Dear LPS families,

The data Mr Wight shared on his page is outstanding, and whilst it correlates closely to our teaching practice, it is also true that without calm and orderly classrooms, it doesn't matter how good our teaching is. Below I outline how our approach to teaching and reinforcing behaviour is supporting calmer classrooms and improved outcomes for students.

The Pegasus Way: Explicit instruction of expected behaviours at Lysterfield PS

At Lysterfield Primary School, academic success goes hand-in-hand with positive behaviour. Just as we explicitly teach reading, writing, and mathematics, we also explicitly teach behaviour through our school-wide approach called The Pegasus Way.

Research shows that explicitly teaching behaviour expectations leads to calmer classrooms, fewer disruptions, and improved learning outcomes. Students thrive when routines are clear, consistent, and predictable across the school.

Why Explicit Behaviour Teaching Matters

Rather than assuming students know how to behave in every situation, we teach, model, and practise behaviour expectations step-by-step. This ensures every child understands what it looks and sounds like to be safe, respectful, and ready to learn.

Our goal is simple: to create a calm, orderly environment where teachers can teach, and students can learn without distractions.

The Pegasus Way Routines

Our behaviour curriculum provides students with clear, consistent steps to follow at different parts of the day:

Entry Routine: Teaches students how to move safely into classrooms and be ready to learn.
Exit Routine: Ensures calm, safe transitions out of the learning space.
Moving Through the School (with and without a teacher): Guides students to walk safely, quietly, and respectfully through shared spaces.

These routines are taught explicitly, just like an academic lesson. Teachers explain the steps, model them, practise with students, and reinforce success so the expectations become habits.

Reflection Sheets and Parent Communication

When students don’t follow school expectations, we use a reflection sheet to help them take responsibility for their choices and learn from the experience.

The reflection sheet links directly to our school values of Teamwork, Respect, Aspire, Community, and Kindness, so students can identify which expectations were not met and think about how to make better choices next time.

Importantly, the reflection sheet does not indicate that an incident is more or less severe than another, rather it is a part of our process for communicating with families whenever students do not follow school expectations.

Parents are kept informed because students take the sheet home for discussion and a parent signature, ensuring families remain connected and involved in supporting positive behaviour.

Connecting the Data to The Pegasus Way

Recent student survey results show exceptionally high scores for both classroom behaviour and effective teaching time. Students reported that classrooms are calmer, transitions are smoother, and lessons run without disruption, allowing teachers to spend more time actually teaching and less time managing behaviour. This improvement is directly linked to The Pegasus Way routines, which set clear expectations and create predictable, structured learning environments where every minute counts.

What We’re Seeing in Classrooms

Since introducing The Pegasus Way, we have seen:

Calmer transitions into and out of classrooms
Fewer disruptions during learning time
Improved safety in corridors and shared spaces
Students showing greater respect and responsibility

Teachers spend less time managing behaviour and more time teaching, while students feel safe, supported, and ready to learn.

Looking Ahead

We will continue to refine The Pegasus Way, ensuring routines stay consistent across the school and are taught with the same clarity as academic subjects. By combining high expectations with explicit teaching, The Pegasus Way helps every student succeed academically, socially, and emotionally.

Kristine Roose | Assistant Principal - Learning & Teaching

From the Office