By the Leadership Group: Rob Sandercock, Andrea Lawrie & Samantha Gale
26th October 2023
Welcome to Term 4 – it has certainly been a busy start with Sports Day practice well underway. The last Saturday of holidays was the Naracoorte Show and we had a very colourful display of children’s work and a poignant message that at NPS ‘Every Day Is an Opportunity to Shine’. The display highlighted the many and varied activities and events that happen here that give us the opportunity to shine and allow us to challenge and improve to be the best version of ourselves.
Congratulations to everyone involved in putting the display together and particular thanks to Ursula Smith for coordinating our display.
So much has happened in just two weeks. Choir; the Reception excursion to Bourne’s Bird Museum, Patterson’s farm and Bool Lagoon; SAPSASA Basketball in Adelaide and the Year ⅚ disco organised by Anna and Naomi from Governing Council and supported by staff. DJ Alex, and his sidekick Lucy, got the tunes pumping and the crowd got their groove on.
A big thank you to the Patterson family (Marion, Craig, Sid, Chelsea and Jared – yes, everyone got roped in!) for providing such a unique learning experience for our Reception students, with many of them having their first farm experience – herding and shearing sheep, collecting eggs, with the added bonus of the birds. Everyone had a fantastic time with the children returning with amazing recounts of their experiences.
Last night I had the privilege to attend the choir performance in Mount Gambier. Our singers were awesome and it was a spectacular event. Our Soloists Annie Rasheed, who sang ‘Charleston’ and Harvey Pettman, who sang ‘Keep on Movin’ absolutely nailed it. Well done to all and I left feeling very proud to be a part of Naracoorte Primary School. Thanks to Samantha Gale, Oriel Martin, Erica Vickery and Lucy Possingham for all the work throughout the year with our choir. You are all amazing.
Today, Thursday October 26th we had a special visit from the Chief Executive of the Department for Education, Professor Martin Westwell. He was greeted by our School Captains Annie and Keanu and was taken on a tour of the school, meeting with staff and students along the way. His visit coincided with the Government’s Country Cabinet meeting held here in Naracoorte. We were delighted to have Martin visit us and learn a little about who we are and what we do….and how we have coped with the building chaos!
The builders are really progressing well and have now almost completed the Garden ceiling. Still some painting to do but the guys are ready to move on to the next stage, the Purple Carpet area and mezzanine (upstairs). Moving is always a big job but so far so good. The big task ahead will be the Library and computer network and moving thousands of books is daunting but we will manage….somehow! If all goes to plan the builders and painters are hoping to be all done by Christmas.
We welcome new student Angelique Joseph and her family.
We hope you all enjoy your time with us.
Year 5 Camp
In Week 10 last term I had the absolute pleasure of joining the Year 5 students on camp at Ballarat. We had a marvellous time and struck the best weather possible. The Aura light show at Sovereign Hill on Tuesday night, a visit to Kryal Castle on Wednesday and then a full day at Sovereign Hill on Thursday participating in lots of gold based activities, provided lots of fun and further learning for all involved. We finished off on Thursday night with some ten pin bowling. Thanks to Liz Schroder and Ange Donnelly for their organisation and attendance along with parent helpers Cheryl Baldock, Jo Brewin and Hayley Walter, and bus driver Clive. We all had a lot of fun.
Working Bee
On Sunday, October 22nd we held another working bee to prepare for sports day and spruce up the place a bit. A huge thank you to the Thring family – Ben, Anna, Poppy and Henry; the Heddles family – Chris, Sjaan, Samantha and Philippa; Ellena Hillbrich and Hannah Schultz; Nathan Wardle and Talia Fantasia; Naomi Feder; Caroline Menzel; Hayley McCarthy; Mandy Fox; Andrea Lawrie; Samantha Gale and Kym McRostie for joining me and achieving lots of jobs on the list. Together we tidied up areas, spread soil, painted hurdles, revamped the long jump pits, weeded gardens, spread mulch, blew down paths and made a real difference.
Pupil Free Day
We will have our final PUPIL FREE DAY for the year on Friday, December 1st and we will be using the day to complete class placements for 2024, review the current Site Improvement Plan and associated school data, and continue planning for our future development.
Save The Date
Please mark in your calendar Thursday, November 30th as our end of year celebration night. Due to the added work load and disruption caused by the building renovations ‘Night on the Green’ will be a different format with further details to be shared very soon.
