From the Principal
Dear Parents and Friends,
Welcome back
Welcome back to all of our families, and a very warm welcome to those joining Lysterfield Primary School for the first time. We hope you had a safe and restful break and are feeling excited for the year ahead. It has been wonderful to see the school come back to life with students, staff and families returning and classrooms once again full of energy.
At Lysterfield Primary School, we are proud of the strong community we share. Our Pegasus Family is guided by the values of Teamwork, Respect, Aspire, Community and Kindness, and these values continue to shape everything we do. This year, our focus remains on creating calm, supportive and purposeful learning environments where every child feels safe, known and ready to learn.
We look forward to working in partnership with you again this year and sharing another positive year of learning and growth.
**PEGASUS FAMILY FUN NIGHT**
To kick off the new year and have our community come together for some fun, we are excited to host our 2nd annual Pegasus Family Fun Night on Thursday, 5th February. There will be plenty of fun activities for students and little brothers and sisters, as well as a sausage sizzle to fill your tummies. All the activities are free, the sausage sizzle has a small cost. This will be a fantastic event, and your kids will love it!
New Representative Sport Policy and Code of Conduct
Today, families will have received a new Code of Conduct form linked to the introduction of our updated Lysterfield Primary School Representative Sport Policy. This policy has been developed to clearly outline the purpose of representative sport at LPS, the expectations for students, parents and spectators, and our commitment to providing fair, inclusive and positive sporting experiences for all students.
The policy emphasises that representative sport at LPS is about participation, skill development, enjoyment and wellbeing. While winning may occur, it is not the focus. Our priority is supporting students to develop confidence, teamwork, sportsmanship and healthy lifelong attitudes towards physical activity, while representing our school in a way that reflects our values of Teamwork, Respect, Aspire, Community and Kindness. The Code of Conduct supports this by clearly outlining expected behaviours of coaches, parents and students and ensuring a consistent, respectful and safe environment at all school sporting events.
To ensure all students and families are aware of these expectations, a signed Code of Conduct form is required for students to participate in representative sport. Students will not be able to take part in representative sport activities until the completed form has been returned.
We thank families for taking the time to read the policy and support this process.
The full policy is available here: https://www.lysterps.vic.edu.au/school-policies
Welcome to the family
With the new school year, we welcome new staff. This year we welcome 6 new staff to our Pegasus Family and 3 to new or permanent roles:
New staff:
Will R- Grade 4 teacher
Emma E- Education Support
Zoe C- Grade 1 teacher
Irene C- Grade 5 teacher
Xavier C- Education Support
Gemma D - Education Support
New or permanent role:
Makeala E- Grade 3 teacher
Jess K- Grade 1 teacher
Ingo D- Education Support
Morning drop off
We have now returned to our regular morning drop-off procedures. Parents should drop students off at the school gates. Parents are not to enter the school grounds or buildings in the morning unless they are going to the office to speak with admin staff and they should do this through the front entrance on Bellfield Drive. Students can often be concerned when they see unknown adults on school grounds. By entering through the front entrance you will be able to have your questions answered by the office staff or make an appointment to see someone. Any adult on school grounds should have signed in and be wearing a lanyard, unless it is after 3:20 pm and they are arriving to pick up their child.
Before school is not a good time to chat with teachers, please forward a message to your child's teacher via Compass should you wish to discuss something with them.
We will have a slightly different procedure later this week when our prep students start school. On the preps first day of school (Thursday 5th Feb), we encourage parents to walk their child to the back of the school and then accompany them into the classroom for first-day photos etc. As soon as possible we ask that parents say goodbye and leave, as the longer they stay the more challenging it can be for children to say goodbye.
After the first day, prep students will meet their teachers at the front of the school in the following locations:
Prep S- please meet on the grass near the STEM room
Prep A and Prep B- please meet on the ramps at the front office
Parents are welcome to enter the school grounds from 3:20 pm in order to pick children up after school.
Drop and go parking
Every year at the start of the year we remind parents and carers about the parking arrangements around our school. There are 2 “Drop and Go” parking zones for morning drop off. These are to be used for quick drops, with no standing for more than 2 minutes. Parents should note that all parking on Bellfield Drive is now 2 minute parking in the morning.
Cars should pull into the furthest available space, allow your child/ren to alight from the curb side of the car and then continue driving out along the road in the same direction. This is designed to be quick and aid in a smooth and safe drop-off zone for all children. By following the flow of the arrows, we can work together to ensure the safety of all children. The same flow should be followed for the Lakesfield Drive “Drop and Go” zone.
For afternoon pick up, although the parking is not 2 minutes, parents are asked to be mindful of safety and refrain from double parking and completing U-turns in these locations. Please be aware of the permit parking zone, at the western end of Bellfield Drive, during afternoon pick-ups.
Annual Privacy Reminder
Our school collects and uses student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ privacy policy and the Schools’ privacy collection notice.
Our Photographing, Filming and Recording Students policy , describes how we collect and use photographs, video and recordings of students. The policy also explains when parent consent is required and how it can be provided and withdrawn.
We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use Google Workspace for Education safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information. If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns regarding your child using Google Workspace for Education, please contact the school.
For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ privacy policy: information for parents. This information is also available in eleven community languages:
- Amharic
- Arabic
- Chinese
- Dari
- Gujarati
- Mandarin
- Somali
- Sudanese
- Turkish
- Urdu
- Vietnamese
Have a wonderful weekend and we are looking forward to an amazing year!
Adam Wight
Principal
Lysterfield Primary School