P and C 2021

Last week we held our 2021 P and C AGM and elected our office bearers. Congratulations to:

President - Sarah McConaghy

Vice President - Steven Coling

Treasurer - Rochelle Burdge

Secretary- Gabriella Tauni

Canteen Manager - Chantel Earle

Our P and C exists to:

• provide a forum to share matters that relate to the education and well-being of the school community
• an avenue to participate in community projects involving NPS
• provide a means for the community to present views to the School Board
• raise money to enable the aims of NPS community

Upcoming opportunities to get involved in our school:

What did our P and C achieve in 2020?

Aside from a significant contribution to our parent engagement project the P and C were able to donate funds towards the completion of several school projects:

• Cook top in the canteen 
• Dishwasher in the canteen
• Canteen cupboard repairs and bench top replaced
• Hall painting 

What are we working towards in 2021?

• West Park upgrade
• Sustainability projects to reduce waste to landfill including a giant worm farm 
• Repair hall lights and curtain

School Car Park 

Thank you to all parents and carers who are driving safely and being patient in our car park. Please share this guide with any carers who will be picking children up from the front car park eg. relatives, nannies. It would also be helpful if you have your name in large letters on your passenger visor. This way, we can have your children ready for you.

School pick up areas are marked in white and no parking zones are marked in red. The following rules apply:

1. Children will only be able to board a car if it is stopped at the designated spot marked in white (see map).

2. Cars waiting will form a single line behind each other.

3. If a car enters the pick-up zone and their children aren’t there, they will be asked to do a circuit of Unaipon Ave and rejoin the line (see map).

4. Children will be supervised until 3:15pm.

5. There will be absolutely no parking or waiting in pick up zones.

6. Staff will be on duty to assist with supervision.

7. From 3:15pm any students remaining will be brought to the front office area and parents will be called.

Swimming Carnival

Congratulations to all students who participated in our swimming carnival last week. The event was a success and the competitors did their very best.  I’d like to express my thanks to Trent and Sarah for their super efforts in organising this event.

SRC

We are ready to launch a new approach to the Student Representative Council for 2021. Senior student leaders will have responsibility for long term project management with the support of our junior student representatives. We can't wait to see what they achieve.

School Banking

The ACT Government committed to transition away from school banking programs in all ACT public schools by 30 June 2021. NPS would like to acknowledge the many hours dedicated by volunteers, in particular Julie who has worked tirelessly in our school for years to process our student banking.

Rebecca Turner

Principal

Spotlight on learning Year 4

Acknowledgement of Country

Each class spent time in weeks 1 and 2 creating an Acknowledgement of Country. Students engaged in culturally appropriate discussions to co create a unique acknowledgement for each class.

Reader’s Workshop

Reader’s workshop is in full swing! Students are reading good-fit books and spending time conferencing and creating reading goals with their teacher. We have looked at predicting and are now moving on to self-questioning.

Civics

Students have been learning about what it means to belong to a group. Classes created a belonging tree where the leaves display a students’ chosen group that they feel they belong to. They have also identified what makes them a unique individual and how they perceive themselves and others.

Science

We have been learning about the properties of materials and how the properties impact an object’s use. Each lesson we are investigating different types of materials and what their purpose is. We looked at a range of gloves and discussed their properties including how dishwashing gloves are rubber, long and grippy so they are waterproof and protect the hand and arm from hot water and can grip wet dishes. We have also investigated the absorbency of everyday materials such as paper towel, plastic bags and fabric bags to see if they will repel, soak or leak water. Our long-term investigation focuses on the biodegradability of different types of bags. We buried samples in the dirt and will check on them at the end of the term to see if any broke down.

NAPLAN Online will occur in our school between 11 and 21 May 2021.

NAPLAN Online is a more engaging assessment that adjusts questions to each student’s achievement level. It also delivers more precise results to schools and parents more quickly.

NAPLAN provides valuable information to schools and parents about literacy and numeracy achievement. It supports school improvement processes by enabling teachers to monitor student progress over time and to identify areas of strength and development.

All eligible students are encouraged and supported to participate in NAPLAN testing. Visit www.nap.edu.au to see interactive versions of the test and for more information.