Newport Gardens
Primary School
Newsletter May 25th, 2020
Nurturing our Future Newport Gardens Primary School
School
Councillors
2020
Emma Watt
Justine Flaherty
Katrina Phemister
Matthew Cooper
Jordan Harris
Joanne McCafferty
Blayne Wallis
Tim Boylan
Daniel Faoro
Tel (03) 9391 2168 Fax (03) 9391 8979
www.newportgardensps.vic.edu.au
41 Maddox Road, Newport VIC 3015
Table of contents:
Principals message
Year 7 Application
REMINDER
Mindful May
Calendar
School Psychologist
information
SWPBS Charts
Premiers Reading
Challenge
Student birthday
notice
Reconciliation week
Media Release -
Getting our kids
back into the
classroom
Return to School - FAQ
I would like to thank our parents for their constructive questions in regard to our ‘Return to School’ plan. It is important that we have clarity as to what these expectations are and how we can best make this a positive and safe transition back to school.
I would like to draw your attention to the points below:
- Our staggered start and finish times have been developed to minimise the congregation of people around our school grounds.
- Families with children across different year levels can utilise the finish times to plan how siblings can leave the grounds in a safe manner. For example: if you have a child in Year Prep & Year 2 you may like to have the older sibling meet your Prep child at their classroom door (externally) and then walk to the gate to meet you. Please ensure that these instructions are discussed with your children be-fore the first day back.
- Social distancing is a must for parents at each gate. We will have a minimum of 3 staff members at each gate to monitor this and ensure children and families are safe.
- If you need to access our administrative office, please be mindful of the floor markings and social distancing signs that are displayed.
- It is expected that Year 3 - 6 children continue their remote learning until their return to school in two weeks’ time. Only under exceptional circumstances will permission be given for an older child to attend onsite as part of supervision.
- Those children in Year 3 - 6 who are attending onsite as no other arrangements can be made, will enter the space they have been using this term through Ms Spinks-Cooper’s external door, near to the ‘Tower of Terror’.
- Our bike shed will be open for those children who ride to school. Please note that the bike shed can only be accessed by our students, not parents.
Thank you for your understanding.
If you have any further questions or concerns, please make contact.
Andrew Fuller: Seven things for a smooth transition back to school-based learning
It's a return to the classroom like no other. How can we help students make a successful transition? Leading clinical psychologist Andrew Fuller outlines his seven priorities to help their journey.
Trial, Turbulence, Transition and Transformation –this is the cycle of change we have all been going through.
Trial
We have all been through an incredible alteration of lifestyles. This has brought with it increased stress and times of exhaustion. While these feelings may lessen in the coming months, they will still occur, though hopefully less frequently.
Newport Gardens
Primary School
Newsletter
Nurturing our Future Newport Gardens Primary School
Tel (03) 9391 2168 Fax (03) 9391 8979
www.newportgardensps.vic.edu.au
41 Maddox Road, Newport VIC 3015
Turbulence
I have outlined in recent papers the cycle of feelings that most people go through during these times:
– Fear and Bewilderment
– Anger
– Are we there yet?
These phases of reaction may repeat several times before we are through these times.
Transition
As if we haven’t had enough jolts and changes already, now we all need to adapt back into in-school learning. Let’s talk about how to make that transition as smooth and as successful as possible. (I look forward to writing about the opportunities for transformation soon).
Priority Number One – The sleep cycle
Sleep changes are a common effect of the recent times. Dreams change, schedules shift. It is time to re-establish a more usual sleep cycle. If you have ever experienced jet lag after travelling across time zones, you may know that it will take at least one day for each hour of time difference. For example, Melbourne is nine hours ahead of London so as a general rule of thumb you can expect nine days before you feel fully in the local time zone. Depending on how out of whack your sleep has been, try to give yourself the time to re-adjust your sleep cycle before returning to school. What sets our sleep cycle most powerfully is ‘first light, first bite’. Get up at the time you would need to on a typical school day and eat breakfast soon afterwards. If you can, go for a walk outside or at least sit near a window. Getting your sleep cycle back into sync with the school and workday improves learning and mental health.
Priority Number Two – Can’t wait to see you
One of the main things that helps us all to transition back is knowing there is someone there who is wanting to see us. We all look forward to catching up with good people and having some fun. Reaching out and making contact with school friends and specific teachers sets this up.
