Newlands communicates a range of communication that we consider to be essential, important and nice to know. The three platforms that we use to communicate this information are Sentral, our school website and The Newlands Times Newsletter.

Essential information is the information that we consider necessary for you to be across, in order for you and your child to participate in the everyday activities, events and functioning of school life at Newlands.

Important information refers to the details that are good for you to be across to build your understanding of our initiatives, goals, projects and activities that we are currently focusing on in regards to learning and wellbeing.

Nice to know information are details that families can engage with to get more involved with the the school community. 

Sentral Portal

Sentral Education is the Schools Student Management System. Families create an account on the Sentral for Parents app and connect to the school and their child’s learning.

 

– Receive notifications and notices from the school

– Message your child’s homeroom teachers

– Receive excursion permission / medical forms

– Pay for Excursions / Incursions / Invoices

– Receive absence notifications (notifications are sent at 10am week days)

– Respond to unexplained absences / submit future absences 

– View the school calendar

– View your child’s Continuous Reporting Continuums

– View Semester Reports

– Book parent/teacher interviews

– Update family details

– Update medical record

The Newlands Times

Newlands Primary School publishes a weekly newsletter. The newsletter communicates relevant information about upcoming events, classroom news, community news, school initiatives and  ensures families stay up to date with essential and current happenings at Newlands. To view information observed in previous newsletters, click the search button to easily find previously published news. 

You can view all of our newsletters by selecting the subscribe button above. 

Seesaw for Families

Seesaw provides families with continuous visibility into their child’s learning experience to support and celebrate their learning. Teachers and students post about their learning on Seesaw. Families can make comment on their child’s learning, or simply ‘like’ their learning. 

Periodic assessments also get posted to Seesaw. This includes snapshots of their writing, recording of their reading assessments and maths assessments.

Your should receive an email from Seesaw when you first enrol at the school. If you do not receive this email, please contact the school’s office on (03) 9354 2928.

Sentral for Families can be used via their website, or you can download the app from your preferred app store.

 

 

Out of School Hours Care

Who Are We?

At Newlands Outside School Hours Care (OSHC), we provide high quality care for children before and after school, and on pupil free days. Our service is licensed to care for up to 105 children each session. We are proudly community-based, and meet each child’s need for care in a creative, stimulating and safe environment. The best interests of children and families are of paramount importance to our service.

 Our program is planned and run by educators who have obtained or are working towards completing relevant studies in the fields of education, psychology and more. Each child’s interests, family and cultural background, and social, emotional, physical and intellectual needs drive all aspects of the program. Planned activities such as arts and crafts, cooking, games and sports activities run each day, with children invited to choose what they participate in. We also have a range of materials for self-directed play, exploration and relaxation.

Where are we?

OSHC is currently based in the C-Block multi-purpose room. We are also fortunate to have access to the playground, oval, library and art room and main toilet block, providing sufficient and appropriate spaces to cater to the needs of our large group.

Hours of Operation

Before School Care: 7:00am – 8:50am

After School Care: 3:30pm – 6:00pm sharp

Pupil Free Days: 7:00am – 6:00pm sharp

Enrolment

Newlands OSHC handles enrolments, bookings and more through the Xplor childcare management software. New families can begin the enrolment process by clicking the blue ‘Enrol’ button on this page.

The attached Family Handbook has a detailed list of the enrolment procedure.

Families seeking enrolment for children commencing their Foundation year should enrol at the beginning of Term 4 the year prior.

Existing users of the service are also asked to re-enrol at the start of Term 4, to ensure details remain up to date and to arrange bookings for the following year.

Bookings

Most families using the OSHC service have permanent booking arrangements, lasting one term or more. Due to high demand, there are limited opportunities for casual bookings. Booking requests can be made through your Xplor Home account, and will be approved or denied by the service based on availability.

Signing In and Out

At Before School Care, all children must be escorted into the service by a guardian or authorised contact, and signed in by this person on the iPad. You will use the phone number and PIN associated with your Xplor profile. Children cannot be dropped off at the school gates.

At After School Care, children are signed in by an OSHC staff member. Children in Foundation and Grade 1 are collected from their classrooms before the bell to ensure they arrive safely. Upon pick up, a guardian or authorised contact must sign the child out on the iPad within the OSHC room. If an alternative contact will be collecting your child, please let the Coordinator know in advance.

What’s provided?

At Before School Care, cereals and milk are available each day. Twice each week we have an additional breakfast option, such as wholemeal toast, scrambled eggs, yogurt, or breakfast jaffles. Children are welcome to bring their own breakfast, but please avoid foods containing nuts due to the high risk of anaphylaxis.

 

At After School Care, a fruit platter is served each day, along with another filling and nutritious snack such as pasta with a tomato-based sauce, fried rice or a platter of veggie sticks, crackers and dip. All reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate any special dietary needs.

Non-Attendance

Parents/guardians must let the service know if their child will be absent for a booked session. This must be done through the Xplor Home app.

Fees

Before School Care: $22.50 for permanent bookings, $25 for casual bookings

After School Care: $25 for permanent bookings, $30 for casual bookings

Pupil Free Days Care: $60 per day

Late pick up fee: $1 for every minute after 6:00pm.

Please note that fees are charged per session, regardless of the amount of time a child spends with us.

Families will receive a statement at the beginning of each week. Payments are made one week in arrears, or you can choose to contribute a nominated amount of credit towards your account. Payments are made through bank transfer. Cash payments are not accepted.

Child Care Subsidy

Services Australia’s Child Care Subsidy (CCS) provides assistance with the cost of child care. Most families, subject to residency and immunisation requirements, are eligible for a reduction in their fees, with the amount varying based on factors such as family income.

