The end of term 1 has snuck up! What a busy and productive term it has been in all classrooms and specialist programs. It has been particularly great to see our new STEM program come to life with Tamsin conducting an engaging program for all year levels utilising a terrific range of borrowed STEM materials.

Naplan tests were completed this term by our year 3 and 5 students without fuss or bother. Well done to all of our students for taking the tests in their stride and really putting in a great effort.

This week we celebrated term 1 with a whole school breakfast with thanks to the Lancefield Bakery and our Lancefield Community for their small change which really adds up! Everyone enjoyed pancakes, cereal and fresh fruit and we look forward to another breakfast in term 2.

Our School Council has met and I am very pleased to announce members for 2024. I really look forward to working with his group throughout the year. Our School Council president will have a role to play in our upcoming school review during term 2 so thank you very much for your time and support in advance Sally!

Sally Soper, Prudence Williams, Natalie Brown, Rhiannon Williams, Daniel Young, Ben Colquhoun, Jo Emond (Principal Executive), Kirsty Slater (DET member) and Bec Borg (DET member). Our office bearers are:

School Council President - Sally Soper

Vice President - Prudence Williams

Treasurer - Ben Colquhoun

Secretary - Sharon Gledhill

Term 2 is already looking super busy with two camps, 1/2 swimming, 1/2 cooking and the school review. Please make sure you keep up to date by reading the newsletter and weekly reminders. Starting next term each team (Prep, 1/2, 3/4 and 5/6) will be publishing a short reminders message on the weekend so you have a better idea of teaching and learning foci for each week.

With the Easter holidays and school break coming up please see our wellbeing page for a range of ideas for you to consider if you are looking for ways to fill your days. These include FREE art sessions for LPS students!

We know many families head away during the school holidays to locations near water, including lakes, rivers and beaches. Please access these sites to help you plan and stay safe.

Surf Life Saving Australia’s Beachsafe website where you can view a location and the closest patrolled beaches (available in 132 languages – click on the ‘Select language’ tab). This information is also available in an app which you can download from the Beachsafe website. The app includes videos with tips for visiting Australian beaches, in 8 languages: English, Arabic, Hindi, Korean, Japanese, Malay, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese.
Vic Emergency’s Get to know our warning signs website, including posters translated into Arabic, Dari, Vietnamese, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese.
Life Saving Victoria’s Water safety tips.

April is Autism Acceptance Month (AAM) and a great opportunity to celebrate our autistic students, learn more about how we can support and include them, and help foster understanding and acceptance of autism among all students.

AAM is an offshoot of the United Nations’ sanctioned World Autism Awareness Day on Tuesday 2 April 2024. The day will begin a month of global events to celebrate autistic people. Our school is committed to understanding, including and celebrating our autistic students and values the contribution they and their families make to our school.

To celebrate AAM we would like to share some resources that support autistic students and their families.

The Department of Education has worked with organisations for autistic people and lead researchers in autism to develop new resources for schools to help us better understand, support and celebrate the strengths of autistic students. I hope you find them useful and insightful.AllPlayLearnSchoolCommunities:https://allplaylearn.org.au/inclusivecommunities/families/

Monash University’s AllPlay Learn team has developed evidence-based guidance and resources on how to create inclusive school communities where everyone feels welcome and supported. It includes videos on engaging with other parents, using inclusive language and student resources you can share with your child or children. Amaze has produced videos and tip sheets for parents on how to include families of autistic children. https://player.vimeo.com/video/762132685h=e665d0f02d&badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479

The department of education has established the Diverse Learners Hub https://www.vic.gov.au/diverse-learners-hub to help meet the needs of diverse learners, including autistic students. It is key initiative of Disability Inclusion and flagship of the Autism Education Strategy. The hub provides evidence-based advice, information and resources on best-practice inclusive teaching for autistic students.

Wishing all of our families and LPS friends a lovely Easter break. Please stay safe and enjoy your time together. We had a surprise visitor today ... Mr EB! He even left some messy footprints behind in the classrooms;)

Visual Arts