Priority Number Three – Safe and certain
We are all in the care of one another. There needs to be a clear understanding that we intend to keep everyone safe and well and have planned as much as we can, for this outcome. This means we need to have a plan if someone feels unwell either physically or by feeling scared or apprehensive. These are the times when communities need to draw together to support everyone. In these times, ambiguity is our enemy and will increase anxiety. Clarity is our friend.
Priority Number Four – Restart the year
We are not looking at a resumption of the year. Most of us have had quite enough of 2020 already. What we are looking for is a whole fresh start. During the turbulence, priorities and lives have been re-structured. Social connections have changed. The orientation we need to do now is to form new connections, and to renew our attitude towards learning and success. Limber-ing up for learning will involve rekindling friendships, warming up our curiosity and stretching our imaginations. We will all need a few practice runs before we feel we can safely regain our full stride.
Priority Number Five – Plan for success
Given that the shape of the year has changed more than any of us expected, we need to plan for success. A way to do this is to assess each young person’s learning strengths at My Learning Strengths. The full report can be used to establish a person-alised learning plan for the next six months. For senior students the risk is feeling than the year has got away from them and they feel they cannot succeed. Clearly this is not true. Firstly, they have all experienced the same setbacks. Secondly, there is plenty of time to catch up and succeed. Clear systems and plans will outdo slogging themselves into a frenzy or giving up.
APPLICATION FOR YEAR 7 PLACEMENT 2021
Dear grade 6 parents,
A reminder that high school applications forms are due back to school by Friday the 29th of May. All details along with the form are available on compass.
Please make sure that you have completed each section of the form including if your child has already been offered a place at a Catholic or Independent school. Once completed you may return the form by email or post. All forms must be received by the due date of Friday 29 May 2020.
Please note if you are completing the form electronically and are unable to sign the form, you must clearly indicate in the
return email that “I authorize the Application form without a signature”.
Priority Number Six – Less really is more
It is understandable that some people will feel in a rush to make up for the time and opportunities missed in the early part of the year. Cramming in as much as possible to make up for lost time is a compelling idea. It is also a certainty that if we do this, it won’t work. Given the upheaval of past months, rushing too much or putting too much in place too early is a recipe for
exhaustion, disenchantment and disengagement. While we are back in business, easy does it. Taking our time now to slowly rebuild a sense of success will pay off. Take it slow and make it fun!
Priority Number Seven – Review
About five weeks after the resumption of school-based learning, we need to schedule time to review the process of
re-integration. This needs to be an individual check-in of the pluses and the minuses of the experiences, what people feel has worked well (as well as what hasn’t) and a re-assessment of what we think is going to help in the future. The results of this review will enable us to shift to the next phase of the year: transformation.
©Andrew Fuller
Enrolment 2021
If you have a child who will be enrolling in Prep next year, we are now accepting enrolments. This can be collected from our administration office while our website is being redeveloped. If you know of a family who are in this position, please give a kindly reminder that enrolments are now being accepted.
Have a triumphant week everyone!
Blayne Wallis
Newport Gardens
Primary School
Newsletter
Nurturing our Future Newport Gardens Primary School
Tel (03) 9391 2168 Fax (03) 9391 8979
www.newportgardensps.vic.edu.au
41 Maddox Road, Newport VIC 3015
Newport Gardens
Primary School
Newsletter
Tel (03) 9391 2168 Fax (03) 9391 8979
www.newportgardensps.vic.edu.au
41 Maddox Road, Newport VIC 3015
Nurturing our Future Newport Gardens Primary School
NGPS WELLBEING / WELFARE & SWPBS
SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST
Do you find that your child is having emotional or
behavioral issues?
Are they struggling socially or
academically?
Newport Gardens Primary School now has
registered psychologists to support your child.
Amanjit Kaur and Jenni Avidon are registered psychologist who
specialises in child and adolescent mental health.
Her services are provided at the school at NO COST through Medicare bulk billing. She will work
collaboratively with you, your child, and the teachers to maximise op-portunities for positive growth.
If you believe that this might benefit your child, please contact the school administration staff and request a Parent Pack for further
information.
Please be aware, Amanjit and Jenni will be at NGPS each week. All cases will be
prioritised case by case. Waiting periods my apply.