Families must have an active claim through their myGov account, and must include the individual Centrelink Reference Numbers (CRNs) for parent and child on their Newlands OSHC Enrolment Form.

Further information can be found through the Services Australia website: https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/child-care-subsidy 

OSHC Family Handbook

Holiday Program

Newlands Primary School hosts a school holiday program provided by TeamKids. Team offers a range of exciting incursions, excursions and in-house themed days throughout the school holidays at Newlands Primary. They strive to provide a program that keeps children happy, engaged, safe, nurtured, and having FUN!

TeamKids is an organisation that operates outside of our school based OSHC program. Enrolment into this the Team Kids holiday program is required in addition to the Newlands’ OSHC program. To register and book in your child, please visit the TeamKids website website: https://www.teamkids.com.au 

Parent Payments

 Parent payments can be made at any point during the school year by calling the office, or by paying in person at the office. 

Payments from families go towards buying a variety classroom resources that support all of our learning programs. Further details on what parent payments contribute to can be found below. 

 

 Curriculum Contributions

These payments contribute to your child’s environment and provide necessary financial support to your child’s learning resources. This includes stationary, class books, learning tools in the day-to-day classroom.

2024 Book Pack 

This contributes to the everyday resources that students access for their learning such as books, grey leads, coloured pencils, glue sticks, scissors, coloured paper and various stationary items.  

$50.00

 

Voluntary Curriculum Contributions

These contributions are allocated to purchase important curriculum items for all teaching programs. This includes the purchase of Take Home Readers, Maths resources, PE equipment, Art supplies, STEAM resources, Music and Performing Art resources, F – 2 ICT Devices and various items that support the implementation of our teaching program. 

$220

 Extra-Curricular Items & Activities

Our students attend incursions and excursions throughout the school year. This includes a sleepover and a school camp for our students in 2-6. These charges are provided throughout the year. Students are only able to attend if they have made full payment prior to attending.

Newlands Primary School offers various options to support our families for our 1:1 Notebook program that begins for students Grade 2 and above. This information will be provided separately.

Excursions/Incursions/Camps – Charges distributed throughout the year.

$TBC

Grade 3-6 Notebook – Options available upon request.

$TBC

 

Total

$270.00

 Our school colours are royal blue with gold accents.

School uniform is compulsory and Newlands Primary School and we encourage all students to wear the school colours during each day. 

A full list of uniform options is available through the Primary School Warehouse website www.psw.com.au. You can order directly online and have uniforms delivered directly to your home.

The school regularly provides second-hand clothing sales throughout the year. Information about sales is provided via the school newsletter. 

Lost property is located in front of the library (in C-Block). We ask that all items of clothing that come to school are labelled to help each item of lost property find their way back to their owner. 

 

Student ICT account details are emailed at the start of each school year. 

You can also request your child’s account details by completing the Student ICT Account Details Form below. 

If you require further support, please contact the school.

ICT Guidelines for Families

At Newlands Primary School, we prioritise the safety of our students online through stringent measures. Our firewall, meticulously enforced, bars access to inappropriate content, including YouTube and other video streaming platforms, during school hours. While teachers diligently monitor device usage to maintain appropriateness aligned with lesson objectives, we recognise that control over applications on student-owned devices lies with parents and carers. It is their responsibility to ensure the installation of only suitable software, achievable through the activation of Parental Controls on their child’s device.

Refer to the following guides to enable Parental Controls:

Additionally, antivirus software serves as an indispensable tool in fortifying your child’s online experience. By deploying reputable antivirus programs, parents can safeguard their children from malicious threats such as malware and viruses, thus nurturing a secure online environment conducive to exploration and learning.

Newlands Primary School integrates cyber safety and ICT responsibilities into our curriculum, explicitly teaching students in Years 3 – 6 at the outset of each academic year. To formalise this understanding, students are required to sign an ICT Contract outlining their individual responsibilities and the consequences of breaching the agreement.

Supporting Documents

Through collaborative efforts between the school and parents, we endeavour to instil responsible digital citizenship and foster a safe and enriching online environment for all students.

ICT Device Options for Years 3 – 6

 JB-HiFi School Portal

Buying through the portal ensures that you are purchasing the device that NPS recommends. This recommendation is reviewed at the end of each year and updated, if necessary.

Device: The Lenovo 300w Gen 4 11 inch

Price: $612.00

Portal Link: https://www.jbeducation.com.au/byod/

School Code: Newlands2024

 

Bring your own device (BYOD)

BYOD enables your child to bring any Windows 10 or later device. Early in Term 1, the device will be connected to the school’s network. However, it will be the family’s responsibility to ensure all required apps / software are installed on the device.

Desirable Features:

World Facing Camera

Stylus

Min 4Gb Ram

Min 2Ghz Processor

 

Unable to Supply a Device

If you are unable to supply a device for your child, the school will provide a device for them during school hours. The number of devices available is limited and may result in students sharing devices to complete tasks. Additionally, this device must always stay at school. Please email the school (newlands.ps@education.vic.gov.au) to request a school device.

Newlands Primary School offers Classroom Cuisine as an online alternative to the traditional canteen. Offering a convenient, user friendly service, Classroom Cuisine creates, prepares, packs and delivers high quality school lunches. Students receive their lunch orders at 11.45, in time for our school lunch eating time. We recommend sending your child to school with a piece of fruit for them to enjoy during morning fruit snack or afternoon snack times.

Orders to be submitted by 8.30am on the day required.

Please Order at https://classroomcuisine.com.au/login