Hello to all our Lakes families,

Thank you to all our families who attended our open morning last Wednesday as part of Education Week celebrations. The number of parents/carers we had walking through the classrooms, spending time with students and taking an interest in their learning was unbelievable. All I can say is, it is great to have parent interaction again at school!!!! A massive thank you to staff for their flexibility throughout the morning. With the larger than expected parent numbers, both teachers and students just continued with their work. We hope to run another one of these open mornings later in the year. Thank you again who attended and all the support.

Our Sustainability Student Action Team have been doing a power of work this term around limiting and educating students about litter and the harsh affects it can have on our environment. Students have responded with a range of student led whole school projects and practices around “nude food” and setting up “flash trash” after recess and lunch break. This has seen a decrease in litter and smarter more environmentally effective practices within our school. It is great to have student agency alive and well in our school with the support of our staff to support.

Covid Update

RATs will continue to be distributed to families as they have been throughout this school year for the remainder of this term. However, from Monday 23 May 2022, students will no longer be recommended to undertake either twice weekly RATs in mainstream schools or 5 days a week in specialist schools. RATs however will continue to be required by students who are household contacts to attend school (5 negative tests over a 7-day period) or who have symptoms.

The ongoing supply of RATs to families in our school will ensure that parents and carers will have them should they need them if their child is a household contact or has symptoms. Families must continue to notify the Department of Health and the school if their child returns a positive RAT/PCR result. Additionally, you should inform us if any of your children are household contacts. Thank you for your continued support.

UPCOMING PUPIL FREE DAYS

In consultation with our School Council, I would like to communicate two dates this term where students will not be onsite at school. Information has been sent out previously about these dates on Sentral.

Whole day Parent/Teacher Interviews – Tuesday 21st June.

Interviews will take place between 10am-6pm on this day. Parents are recommended to book in with their child’s teacher for a 10-minute time slot. There will be no classes happening during this day. Bookings will open Tuesday 14th June at 9:00am for parents.

Professional Practice Day – Friday 10th June.

As part of the current VGSA (Victorian Government Schools Agreement) all teachers receive a day per term away from face-to-face teaching duties. Given the current staffing shortages and pressures across the education system, DET has announced that schools can hold a common Professional Practice Day for Term 2. This is where all teachers at the school are released from face-to-face teaching on a set day and as such students do not attend. As a school we acknowledge and appreciate the closeness in timing of these two days and the impact this has on school routines and consistency. We appreciate your understanding and support and as these are pupil free days, we have arranged Camp Australia to provide onsite programs as required. Please get in touch with Camp Australia directly for more information and to book.

OTHER IMPORTANT DATES FOR TERM 2!

Pizza Day / Crazy Hair Day

Tuesday 7th June.

Orders for pizza day closed Wednesday 1st June.

Primary Athletics Day

Thursday 9th June

This will be held on our Secondary Campus starting at 9.30am and concluding at around 2.30pm. Students will walk from the Primary Campus after rolls are marked at 9am. We look forward to seeing as many parents in attendance as possible on the day. At this stage the weather is looking ok. If the weather changes, we will have to postpone it, information will be sent out to families before the event with a rescheduled date. Thank you to Alex who has organised this day.

Last day of Term 2

Friday 24th June.

Students will be dismissed at 1.15pm. We will be running a whole Primary school assembly starting at 12.15pm to celebrate the wonderful achievements of our students.

WEARING OUR SCHOOL UNIFORM WITH PRIDE!

I love the way that our school has so many uniform options for our students and when we are all decked out in accordance with our Uniform Policy, our school looks magnificent. This is friendly reminder that all students must be dressed in line with our policy each day. At times, we notice a variety of other items being worn, for example casual hoodies or even items that are not our school colours. I know that the cooler weather and the rain can impact on washing and laundry at home and that it can be difficult to keep up with it all. With that in mind, if any student needs to wear an item that is not part of our school uniform, a letter from a parent or carer must be provided to the teacher outlining the reason for this. If you are having any difficulty in organising school uniform items for your child, please contact the office or myself. For me, wearing full school uniform is all about pride in our school and being part of our great team.

Lastly, one thing that can sometimes be taken for granted at our school is the exceptional behaviour of our students. I say this because every day we have so many examples of our students demonstrating excellent choices, switched on in their learning and taking care of each other. This shows that our school values are not simply something written on our walls, they are alive and actioned at our school each day. Well done to all our students who try their best, work together, share, look at things from other points of view and keep persisting. I am proud to be a small part of this school community and I hope all our families feel the same.

To all our families, have a great weekend and remember the door is always open if you need anything.

Marcus

Primary Sports Day Information