New Norfolk High is a respectful learning community with high expectations for all. Some of the ways in which we show that have been demonstrated in feedback we received this week from our External School Review.

During our return Review, we had the Director of Improvement Partnerships, our Improvement Consultant, the Deputy Secretary of Continuous Improvement and Evaluation and the panel comprising two experienced current school principals and the External School Review Leader. The panel spoke to students, staff and parents, as well as analysing our school data.

They were specifically looking at the previous Review recommendation that we establish high expectations for a learning environment that is safe, respectful, inclusive, tolerant and promotes intellectual rigour, and that this should be strengthened by a consistent and agreed set of responses for inappropriate and appropriate student behaviour.

Some of the affirmations from the review included recognition of improvement in school data. Since last year, attendance is up, and suspensions are down. In fact, since 2021, on both measures we have outperformed not only similar schools but the State as a whole.

Some of the other affirmations included:

• All staff are highly committed to doing their best to support the wellbeing and learning of all students at New Norfolk High School.
• Staff recognise that developing positive relationships with students and families is critical to promoting positive behaviour and engagement.
• Students interviewed are positive about their relationships with teachers and feel supported in their classes.
• Staff and students noted the improvement in student behaviour over the previous twelve months and positive student behaviour is regularly recognised and celebrated.

In addition to other affirmations, the panel also came up with some suggestions for future actions. We will use these to plan for our ongoing school improvement work with students and staff. There is always a next step, and we are absolutely committed to continually working to live up to our vision for this school because that is the New Norfolk Way.

Stuart Lord, Principal

• Thursday 31^stJuly Newsletter Published
• Thursday 31^st July Tailgate Excursion
• Tuesday 5^thAugust, White Card Training
• Thursday 7^thAugust, Whole School Assembly
• Monday 11^thAugust, Science Week
• Wednesday 13^thAugust, STEM Expo
• Thursday 14^thAugust, Newsletter Published
• Monday 18^thAugust, Book Week begins
• Thursday 21^stAugust, Whole School Assembly
• Thursday 28^thAugust, Newsletter Published
• Monday 1^stSeptember, History Week
• Monday 1^stSeptember, Australian TA Appreciation Week
• Wednesday 3^rdSeptember, Y7 & Y10 Vaccinations
• Thursday 4^thSeptember, Whole School Assembly
• Friday 5^thSeptember, Y11/12 Quality Assurance Day
• Thursday 11^thSeptember, Newsletter published
• Friday 12^thSeptember 2026 Prefect applications open
• Thursday 18^thSeptember, Whole School Assembly
• Friday 19^thSeptember, Footy Colours Day
• Thursday 25^thSeptember, Athletics Carnival Day 1
• Friday 26^thSeptember, Athletics Carnival Day 2
• Friday 26^thSeptember, Prefect applications close

Here at New Norfolk High we are committed to improving reading fluency for all students.

Fluency is a vital component of reading instruction as it has a strong relationship with reading comprehension. When students read fluently, they have reached a level of automaticity that enables them to focus on meaning rather than decoding words. Automaticity in decoding and sight word reading enables more capacity for the processing and storage of comprehension in working memory.

Our focus to improve every student’s reading fluency means that we are explicitly teaching the skills of reading and giving daily practice for students access a range of texts across the curriculum. The techniques that students will be using to develop their reading fluency are cloze, echo, choral and paired/repeated reading. Keep an eye out for further information about reading fluency in the upcoming weeks. 

Student Showcase

Our Student Showcase will be held on Monday September 15 from 3.15-5.00 pm. The event will showcase student learning from across the curriculum areas as well as provide ‘Evidence of Learning’ examples that students have completed during the year. 

Keep an eye on Facebook and the newsletter over the coming weeks to learn more about this event.

If you wish to discuss anything about the student showcase, evidence of learning, reading fluency or your child’s progress and learning then please contact the school.

It's all about experimenting in the Grade 7 Block this term. In Foods, students are conducting a food storage experiment where we are storing slices of bread under different storage and temperature conditions. We will be monitoring the changes in appearance, texture and smell over the next two weeks. This is part of our unit of study about food storage, hazardous foods and the temperature danger zones. The students will also be assessed on their teamwork skills.

In science, students will be spending more time in the labs. They are continuing to expand their knowledge of scientific equipment and practice and have conducted an experiment in the filtration of water.

On Wednesday 31 July, New Norfolk High School will be taking interested Year 9–12 students to the TAILGATE Expo—a hands-on event showcasing the building and construction industry. Students will have the opportunity to explore career pathways, speak directly with industry professionals, and learn more about apprenticeships.

If your young person is interested in attending, please encourage them to speak with their Grade Coordinator.

Jessica Cep
AST Years 11/12

ABCD