From The Acting Principal
It is unbelievable to think that this is the last newsletter for Term 3 2022. A heartfelt thank you to our entire school community for your on-going support throughout this term as we have navigated some difficult circumstances. I have been very fortunate to be visiting classrooms on a daily basis and have observed our students highly engaged in lessons. This is a direct reflection and testament to the hard work our staff have been undertaking in their Collaborative Learning Teams. It has been fantastic to see the quality learning that is taking place across our school.
There have been many fantastic opportunities occurring in our school for our students. Some of these have included:
- Norwood Primary School Fair
- Tamar Tales (formerly Write a Book in a Day) run by the QA and organised from a NPS perspective by Mrs Kate Scolyer
- Kinder Excursion to Hagley
- The Year 5/6 3-day excursion experience
- Years 3-6 Swimming and Water Safety Program
- Norwood’s Got Talent
- Dance Fever rehearsals
- Online Auslan Pilot Project
- Multiple LSSSA Events
- Values Certificates given out in weeks 3, 6 and 7 both at after lunch line ups and at assemblies
- Respect badges awarded to one student from each class
- The Young Tassie Scientists program and Science Week
- Tasmanian Science Talent Search
- Book Week celebrations including our parade through the hallways and buddy classes visiting one another to share books and celebrate reading
- Chess Tournament
- Book Fair
- Touch Football Tournament
- Student Parliament meetings held in weeks 3, 6 and 9 to develop our NPS Playground Expectations document
- Student leaders involved in hosting assembly, our Peace Pole Ceremony and helping facilitate the Student Parliament sessions
- Grade 1 Phonics Check- a compulsory check to see how the phonics skills of all students in grade 1 are developing
Building Works & Infrastructure
We were successful in receiving a large outdoor learning grant. This money will be spent reshaping the space near the prep toilets to convert this into an outdoor learning space. This space will provide students from multiple classes with an outdoor option for learning and will fit the aesthetic of other outdoor spaces throughout the school.
Surveys
A thankyou to all families who participated in the 2022 School Satisfaction Survey, your feedback is important to inform our School Improvement Planning and decision making. Staff were also asked to complete a Satisfaction and Wellbeing Survey and the data from this is invaluable.
Students in Years 4-6 have undertaken the annual Student Wellbeing Survey, which is another useful data point for our school and one that informs our School Improvement Plan.
Staffing
In conjunction with Learnings Services Human Resources we have commenced planning for staffing in 2023. This is an ongoing and dynamic process that can run right up until the start of the school year, but I can advise we will have some changes to staffing. This will be communicated with families in due course.
2023 Organisation
The planning and organisation that goes into setting up NPS for success in 2023 has already begun. It would be greatly appreciated if you could tell us now if you know that your child/ren will not be attending Norwood Primary School next year as student numbers do influence configuration of classes and the staffing and resource allocations. If you are aware of families who live in our area and who intend to enrol with us for 2023, can you please encourage them to contact the school. Thanks in advance for your understanding and assistance with this.
At the beginning of Term 4, I welcome families to send any information for class placement via the school email. Please be aware that requests for particular teachers will not be considered and instead need to be aligned to suit the educational needs of your child. Families are also welcome to make a time to come and speak with me if that is a preferred option. All requests will need to be in by the end of week 2, Term 4.
Best wishes for the holiday period.
Regards,
Luke Padgett
A/Principal