Newport Natter

Year 3 Project Based Learning

Last Wednesday, Year 3 students exhibited their Semester 2 project based learning products in the Hall. Students in Year 3 focused their research and learning on the driving questions; How can we make our bush tucker garden a place of learning for our school and local community? Students first researched the types of Australian native plants that are found in the gardens. They then created posters containing botanical drawings and the name of their chosen Australian native plant. The posters also contained a QR code which enabled the audience to access the multimedia texts detailing information, care instructions, applications and recipes for each plant which were collaboratively researched and composed by the Year 3 students. Students also created eye catching signs to display next to the plants in the gardens. The students’ project work exhibited deep knowledge about the topic and the Hall was abuzz as the Year 3 students were very excited to share their work and knowledge with the school community. Congratulations to Year 3 students and the Year 3 team and thank you to our local Aboriginal expert Adam and our local bush tucker expert Bruce, for being a part of this learning journey with us. 

Music Program Performances

Our musicians didn’t skip a beat so to speak last week, as they performed for various audiences across the school. Some groups such as the training band were performing for the first time this year. They all truly sounded fantastic considering the challenges to their tuition. Congratulations too, to our Music Captains Harry P., Annabelle S. and Maddie S. who all spoke beautifully about the positive impact of learning music. Thank you also to Emelia Antcliff, Karen Leimback, Kim and Judy for guiding and conducting the students as well as Mark Tickle for being the MC. Finally thank you and farewell to Mel Cogan for supporting the program and being a part of the Music Committee for the past 6 years.  

Kindergarten Presentation Assembly

On Monday we held our Kindergarten Presentation Assembly to celebrate the year of learning Kindergarten have had. Many thanks to Amelia Rutter, Maddie Borrowman and the Kindergarten team for organising the celebration and to Mrs Rutter for making a guest appearance. Congratulation Kindergarten for all you have achieved this year.

You may not have been onsite helping us but there is still much for which to thank our community!

This week we would have been holding our first “Thank you and Recognition Breakfast” for our community members who have helped us in many different ways-big and small. Firstly, I would like to thank our Scripture and Ethics teachers and their co-ordinators for the tireless efforts made to contribute to our students’ knowledge and understanding, all in a volunteer capacity. I would also like to thank our P & C Executive Brooke Logan, Lisa Wood, Nicole Lucchase and Todd Woods who have achieved so much this year in consolidating the structures around the P & C and raising funds to donate to the school. Of course thank you also to Emma Friedlin in the Canteen and Louise Woods and Jo Pepper in the Uniform Shop along with Mel Cogan and the outgoing members of the Music Committee.

The help that we have had looks a little different this year but has been nonetheless, highly valued in assisting us to achieve our goals for our students and school. Thank you for reading the communication, supporting your children through home learning, supporting us through home learning, being flexible, staying off school grounds, asking questions through the right channels, volunteering in the canteen, completing surveys, being patient and understanding, following new arrangements for picking students up during the day, ordering uniforms online, attending Zoom meetings, learning about Google Classroom, being open and supporting new procedures and structures and of course, making all of those lunches in the absence of a canteen. Thank you for ‘having our back’ and for the feelgood messages coming through our communication channels. 

End of Year Events

Picnic Day – Monday 7 December. Despite COVID-restrictions being in place at the time of organising this year’s picnic day, we still plan to continue this tradition for students at local venues. More details to come soon, following Council approval.

Presentation Ceremony – Wednesday 9 December

We’re looking forward to celebrating a year of student achievement at three separate presentation ceremonies via Zoom on Wednesday 9 December:

Stage 1 (Year 1 and 2) - 10:10am. 

Stage 2 (Year 3 and 4) - 12:10pm. 

Stage 3 (Year 5 and 6) - 1:00pm. 

