PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Welcome back

A very warm welcome back to everyone after the mid-year holidays. We trust that the past two weeks have provided an opportunity for families to spend some quality time together and recharge the batteries in preparation for the term ahead.

An extra special welcome to our new students and their families who joined the Lucas community this term. We know you are going to enjoy the friendly atmosphere and hard-working culture that Lucas provides. 

We also have a few new staff around Lucas this term. We welcome back Mrs Short who returns after a period of family leave. 

Mrs Short will be assisting with literacy and numeracy support across the school. 

We welcome Mr Shell who will be taking over the Performing Arts position. Mr Shell has been working hard over the holiday period to ensure our Performing Arts program builds on that from Semester 1. 

Ms Jenkins joins us as a new Education Support staff member. Ms Jenkins has been volunteering across the school during Term 2 and will be a valuable addition to our support team.

We are looking forward to an exciting term ahead including:

• The Year 5/6 and 1/2 swimming program.
• Beginning the Prep transition program.
• Our annual Book Fair including a Grandparent/special person day.
• Book Week celebrations including our traditional staff video and student dress up day.
• Celebrating the Olympics.
• Participation in various sporting activities including athletics and basketball.
• Preparation for our Celebration of the Arts (early Term 4).
• Our Year 2 Sleepover.
• A Father’s Day celebration.
• A school disco.

Of course, all of this is on top of the fabulous learning that will be taking place in classrooms. We wish everyone a productive term of valuable learning experiences.

Holiday work

School Storage

Over the holidays we received our second shipping container on site to assist with storage issues around the school. This is located at the rear of the gym. Plans have now been finalised for a shed to be built along the staff car park fence facing the oval. This will be an ideal storage facility for our garden resources, larger sporting equipment and spare furniture for the school. We are hoping to have the shed completed by early December.

Little Athletics

We are very proud to support the newly formed Lucas Little Athletics Club by providing space for a storage facility on school grounds. Patrick Jenes (parent of Charlotte and Avery) is the club president and has been working hard behind the scenes to secure funding for resources and storage in preparation for the inaugural athletic season later this year. The storage facility can be seen along the staff car park fence facing the oval.

Air Conditioning / Heating Works

The school resembled a very busy work site over the holidays as our air conditioning and heater works ramped up. The Year 1/2 Learning Community is almost complete as focus now moves to the Specialist Pavillion and Administration area. During this term the final stage will be started in the Prep and Year 3/4 Learning Community with the work hopefully being complete by the end of the September school holidays. The end product will be a new heating and cooling system for the school.

Swimming Program

Over the next 3 weeks, the Year 1-6 students will participate in the school swimming program at Shayne Reese Swimming Centre. Students will be involved in learning a range of skills including water awareness, water safety and stroke development. All classes will participate in 5 swimming sessions each. Please keep an eye out on Compass and SEESAW for reminders about your child’s specific program.

School Council

Our July School Council Meeting was held on Monday evening. Discussion at School Council included the following:

• Staffing and enrolment update and plans to respond to student and staff changes throughout the remainder of the year.
• Plans for future facility upgrades and developments including an update on future portable allocations and works currently taking place around the school.
• Student learning updates based on Department of Education changes to the teaching of Literacy and Numeracy.
• The Complaints and Learning Technologies School policies were discussed and ratified.
• Lucas Leap policies were discussed and ratified.
• School Council Working Parties were clarified with plans for these teams to be more active in Semester 2.

The School Council working parties are clarified below and welcome interested parents and carers to attend the next meeting to join in discussions.

Buildings and Grounds: Next meeting - 1/8/24 at 3.00pm.

This team will help establish long term infrastructure plans to cater for the growing needs of our school and community. 

Fundraising: Next Meeting - 26/7/24 at 11.30am

This team will develop a fundraising plan for the next 12 months, with an aim to increase engagement with family and community.

Curriculum: Next Meeting - 1/8/24 at 3.00pm

This team will create and review policies which guide the work of Lucas Primary School and respond to government requirements and initiatives. The Education committee provides a means of informing our school community about our schools approach and structure to teaching and learning.

We thank our school councillors for their support.

Wet and Cold Weather

As we head into Term 3, it is a timely reminder about wearing appropriate clothing to school to deal with the cold and wet conditions. Naming all clothing (especially coats and beanies) is important as these are taken on and off throughout the day.

Parents are reminded that coats do not replace jumpers. Students will be asked to remove coats and beanies as they enter buildings.

3 Way Conversations

Thanks to everyone who participated in the interviews and conversations during the last week of term. The turnout was exceedingly positive and highlighted the importance of involving the students in conversations about their learning journey.

Hopefully the conversations were continued at home and plans have been forged to build on the achievements so far. We look forward to seeing continual growth as the year progresses.

Pyjama Day

Pyjama Day was a big hit on the last day of Term 2 with the vast majority of students and staff getting into the spirit of the day. Thanks to everyone who contributed a gold coin donation with $437.00 being raised. This money will be donated to "The Smith Family' who ensure that all students can attend school in warmth and comfort with a greater sense of belonging and improved self-esteem. This is another example of our Lucas students building a greater awareness of social justice.

Safe Traffic Behaviours

The safety of our students is paramount in and around the school, especially at drop off and pick up times where traffic can become quite congested. We regularly have traffic officers out and about in our area issuing fines to families who are using unsafe behaviours. We would like to ensure our school precinct remains safe for all and therefore offer some suggestions to assist. 

In the diagram below, there are some reminders for everyone.

Some other strategies that can be used to assist with the congestion around the school at drop off and pick up times includes:

• Park and walk - we are lucky to have lots of parks and wide pathways around the school. Please consider parking away from the school and enjoy a stroll in the morning and in the afternoon. (This could calm some nerves)
• Ride your bike: The wide pathways are conducive to safe riding to and from school. The bike shed has lots of space and bikes are secured during the day. 
• Use the Children’s Crossing - Please ensure you use the school crossing when crossing O’Shannassy Pde. This street is very busy before and after school as cars are parked on both sides of the street. As adults, we must also model safe pedestrian behaviour. Braden, our school crossing supervisor will be pleased to see you. 

• Use the bus service - There is a ‘student only’ bus service that drops off and picks up at Lucas PS. It has many stops between the school and Cardigan Village. Please contact the office for a schedule. Please note, a Myki card will be required.
• Have a pickup plan - discuss with your child where to meet you after school away from the school gates.

The bus stop at the front of the school is a no parking zone between 7.30am - 9am in the morning and 3.00pm - 4.30pm in the afternoon. Outside of these times, parking is permitted in the white marking zones. The parking officers are regularly in and around Lucas issuing fines for people parking illegally. They are targeting school zones.

The City of Ballarat is aware of concerning driver behaviour at school drop off and pick up times in the precincts around Lucas Primary School. We have been sent the following.

“Please note that the City of Ballarat will be undertaking regular patrols to ensure parking compliance. Any breaches observed, will be enforced. This is to help ensure the safety of students and staff and the broader school community. We implore all road users to ensure that they adhere to the law to maintain the ongoing safety of everyone involved.”