Newbury Primary School Issue 6 - Friday 10th May 2024

Dear Parents and Carers,

We would like to welcome the new students and families who have started with us since our last newsletter.

Thank you for your continued support of the staff and school. We place great value on building positive relationships with our families and it is very encouraging to see students and families happy, confident and satisfied with our staff and school.

We are very proud of the learning community we have created thus far and look forward to continuing to develop an environment where students will have opportunities to develop their social and academic skills and be provided with optimal learning opportunities.

SCHOOL UNIFORM

Newbury Primary School’s uniform is a child friendly, stylish uniform that stands out within the community; we wear it with pride

Recently we have noticed that some students are not wearing the correct uniform often wearing blue for the bottom part of the uniform. Please note, that the bottom part of the uniform is plain black only. There should be no pants or shorts with logos or writing. In addition to this, hoodies and denim jeans are not permitted.

Please ensure that your child is wearing the uniform correctly.

The uniform is as follows:

  • Anything from the waist up needs to be an item with a school logo- this includes any jackets. Jackets that are not a school jacket are not permitted, this includes hoodies.
  • Pants, shorts and skirts need to be black only. Grey, blue or any other colour is not part of our uniform and is not acceptable.
  • Hats need to be broad brimmed. Hats and beanies are available to be purchased form the office. Please see our office staff for assistance.
  • Shoes can be any colour but they must be closed toe shoes for safety purposes.

Phone calls will be made to parents and carers whose child is not wearing the uniform correctly.

STUDENT FREE DAY:

Please note that Friday 7th June is a student free day and students are not required at school. TheirCare are providing care on this day. Please contact them if you require this service www.theircare.com.au

CONSENT EDUCATION:

The Victorian Government has mandated that the teaching of consent in an age-appropriate way is mandatory in all government schools from the beginning of Term 2, 2021.

The Victorian Curriculum requires schools to teach the focus areas of relationships, sexuality and safety. Mandating the teaching of consent will bring focus to this critical issue. Schools play an important role in supporting students to develop their social and emotional skills and their ability to build and manage safe and respectful relationships.

Issues of consent, sexual assault, and gender inequality are critically important. Our school in partnership with parents, has an important role to play in addressing this significant social issue.

We stand against gendered violence. The testimonies provided by current and former school students across the country reinforce the need to support students to build and manage safe and respectful relationships.

The Respectful Relationships initiative supports schools to promote and model respect, positive attitudes and behaviours and teaches students how to build healthy relationships, resilience and confidence.

We are a proud Respectful Relationships Lead School. Respectful Relationships is a whole school approach that supports our school to embed a culture of respect and gender equality across our entire school community.

The age-appropriate resources include lesson plans and activities that help students learn and practice social skills and apply them in a positive way to learning, life and relationships. The resources also include topics on sexual harassment and consent.

We teach Respectful Relationships education as part of the Victorian Curriculum, which focuses on building students’ social and emotional skills by supporting them to recognise and regulate emotions, develop empathy for others and build and manage safe and respectful relationships (including understanding consent). Our school provides sexuality education as part of the 5/6 curriculum. There is no significant change to teaching and learning at Newbury Primary School. We have always included age appropriate sexuality and consent in the practices taught under the Respectful Relationships framework.

Our school takes sexual assault allegations very seriously. We respond to any disclosures in an appropriate and supportive manner. Any allegations are acted upon quickly by following our procedures for responding to allegations of abuse and assault. We report allegations of sexual assault to Victoria Police, and Child Protection and the Department of Education and Training as required.

We will provide support to any students who are victim-survivors of sexual assault. Students can receive support from our Wellbeing Community which includes Allied Health staff.

If you have any questions or concerns, or wish to discuss something that has happened, please contact Dan Wright- Student Support and Engagement Leader on 8691 6900.

As a parent or carer, if you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault and needs support, please contact 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au.

You can also access help through

• Parentline

• Lifeline

• Beyond Blue

Students can access help through

• Kids Helpline

• Headspace

PREP 2025:

If you or someone you know is wanting to enrol their child in Prep for 2025, please contact the office as soon as possible for an enrolment form. We have been inundated with a large number of Prep enrolments for 2025 and need to determine numbers very quickly, in order to assist us in our planning for next year.