Award recipients have been notified of their involvement in their respective ceremony. If you’re interested in the event you can join at:

https://nsweducation.zoom.us/j/63374543101?pwd=S1FQSXJSczVYbDVWTEsrSVpnVFdtUT09

Meeting ID: 633 7454 3101 

Passcode: 964096 

Year 6 Graduation Ceremony and Dinner – Monday 14 December

In advance, I would like to thank the Year 6 organising committee led by Cara McCauley and Shonagh Wheeler, for their adaptability and common-sense approach to organising end-of-year events for our senior students in a COVID-safe way.

The Graduation Ceremony will be live-streamed to parents. The school, not having the expertise to film and produce such an event, will be supported by Sean Frazer. Sean is a Kindergarten father and has volunteered the services of his company, Amber Technology, to create a professionally produced event to be streamed to parents and relatives at home. We greatly appreciate Sean’s generous help.   

Amber Technology distribute audio visual solutions for professional broadcast, media and communications, live sound production, music instruments, sound recordings, residential and commercial installations and home entertainment markets.

Last Day – Recognition of Students Leaving

Students leaving Newport, especially those in Year 6, will be ‘clapped-out’ of the school, the afternoon of Wednesday 16 December. Although parents won’t be allowed on school grounds, students will come together in a COVID-safe way to farewell their peers. For most students, their commute home and pick-up arrangements will remain the same as usual. Year 6 students will be dismissed via the Queens Parade Grass Area Gate. Parents, can I please ask for vigilance in adhering to COVID-protocols and that you remain socially distanced at this time.

End of Year Recognition

We very much appreciate the effort our parents go to, to recognise and acknowledge the hard work, expertise, time and care that goes into our students’ and children’s education by teachers. In the past this has taken the form of small groups of parents coming to school in the afternoon of a nominated day to present the teacher with a gift/card. Unfortunately, mini parties, food sharing and passing on gifts in groups is not currently possible. Instead we welcome one representative from the class or group to either leave your gift/card at the office where it will be taken very good care of prior to being delivered to the recipient or one nominated volunteer can come to the office, complete the COVID Safe procedures and meet the staff member at the end of the day, to pass it on in person.     

Strategic Improvement Plan Survey

Earlier this year we had a fabulous response (50%) to our survey on school procedures, school vision and purpose, as well as key priorities for parents. This survey aims to assist us to understand current and emerging issues about learning and behaviour. These results, along with other data collected as part of our situational analysis will inform our vision, context and strategic directions for 2021-2024.

I understand the pressures on your time and have tried to make the survey as streamlined as possible. I hope we can equal the participation rates once again and many thanks for your time and considered responses which we reflect on and value highly.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=muagBYpBwUecJZOHJhv5kcaY_eX9I-VIpNNi2fW0jHBUQVIyMklERTk2WjI2MDBLM1hWS0M4VUgzSS4u

Bus Information

For those students who use the public bus service to and from Beaconsfield street, the following information has come from the State Transit Authority. The L90 and L88 will no longer exist after 20 December 2020 due to network changes. Parents will need to make alternate arrangements with the 199 (for more information, see trip planner at https://transportnsw.info/). 

Transition Program Years 1-5 2020

To prepare students for their transition to a new grade next year, transition lessons will be held for all students this week. Students will have the chance to participate in lessons with different teachers in the classrooms of the year above their current grade. The program has been successful in helping students ready themselves for next year, allowing them to ask questions and see and feel environments very similar to those they will experience in 2021. Thank you Deborah Deratz and the Learning and Support Team for leading this initiative.

Kinder 2021

Thank you to those who were able to join us live on Wednesday morning for our Parent Information Session via Zoom.  We are very keen to support all of our new families by answering your questions either over the phone or through our general FAQs flyer. Please email us on Newport-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au or phone on 99994100 with any queries and we will get back to you as soon as possible. The link to the presentation was emailed to all of our Kinder 2021 families. If for some reason you missed the email and would like the link, please contact our office.

