The A to Z of NPS

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

This page is a quick reference guide for parents, families and carers to help navigate your way through our school’s policies and day-to-day activities.

For further information, please consult the Department of Education's A-Z Parents Guide. It is an A-Z of resources most important to parents and carers.

The A to Z of NPS is presented in alphabetical, simply click on the letter below to take you to the relevant section, or take your time to read through this page.

Absence & illness

As part of our attendance and leave monitoring procedures, it is required that you notify the school of any absence, regardless of its duration. You can notify the school of your child’s absence via email, phone or a written note to the class teacher after the absence. After being absent for three school days (without parent notification), your child’s class teacher will contact you to enquire about your child’s wellbeing, in line with Department of Education attendance policy guidelines.

Please be aware that teachers are responsible for your child’s wellbeing during school hours. You will be contacted if we are concerned for your child’s health.

We will also advise you straight away of any accident involving a knock to the head. If your child has a serious illness please contact us immediately.

Allergies and asthma

We have students with severe allergies to nuts, egg and dairy products. Parents are asked to remind students of the importance of not sharing their lunch with other students and are asked to avoid lunches with spreads containing nuts (especially peanut butter and Nutella).

Parents and carers are required to provide the school administration with an updated (annual) copy of the student’s Anaphylaxis Plan from their GP and to check the currency and expiry of epiPens kept at school for use by school staff.

If your child has severe Asthma they will have a Health Care Plan made in conjunction with your GP. Please provide the school office with this plan and any updated plans for your child, along with current asthma medication and spacers, as required. These should be labeled and packaged.

Arrival at school

Children should arrive at school in the mornings between 8:30am and bell time at 9:00am, unless they are booked into the Out of School Hours Care (OoSHC) service. The top and bottom playground is supervised from 8.30am.

NSW Department of Education Legal Services advises that parents who drop off students before the official start to school do so at their own risk. A letter will be sent home to parents who consistently send children to school prior to supervision commencing. Should work times require an early start to your day, students should be registered at the OoSHC service, run by Newtown Kids Cottage which operates from 7.30am. Please go to the Newtown Kids Cottage web page for more information.

Children in Kindergarten and Years 1 and 2 are expected to remain with their teachers until they are collected after school or are collected by staff from Newtown Kids Cottage.

All children are expected to leave the playground promptly after school and should go to the office if their arrangements change for any reason i.e.; parent is late. Unless the office is notified, students who are not collected by 3:15pm will be brought to the office until 3:30pm and they will then be taken to Newtown Kids Cottage (casual rates will be charged).

Please call the office if you know that you will be late and come to the office to collect your child/children when you arrive.

Students and families are asked to leave the school grounds by 3:15pm so that OoSHC services can begin on site.

Assembly

Weekly assemblies are held to recognise and celebrate student achievement. They are also an opportunity for classes to showcase their work. Assembly is held weekly. Please refer to the School Bytes Calendar for dates and times.

Attendance

Regular attendance at school is important for student learning. The NSW Department of Education has an attendance policy which is interpreted by our school in terms of process for absence and lateness. Please view this policy document at:

https://education.nsw.gov.au/policy-library/policies/school-attendance-policy    

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Band and Training band

Students from Year 1 and up are eligible to join our School Band Program. The Band Program caters for beginners through to experienced students. We have two bands, a training band, Shetland Pony, and a Senior Band, Humungous Pony. Being a member of the school band requires a commitment to attend rehearsals before school each week and instrument lessons privately. Our school bands are conducted by Harri Harding. For more information go to the Ensembles page.

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Camps – (Stage 2 & Stage 3)

Stage 3 and Year 4 experience a two-night/three-day camp every year. Camp provides an educational experience focused heavily on developing enhanced social skills, cooperation, teamwork and some independence in a setting away from home and school. Camps are a valuable part of our school’s learning programs. There is a fee for attending Camp; financial assistance is available on request.

Carnivals

We hold 4 sporting carnivals each year for students.

Swimming Carnival is held in Term 1 for students turning 8 that year or older.

Cross Country Carnival and Athletics Field Carnival is held in Term 2 for students turning 8 that year or older in term 2.

Athletics Track Carnival is held for the whole school (Kindergarten to Year 6) and is held in Term 3.

Successful students go on to our District carnivals and may progress to the State Carnivals. Parents are invited to attend and to offer assistance where required.

Please note: To be eligible for District and State Carnivals you must turn 8 in the year of the event.

