Newman Primary School

Rebecca Herbert- parent member

Rebecca is a new Board Member for Newman Primary School. She has a daughter that attends the school in Year 5. Rebecca and her family have lived in the regions for over 20 years. She is a strong advocate for creating thriving regional communities and has worked on many initiatives that have supported individuals, community groups, regional Councils and Traditional Owner Business.

Currently the Superintendent of Rehabilitation at BHP Newman Operations, Rebecca has a long career, working as a Mining Engineer and Quarry Manager across Western Australia, as well as working for Local and State Government agencies.

Rebecca holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Mining) and Unrestricted Quarry Managers Certificate. She is also a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and is working towards her accreditation as a Chartered Professional Engineer.

Roger Kyngdon- parent member

This is Roger’s second stint on the Newman Primary School Board. Having been a member from 2019 to the end of 2020. Roger enjoys getting to hear more of the nuts and bolts that drive things at school and also getting inspired by the passionate educators we have in the school.

Roger has 3 children at Newman PS and 2 more waiting to come when they get their turn. He has lived in Newman for 5 years and is the pastor of the Anglican Church just up the road from the school.

Roger is always available for a chat whenever there is a need. 

We are currently engaged in the planning process for 2023. Part of this planning needs to start with our potential class structures which are based on projected school numbers.

We are requesting that families inform the front office as soon as possible if they know that their children will not be returning to Newman Primary School in 2023. This will give us a more realistic idea of the number of students we need to cater for next year. It also assists with budgeting, as our school funding allocation is based upon student numbers.

The following are the guidelines around class sizes: Kindergarten - 20 students, Pre-primary - 27 students in a purpose-built centre, Year 1-3 - 24 students and Year 4-6 - 32 students.

If we have multi-age classes, this number generally drops by 1 or 2 students. Often parents believe that single stream classes are ‘better’, however multi age classes are just as good, with great teaching relationships and practice being the key to children’s schooling. It is important to realise that even in a class that is a single year group, the academic, social and emotional differences can be as diverse as a multi-age class.

If you are leaving town in the coming weeks or at the end of the year, please send in an email to newman.ps@education.wa.edu.au or contact our front office on 9154 3900. This information will greatly assist our planning for 2023.

All reports K-6 will be emailed using the email address we have on file. If you wish to have a hard copy, please email newman.ps@education.wa.edu.au as soon as possible. Remember, the link you have been emailed will be ‘live’ for four weeks, so download for future reference.

Attendance comment in reports

Student reports will include an attendance comment which clearly states the WA Education Department’s view on the impact of student attendance on learning. This percentage is based upon student attendance at the end of Week 6, Term 4; so it may have altered since that time. The following wording has been adapted from the Department documents and coloured sections may be utilised. 

Term 1             1 February – 6 April

                          6 March PH Labour Day

                          7 April PH Good Friday

Term 2             24 April – 30 June

                         25 April PH ANZAC Day

                         2 June Staff PD (Student free day)

                         5 June PH WA Day

Term 3             18 July – 22 September

                          17 July Staff PD

Term 4             10 October – 14 December

                          9 October Staff PD

Well, what a fabulous 2 years it has been! A HUGE thank you to all of my beautiful families past and present ... almost 100 children have come to the BHP Early Learning Program. Thank you for prioritising your child's learning. Thank you for being engaged and fostering your child's development and thank for making learning FUN! You all should be especially proud!  It has been wonderful to be a part of the setting up of such a valuable program and getting to know you all.  Have a safe and happy Christmas and New Year.  

Congratulations to our Year 3 & 4 students who have produced so exceptional art in the last two weeks.

Creative Challenge is AWESOME’s core education program. AWESOME recruits a team of amazing, professional artists to undertake a one or two-week residency within a partner school or community. The artists facilitate process driven, creative workshops, based on a theme, with a select group of participants. The workshops require the participants undertake research, conceptual development and creation of an artwork, or artworks which celebrate their unique identity and the community in which they live.