What a great start!

I can’t believe that we are already at week 3 of Term 1! The first two weeks have flown by in a flurry of activity, and I have been so impressed with the way students and teachers have quickly settled into a new school year. As someone new to the school, I have been struck by how friendly and welcoming the students of Launching Place Primary School are. It’s just wonderful to be in a school where students are happy, connected and engaged, and supported by caring and hard-working teachers and support staff. If this is a sign of how things will continue through the rest of the year, I am so excited to see what is to come!

Home reading

While we are still in the early stages of the school year, I think it is important to reinforce the importance of reading at home. There is so much research around the importance of reading, something that contributes to and improves so many areas, it’s hard to find an argument against encouraging children (and adults) to read more. The students here are fortunate to have well stocked classroom libraries, and we are in the process of relocating the school library to the Learning Centre, making this an inviting and comfortable place to immerse oneself in books.

You can find information about helping your child read at home here, and if you have any questions about how to select or find books that suit your child’s reading needs, please speak with their teacher.

Getting to know you interviews

Hopefully you were all been able to access times for the ‘Getting to Know You’ interviews on Wednesday. These times at the beginning of the year are so important in establishing strong links between home and school, and a great opportunity for families and carers to share information about their children. Knowing how a students likes to learn, what motivates them and what interests they have make sure teachers can create learning experiences that will lead to lasting learning, and students who are engaged with their learning and their peers.

At this stage of the year, teachers are not yet in a position to give a thorough update on academic progress. The mid-year interviews will be more achievement focused. However, you don’t need to wait until the middle of the year to speak with your child’s teacher, and I encourage you to make regular contact with teachers and keep them updated if there is something happening in your child’s life that may affect them at school.

Covid update

I am pleased to say that we have been able to keep covid relatively at bay here at Launch (I’m not going to say it too loudly in case I jinx it!). All students should now have their full allocation of Rapid Antigen Tests (each child should have received 2 tests packs). I will send a notification to families if we have had students, staff or visitors who have been onsite while positive or in their infectious period, but if you don’t hear from me, it is very much a case of ‘no news is good news’.

I would like to thank you all for your patience with the delivery of the RATs, and for the calm way people have responded to notifications of positive cases. I would also like to thank students for the way they have been diligently following covid-safe practices, sanitising hands and wearing masks.

Lunch time clubs

I am so thrilled to be able to let students know that we will be offering a range of different lunch time clubs for students to participate in. Lunch time can be a very long time for students who are feeling a little lost, or who just want something different to do. We are in the process of replenishing resources and finding exciting activities for students to participate in should they wish to. If there are any parents who have special skills or interests that you are keen to share with a lunch time club, we would love to hear from you. All you need to come onsite is a valid Working With Children Check, and be fully vaccinated. Look out for more information about these awesome clubs soon!

Child Safety Standards

Victorian schools are required under the Child Safety and Wellbeing Act to ensure that they implement compulsory Child Safety Standards to protect children from harm. Launching Place Primary School is committed to child safety, and articles and information about this may appear from time to time in the newsletter.

The Child Safety Standards are in place to create safe places for children to feel safe and supported. We ensure that students in our care are protected to the best of our ability, in line with our duty of care and the compulsory Child Safe standards.

As a community, we want students to feel safe, happy and empowered. We support and respect all students, staff and volunteers, and expect all people in the school to demonstrate equal respect to others. There is a zero tolerance of child abuse, and all allegations and safety concerns are treated seriously and consistently with the robust policies and procedures.

Launching Place PS is committed to preventing child abuse, identifying risks and removing or reducing those risks early on. We regularly train and educate staff on child abuse risks, and follow robust practices for the recruitment of staff and volunteers working with students. We are committed to the cultural safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, and the cultural safety of students and staff from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds. We are also proud of the way we provide a safe environment for vulnerable students, and students with learning differences or disabilities.

At Launching Place Primary School, everyone can play a part in helping students feel safe. This is in the way we speak and behave around students, and the ways in which we respond to the actions of others. Below is the LPPS Child Safety Policy, as well as some associated policies and information.

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Kind regards,

Jess Mann

Acting Principal

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