From the Principal

Student Behaviour

I have been concerned regarding the behaviour in the classroom and yard of some of our students over the last two weeks.

Schools are places for learning and it is difficult for everyone when one or two students disrupt the learning of the class because they are not in the mood for learning. I am not speaking about students with diagnosed additional needs. In the majority of cases we are working closely with these families to support their child to engage meaningfully with learning by making appropriate adjustments.

I am speaking about children who come to school consistently not ready to learn. When we unpack this with them, it often boils down to 3 main factors:

1. not having enough sleep because they go to bed too late or they are playing on devices too late and this disrupts their sleep cycle and impacts their ability to concentrate in class.

2. not having breakfast and then not having the capacity to engage with the rigours of the classroom.

3. arriving at school in an angry or anxious mood, usually because of factors 1 or 2 or because it is a rush in the morning because they do not want to get out of bed or they have had an argument with Mum/Dad/siblings about electronic devices.

I am proud of the work the staff at Lalor East Primary School do and have the upmost respect for them. They are an incredibly hard working group who do countless hours of work outside of school hours to research/prepare exciting lessons for their classes, to assess completed work on top of all the extra things they do to make schools safe places for our students.

BUT we need support from our families if we are going to make a real difference in the lives of the students we are teaching and caring for. Learning is a partnership between home and school. 

Parents, I am asking you to help us by making a few adjustments at home:

• Is your child getting enough sleep? Primary school age children need 10-12 hours of sleep every night.

• limit the amount of time children are spending on devices

• take devices out of bedrooms

• take devices off children at least 1 hour before bedtime so their brain can 'calm' down before they go to sleep.

• making sure children wake up early enough to eat breakfast or bring them to school by 8:30am so they can go to breakfast club if they won't eat at home

• packing school bags and setting out uniform the night before to prevent stress in the morning by having to rush

• leaving home in plenty of time to avoid the stress of being late to school

Being a parent can be incredibly rewarding BUT it is hard work! Making a few adjustments like the ones I have suggested above can make things a little easier for you at home and for us at school. Children who are happy, calm and contented are much easier to manage than those who are tired, cranky and hungry!

Introducing our 2025 Student Leaders

It was wonderful to be able to present the badges to our 2025 leaders. The badges were designed by the students and then a winning design was chosen to best represent the work of the leadership group.

All three leadership groups are already hard at work to help make LEPS the best place to be!

Gardening Leaders: Hannah, Yousef, Annabelle, Nikolai, Renz, Andre, Ian, Elijah, Lana, Roy, Liana, Moley & Shivansh

Cyber Leaders: Linda, Ali, Elias, Zoey, Moana, Shona, Nawal, Maha, Banin, Ray, Yousef, Zarith, Jack, Mohsen, Hassan & Evan

Junior School Council: Scott, Zoe, Pearl, Aicha, Ivy, Sienna, Anabelle, Artin, Aleena, Lucas, Jeylin, Maci, Nia, Alisha and Ali

Linda Richards

Principal