Principal’s Report

Heroes and Villains! – The Showdown is Tomorrow Night!

Tomorrow night is our much-anticipated Heroes and Villains FUNraiser – a night of fun, laughter, and a little friendly rivalry!

We’re on a heroic quest to power up our hall for even more spectacular performances! Our mission: secure a giant retractable screen for the back of the stage, smaller sidekick screens on the proscenium arch, upgrades to the sound system and microphones, and a brand-new spotlight and lighting rack to make our talented stars shine even brighter.

With these upgrades, every musical performance will feel like a blockbuster – and our amazing students will be the true heroes of the stage.Our Heroes and Villains event isn’t just about raising funds (though every dollar helps) – it’s about building the super-powered sense of community that helps our students thrive.

Whether you’re donning a cape, plotting in a mask, or just coming as your everyday alter ego, join us for an evening of laughter, connection, and a bit of friendly competition.

And remember – every hero (and even the occasional villain) needs a secret weapon… so pack your superpowers, your smile, and a little spending fuel to help save the day!

Christine Smith

Principal

Student of the Week

Congratulations to the following students who were presented with their Student of the Week certificates at our recent K-6 assembly. Well done!

* Book Week Parade * Change of Date *

Inclusion Noticeboard

More information that is centered around inclusion follows on our Inclusion Noticeboard. The aim of Inclusion Noticeboard is to share resources and notify our school community of inclusive events in local community and surrounding areas.

If you have any resources to share, or you would like to join the Inclusion Committee, please email northbridgepandc@gmail.com

Bullying No Way!

Bullying No Way! – National Week of Action

This week, Northbridge Public School proudly participated in the Bullying No Way! National Week of Action. The 2025 theme, “Be Bold. Be Kind. Speak Up.”, reminds us that everyone—students, staff, families, and the community—can make a difference in preventing and responding to bullying.

Across the week, all classes engaged in daily discussions and short activities designed to inspire positive action, encourage inclusion, and build a safe, respectful school environment.

Here’s what we focused on each day:

Day 1 – Be Bold: You have the power to help
Students explored what it means to be an upstander—someone who stands up for others in safe and supportive ways.
Day 2 – Be Kind: Small actions make a big impact
Our kindness challenge encouraged students to complete small acts of kindness, such as giving compliments, including others, and offering help. Classes discussed how little actions can create a big difference.
Day 3 – Speak Up: Stand up against bullying
Students practised safe and confident ways to speak up against bullying through class discussions of real-life scenarios. This helped build confidence to take positive action when they see unfair treatment.
Day 4 – Think Before You Post or Speak
Classes reflected on the power of words, both online and in person. Students learnt that hurtful words can leave lasting marks, and brainstormed ways to use language positively.
Day 5 – Together, we can stop bullying
The week ended with a whole-school reminder of the importance of working together as a community to stop bullying.

Parent Fact Sheet
A fact sheet is attached to help families continue these important conversations. It includes practical tips for recognising, responding to, and preventing bullying, as well as ideas for building kindness and inclusion at home.

Together, by being bold, being kind, and speaking up, we can create a school where everyone feels safe, valued, and respected.

KA Makes Us Smile!

Everyone watching the assembly this week would have had a big smile on their face as KA entertained us. They reminded us about, ‘What Makes Us Smile’ and to remember to do something to make someone else smile.

What a good reminder KA! Thank you for your big beautiful smiles!

Kindy 2026 Transition to School Webinar

Kindy 2026 families please enjoy the free webinar for families, from the Dept of Education, with information regarding the transition to school. The Webinar is on Wednesday September 10th on zoom at either 12pm or 7:15pm.

Please scan the QR code following to register for the webinar.

Heroes and Villians School Funraiser Auction Items

Our School Fundraiser will be held tomorrow night with a 6:30pm start and dinner starts promptly and 7pm. We can’t wait to see everyone enjoying themselves, dressing up and raising much needed funds for our school hall sound system.

This afternoon there will be a preview in our COLA outside our school hall of all the wonderful artworks. These can be purchased tomorrow night at the event.

But that’s not all…

Our Online Auction is now live, and it’s packed with heroic goodies!

Whether you’re after delicious dining, fitness and pampering, fun for the kids, or some seriously cool sporting memorabilia, there’s something for everyone.

Every item has been generously donated by local businesses, families and friends of the school and we are very grateful for their incredible support.

Start bidding now and don’t miss out:

https://www.32auctions.com/NPS25

Funds raised will help support audio-visual upgrades to our school hall – and this year, 10% of all proceeds will go to the Cancer Council.

So rally your superhero squad, dust off your cape (or your most devious disguise), and get involved – both online and in person on 16 August.

And finally don’t miss out:

Our raffle ticket draw. Our raffle this year is open to everyone so please feel free to ask your neighbours or grandparents/grand friends if they would like to buy a ticket enter the draw to win one of the following wonderful prizes:

Buy your tickets now: https://www.raffletix.com.au/?ref=ut93b

First prize:                 $750 Crown Voucher and a bottle of Boll & Cie Champagne

Second prize:            $500 Winter Warmers hamper

Third prize:                $100 Hoyts voucher

Tickets: 1 for $10 /  3 for $25 /  7 for $50

The raffle will be drawn on Saturday 16 August.

