Nhamirri walal,
For the past 3 days I have been in Darwin. This time was spent working with East Arnhem principals for a day and then attending the Leadership Summit. I presented the Nhulunbuy Primary School ‘Big Stories’, celebrating some of our achievements and hard work, as acknowledged at our recent School Review. Other principals in our region were excited and encouraged to see that large remote schools can achieve high attendance, academic excellence and have high quality, passionate and caring staff! Of particular interest also was the way we partner with our families and activate student voice.
We were able to explain that the direction the school has taken over the last 4 years has been data driven and evidence informed. Some of the most effective ways we capture the voice of our families is through the School (Parent) Survey, School Council or direct communication. Please can I encourage you to complete the School Survey? Your opinion helps us know what to do more of, less of, or to keep doing. Thank you to the 20 people who have already done this. It only takes a few minutes but is important information for us.
This week I received an email from a parent sharing how much they appreciated one of our teachers. It was so wonderful to be able to share this correspondence with the teacher, to acknowledge their hard work and celebrate their achievements. Sending correspondence when things are going wrong is very important so we can make a plan and see things improve. However, please can I also encourage you to shoot off an email when things are going well for you and your children (particularly when there has been a change for the better that you appreciate). ‘Acknowledgements’ are a significant focus for NPS and our staff value the positive feedback too.
The cross-country last Friday was fantastic! Our athletics committee coordinated another well organised and fun event with most of our students giving it a go. We loved seeing all the families on site also. Our transition students were very cute, competing in cross country for the very first time and there was an excellent participation rate for our 9-year-olds who ran the whole 2km course! Next Friday, 20 of our fastest runners aged 10 and older will compete against other schools in an intraschool cross country event that we will hosted at NPS.
Our Year 5 students are currently on a 3-day camp at the Latrum. Camps are some of the best moments of a student’s primary school memories and I am so thankful our staff work hard to provide these opportunities. My appreciation to Holly Harlow the Teacher in Charge of the Year 5 excursion, along with Sophie Thomas and Luke Maymuru our NPS staff. We were also very fortunate to have parent volunteers attend or help out, including a highly sought after nurse and a bronze medallion holder! My thanks to Jane and Mark Emonson, Christopher McLennan, Daniel Coxon, Josh Elford and Jamie Blythe for their assistance.
Earlier in the year we mapped out camps, sleep overs and special events, with the Year 6 camp in Darwin being the culminating event. We have agreed that at NPS students in Preschool and Transition will have a fun activity at the end of the year (usually in the form of a disco) which will last for approximately 1-1.5 hours. Year 1 will also have a special event/fun night that will include multiple activities and last a bit longer (approximately 3 hours in the afternoon to night). Year 2 will be included in that event, but have the option to stay on and sleep over at the school. Year 3 and 4 will have an onsite sleep over together (Friday next week). Year 5 off site (3 days at the Latrum) approximately 20 minutes away. Camps are a privilege and I am grateful for the work our staff and families investment into making these events happen.
Friday 1st September is our Father’s Day breakfast hosted by our SRC. The Mother’s Day event held earlier in the year was well attended and appreciated by our mums. I encourage families to organise for their father figures to come along and celebrate with us. Tickets can be purchased in advance through the front office.
Next week is Book Week and dress up day on Friday with the theme: Read, Grow, Inspire!
Kind regards,
Rachel Blundell
Principal