Our enrolment process is as follows:

  • If you have not registered your interest for enrolment you will need to complete this by going to our website.
  • Office staff will check if your address is in our Designated Neighbourhood Boundary. If it is you will receive a phone call to make an appointment to complete enrolment form
  • If we have places become available and you are not in the Designated Neighbourhood Boundary we will call you by the end of October to see if you would still like a place. Please enrol in your closet school just in case we do not have a place become available.

BREAKFAST CLUB:

A reminder that Breakfast Club runs every Friday morning assisted by staff volunteers. Delicious, toasted cheese sandwiches are prepared, cooked and handed out from 8:00am-8:40am. Please come along, spend time together and meet other members of our school community.

A coffee van selling a range of drinks will also be available for purchase.

GROUNDS UPDATES:

We are very excited to announce that we expect to open the new Play Space within the next few weeks. There are some final finishing touches to be done before it is ready to be used.

Below are the latest pictures.

HEALTHY AND NUTRITIOUS LUNCHES:

It is important to provide children with a balance of healthy and nutritious food to fuel their brain and body during the day. Some of the students’ lunchboxes are absolutely amazing! Please ensure that you provide your child/ren with something substantial to eat such as a sandwich, roll, wrap or salad as well as other tasty and healthy treats for morning tea.

DROPPING OFF AND PICKING UP:

Please use the school crossing on Grand Boulevard when crossing the road. It has been noted that there are some families crossing at the roundabout or just up from the school crossing, which poses a great danger to student safety.

When picking up or dropping off at Newbury Boulevard, please be mindful of the amount of pedestrian and car traffic in this area. We have been informed that there are some parents and carers who are double parking which poses a huge risk for students. Please model road safety practices. Parking inspectors often visit schools and will issue parking infringements to anyone found posing a danger or parking illegally.

BIKES AND SCOOTERS:

At Newbury Primary School, we promote health and fitness and it is terrific to see many students riding their bikes or scooters to school. The second bike shed is now available for use. Please make sure your child is wearing a helmet and that once they enter the school grounds, they walk their bike or scooter in.

EVERY DAY COUNTS - EARLY LEAVERS:

We continue to have a number of students leaving school early and doing so on a regular basis. Please be aware that not only does leaving school early impact on your child’s learning time, it also distracts the class when students leave during a lesson. Please ensure that your child is at school for the whole day and make any appointments out of school times. A reminder that our dismissal time is 3:10pm.

NEW ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL:

Belinda Rae has been successful in being appointed Assistant Principal of Facilities, Operations and Accountability. Belinda is well known and has been at our school since its first year of opening. We congratulate Belinda on her promotion.

MOBILE PHONES:

Please note that mobile phones are not permitted to be used at school. If you send your child to school with a mobile phone, it must be handed in to the classroom teacher for the day and be collected upon dismissal.

SUPERVISION BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL:

Please note that supervision for students before school commences at 8:45am and after school until 3:25pm. Staff are not on duty beyond these times. Please do not drop off your child before this time or leave them waiting after school beyond this time as they will not be supervised. Families will be contacted if this occurs.

ALL DAY GRAZING:

At Newbury Primary School, we understand that students need food to fuel their brain and that they are hungry during the day. It is great to visit classrooms and see students nibbling on carrot sticks, cheese, rice crackers, fresh or dried fruit, yoghurt or vegetables. We encourage students to bring along healthy snacks that they can munch on in class so ensure you pack some into their lunchboxes. Please refrain from providing food that may affect any anaphylactic students.

We are so pleased that you are a part of our school community and thank you for choosing Newbury Primary School. We look forward to working together positively, so that together we can provide the best learning environment and supports for your child.

Principal Class Learning Community

Michelle Nunn

Cameron Traill

Kate Plant

Belinda Rae

Anzac Day

Anzac Day, on April 25 each year, is a National Day of Commemoration. The day marks the anniversary of the first big military action by Australian and New Zealand soldiers in World War I on April 25, 1915. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.

Student Empowerment representative Dontae in 6A and his sister Harper in 5F were invited to attend the ANZAC Service in Craigieburn on ANZAC Day to lay a wreath as a gesture of remembrance.

Thank you to Dontae and Harper’s family for attending the service as well as Miss Kalolo for organising.

Student Empowerment

The Student Empowerment Leaders were very excited to receive their congratulatory leadership certificates from The Hon. Ros Spence MP State Member for Kalkallo. Below is a Members Statement The Hon Ros Spence read in Parliament that highlighted Student Leadership at Newbury Primary School.