Welcome Back for Term 4

Welcome back to all our families for what promises to be a busy and exciting Term 4. We hope everyone had a restful and enjoyable break and is feeling refreshed and ready for the final stretch of our 2025 school year.

Changes to the use of Digital Technologies and our BYOD\1-1 Laptop Program

You may have seen in the media last week that the Victorian Government has announced changes to the use of digital devices (eg: laptops, iPads) in primary schools.

Under the new guidelines, schools:

will no longer invite families to purchase or bring their own digital devices to use at school for Prep to Grade 6
will follow new recommended digital device times, including minimal device time for Prep to Grade 2; and a maximum of 90 minutes per day for grades 3 to 6.

These changes are intended to support families by reducing cost-of-living pressures. They will also support students by reducing screen time which can reduce the risk of eye strain, sedentary behaviour, and reduced peer interaction. These reforms complement Victoria’s nation-leading mobile phone restrictions, ensuring an integrated approach to addressing digital distraction and the inappropriate use of technology.

At Lalor East, we have both school supplied devices as well as offering families the opportunity to purchase a laptop through the school that can then be used at both home and school.

Under these new arrangements, this means we will be ceasing our current BYOD program for Grades 3-6 students from 2027. Students who have been using BYO devices prior to 2027 will be able to continue to bring their devices to school, but we will be following the new recommended device use times.

Students with disability who use a digital device as a reasonable adjustment are exempt from these changes.

You can read more about the changes on the Department of Education Website.

Spooky Dress Up Day

The Junior School Council is holding their Spooky Dress Up Day on Wednesday 29 October.

Costumes can be spooky, silly, or just fun (just nothing too scary or gory, please!). Students are reminded to dress up in a way that’s comfortable and safe for a full day of learning and play.

Students need to wear closed shoes - No sandals or thongs
Shoulders need to be covered for SunSmart purposes and hats need to be worn outside
No bare midriff tops
Students can colour their hair and wear face paint but it needs to wash out by the following day.
Simple props are all welcome but please leave any toy weapons at home.

Please remember to bring a gold coin donation on the day to support projects being led by our Junior School Council members.

House Sports

Our annual House Sports Day is just around the corner! Taking place on Thursday 30 October, our whole school community will come together for a full day of fun, fitness and friendly competition.

Students from all year levels will be representing their house colours (Red, Yellow, Blue, or Green) as they participate in a variety of activities designed to get everyone moving and having a great time.

The day will kick off with Kaboom tabloid sports, where students will rotate through a range of high-energy, inclusive games designed to get everyone involved. Whilst in the middle sessions, we’ll be running races and a holding a school favourite: Tug of War!

We would love for our families to join us. It’s a fantastic way to celebrate our school and enjoy a day out with your children and our wider community. (Just remember to BYO Chair and your broad brimmed hat!)

Curriculum Day & Melbourne Cup Day

Monday 3 November is a Curriculum Day for staff to complete Assessment and Reporting Tasks. Staff will not be on-site the school will be closed on this day.

Their Care wil be providing a services for families who require assistance with the supervision of their children.

Tuesday 4 November is the Public Holiday for Melbourne Cup Day. Students do not attend school on this day.

Students will return to school on Wednesday 5 November.

The Mini Fete is back!

After many years, we are excited to be bringing back our Mini Fete on Friday 7 November.

Kicking off at 2:30pm and running until 4:00pm, this exciting event is a chance for students, staff, and families to come together and raise funds for our wonderful school.

Classes will be running their own stalls (More details to come). Past stalls have included spiders, ice-cream sundaes, trash and treasure, bingo for books and the famous Prep watermelon store!

Each class will be seeking donations of items or money to assist with the running of stalls so keep your eye on Compass for details.

Families are encouraged to bring along some loose change to spend at the stalls with all money raised going towards exciting school projects that benefit our whole school community.

