| Art | Ruby Feeney Seren Novak | Chinese | Heleena Tassone |
| Room 1 | Braxton Ngaeruaiti Eliza Kyngdon | Hass | Harlan Macdonald Maci Murphy |
| Room 2 | Katey Olsen | Room 10 | Aleksander Pinker Jacob Jones |
| Room 4 | Alex Hayden Lauren Hester | Room 11 | Alif Rahman |
| Room 5 | Bella Leano Carter Pope | Room 20 | Aaron Tom Tyrecee Blair Mason Ewing |
| Room 6 | Jake Morton Charlotte Humphrey | Room 22 | Ada Kyngdon Oliver Quince |
Welcome to this edition of our school newsletter. It has been a very, very busy and enjoyable Term 3!
Well done to Room 20 on their latest assembly item giving us an update on how Australia went at the 2024 Olympic Games. I am very proud with our improved public speaking skills across the school.
We have recently held our annual whole school Book Week Parade and buddy reading session. What a fantastic morning this was! A massive thank you to everyone who turned up dressed for the event, and to all the parents/carers who came along as supporters for this fun and engaging morning. A special thank you to Miss Cook, Mrs Odquin-Curtis and the Literacy team for organising another successful event.
All students have had the opportunity to participate in the Jumps and Throws Day, Faction Athletics Carnival, and ECE Fun Carnival. The students were fantastic participants and joined in a variety of athletic and fun events. Well done to everyone for their sportsmanship. A big congratulations to the runner up and champion students and of course, Parnka, who brought home the shield for a second year in a row. Thank you to the staff who organised and ran events and to our community members who helped with the days. A special thanks to Brooke Wilson and Shiwani Nair for sitting all day doing the all-important scoring. Next week selected students will be representing the school at our Interschool Events for Years 1-6. Jumps and Throws on Wed 11 September; running events and team games on Friday 13 September. These days will be held at Goanna oval, commencing at 9:00am. South Newman Primary School are hosting this year's interschool athletics carnival. Notes will be sent home from Mr Chappelow so keep an eye out!
Staffing changes: At the end of last week, two of our staff members, Sam and Mahalia Odquin-Curtis left our school and accepted positions with the Remote Teaching Service. We would like to thank them both for their teaching and input into NPS over the past 1.5 years and wish them both all the very best with their future endeavours. Miss Madison Thomas has kindly accepted to take over Room 16 until the end of the year and Miss Dominique Potvin, who is a flying squad teacher will take over Room 22 until the end of the term at this stage. This now leaves us without an Art teacher two days a week, however, I am currently working to fill this position.
Issues may arise during your child’s schooling, and these are more productively resolved if you raise them with the school directly, as early as possible. If you are not sure who to speak to, you can start with your child’s teacher. For some matters, it may be appropriate to talk directly to our administration team. Our priority is always your child and in developing a close relationship with our school community where we all work together to provide the best educational opportunities for all children at Newman Primary School.
I would like to reflect upon the great work of our students that is not only represented by merit awards but also shared at a classroom level. I encourage families who would like to see their child’s work or have an update on progress to make a time with the classroom teacher.
Whilst some may look at the last two weeks of term as a wind down, it is still 20% of the term. Attendance is as vital as ever and, as so many students have missed school through illness and extended holidays. I would like to highlight the importance of attending school every day. Our current overall attendance rate for Semester 2 is currently sitting at 55.7%. We would like to further improve this percentage. Every day matters!
Planning for 2025
I am currently engaged in the planning process for 2025. Part of this planning needs to start with our potential class structures which are based on projected school numbers.
I know this may be early, however, if you are aware, I am requesting that families inform the front office as soon as possible if they know that their child/ren will not be returning to Newman Primary School in 2025. 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 2025.
2025 Student Placement Requests
If you believe your child has particular considerations regarding class placement for 2025 please contact Robyn Hudson directly by, letter or email at Robyn.Hudson@education.wa.edu.au All requests will be treated with complete confidentiality and will be taken into consideration; however, there are no guarantees. In structuring classes there are many influencing factors that will be considered including friendships and class dynamics.
Requests received after Friday 15 November 2024 will not be able to be considered.
Robyn Hudson Principal
