Update from Head of Junior School

It has been so good to see our students back at school. There is no doubt that the challenges faced during the school closure have been significant. First and foremost, we give thanks to God that our school community has been kept safe and continue to pray for God’s protection over each of our families as our country recovers and life goes back to what we consider more “normal”.

We acknowledge the understanding and support of our parents through this time. The encouragement that our school community has received through the challenges of online or at home learning has been much appreciated. We are thrilled to be able to resume our “face to face “teaching again, with nearly 100 % attendance in most of our classes.

Whilst we still see some restrictions in place, we appreciate the understanding and patience our parents are demonstrating. We know that It is not easy for you to stand at the gate outside the school and watch your kinder or prep child walk to their classroom without holding your hand, not being able to stop and have a chat with other parents at school drop off or pick up, have a quick chat to the teacher or see what is happening in the classroom. These opportunities will return in time, but in the meantime, we want to say thank you for the way that you have responded to the requests for restricted entry to school.

This week, I was incredibly encouraged by a gesture of gratitude shown by a Year 3 student. He wrote letters to the Prime Minister and to our Premier, and has since received a reply from the Prime Minister’s office. The student’s letter read:

Dear Scott Morrison,

I would like to encourage you at this moment in time. Me and my family have been praying for you and you are doing a great job running Australia. You are awesome. I hope you get a really relaxing holiday after all this!!!! I wanted to share this Bible verse with you.

Joshua 1:9 Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God with be with you wherever you go.”

From ___ Age 8

At this stage, we continue with classroom-based learning, and hope to resume our “community” events such as assemblies and carnivals in Term 3. We are planning to run the school cross country carnival in Term 3. We will communicate the details of these when we are able to confirm the arrangements.

Our device borrowing plan was well received and worked incredibly well. Thank you to Mr Brad Robinson and his team for helping to make this available. A total of 112 devices went home with students in the Junior School, with every device being returned on time. Each device has now been checked and is in use again in the classroom. The devices enabled a large number of students to have reliable access to the online learning programs that teachers worked hard to make happen.

From feedback received , the scheduled Parent Teacher meetings (phone calls) were valuable opportunities that helped maintain connections between school and home.

Schools across Australia have been advised that adjustments will be made to report requirements (Section 59 of the Australian Education Regulation 2013) to accommodate the changes to the teaching and learning environment in response to the impacts of Covid-19. The Semester One report for Junior School students from Prep to Year 6 will focus on student learning of content that has been covered so far, but without the scaled rating (A-E, or five-point scale).

A significant part of the learning program for Semester One has been conducted remotely, and we acknowledge the effort of parents who have been directly involved in assisting much of the learning.

Our Junior School teachers (from Prep to Year 6) are currently working on preparing Semester One reports. Parents will be provided with a narrative report that has a special focus on progress on Bible, English, Mathematics, and a general comment about social and personal development. In addition, for students from Years One to Six, teachers will provide a brief description of progress in Science and HASS. The report is based on samples of work received from students during the course of the Semester. Reports of progress in specialist lessons, such as Music, Indonesian and PE will be provided at the end of the year, although parents may request a meeting with the specialist teachers earlier for a Semester One progress report. We trust that parents will find the modified format informative and helpful.

May God continue to protect our school community, as we trust in His plans , knowing that He is in control. As the Year 3 students sang in their classroom this week, He‘s (God ) got the whole world in His Hands”.

Mrs Irene Niebuur

Head of Junior School

NPIC - Two courses in Term 3

Due to current restrictions we have scheduled two New Parent Induction Courses in Term 3. These will be held on the following dates:

Term 3 - Saturday 12th September

Term 3 - Saturday 19th September

There will be no courses run in Term 2. New LCS parents who have not yet attended this course will be invited to attend soon and if you are interested in attending this course, or know a prospective family who would like to know more about our school, please contact our Registrar, Tanya Socorro on 6327 2854 or by email socorrot@lcs.tas.edu.au

Fun with 2D shapes in Junior School

Prep van Zetten and 2 Heys had great fun recently making 2D artwork out of an assortment of brightly coloured shapes. What beautiful work it was and we hope you enjoy all the smiles and the lovely work they created! Well done to eve

Cokatoos & Autumn Leaves in 4James

Mrs James' year 4 class had a yellow crested cockatoo visit just outside their classroom just over a week ago and were inspired to decorate their classroom tree with cockatoos! They also wanted to bring the autumn colours into their room so got crafty with leaves to remind them of the changing seasons and God's creativity in the many colours we see!

Year 7 students water activity

Two Year 7 classes enjoyed being outside in the sun today, learning how precious water is and how the distribution of clean water around the world isn't equal. They looked at how many women around the world spend the majority of their time collecting water for their families to survive, often carrying 20 litres at a time. Students then did a relay carrying 20 litres of water - trying to get a sense of how hard this task is and a greater appreciation for what we have. Great work Year 7!