The next communication mail out will be a letter outlining the next steps in the transition process including the date and time of your child’s Best Start appointment (30 minutes between the 29 Jan-2 Feb). This should arrive before Tuesday 15 December. If you have not received a letter about Best Start and the first day of school in 2021 by this time, please contact our school office on 9999 4100.     

School Reports 

We will email reports to families next Friday 11 December. Printed reports will be available on request from the school office. Reports will be sent to your primary email address as indicated on your child’s enrolment form and provided we have not technical hiccups as we did in Semester 1, only one report will be sent per family. If you have changed your primary email address, please notify the office to avoid missing important correspondence.

Please remember that school reports are a point in time judgment of your child’s skill and knowledge as measured against NSW syllabus outcomes. The reports aim to provide you with an understanding of what your child has learnt as well as providing information about what they need to focus on to improve. If a student achieves a “sound” it means they are achieving at a level that is expected, according to the content and skills covered in that semester. Much time and effort goes into writing these reports and we hope you find them both valuable and informative.

Looking Forward to Next Year

Recently, teachers have been forming draft classes for next year, taking into consideration individual student needs, both academic and social, ensuring classes are parallel (a range of abilities represented) in addition to the one class (across grades 2-6) with a small cluster (6 students) of very academically capable students. The number of students in each class, as well as the number of boys and girls is also considered. We also ensure that all students have at least one other student from their 2020 class, moving into their new class with them.

The first day back for all returning students in Years 1-6 will be Friday 29 January. The staff will be engaged in Staff Development Days and professional learning on  Wednesday 27 - Thursday 28.

When the bell rings at 9.25am on Friday 29, the students will line up in their usual spot, where they will be met by their 2020 teacher (where possible) and walked to the shelter for a brief welcome back assembly. Any students starting at Newport in Years 1 to 6 for the first time should present at the school office.

For families who have another child starting in Kindergarten next year, our Best Start appointments, which occur during the first week of school, will be held in and around our library again in 2021. Therefore, our current Kindergarten students who will be moving into Year 1 next year, will remain with their 2020 class cohort and where possible, in their 2020 classroom, for those first few days. Furthermore, on that first day, our Kindergarten teachers from 2020 will be available to catch up with their class for a short time, prior to administering the Best Start assessments.

Kind regards,

Natalie

Thursday 3 Dec - Years 3-6 Zoom Assembly

Saturday 5 Dec - Year 6 Parent Working Bee

Monday 7 Dec - Picnic Day Yrs 3-6 Newport Beach Park

                                                 Yrs K-2 Trafalgar Park 

Tuesday 8 Dec - Year 5 Surf Education

                              Social Chess on NOOSHC deck 2-2.40pm

Wed 9 Dec - Yrs 1-6 Zoom Presentation Assemblies

Thursday 10 Dec - Year 6 Surf Education

Mon 14 Dec - Year 6 Presentation 1.00-2.00pm and Graduation Dinner 6-8.30pm

Wed 16 Dec - Students final day

As the year ends, we are finalising some drop offs for various organisations.

If you have any of the following, we would love it if you would have your child deliver it to us at school:

·         Shoes and socks for Canley Heights

As you may know, we’ve been collecting pre-loved school shoes, runners and new socks to send to Canley Heights Public School for about two years.  If you are having a clean out or your child is having a growth spurt, please consider sending in your old shoes and runners (in good condition) and new pairs of grey or white school socks.  We can guarantee that the recipients of your generosity will be thrilled with their “new” shoes!!!

·         Corks, Toothbrushes, Mobile Phones and “dead” batteries

We continue to be committed to recycling at Newport and continue our program of recycling mobile phones, batteries (AAA to 9V only), toothbrushes and corks! Please place your batteries, corks and mobile phones in the labelled boxes inside the library.  Toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes can be left at 5NE. These items will delivered to the appropriate recycling facilities.

Many thanks from all of us at Newport.