Principal's Report
End of Term 1
Well, here we are at the end of another term. I know there are a few tired children who are ready for a break and a few teachers who are feeling the same way. I hope you and your family get to spend some quality time together over the break. I know many of you will be taking advantage of the Easter break to get away. Personally, I’m off in my caravan on Saturday, heading towards Victoria’s western districts, across the border into SA and then back via the Gariwerd National Park, the Grampians, to camp with family. The weather forecast looks pretty good for the next few days at least, so let’s cross fingers for that to continue.
Attendance Awards
From my office, I can hear the excited voices of 1C who won this term’s Attendance High Tea for High Attendance. They have been called to their flight on LPS Airlines and they will be Flying High with Mr de Ley and his flight crew. It’s quite a production and something to behold! I think there have been some misunderstandings about the Attendance Awards and how they work.
Certificates are given each week to classes that have had 100% attendance. The rating though, excuses those who have been absent for “approved” reasons, i.e. those whose parents have called and given the school a reasonable excuse for the absence. We certainly don’t want to encourage ill children to attend school, but we do want to encourage parents to call the school and inform us and we do want to discourage frivolous absences like “my birthday” or “I needed new shoes”.
Parents have a legal requirement to ensure their children attend school regularly and on time. They also have a legal responsibility to inform the school of the reason for an absence and that reason needs to be acceptable. The school also needs to be informed “on the day of the absence”, preferably in the morning. Parents can let us know via text, email or phone call. There are lots of great reasons for getting your children to school.
There are lots of legal, but also safety and courtesy reasons, for letting us know as soon as possible if your child is absent. Finally, you’ll be helping your child’s grade be in line for next term’s High Tea for High Attendance!
Absences can be reported on:
Email: lyndhurst.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au
Phone: 03 8768 6700
Absence Hotline (Text Only): 0477 764 775
Student Leadership Presentations
Thanks to our Mayor, Councillor Amanda Stapledon, we had a very impressive Student Leader Badge Presentation at this week’s assembly. The mayor looked very grand in mayoral robes and it gave the presentation a great level of importance for the children.
They are a very impressive group and I am sure they will do great work and gain an enormous amount from their leadership roles in a year in which we are focused particularly in raising student voice, agency and leadership. For the first time too, we presented our senior leaders, School Captains and SRC Chairs with leadership blazers which they wore proudly and which will be used on special occasions at the school.
2019 Student Leadership Group
School Captains
Nick Schweden
Charmie Charmya
Our SRC representatives are:
SRC Chairs Sebastian Diaz Kleawpatinond
Allie Watts
Class SRC Representatives
3A Ryan Hunter
3B Isabella Kamran
3C Poppy Rouse
3D Max Brolly
3E Sriram Boyapati
4A Sirat Minhas
4B Anirudh Mysore
4C Georgia Argaet
4D Alisha Kamran
4E Ada Savasir
5A Ediah Jan
5B Dipika Hansraj
5C Lachlan Preyer
5D Gabi Koch
6A Aliah Rigo
6B Kisanth Prapakaran
6C Marion Liew
6D Sara Ali
Our subject leaders are:
Aanya Raghuram Art Leader
Sophia Mapili Art Leader
Mahasri Chapalamadugu Spanish Leader
Jesselyn Cheung Spanish Leader
Katelyn Nguyen Music Leader
Jordan Albert Music Leader
Charlie Watson Physical Education Leader
Rushika Munjal Physical Education Leader
Krissh Singh Environmental Science Leader
Oliver Sime Environmental Science Leader
Natalie Thomman Digital Technologies Leader
Kyle Chapman Digital Technologies Leader
Olivia Argaet Student Well-being Leader
Devmika Bogahapitiya Student Well-being Leader
Our House Captains are:
Chloe Passe Water House Captain
Anshdeep Singh Water House Captain
Alesha Mohammed Fire House Captain
Lucas Ghneim Fire House Captain
Savannah Casey Earth House Captain
Andre Ghunaim Earth House Captain
Samarah Haque Air House Captain
Luke Sayliss Air House Captain
House Cross Country
This Friday morning, we will be heading off to the wetlands for our annual House Cross Country. It’s always a very colourful event and it would be great if all of the children in year 3 -6 could come along in their house colors!
City of Casey - Student Leader Reception
Again, on the topic of student leadership, our senior student leaders, the School Captains and the SRC Chairpersons, joined me at the beautiful, new Bunjil Place to attend the City of Casey Mayoral Student Leader Reception. The City of Casey are very active in supporting the development of leadership in our young people and this civic reception is wonderful recognition of the importance of quality student leadership in our schools. The students were inspired by speakers like Elka Whalan (Graham) and Emma Stone, listened interestedly to the Case Youth Panel and enjoyed their “photo op” with the Mayor.
Pauline Richards MP Visit
Today, we welcome Local State Member of Parliament MLA for Cranbourne, Pauline Richards MP. We are always proud to host visitors and show off our wonderful school. Our school leaders will do the “meet and greet” and will have an opportunity to speak to Pauline, as well as help her on a tour of the school.
Reminder for Term 2 Start
A reminder that term 2 starts on Tuesday April 23rd, due to the Easter Monday holiday.
ANZAC Day
ANZAC Day is on Thursday, 25th April in the first week of term 2. On this day, some of our student leaders will be attending the ceremony at the memorial cenotaph at Clydesdale Square in High Street in Cranbourne. At that ceremony, the students will lay a wreath on behalf of the Lyndhurst Primary School community. The ceremony begins at 10.15am with a march and then a service at 10.30am.
I encourage any members of our school community to attend the ceremony with us. ANZAC Day is an important part of our historical and cultural understanding. It is a celebration of the freedom that we enjoy, and a recognition of the sacrifices made in the name of that freedom. I know that, whether directly or indirectly, many in our community have been affected by the loss and terror that war brings. ANZAC Day is a day on which we can celebrate the peace and tolerance of our country and show thanks for this wonderful country in which we all live.