Funds raised will help support audio-visual upgrades to our school hall – and this year, 10% of all proceeds will go to the Cancer Council.

So rally your superhero squad, dust off your cape (or your most devious disguise), and get involved – both online and in person on 16 August.

Let the games begin,

-The Parent Avengers

Year 2 Water Safety Program (Survival Swimming)

Year 2 took to the pool each day this week like ducks to water, but it hasn’t been all fun and games! Our experienced swimming instructors have played an instrumental role in teaching the students personal safety strategies, survival techniques (including life jacket use) and rescue skills. While they will probably return home from school each day this week exhausted, the practical knowledge and experience they have gained from this important program is invaluable.

Year 5’s exploration of Flat Rock Gully!

Last week, Year 5 took part in a bushwalk to Flat Rock Gully with Willoughby Council to explore our natural environment. As we are lucky to have the reserve so close to our school, we were able to walk there and back. Year 5 spent time with Willoughby Council experts, who filled us in on the local history of the reserve, including Australia’s First Nations history. Some highlights included the numerous animals spotted, especially birds, from which we learned about their different calls and what they mean. This also included the Aboriginal artwork dotted throughout the reserve. We enjoyed the telling of a First Nations story about the platypus, which taught us to embrace our individuality and not be afraid to follow our own path. We were also treated to a performance of the yidaki!

This term, Year 5 are taking part in the Willoughby Wildlife Competition, whereby they create a story and artwork based on the green sea turtle, which calls our local environment it’s home.

Keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming Willoughby Wildlife Storybook Series that will include some pieces from Northbridge students!

There’s No Debating This Win!

The NPS debating team 2025, met at Anzac Park public school this morning ready for an intense debate. We then went on to win the coin flip under the phrase ‘tails never fails’ (copyrighted to the debating team) becoming the affirmative team. We prepared for the topic; that all primary school teachers must take part in class sport and exercises. After a lot of Shhhs and debates within the debate, it was finally time to present what we had been preparing, Bailey set us up for success with his confident attack. Followed by Lulu enforcing our winning case, and lastly Josh who brought the whole thing together at the end! The competition was tough but NPS had it in the bag! Emily finished everyone off by thanking our adjudicator and audience for putting up with our speeches and endless talking. The debate was over; NPS brought it home!

Written by Lulu (6H) and Emily (6L) (fellow debaters)

Chess Champions

Northridge Chess Team Competes in Regional Semi-Final

On Wednesday, five of our talented chess players including Han C (6H), Hugo G (3/4S), Julian I (5B), Sammy Z (5H) and Max X (5B), proudly represented Northridge at the Interschool Chess Challenge Regional Semi-final in Pymble. The event brought together 13 of the strongest school chess teams in the region, all vying for a top-three finish to secure a place in next month’s final.

Our team joined 75 of the best primary school players from across Sydney’s north. Among them were some of the top young players in the state. Over seven challenging rounds, our students showed remarkable focus, skill, and determination.

The day was a test of concentration and resilience, but also one of fun, friendship, and sportsmanship. Between matches, the players enjoyed friendly games with each other, laughter, and plenty of encouragement from their teammates.

Although our boys missed out on qualifying for the final this year, we are incredibly proud of their efforts against such strong competition.

Well done, Northridge Chess Team – you represented our school with pride!

Book Fair 2025

The NPS annual library book fair was held on Thursday 7th August and once again proved to be a great success. Thankfully the wet weather didn’t put off our wider school community who were treated to a variety of musical performances, visits to students’ classrooms and of course lots of beautiful BOOKS as part of the school Education Open Day 2025 celebrations!

This year we welcomed back Gleebooks as our book sellers. Their warm, smiling faces greeted our community, along with a wonderful selection of books to choose from and helpful advice offered freely.

Thank you for your kind donations ensuring the library continues to provide the students with a rich variety of texts supporting all interests and reading abilities. The process of entering the books into the library system, labelling, covering and adding donation plates has begun and we aim to get them ready to be borrowed as soon as possible.

Thank you once again.

Mrs Parker (Teacher Librarian)

Open Day 2025

What are wonderful morning we had with lots of happy smiling faces when our students got to share our school with our wonderful parent community. Thank you to all that attended to celebrate Public Education Week – ‘Ignite Your Potential’. We hope you enjoyed your morning with us!

NPS Treasure Hunt

Friday 15th August (Week 4)

Book week Performance ‘Treasure Hunt’ (note: the week before Book Week)

This afternoon Students in Kindy and years 1-3 will enjoyed a performance by Perform! Education as part of CBCA Book Week 2025, celebrating the theme: “Book an Adventure!”. Featuring selected books from the CBCA Shortlist, students were able to explore themes of sustainability and our relationship with the natural environment, as well as celebrating how books and reading create understanding and bring people of different backgrounds together.

“Jess lives by the ocean. George lives in the forest. One morning they both wake to find that something is missing – something terribly important. It appears their world may have changed … and not for the better! Together they set off on a quest to find the treasure that has disappeared from their homes. On their hunt, and despite their differences, George and Jess share a common need. However they must first overcome their distrust, obstacles and greatest challenge. Fortunately help is waiting from a most unexpected source…”

Mrs Parker (Teacher Librarian)