Introducing our new Koorie Engagement Support Officer [KESO]

At our school, we are fortunate to have access to a Koorie Education Support Officer (KESO) who plays a vital role in supporting our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and their families. A KESO is a specialist staff member from the Department of Education's Regional Office who works to ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students receive culturally appropriate support and have access to educational opportunities that meet their needs.

Talina Ellis has recently been appointed to the role of KESO for our school. Talina is a proud Waka Waka, Kamilaroi, and Gubbi Gubbi woman.

As part of Talina's role within the Whittlesea network, she can assist with:

Engagement between schools, families, students, key stakeholders and local organisations to support Koorie students.
Supporting Koorie students in Out of Home Care, in line with Out of Home Care Education Partnering Agreement.
Promote opportunities for families to engage in relevant committees, councils and groups.
Supporting Koorie students and families in all aspects of education.
Build capacity of Victorian schools to provide culturally welcoming and safe learning environments for Koorie students and families.

If you wish to access Talina's support, please feel free to contact her directly via email at: talina.ellis@education.vic.gov.au or you can reach out to the school who can make contact with her on your behalf.

Lunch Orders

Our first few weeks of Lunch Orders have commenced and it has been pleasing to see the uptake of this service by our families.

A reminder that our lunch order service operates on Thursday. The menu includes a range of flexible lunch options including wraps, sushi, rice paper rolls, wraps, rolls, pizzas, mac and cheese and bureks. There are different lunch boxes which include a snack or a drink.

Orders will be individually packed for each class and will be delivered to the school at 10:50am ready for lunch.

Parents can order via the Spriggy Schools app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Orders close at 8:00am each Thursday morning during the term .

We need a minimum of twenty orders each week to continue providing this service to families.

Student Leaders for 2026

We are seeking students in Year 4 and 5 this year (Years 5 & 6 in 2026) who are ready to step up and become our Student Leaders for 2026.

We are looking for:

School Captains (Year 6 only)
Junior School Council
Cyber Action Team
Gardening Leaders

These roles are a fantastic way for students to build confidence, learn new skills, represent their peers and contribute to school events and decisions.

Students interested are asked to read through the role descriptions for the positions, complete a nomination form and submit a letter of application outlining their suitability for the role and possible projects they would like to run in 2026.

Nomations need to be lodged at the office by 9am on Monday 10 November 2025.

2026 Prep Transition Sessions

We are looking forward to welcoming our newest LEPS learners for our Prep Transition sessions. These sessions are a wonderful opportunity for children starting school to become familiar with our environment, meet our staff and begin making new friendships with future classmates.

Sessions have been scheduled for:

Group A: Monday 17 November from 9:30am - 10:30am
Monday 24 November from 9:30am – 10:30am
Group B: Tuesday 18 November from 9:30am - 10:30am
Tuesday 25 November from 9:30am – 10:30am

Both groups will attend a final transition session on our Orientation Day on Tuesday 9 December from 9:30am – 11:00am

Families have been emailed if they are to attend the Group A or Group B sessions. Please contact the office if you did not receive your email with your sessions.

During this time, we will be running a parent information session on School Readiness and an Introduction to using Compass in the first transition session.

We look forward to seeing our future Preps in action and sharing in their first steps to starting school.

If you have a child starting school next year, be sure to get your enrolments forms in ASAP so you can attend these sessions.

Will you be with us in 2026?

Work is underway to plan for the 2026 school year. To help us organise grades, staffing and resources, we need to know which students will be leaving us next year.

If your child will not be attending Lalor East Primary School in 2026 (excluding exiting Year 6 students) can you please let us know as soon as possible by contacting the office or by speaking with your child’s teacher.

Knowing this information early helps us to:

organise the right number of classes
allocate teachers to year levels
prepare classroom spaces
recruit any additional staff

We understand that family situations can change, so even if you're unsure, a quick chat with us is most appreciated.

Scott Duncan

Assistant Principal

1:1 Device Program