Week 5 Term 4

Nightcliff Primary Newsletter

It’s Balnba (Rainy) Season for Gulumoerrgin (Larrakia) country. Boewitjba (Bush Potato) is collected now and can be found by its small bell-shaped flowers. The start of the wet season brings on fruiting of Moerrma (Black Plum).

Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome to Week 5. Halfway through Term 4 and rapidly heading to the end of the year holiday season.

Attendance and Enrolment

The Department of Education and schools continue to remind parents and carers about the importance of attendance. The school continues to the end of the year, including a final celebration of learning, talent show, Year 6 farewell, class parties, reports and meeting the teacher for 2023.

We have dropped numbers this year significantly due to many families choosing to move interstate back to families after the borders have opened up and Covid-19 has eased. This has impacted our funding model for 2023 and, consequently, the number of teachers we can employ, which in turn impacts programs offered, the number of straight-year levels and the numbers in classes.

Unnotified absences receive no funding. When made aware your child is sick, at a funeral or on a principal-sanctioned holiday, funding is improved. Please continue to notify, respond to texts, letters and phone calls from our administration staff for absence reasons. Every day attended counts!

Leader’s Summit

Principals and Assistant Principals attended the Leader’s summit last week to hear from the Minister for Education and Chief Executive of the Department of Education on policy updates, strategic planning updates as part of the Education Engagement Strategy and keynote speakers presenting current best practice research on education practices that are producing results internationally.

Two key issues were discussed affecting school operations. The restriction of mobile phones in schools and occupational violence in schools against staff. The Education Committee of the school council will be meeting today to discuss these issues. Policies affecting schools are available for parents and carers to access through the NT Government website www.nt.gov.au.

Staffing 2023

We have a number of staff taking leave in 2023 to travel, care for family, maternity leave and taking other promotional positions.

We thank the following staff for their wonderful contributions to our school who will be leaving us; Michelle Niscioli (Special Education Support Assistant), Haydon Staines (Assistant Principal), Corrine Britton (Preschool teacher), Marlon Puno (Assistant Maintenance Officer), Alison MacKie (Maths).

Congratulations to Haydon Staines, who has won the position of Principal at Malak Primary School.  Internal recruitment for Assistant Principal for the first 6 months has begun before it is advertised.

The following staff will be on leave in 2023, Tynan Brown, Clare Bubb, Jill Patterson, Clare Visentin, Sarah Garth, Harnie Johnson, Tara Maxsted, Sophie Jewell, Kimberley Moore, and Emily Field. We welcome back Giulia Elliot-Hall and Briseis More.

Classing 2023

We have started the process of determining the numbers, composition and sizes of classes for 2023 for our class creator program and allocation of teachers to year levels. Please notify us if you enrolling siblings for next year or leaving as soon as possible to determine funding and classes.

Seeking Volunteers
Dear Parents/Carers, we are seeking community volunteers to assist students at our two crossings in the morning (7.45 am to 8:15 am) and in the afternoon (2:30 pm to 2:50 pm). Volunteers must have a Working with Children Card (a volunteer card is acceptable)and have registered their interest through the front office.  For further information, please contact the school. 

Years 6NK and 1T classes joining together as buddy classes

This Term, 1 Trikilis and Year 6 NK with Miss Mackie have joined together as Buddy classes.

A year 1 and year 6 student have buddied up to take on a design challenge inspired by the book Jorn’s Magnificent Imagination. Together the students have found things in their everyday lives that inspire them – different shapes, textures and colours. They have used these to design a MAGNIFICENT tower, just as Jorn did while designing The Sydney Opera House!

Students will be collecting materials to begin building their MAGNIFICENT towers next week!

NPS Wins Tennis NT’s ‘2022 Most Outstanding School of the Year Award’

Nightcliff Primary School has won Tennis NT’s 2022 Most Outstanding School of the Year Award for the fourth time.  Since the inception of the award in 2016, NPS has won the award in 2016,2019, 2020 & now 2022.  NPS won the award due to its student tennis experience in 2022, which included:

• TEMS (Top End Multi Sports) Tennis Thursday lunchtime sessions - Transition to Year 6)
• Tennis PE lessons (5-week unit of work)
• Recess & Lunchtime Tennis - courts & equipment opened Monday - Friday
• Darwin Region Schools Gala Day – NPS won both pools A & B undefeated in 2022
• Darwin Region Schools representative tennis trials & event (3 NPS students selected)
• Racquet Roadshow (Zoom - Casey Dellaqua’) that included free racquets for Transition students.

Quote: Natasha Fyles 'Chief Minister of the Northern Territory

“The tennis program at Nightcliff Primary is wonderful. It provides all students with the opportunity to participate in tennis in a fun way and then allows a pathway for those who show interest and talent to formally compete in tennis. I have witnessed this as a local member over many years.”

Mathew Ryan NPS HPE Teacher