Canteen

Our school does not operate a onsite canteen, however, you can order lunch for Mondays, Tuesday and Thursday only from The School Canteen. For further information please go to the A Day at NPS page on this website. 

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Departments

Newtown Public School's Student Leadership initiative is structures into a Student Parliament which is modeled on Australia's Parliamentary system of Government. There are nine Departments that form our Student Parliament. To learn more, please go to the Student Voice pages on this website.

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Email contact

Our school e-mail address is newtown-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Emails are checked daily but should not be relied upon for the delivery of messages that are of an urgent nature or require a quick response. Please contact the school via telephone (02 9557 4862) in these circumstances.

Please review the Communication page on this website. The main image on this page illustrates the most effective way to direct your correspondance to the school.

Emergency contacts

Having access to updated personal details for parents is critical in the event of emergencies and illness of children. Please remember to notify the school when you change address, contact numbers or your emergency contacts change.    

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Hiring Facilities

Please go to What we offer page.

Homework

The school has a homework policy in line with the NSW Department of Education Policy. Homework is treated as an opportunity for students to take some responsibility for their learning and complete tasks independently at home.   

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Leaving early / arriving late (partial absence)

Outside appointments involving children should not be made during school hours. However, if after school hours specialist appointments are not possible and you wish to collect your child during the day, please go to the office to sign your child/children out before collecting them.

A doctor’s certificate is required otherwise the absence will be recorded as unexplained.

No child is allowed to leave the school by themselves before 3.00pm. No child will be allowed to leave school during the day unless they are collected from the school office by an adult over the age of 18.

Parents are not permitted to pick up other children unless prior arrangement have been made and the teacher and office staff have been notified via email the day before. If the pick up arrangements change on the day, a phone call to the office must be made so that relevant teacher/s and the child are promptly informed.

Library

Students attend Library once each week with their class teacher and our Teacher Librarian Ms. Mak. Library lessons provide an opportunity to borrow books to read at home and are an integral part of the study of different Key Learning Areas throughout the year.

Students are responsible for the safe return of their Library books from the time that they are issued at the Library.

When a book goes missing, parents are asked to pay the cost of its replacement before a student can resume borrowing. You can also replace the book yourself. If the book is found then that fee is refunded to you.

Please ensure that your child has a labeled cloth Library bag. You could make one or a pillow slip/reusable shopping bag is a good solution.

For more information about our Library and using the Oliver Library, please go the the Library page on this website.

Lunches

Students have supervised eating time from 11:30-11:45am in their classroom for seated eating.

Recess is at 1:30-2:00pm.

All lunches should be provided in a lunch box with minimal packaging as part of our school sustainability efforts. Please ensure your child is able to independently open all parts of the lunch. Students are also encouraged to bring a water bottle filled each day.

**Please note we are unable to heat or cool any lunches for students**

The School Canteen offers online lunch orders on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays only.  For more information go to A Day at NPS page.

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Medication (prescribed and non-prescribed)

As a general rule medications are not administered at school for student illnesses. These medications should be administered before and after school wherever possible. However, if prescribed medication must be administered during the school day. Parents/ carers must:

• notify the school
  
• provide up to date information as required
  
• supply the medication and any ‘consumables’ necessary for its administration in a timely way.

Authority to Administer Medication must be signed before any medication can be given to your child at school. This form can be completed at the school office.

Students requiring long-term medication or the administration of asthma medication require a health care plan/ asthma plan to be developed and updated annually.

Ministers

At Newtown Public School we have Student Leadership groups which together form the Newtown Public School Student Parliament. There are nine groups which are are referrred to as Departments which are each lead by a Minister. The role of Minister is taken on by our Year 6 students who are elected by NPS students. For more information about our Student Parliament, Departments and Ministers please go to the Student Voice page. 

Mobile phones at school

If students bring their mobile phones to school, they must be switched off and not used throughout the day.

Students are to hand in their mobile phones into the school office before the start of school and then collected by the student after 3pm.

If parents need to contact their children throughout the day, they are able to call the office and messages will be passed onto the students.

Money & payments

Parents and carers are encouraged to use the MAKE A PAYMENT portal found on the website or via School Bytes APP.

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Newsletters

Newtown News: a fortnightly publication reporting on events that have taken place at our school.

The newslettter will be emailed to you via the Sentral Parent Portal. You can also view past Newsletters on this website on the Newsletter page. 

