primary.

If you are still hoping to enrol your child in 2024, there is still time - please visit our school website, download and complete an enrolment form and send it in to the office as soon as possible. If you have any questions about enrolments, you can also give Donna a call on (03) 94810009.

School Council 

Please be sure to check the page titled “School Council” to meet our Vice President Lucy Sinclair and read about important upcoming events, exciting proposals and information school council wish to share with families. 

Parent Opinion Survey

Yes, that time of year has come around again. From Monday 7th August, through to Friday 8th September around 30% of our families will be randomly selected to participate in the 2023 Parent Opinion Survey. For those families who are randomly selected, we hope that you take the time to participate so that we are able to gain an understanding of our community’s views and help us shape decisions for the future. The survey does not take too long to complete and we would really appreciate if you could take the time to provide us with your feedback.

Movie Night 

A group of parents got together last Tuesday evening to witness yet another reckoning of Mission Impossible from Tom Cruise, at the parent movie night. Whether a die hard fan or just out for a bit of escapism, a good night was had by all and the event raised money for the school. Thanks to Lucy and the Community sub-committee for the work put in to organise this event. 

1/2 Swimming Program 

Our 1/2 swimming program finished up yesterday, and parents and carers can breath a sigh of relief that you don't have to worry about trying to dry towels and bathers until Term 4 now (Prep and Year 5/6 parents and carers- this is meant for you!).

While it has been a busy four weeks, everyone has done such a great job to make swimming a real success. Thanks again to our army of parent volunteers who have helped make this possible and again to Dale and our classroom teachers for their organisation and smooth operation this year. 

Don't forget 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 Overviews 

We have decided to include the Term 3 overviews once again in this issue of our newsletter, just in case you didn't catch them in the last issue. Thanks you for those who passed on their feedback last fortnight, look out for Term 4 overviews in the first issue next term. 

 We have also updated our Specialist page with the Term 3 Italian overview and details about the very exciting Dante Alighieri poster competition. These pages are called "What's happening in..." be sure to click into those pages to see what our students will be learning about. 

If you have any questions about how you can support your children at home, make sure

 you speak with your child's classroom teacher.

Take Care,

Shaun.