Principal's Message
As we move towards the end of Term 2, I’ve found myself reflecting on the many different ways our school community continues to grow. This fortnight has provided several opportunities to pause and celebrate not only student achievement, but also the incredible work of our staff and the collective commitment of our community to continuous improvement.
Opening Our Doors for a Cluster Learning Walk
This week we welcomed principals from across our network into Launching Place Primary School as part of a Learning Walk focused on Explicit Teaching in Mathematics. Visitors spent time in classrooms observing teaching and learning and engaging in professional discussion with our staff.
What made me most proud was that there was nothing particularly unusual about what visitors saw. They observed what happens at Launch PS every day - calm and purposeful learning environments, strong relationships, clear routines and teachers who know their students deeply. Feedback highlighted the explicit teaching practices evident across classrooms, including clear learning intentions, modelling, checks for understanding and responsive teaching. Sometimes having visitors in our school allows us to see our own progress through a different lens and recognise just how far we have come together. Go Launch!
NAPLAN Writing Success - A Celebration of Growth
This week also brought the release of our NAPLAN Writing results and there was much to celebrate. We were thrilled to see 100% of our Year 3 students achieve in the Strong or Exceeding proficiency levels in Writing, with strong growth also evident across other assessed areas, as mentioned in previous newsletters.
While no single result tells the whole story, it was exciting to see this outcome reflect the sustained work that staff have undertaken over recent years to strengthen writing instruction. In particular, our investment in the Talk for Writing approach has provided students with clear structures, rich language experiences and opportunities to develop confidence as writers. Our teachers have worked incredibly hard to embed this approach and seeing students expertly transfer these skills into an external assessment provides affirmation that the work is making a difference.
Sporting Success and Student Opportunities
There has been no shortage of student achievement beyond the classroom in recent weeks.
Congratulations to Henry, who represented LPPS at the Regional Cross Country, finishing an outstanding 28th in the field - an extraordinary achievement.
Our Futsal teams also represented the school with pride. A huge congratulations to our Girls team, who returned as tournament winners, and to our Boys team who competed strongly against experienced opposition and secured some fantastic results throughout the day.
Congratulations also to our students who attended the Mountain Biking Competition and embraced the challenge with enthusiasm and determination.
We also wish to recognise Tate and Bella, who recently attended Somers Camp. Somers provides students with a unique opportunity to build independence, confidence, leadership and friendships while participating in a range of exciting experiences. We know this opportunity leaves a lasting impression on students and we are incredibly proud of the way they represented Launching Place Primary School.
Planning for the Future – Facilities Improvements at Launch PS
Last August, our school participated in a Rolling Facilities Evaluation (RFE) completed by the Department of Education. This process reviewed our buildings and grounds to identify future maintenance and improvement priorities.
I’m pleased to share that we have recently met with the Department and planning has now commenced for the next stage of works. This project will focus on addressing priority items identified through the evaluation and improving aspects of our school environment to support long-term sustainability and compliance.
Importantly, this work is expected to include improvements to existing water flow and drainage issues across parts of the site as well as further upgrades to our Shelter in Place arrangements within our BER building. We look forward to working alongside the Department as scope and timelines are developed and will continue to keep families informed as this progresses.
Thank you for your ongoing support this term. Schools move from great to excellent because of people - students who try their best, staff who continually refine their practice and families who work in partnership with us every day. I continue to feel incredibly proud of what we are building together at Launch PS.
See you around our place,
Laura Caddy
Principal