Dear Parents and Carers, 

Today is the official last day of school for our 179 Year 12 students. The Year 12 Graduation Ceremony is at the Seymour Centre where we will celebrate the learning and the incredible achievements of Year 12 2024.  

HSC exams commence week 1 Term 4. We wish Year 12 a productive two weeks as they focus now on their final exams and maintain careful study timetables to maximise their results and achieve their personal bests.  

It has been an absolute privilege to be Principal in the final year of school for Year 12 2024. I would like to thank our dedicated and expert teachers and staff, in particular the Year 12 Deputy Principal Ms Nilaufer Rajwar, and the Year 12 Year Advisors, Mr Alain Lavrut and Ms Amanda di Camillo. 

The final whole school assembly last Thursday was a special farewell assembly to Year 12 with an outstanding performance by Year 9 students (Samson, Peeraya, Alex, Julien, and Ari), and a long, winding arch of hands for Year 12 to walk through. 

The NHSPA Jazz Band, directed by Jason Isaac, performed to a large and appreciative crowd at the Manly Jazz Festival on Sunday. A perfect sunny day for jazz at the beach featuring so many talented Year 12 Musicians: Flynn, Rhys, Francis, Jay, Jack and Sebastian. 

Congratulations to the students performing in the State Dance Festival at The Seymour Centre last week. I was fortunate to see the Friday night performance and the senior dancers with the beautiful choreography by Head Teacher Dance, Ms Alison McKellar.  

The Spring Prom on Tuesday night was yet another evening when the exceptional talents of our students were on show. Thank you to the Music Faculty, the Technical Crew, and all the many staff involved to enable this event. St George's Hall was packed with parents, carers, students, and staff sitting on picnic rugs and cushions entranced by the performances. 

I will take this opportunity, as we head into the holidays, to remind parents and carers to be extra conscious of their child’s use of social media during the break and to consider ways it can be managed to support their wellbeing. Please see the eSafetyCommissioner tips for parents:    https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents 

NHSPA has a high expectations learning culture. Supporting students to thrive academically and emotionally is our priority. There are consequences for any unacceptable behaviour. This is made very clear to students on assemblies, in year meetings, and through targeted workshops and programs, such as last week’s anti-racism workshops with all Year 8. The NHSPA Student Behaviour Management Support Policy can be accessed via the school website.
https://newtown-h.schools.nsw.gov.au/supporting-our-students/student-health-and-safety.html 

In this final Bulletin for the term, I would like to say a massive THANK YOU to our outgoing Year 12 School Prefects: Jaide, Sebastian, Jacob, Freya, Marianne, Freddie, Bailey, Tobias, Talahn, Meri and Lara, and our School Captains, Josephine and Amy.  The 2024 Prefects have been outstanding role models and I thank them for their collaborative leadership initiatives this past year. 

Have a safe and relaxing holiday. 

Best wishes,
Dr Susan Green 

NSW Health advises that whooping cough (sometimes called pertussis) is circulating at high levels in NSW and affecting school aged children in particular, with incidence highest among children aged 10 to 14 years old, followed by 5 to 9 year olds.

Whooping cough is a serious respiratory illness. It is highly contagious and spreads easily between kids and families. It can be life threatening for babies, especially newborns.

Whooping cough usually begins like a cold, with early symptoms including a cough, mild fever, tiredness and blocked or runny nose. The cough will usually get much worse and may progress to severe coughing fits that can last for many weeks. Intense and rapid coughing fits can be followed by gasping and a ‘whoop’ sound.

Whooping cough is spread in the air as droplets, usually by coughing or sneezing. Vaccination provides the best protection from whooping cough.

More information

• Information for childcare and schools – whooping cough 

• Identify, Protect, Prevent – whooping cough

Contact: Incident Report and Support Hotline

Call: 1800 811 523

To help stop the spread of whooping cough, NSW Health recommends:

• Children who are sick (including those with cold and flu symptoms) stay home and away from other children until their symptoms have resolved or as directed by their doctor.

• If a child is diagnosed with whooping cough, they should stay home for 5 days after they start antibiotics, or 21 days after their cough starts.

• Parents seek treatment and testing advice through their GP when their child is has symptoms of whooping cough. Parents can also call healthdirect day or night on 1800 022 222 for advice.

• Parents can help protect their children by making sure all their children are vaccinated on time.

• It is very important for pregnant women to be vaccinated during each pregnancy to protect the new baby in its first few months of life when it is too young to be protected by vaccination.

• If parents are concerned and need health advice, they can call healthdirect on 1800 022 222. Healthdirect is free and available 24 hours a day, 7 days. A registered nurse will answer the call and provide health advice and connect families to the right care for their child.