NPPS Newsletter October 2024

• A Big Fan has also been installed in the undercover area, funded by OSH Club. This addition will help keep the space comfortable for students during warmer months.
• The sensory room continues to take shape. The recent installation of new carpet is the first step in preparing this space for 2025. The room is designed to support students with sensory needs, and we are excited to see the positive impact it will have once fully operational.
• We are awaiting a confirmed arrival date for the demountable classroom planned for 2025, but we will keep you updated as soon as we receive more information.

Andrew Streeton - Principal

News from the Art Room

125th Anniversary Art Project

After months of hard work behind the scenes, our collaborative sculpture is installed. Hopefully you have spotted the sculpture in its new home facing Angove Street.

It consists of a wire drawing of the school, affixed to an old farm gate, with wire and aluminium leaves and birds surrounding it. There are also four 'totem' poles, with birds and faces affixed. The faces represent the people and community of our school, and the birds are metal versions of the species of birds that can be found around our school.

The entire project was conceived using student ideas and drawings and made by students the whole way through. Your child will be able to tell you which parts they made and may even recognise their contributions.

I'd like to thank the parents who came and helped with preparations of materials and with putting the sculpture together. It is always good to work with the school community on a project, and your assistance is much appreciated.

Thank you to all families for contributing towards the project. Your children benefited from many sessions of quality art learning with Jodie Davidson, our Artist in Residence, and all did an amazing job contributing to the finished product. I hope that it will stand at the entrance to our school for many years to come, and students can come back to visit it with fond memories of the making experience.

In the future, we are looking to raise funds to light the sculpture so that it can throw shadows on to the wall of the school, further emphasising it at night and adding to its beauty. Watch this space.

Woodman Point Camp 2024 – by Year 6 students

On Monday, 14th October 2024, the Year 6 students arrived at school excited for three days of fun, activities, and unlimited time with their friends. We departed at 9:15 a.m. after loading up the bus with all our luggage. Accompanying us on the bus were our teachers, Miss Kinariwala and Mr. Dombrowsky. Mrs. Dennis and Miss Stein met us there.

Once we arrived at Woodman Point Recreation Camp, we unpacked, set up our dorms, and had watermelon and icy poles for morning tea. We then got free time, during which we played soccer, sang songs, rested, and played games in our dorms. Afterward, the teachers told us we would be having our first dorm checks. We had to make sure our dorms were tidy and clean, and we also had to come up with a 30-second skit to perform. Each group came up with different concepts—some sang and danced, while others did a play. We even had a mime show and an advert.

Before heading off to our first activity, we had lunch. Throughout camp, we participated in several thrilling and challenging activities, including raft building, vertical challenges, flying fox, archery, search and rescue, and a coastal bike ride.

After two activities, we had dinner before getting ready for our final activity of the day—Escape from Quarantine. We had to find different objects that would help us escape from the quarantine station. While searching for these objects, we had to stay safe from the security guards by freezing when they saw us and staying close together with our groups. If we didn’t, we were sent back to camp, where the camp instructor (nicknamed Gru) would give us a fun punishment. The aim of this activity was to learn about the history of the campsite while having fun. Ms. Newman came down and joined us after school, and took part in this activity.

Finally, it was time to get ready for bed—showers, clean teeth, and lights out. We may have stayed up chatting for a little while, but we all eventually fell asleep.

Day two started (for some) with an intensive bootcamp run by Mr. D. After the rest of us were awake, we had a big breakfast—hash browns, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, baked beans, toast, cereal, fruit, and juice. Then we went off to two activity sessions. After lunch, we went to the beach and played a game against each group. The game involved teamwork, where we had to work together to get a tennis ball out of a pipe that had holes in it. We used buckets, which also had holes, to get water into the pipe to help raise the ball to the top. Once the ball was out, we had to get it to the ocean. After this stressful but enjoyable game, we were able to get into the water and have a swim. Mr. Streeton came to camp on day two and joined in the activities, which made the day even more exciting!

We returned to the campsite, showered, and had some free time—some of us rested while others played soccer, sang songs, and spent time with our friends. After another dorm check, we played musical bobs and won lots of chocolate and lollies. After dinner, we played fun games like a balloon relay, flipping cups, and passing the tennis ball/apple in the dining hall. Then we got our pillows and sleeping bags and moved to the recreation room for movie night. We watched Shrek 1 while eating our movie snacks. After a long day of activities and games, we were all very tired and ready for bed.

Day three began with us packing all our belongings and getting them out of the dorms. After a delicious breakfast of pancakes, we moved our belongings to another room. We got ready for our second-to-last activity. After our final two activities, we had a packed lunch and sang songs to Mr. D. Sadly, it was time for us to depart the campsite and return to school. We had an amazing camp experience with all of our friends and will always remember the memories we made together. We got to bond with each other, build on our friendships, and even got to know our teachers better. #ITWASFUN

Food: During our time at camp, we were served a large selection of foods that accommodated all dietary requirements. You would never be hungry during mealtimes because you were allowed to go back for seconds if you were still hungry. All meals came with a cup of juice, either orange or apple. For breakfast, we were given the choice of cereals, fruit, toast, tomatoes, baked beans, eggs, hash browns, or bacon on the first day and pancakes on the second. For lunch, we were served burgers on the first day, pizza on the second, and wrapped rolls on the third, along with juice and various salads. Lastly, the two dinners we received were steak and sausages with salad and butter chicken with naan and rice. Overall, the food was delicious, filling, and varied.