From the Principal
Staffing Updates
This week we will farewell Ruthi Aitken. Ruthi has been a long standing staff member at LEPS for over 20 years having worked across many years levels and leading our Arts, Music, Bike Ed and Camps Program all at various stages. We wish her well and every success for this new adventure in her career.
Families are welcome to visit Ruthi at our upcoming Gallery Walk to be held TOMORROW (Wednesday) afternoon from 2:15pm.
I am excited to share that we have finalised our recruitent for a new Art teacher and are pleased to welcome Bianca Vecchio to LEPS. Bianca will be working with us on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in the Art Room. Bianca has a wealth of experience working in Visual Arts having previously worked at Mackillop Educational Services and at Newlands Primary School. She has also worked at as Art Therapist and has led a number of community art projects. Bianca is very familiar too with our local area having also previously worked at the Collingwood English Language School when it had an outpost located in Thomastown.
2026 Prep Enrolments
Do you have younger children at home that are due to start school in 2026? How about local friends, family members or neighbours?
Enrolments are now open for Prep for 2026. By enrolling early, you assist us with determining our grades and staffing arrangements and will also be registered for our Orientation sessions in Term 4.
Please speak to the office to collect enrolments forms if you are already enrolled or encourage your friends to book at tour by calling the office and sending a tour enquiry through our school website.
Semester One Reports
As Term 2 draws to a close, Semester One reports will be published to families tomorrow afternoon on Compass. These reports will contain a compilation of the Learning Tasks that students have already completed across Term 1 and 2. The feedback from these tasks has been published to families on Compass throughout the course of the school year.
NEW ENGLISH & MATHEMATICS 2.0 CURRICULUM
The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) has released a revised English (Literacy) Curriculum, known as English Curriculum 2.0. All Victorian schools are required to implement this updated curriculum and our school will begin reporting against the new achievement standards in this upcoming report.
Student achievement in English will continue to be reported under the three familiar strands: Speaking & Listening, Reading & Viewing, and Writing. However, the content, expectations, and achievement standards within these strands have changed. As a result, families may notice some differences in how student progress is described and reported.
These updates are designed to give teachers greater flexibility in planning for teaching and learning, while also helping students make stronger connections within English and across other areas of the curriculum.
The VCAA has also released a revised Mathematics (Numeracy) curriculum. All Victorian government schools are now using the Mathematics curriculum 2.0. At Lalor East, we are using the revised mathematics curriculum for school reporting in this upcoming report.
On your child's previous report, the teacher reported against the 3 strands of the achievement standard for mathematics (Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability).
Under the Mathematics curriculum 2.0, your child’s teacher will report against the Mathematics achievement standard as a whole, providing a single, aggregated score.
As the achievement standards reported on have changed, the first time you receive a report under the Mathematics 2.0 curriculum, it will only show achievement and not progress. For all reports after this, progress will be shown against the single achievement standard.
I would encourage you to
Read the review the report together with your child
Celebrate their successes and acknowledge their efforts
Discuss areas for growth using a positive, supportive approach
3 Way Conferences - Thursday 7 August
Following on from the publication of the Semester One reports, families will have the opportunity to discuss their child's progress at our upcoming 3 Way Conferences. These will be held on THURSDAY 7 AUGUST.
On this day, students will only need to attend for their conference session.
Bookings for 3 Way Conferences will open early in Term 3 through Compass. We encourage families to book early to secure their desired meeting time.
JSC Pyjama Day
Thanks to the students that participated in the Pyjama Day run by our Junior School Council on Wednesday 18 June. I particularly enjoyed spending the day in my Bluey onsie (Thanks Robyn!). Through your efforts we managed to raise just over $200. These funds will go towards obtaining air conditioning for the foyer of our MPC.
Jump Rope for Heart
Thursday 5 June saw students come together for our annual Jump Rope for Heart event. Both the gym and playground was filled with energy as students showcased their skipping skills while supporting a worthy cause.
The highlight of the day was undoubtedly the All Stars performance group, who dazzled everyone with their synchronized routines and impressive jump rope techniques. These students had been practicing diligently for weeks, and their hard work certainly paid off.
A special thanks to Dean Sharples for organizing this wonderful event that is a highlight on the LEPS Community Calendar.
School of Rock
By the time this edition of Jumbunna is published, our Years 3-6 students will have returned from performing alongside other local schools as part of the School of Rock event.
In preparation, the school choir and band delivered an electrifying performance during Monday's assembly, giving everyone a sneak peek of their incredible talent.
Thankyou to Hannah and Luis for their efforts in organizing and coordinating our students so they could participate and perform at this event; often using their breaks to support students with rehearsals.
10c Bin Project
Earlier in the term, I was able to join Linda and some of our student leaders as they cashed in the many bottles and cans that have been donated by our school community. Thanks to your donations, we were able to raise close to $300 for our school!
Unfortunately, whilst we would love to recycle juice packs, these boxes are difficult to drain and as we are not able to always deposit our recycling each week, the left over juice in these containers becomes problematic. Moving forward, we will no longer be accepting juiceboxes or tetra pack style containers for recycling.
Please keep the cans and bottles coming though as every little bit helps!
End of Term 2
A reminder to families that we finish early on FRIDAY 4 JULY for the End of Term 2. Students will be dismissed from school at 1:45pm. Please make sure you have made arrangements for the collection of students at this time.
Their Care is also providing supervision for families that may require assistance. Further details about fees and bookings are featured in the newsletter.
We look forward to welcoming students back for Term 3 on MONDAY 21 JULY.
SCOTT DUNCAN
Acting Principal