Parents and Citizens of NPS

Ngunnawal Primary School would like to thank our outgoing P and C position holders Tara, Rochelle and Bruce. Between the three of them they have contributed greatly to our school, bringing fresh thinking and a range of expertise to our P and C. A special mention to Rochelle who was the treasurer for 8 years, what a commitment!

We welcome the new position holders for 2024:

Jason Taylor- President

Steven Coling - Vice President

Gabriella Tauni -Secretary

Andrew Vulling - Treasurer

Parent Portal

During term 1 we are introducing a new Parent Portal, a secure online platform used to share student information between you and your child’s teachers.

Using the Parent Portal on your mobile phone, tablet, or computer, you will be able to:

• notify us if your child is sick or explain an absence
• book parent-teacher interviews
• receive academic reports
• receive our school newsletter
• receive messages from your child’s teachers
• make payments
• access the school calendar and your child’s student timetable.

You can start the sign up and identity verification process now so you’re ready to go. Head to our website for all the details under the parent portal tab.

Buddies

Last week our older classes connected with their younger buddies for the first time this year. Buddy programs provide an opportunity for all our older students to provide leadership to our younger students. Buddies will connect in weeks 4 and 9 of each term during assembly time.

Outdoor Learning

Our new space stood the test of hundreds of students on the very first day, only to be challenged by the extreme weather the following day! It's great to see this space in use all day long for learning and play, there are so many zones to use. Our students are currently coming up with a new name for this part of our school, we can't wait to hear what they decide.

Swimming Carnival

Congratulations to the students who competed in the Swimming Carnival last Friday. We look forward to hearing about their achievements in the assembly tomorrow. Thank you to Trent and Dianna R for organising this event. 

5/6 Beehive Design Challenge

Congratulations to the students who were selected to represent our school at the prime minister's residence in Canberra, The Lodge. There were so many incredible entries, it was difficult to select just a few. Thank you to Dianna W for creating this opportunity for our students to visit The Lodge and complete the prime minister's beehive! You may have seen the article in The Canberra Times on Sunday.

Seesaw Learning Platform

In 2024, The Education Directorate has approved the use of Seesaw with a number of increased security measures. We apologise for the delay in sharing student learning however we must ensure our student information is secure whilst continuing to provide purposeful posts to families. We hope to have this resolved as soon as possible. 

Exemption Certificates

All students living in the ACT aged 6 to 17 years, are required to be enrolled and attending school fulltime, unless registered with Home Education or have an approved Exemption Certificate. Schools are required to discuss with parent/carer the need for an Exemption Certificate as soon as it is clear the young person will be absent from school for an extended period of time (whole or part days). An application for an Exemption Certificate should be considered for students not attending fulltime by the end of February. An Exemption Certificate may be approved when a child or young person is unable to participate fulltime in learning due to their health and/or wellbeing.

• 2024 Exemption Certificate Information Parent Information
• 2024 Exemption Certificate Application Form

Rebecca Turner

Principal

Fortnightly Focus

In weeks 4 and 5 our school focus is on being in the right place at the right time. This includes using a ‘mission pass’ when leaving the classroom during learning time. At breaks, the students with hats on can play in the sun, otherwise they will stay safe and remain in shaded areas. 

Whole School Yunggi Bengal Count and Reward Target 

We are fast approaching our reward target of 10,000 Yunggi Bengals, with over 5,000 already awarded to students this year! Once the 10,000 target is achieved, the students will enjoy a whole school reward of an extended break time. 

New Outdoor Learning and Play Space 

In each of our school settings, we have developed PBL expectations specific to the zone's needs. The new outdoor learning and play space opened on Friday of week 3 and has proven to be exceedingly popular. In week 5, teacher professional learning will focus on building a shared agreement on PBL expectations in the new space.  

During week 4, each class had the chance to make suggestions to name the new play space. The PBL team will consider ideas and the name will be announed in the coming weeks.   

