WELCOME

A very warm welcome to the 2018 school year. Our holiday break was very busy at school with lots of cleaning, organising and setting up of classrooms. Our lovely new novels and picture story books have been sorted and our new resource centre space is ready. The Kookaburra room will be our Library, Performing Arts, Mindfulness and Digi Tech space and we are really excited to be open during lunchtimes too, offering a quiet play space for students. Our play grounds have new mulch and the gardens have been tidied up and areas cleared by our wonderful gardeners. New furniture has arrived and teachers have spent considerable time setting up learning spaces and planning lessons.

Many thanks to our teachers for their planning and organisation and to our families for making sure their children were sorted and ready for learning. We have all enjoyed a smooth and very happy start to school. It has been just lovely to see such happy faces and hear lots of laughter as students learn and play together.

A special welcome to all of our new students and families who have joined us. We have 19 excited prep students who have started their journey into school education. We have watched them arrive each day with big smiles and happy faces. Congratulations to all of our prep students for such a wonderful beginning to the term.

A number of parents enjoyed morning tea last week which was hosted by our Parents & Friends Association. It was a terrific opportunity to meet each other and get to know more about our school. I encourage everyone to get as involved as possible with our P&F and the events they organise. This year there will be fundraising and social events to enjoy. Your children do benefit when they see you involved in school based activities and taking an interest in their classroom learning.

As well as welcoming our new families to our school I would like to welcome Mrs Natalie Francis who will be teaching the Prep/One class and Mrs Meredith Birnie who will be teaching Performing Arts & Music. They have both already quickly become a part of our fabulous teaching team proving themselves to be passionate and highly skilled educators. We are really looking forward to having them both as part of our community.

Family Fun Night

There is already excitement about our annual Family Fun Night. Our Years 3 - 6 students have started planning and generating ideas for their activities. The evening is always a highlight and all families are invited to come along and enjoy the evening.

Our students in Years 3-6 will host a range of fun activities for all students at our school on Friday 2nd March. Parents and siblings are encouraged to visit every activity and partake in all the fun! Teachers will also offer information sessions throughout the evening to provide details about how the classroom program operates and daily routines and processes.

The evening begins at 5.30pm and families are welcome to bring a picnic dinner or buy food from the P&F sausage sizzle.

Poowong Basketball Association has been advised that this annual event is on and we ask that families prioritise this school event for their children.

Before & After School Arrival and Departure

I would like to remind parents that teachers are on duty in the mornings from 8.45am and in the afternoons until 3.45pm. Students who are at school outside of these times are asked to participate in our Before & After school activities to ensure they are supervised and safely cared for. It is not appropriate to drop your children at school early in the morning and leave them in the grounds alone. It is also not appropriate to leave your children at school waiting in the school grounds after 3.45pm. Please contact the office if you are running late so we can help with alternate arrangements. Please see our Before & After School Activities page for further details.

School Houses

As we have increased our enrolment we have decided to review our School Houses. We will have three Loch Houses this year and they will be Yellow, Blue and Purple colours. Our Years 3 - 6 students will be involved in deciding on new names for the three houses in the next few days. Students will be redistributed across the three new houses and we will make every effort to balance the houses taking into consideration ages, genders and skills. Siblings will be allocated to a House together.

Hills Music Festival

I would like to acknowledge and thank the parents who spent considerable time at the Hills Music Festival over New Years. Our school again raised a huge $2500.00 by having a food stall open over the three days. A very special thank you to Dayna & Geoff Lightowler and their family for their organisation of this valuable fundraising event for our school. Many thanks also to Julie & Tony Nettle, Louise Sherar, Casey Collis, Em & Matt Morris; fantastic commitment and effort by a great group of parents. (They did take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy the music, have a dance and partake of refreshments too!)

Elections for Captains

This week students have begun the nomination process for the different captain roles at Loch Primary School. Next Monday and Friday mornings we will hear from our students as they present their captain speeches. Badges will be presented to elected students on Wednesday 21st February at a special assembly from 9.00am. Following the presentation students will enjoy morning tea and an opportunity to discuss leadership with special guests.

COMPASS

Compass is our online communication tool for everything here at Loch Primary School. All parents are encouraged to download the mobile phone app and to be regularly accessing the portal to stay up to date with information and news.

Exciting Times Ahead for

Mrs Massaro

Mrs M will be taking leave for the remainder of Term One to help care for her new grandchildren, (she is getting another two!) who will soon be arriving. We wish Mrs M a wonderful time on leave and hope she really enjoys another round of grandmother baby duties! Mrs Jody Achterdenbosch will be replacing Mrs M while she is absent. When Mrs M returns in Term Two she will be teaching part time; three days a week and Mrs A will also be working in the classroom. The Brolga Room will be led by Ms Rachael Geerts providing continuity and consistency. The teachers will work as a team providing an exciting curriculum for students.

We have a busy term ahead of us, full of exciting learning opportunities and events.

Ms Tracey King

Principal

Community Notices

World Day of Prayer

Music Lessons with Miriam

LOCH CFA Junior Volunteer Development Program