Thank you
Emma Leunig
Tel (03) 9391 2168 Fax (03) 9391 8979
www.newportgardensps.vic.edu.au
41 Maddox Road, Newport VIC 3015
Child Safety Statement
Newport Gardens Primary School is committed to a zero tolerance of child abuse and creating an inclusive school culture that promotes child safety. Our vision of Nurturing
Our Future supports our focus of including people of all abilities, and promotes the cultural safety of individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, including
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
Nurturing our Future Newport Gardens Primary School
SWPBS
SWPBS
Tel (03) 9391 2168 Fax (03) 9391 8979
www.newportgardensps.vic.edu.au
41 Maddox Road, Newport VIC 3015
Nurturing our Future Newport Gardens Primary School
NGPS Positive Rewards System
SWPBS
Newport Gardens
Primary School
Newsletter
Tel (03) 9391 2168 Fax (03) 9391 8979
www.newportgardensps.vic.edu.au
41 Maddox Road, Newport VIC 3015
Nurturing our Future Newport Gardens Primary School
Tel (03) 9391 2168 Fax (03) 9391 8979
www.newportgardensps.vic.edu.au
41 Maddox Road, Newport VIC 3015
Nurturing our Future Newport Gardens Primary School
Hi students,
As you know we normally compete in our Cross Country championships this term, and grade 3-6 students have the
opportunity to race against other schools. Although at the moment we are not having this event, School Sports Victoria
have created a virtual event which is open to PREP – 6 students. To have a go please follow the link!
https://ssv.vic.edu.au/Pages/VirtualCrossCountry.aspx
Mr Coles
Physical Education News
Newport Gardens
Primary School
Newsletter
Tel (03) 9391 2168 Fax (03) 9391 8979
www.newportgardensps.vic.edu.au
41 Maddox Road, Newport VIC 3015
Nurturing our Future Newport Gardens Primary School
Tel (03) 9391 2168 Fax (03) 9391 8979
www.newportgardensps.vic.edu.au
41 Maddox Road, Newport VIC 3015
Nurturing our Future Newport Gardens Primary School
PARENTS CLUB NEWS
We acknowledge this period has been difficult for a lot of families, and as our children reconnect with school friends from tomorrow and in the coming weeks, we too look forward to doing the same with you.
With the current restrictions however, it is difficult to predict when we can hold our next meeting and restart back into the great events planned for the year. We will keep you updated as the Parents Club use this opportunity to look at other ways, we can assist the school moving forward.
If you have any ideas, stories or suggestions you would like to share with us, we would love to hear from you.
There are some great posts from parents/carers on the Newport Schools Exchange facebook page regarding transitioning back to school. If you are not a member take a look, it is a great tool for asking school related questions, information about what’s happening in the school community and for buying/selling uniforms. This page is not affiliated by the school, it is purely used by NGPS parents/carers for keeping in touch.
Have you had a chance to view the ISO-wave YouTube clip Abbey Lee collated? The hours of work it would have taken, thank you Abbey and to all the families that contributed. What an amazing community we have. View ISO wave here.
Do you want a great way to meet other parents and make new friends?
Do you want to have fun and help your children at the same time?
Yes?
Then please come and join the Parents Club, it is open to all careers of students in NGPS, and we would love to meet you. Email [email protected] for more information.
We look forward to seeing you all again soon.
Regards, Tash
President of Parents Club
Newport Gardens
Primary School
Newsletter
Tel (03) 9391 2168 Fax (03) 9391 8979
www.newportgardensps.vic.edu.au
41 Maddox Road, Newport VIC 3015
Nurturing our Future Newport Gardens Primary School
Newport Gardens
Primary School
Newsletter
Tel (03) 9391 2168 Fax (03) 9391 8979
www.newportgardensps.vic.edu.au
41 Maddox Road, Newport VIC 3015
Nurturing our Future Newport Gardens Primary School
April 14th to 16th
Newport Gardens PS Birthdays from May 19th to May 25th:
Vivienne Buttsworth, Lachlan Gilchrist, Sahara Ranjeetkar,
Rhoda Abdou, Mariam Abdou & Callum Rizzo.
Congratulations in turning another year older!
Newport Gardens
Primary School
Newsletter
Tel (03) 9391 2168 Fax (03) 9391 8979
www.newportgardensps.vic.edu.au
41 Maddox Road, Newport VIC 3015
Nurturing our Future Newport Gardens Primary School
Newport Gardens
Primary School
Newsletter
Tel (03) 9391 2168 Fax (03) 9391 8979
www.newportgardensps.vic.edu.au
41 Maddox Road, Newport VIC 3015
Nurturing our Future Newport Gardens Primary School