School Times

Our school day starts at 9am. We ask families to have students arrive at school as close to 9am as possible to support the safety and wellbeing of all students. Those children that may be at school earlier are expected to be in the courtyard or basketball court areas only, where we have Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) to provide supervision from 8:30am. If you require supervision for your child before 8:30am, we encourage you to contact Communities at Work and enquire about before school care availability. 

Meet the PBL Team 

Our staff PBL team is represented by school leaders and teachers from across grade levels. This week we introduce our 3-6 deputy principal Jen, and P-K school leader Kristina. 

The PBL Team 

Year 4s have hit the ground running. After getting to know each other, settling into classroom routines and reacquainting with old friends, we quickly refreshed our memories on school-wide expectations and off we flew.

Here are some of the things we have been learning in each of the classes from the perspective of our learners:

4CB

We are reading (The Boy at the Back of the Class) a book about a boy who comes to a new school from a place that doesn't speak English. The characters are funny.

We have been learning to write imaginative texts. It has been fun, and I love it because we can write about whatever we want. My story plot is about two girls and a boy who live in France, and they travel to America. I have not finished yet, but I am very close.

I love doing Maths. We work with different people and are experimenting with odd and even numbers and place value.

In Science this term, our topic is 'Friends of Foes?'. It is about the way plants grow. Our tomato seeds have sprouted.

We invented our own flowers to decorate the window sill.

We have a pet tomato plant called Timothy Thomas Sauce. We take him for walks whenever we go out for a wriggle break.

The Questacon Science Circus was so good. We learnt about potential and kinetic energy and friction.

We do P.E. every morning. We do running games. Sometimes, there are games where we search for things. We have learned new games like Softies, In the Water, Find 3 Things and Link Tag. We also do PE rotations where we do different activities like skipping, running and trying to kick Jianzis.

We made fancy colour wheels with Diana. (Check out some star artworks in the Admin building hallway.)

In P.E., with Trent, we are learning soccer skills and practising passing and kicking.

We are creating slides and practising touch typing on the Chromebooks, which will help us when publishing our imaginative texts.

4NS

I have been enjoying Year 4 so much and learning new things. In Maths, we are learning the value of numbers.  In writing, we have writing partners which helps us to get more good ideas by sharing our creative minds. I like how sometimes, in the morning, we do activities and play games outside.

We have been writing with partners which is fun because we get to share ideas for our writing with others. It is helpful because we have been working on imaginative texts and it can be hard to get ideas sometimes.

I love writing with my partner because she is so funny, and she comes up with the best story idea.

In Year 4, Science, we have been learning about the life cycle of a tomato plant. In Maths, we have been learning about place value. I love learning about place value. It is my favourite thing to do in Maths.

I have been enjoying doing Maths, PE, even writing! In spelling, we have been learning about homophones, the sounds in the words, and the bits that make meanings in the words. It is just so much fun. It is not too hard and not too easy; it is just right. I love Year 4!

I enjoyed playing morning games such as the soda game and Golden Child. 

4HB

In Writers Workshop, we’ve been working on narratives. I’ve enjoyed having a writer’s notebook where I can scribble down ideas before I lose them. It helps a lot with my writing, and I hope my story will soon be full of colour and pictures, with a strong structure and lots of twists! The other subjects are great, but I think this is my favourite subject. It lets me express myself. I hope some other students like writing too, as it can be helpful when dealing with tough times.

I enjoyed working on my inner outer self-portrait and in P.E. we are working on soccer skills. In Maths, I even created a game with my friend, called Vurdle. It's like Wordle but with place value. The first four weeks have been enjoyable!

My favourite class is P.E. (Physical Education). We are doing football in and I like football because I like running, jumping and kicking.

I have enjoyed art with Gene because we have been experimenting with different colours and spraying water on them to see the colours mix around the paper. There is special paper we use which reacts to water! I loved art because there was a process to it and I love using processes.

This year, Maths has been getting harder and harder every time I try it, but that does not keep me from trying anyway. I still enjoy it.