Middle School Bible Perspective

LCS is a Christian school and the core of Christian education is the hope that our students will see that learning in God's world will help them to understand who they are, who their fellow humans are, what the world is like and how they can respond to others and to God. Helping them do this is our Middle School Bible teacher, Mr John Torlach. Years 7 to 9 are years when students question everything and it's a blessing to have a gifted team of teachers at LCS who help explore these deep questions together. It's great to see our Middle School students are engaged in their Bible classes and we thank all our teachers for their work as they lead and inspire students at LCS.

Year 8 & 9 Design Technology (Materials)

Our year 8 & 9 students have a range of creative subjects including Design Technology (Materials). Here's a sneak peak of what classes look like as students learn wood working skills under the guiding hands of teachers, Mr Rob Gracie, Mr Dave Lichtendonk and Tech Aide Michael Shelley. Great mentoring opportunities are had during construction and this is a very popular subject at our school.

TASC End of Year Exam Update

TASC has confirmed that all 2020 external assessment adjustments for 2020 (only) are now available on the TASC website including English 3, Maths and Science courses which have not previously been published.

Sample questions will be provided for Science and Maths courses and advice about these will be available by Friday 19 June.

Details of 2020 external assessment can be found on the TASC website at https://www.tasc.tas.gov.au/students/courses/ To locate specific course advice, find the individual course and locate the drop-down section within the course information – Supporting documents including external assessment material. The 2020 external assessment advice is named 2020 External Assessment Specifications.

2020 Folio External Assessment Dates have also been republished. The due date for some courses has been pushed back later to support student wellbeing.

Consideration has been given to a range of options that demonstrate a student’s learning, noting that exams can be stressful and that student wellbeing is at the forefront of any adjustments to external assessment. Students who are eligible can be confident they will receive an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) which, as always, will be comparable with other Year 12 students across the country.

A reminder about parking

Please take time to read our Parking Policy for our school to avoid any issues with safety that may occur when dropping off or picking up children at our school. A full copy can be downloaded below.

#LCSkeepingourschoolsafe

Our school is working hard to ensure that we have a safe learning environment. All families at our school should have received a fridge magnet reminder that outlines how LCS and families can partner together to keep our school safe. If you haven't received this or need another, you can download a copy below or contact our office for one that will stick to your fridge! Pray for God's protection over our community as we aim to provide a safe and healthy environment for staff and students to learn in.

Join our FREE Community Business Directory

Exciting news! We now have 32 businesses to support on our school Community Business Directory but WE NEED YOU to SIGN UP AS A USER so we can join together to support them.

It's FREE to join and EASY to sign up. You can sign up as a Provider (Business Owner) or a User (Service Seeker) and it's quick to do. Go to the B2Me website - https://b2me.com.au/ and click on the FREE SIGN UP button located at the top right of the page. Make sure you download the flyer below for instructions on what to do next and how to connect with our school website. Anyone can sign up as a USER (Service seeker) so spread the word to your friends.

Remember to use a picture of yourself on your profile so we can all get to know each other!

LCS is the FIRST Tasmanian school to partner with the B2Me community that is growing around Australia. B2Me is a new and innovative service finding social media platform linked to our school website via the connect tab on our homepage and a platform that enables LCS to build stronger relationships by connecting families in the workplace. Check it out by looking at our website: go to

https://www.lcs.tas.edu.au/ and click on the right hand side connect tab, then on B2Me.

We hope that you will partner with our school to support LCS families and staff who own a business by signing up. What a great opportunity to help others in our community! If you have any questions or need some help, please contact our Community, Events & Marketing Coordinator Tanya Socorro: socorrot@lcs.tas.edu.au

LCS Positions Vacant

We have a few positions vacant at our school - check out our website for more information about the positions below.

Enrolments are FILLING UP for 2021

We are in the process of receiving enrolments for 2021 so if you know any families who would like to consider enrolment at our school please refer them to our website for information or ask them to contact our Registrar, Tanya Socorro at school ph: 6327 2854 or by email: socorrot@lcs.tas.edu.au

Kinder classes for 2021 are nearly full, so enrol now before we these classes close!

LCS Vimeo channel - please follow us!

Did you know that our school has a vimeo channel where you can see the many films our Visual Production & Design Team create about our school community? Vimeo is a great way to show prospective families or friends more about our school as it allows the opportunity to explore school areas and programs at leisure. You can click on the Vimeo logo on our website, view some creations on our Facebook page or use the link below to see all of the audio visuals that have been created by our team. We'd love you to follow us!

LCS Vimeo home page - click HERE

Events

Fathers Day Stall - Expressions of Interest needed

Have you heard the news about our Community Business Directory?