Latest News
NPS highly commended at the 2023/2024 Victorian Landcare Awards
Newham Primary School attended the 2023/2024 Victorian Landcare Awards. Our school entered the category of Australian Government Community Partnerships Landcare Award and achieved Highly Commended. We were acknowledged for the school's work with partner organisations, particularly the Newham and District Landcare Group and Melbourne Water. Over the years Newham Primary School has planted over 1000 trees and revegetated sites on and off campus. We are proud of our achievement and congratulate all the winners and nominees at this year's awards.
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NPS finalist highly commended ResourceSmart Schools Awards 2024
The ResouceSmart Schools Awards celebrate the legendary efforts and impacts made by schools in sustainability. Our school was chosen as one of three finalists in the 'School of the Year' category for our work on numerous projects.
We attended the awards ceremony at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on the 4 June along with the other finalists. The theme this year was Legendary legacies – what will you leave behind?
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Speaking of legendary legacies, since 2008, 1,600 ResourceSmart Schools (including us!) have work together to:
• save more than $60 million on bills
• plant more than 5.2 million trees
• save more than 74,000 tonnes CO2e greenhouse gas emissions
• divert 168,000 cubic metres of waste from landfill
• save 1.8 million kilolitres of water.
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The ResourceSmart Schools Awards are a joyful and affirming celebration of schools and students and their sustainability triumphs. The awards are the state’s largest sustainability celebration for primary and secondary school students, teachers and school volunteers taking remarkable sustainability action.
We are proud to be recognised and highly commended among the schools doing sustainability work that benefits students, the planet and the wider community alike.
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NPS Re-accredited for ResourceSmart 5 Stars
In October 2023 the Minister for Environment, Steve Dimopoulos visited Newham Primary School to present us with our 5 Star ResourceSmart certificate. Newham Primary School is the only 5 Star Resource Smart school in the Macedon Ranges.
We received a hand-signed copy of our 5 Star certificate from the Minister.
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The Minister spoke with the Sustainability Leaders, helped one of our sustainability leaders put the 5th Star on our new gate sign and then presented the school with our framed certificate of recognition.
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Our Sustainability Leaders took the Minster for a walk around the grounds, explaining the kitchen garden and the Biodiversity Learning Hub. The Minister was so impressed with the Biodiversity Learning Hub that he took a picture of it himself!
The Minister shared some of the statistics the with our students who assembled for the certificate presentation. Over the nine years of Newham Primary School's involvement in Resource Smart Schools we have:
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Saved 92,000 Kilowatts of power, reduced carbon emissions by 96 tonnes and planted over 1000 trees.
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Congratulations to all of our Sustainability Student Leaders over the past 9 years and a special thanks to our current Sustainability Leaders and Ms Fullard.
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Thank you to Steve Dimopoulos for making the effort to visit Newham Primary School and spend time seeing all the hard work.
NPS Wins 2021 Woolworths Junior Landcare Team Award
Newham Primary School was the winner of the 2021 Woolworths Junior Landcare Team Award at the National Landcare Awards Gala on 5 August 2021.
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Newham Primary School, a small rural school which sits in the shadow of Hanging Rock, has achieved great results with its environmental and sustainability programs.
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Newham students have planted indigenous vegetation along a tributary of Deep Creek that abuts the school, creating a nature corridor for local wildlife that connects with the Cobaw Biolink, and have been involved in propagation projects. They also designed and built a frog bog to provide an alternative breeding ground for frogs, which 10 southern brown tree frogs now call home.
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The School and Sustainability leaders were delighted to accept this National Landcare Award on behalf of all the students, teachers and community members that have worked on the wetland forest, frog bog and propagation projects at Newham Primary School over past years.
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Via video, the School and Sustainability leaders thanked and acknowledged classroom teachers and in particular the previous sustainability teacher Sam Harrison who was the main instigator and provided expertise for environmental projects and 3/4 teacher Sue Hiland and her students who worked on the frog bog.
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They also made special mention, thanking the members of the Newham and District Landcare Group for their leadership, support and mentoring, and in particular, Penny and Hilary Roberts, Jim Sansom and the late Jenny Waugh, the Newham Propagation Group and Newham Garden Club.
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Lastly, past and current students and families of Newham Primary School and community members were thanked for their hard work on the projects.
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The students at Newham Primary School are inspired to continue working with Landcare and the local community on future projects.
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NPS Sustainability Leaders and School Leaders