We have had an enjoyable start to the term – the students have settled well and there is lots happening.
Year 5/6 School Disco
By Naomi and Anna, NPS Governing Council Education Committee
On Wednesday evening 18th October, 80 students from Years 5 and 6 packed the hall for the school disco. This event was organised by the NPS Governing Council Education committee and the NPS Leadership team.
The students shuffled, congoed, flossed, danced away the evening. The YMCA and Macarena dance routines were favourites and everyone got involved! Keanu led a great game of spin bottle corners and Mr Sandercock’s game of Knights and Cavaliers was lots of fun. Congratulations to Mr. Hallett’s class for winning the class dance off by the slightest of margins.
During the evening, the students enjoyed a fantastic spread of snacks kindly brought by families.
Thank you to DJ Alex from “Limestone Sound” for the superb DJ set, getting everyone dancing and having fun. The smoke machine and lights were particularly special!
Thanks to our wonderful staff members: Mrs. Andrews, Mrs. Mott, Mrs. Mahoney, Mr. Hallett, Ms. Burrows, Mr. Sandercock, Ms. Lawrie and Ms. Gale for their time and assistance during the evening.
Wellbeing Leader Samantha
Welcome to Term 4! We are already off to a flying start with the 5/6 disco last week and lots of practice happening to get ready for sports day next Friday. I am excited to share with you all the adventures that Term 4 will bring us.
After holidays, it can be difficult to get back into routine and lots of the students have mentioned feeling tired since returning from holidays.
Food for thought – your brain needs Zzzzzzz
Your body and your brain need sleep. During sleep, the brain sorts through and stores information, replaces chemicals, and even solves problems while you snooze.
Research says that 25% – 50% of kids don’t get enough sleep.
Kids 6 to 12 years old need 9 to 11 hours each night. Not every child is the same and some need more sleep than others. Can you think of a time when you didn’t get enough sleep? That heavy, groggy feeling is awful and, when you feel that way, you’re not at your best. Without enough sleep, kids can feel moody, tired, or cranky. It might be hard to pay attention or follow directions. School work that’s normally easy may feel impossible, or they may feel clumsy playing their favourite sport or instrument.
One more reason to get enough sleep: too little sleep can affect growth and your germ-fighting immune system, which keeps you from getting sick.
Lots of reasons to prioritise having healthy sleep hygiene!
Something we know for sure is that sleep can have drastic effects on your child’s mental and physical health.
Choir
On Tuesday, the choir went to Mount Gambier to rehearse in preparation for their concert at the Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre last night. What a wonderful concert it was! Singing in a large choir with so many different children from all over the South East region was an amazing experience for our children and we are very proud of them all. Annie Rasheed and Harvey Pettman had the added privilege of singing a solo, which they sang confidently. A big thank you to Oriel Martin and Erika Vickery who have run many choir practices in preparation for the big night. Thanks also to Ursula Smith and her creative talents who organised our school banner that was on display last night.
Sapsasa Report
By Will Sandford
Congratulations to our 2023 Sapsasa Basketball teams that competed in the State Country Finals Day in Adelaide on October 20th. Our girls team, coached by Sarah Ottoson-Crossling and managed by Emma Rasheed, was made up by Annie Rasheed, Ava Maresch, Grace Occleshaw, Isabelle Willson, Milla Ottoson-Crossling, Ripley Gould, Ruby Gericke and Zoe Moritz. They had a very successful run qualifying after finishing in the Top 2 at the Bordertown and Mount Gambier Regional Carnivals. The girls competed hard and represented the school with pride in Adelaide.
Our boys team was coached by Jarrod Sears and managed by Jane Woosnam and Heidi Pretlove. The team comprised of Archer Woosnam, Cooper Mott, Frazier Brodie, Jack Trader, Patrick Mueller, Tyson Sears and Will Pretlove. They too qualified through Bordertown and Mount Gambier and went on to have a successful Adelaide carnival going on to win the Division 2 Final. A great achievement for our school, well done boys!
A huge thank you to the coaches, team managers, umpires and parents/family members who provided transport for our teams. Many families took 3 days off work to support our teams at the carnivals and the school is grateful for the parent support assisting with our teams!
USE Cricket teams for the State Carnival have also been named with NPS students Cooper Mott, Mimi Thomson and Grace Doolan being named. Congratulations and good luck in Adelaide!