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Parent teacher interviews

At Newtown Public School we hold Student-Led Conferences. For more information, please scroll down the page to 'S'.

Parents & Citizens (P&C) Association

Our P&C meets on the third Tuesday of each month, from 6:15 to 7:15pm*. Upcoming dates are published on the Sentral Parent Portal Calendar. All parents and carers are welcome to attend to hear first hand what is happening at your child/ren's school and discuss ways (no matter how small) you can help! Visit our P&C's web page on this website for how you can get involved.

Photos

Our school actively reports on events and activities that take place during the school year which are published in our school newsletter, on our school website and social media accounts. The objective is to share these moments in your child’s school life with their family and friends. By giving Permission to publish (within Enrolment Form) we will be able to take a photo and / or report on an event, activity, leadership group or extracurricular activity they may be a part of. The student will only (at most) be identified via the photo, first name and initial of surname (where there is more than one child by that first name).

Full names of students are not published. Permission to publish (remains effective until advised otherwise).

Parents / carers can change their child's Permission to Publish status at anytime. This must be done in writing and given to the school office.

School Photos

School photos are taken in Term 1 each year. Order forms are sent home to all families. Payments and orders must be made prior to Photo Day. Photos are usually provided to the school in Term 2 and are sent home with students.

Playground supervision

Our playground is directly supervised by a teacher from 8:30am each day. Children should not arrive at school prior to 8:30am. Children who arrive before 8:30am must be attending the onsite OoSHC services.

Teachers are on duty during lunchtime and recess.

In wet weather, students are to wait under the covered walkway near the bubblers or on the veranda until the bell, then go directly to their classrooms.

There is no playground supervision after school. All students should leave school grounds and go directly home. No child is to play in the top playground or on the basketball court (this does not include Lillian Fowler Reserve) before or after school unless enrolled with the OoSHC services.

Policies

Our school is a NSW Government School and is required to follow the policies and procedures of the NSW Department of Education. In most circumstances the policies of the NSW DOE are the policies of the school, these can be found on the Department’s website. 

Newtown Public School has specific policies that supplement that supplement the Department of Education's policies, they can be found on the Rules and policies page. These policies are:

• Bullying Prevention
• SunSmart
• Wellbeing

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Riding to school

Our school promotes riding to school as a healthy, fun and environmentally responsible way of getting to school. To support this, ‘bike, scooter and skateboard parking’ is available on the top and bottom playground areas.

Rules & behaviour management

Newtown Public School students are SAFE, RESPECFTFUL, RESPONSIBLE LEARNERS.

We have developed frameworks for our students in line with our school values and commitments. For more information, please go to the Rules and polices page on this website.

The Out of Bounds School Areas:

• All classrooms
  
• All stairways, balconies and toilet areas
  
• All Norfolk Street and Angel Street frontage
  

School rules for excursions / out of school activities

• Students are required to wear full uniform unless otherwise instructed.
• Students need to move safely, listen and respond to their teacher’s instructions.
• Students should be courteous and considerate when representing our school in the community.

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Special Religious Education (SRE) & Special Ethics in Education (SEE)

At Newtown Public School, SRE & SEE classes take place on Thursday afternoons.

For more information please see the Religion and ethics page on this website.

Student-Led Conference

At Newtown Public School, we hold Student Led Conferences towards the end of Term 1.

The conferences are led by the student and give an opportunity for students to share with their families the learning goals they have set for themselves and show work that shows their growth in their chosen areas. The ability for students to set goals and to self-assess with guidance from their teachers is a major part of our work with students on identifying areas for challenge and growth as learners.

For further information, please read the information found on the Parent-teacher interviews page found on this website.

Individual student reports are provided at the end of semester 1 (end Term 2) and semester 2 (end Term 4). To view go to the School Bytes APP.

At any time you may contact your class teacher to arrange a suitable time for an interview. Please note that it is not possible to contact teachers during class teaching time. Your child’s teacher/s will provide you with their Department of Education email or you can email the administration office and your email will be forwarded to the teacher.

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Uniform

Detailed information about our Summer, Winter and Sports uniform can be found on the School Uniform page on this website.

Our school uniform can be purchased from Pickles Schoolware.

The NPS P&C also coordinate and run an online Second Hand Uniform Shop (SHUS) . The online shop is open for orders every week 3 and 7 of each term. For more information about the online shop and how you can donate NPS uniforms, please go to the SHUS page on this website.

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