Assistant Principal 

Dear Students, Parents and Carers,

It’s hard to believe that it is already week 3 of Term 3 with so much happening already for our Year 9 and 10 students. 

End of Semester 1 Awards Assemblies

What a privilege it was to attend our end of Semester 1 Awards assemblies last week. Celebrating the success of our students is always a highlight for me and we certainly have some very hard working and dedicated students who are contributing to the college in a variety of ways. Well done to all of the award recipients. 

Our upcoming Awards Assemblies will celebrate the hard work and achievements of our students across various fields, including academics, sports, and extracurricular activities. It is a time to recognize and honor the dedication and effort of our student body.

Work Experience

I am delighted to share the remarkable success of our recent Work Experience Week, which took place during the last week of Term 2. This program provided our Year 10 students with invaluable opportunities to explore various career paths, develop essential skills, and gain firsthand experience in the professional world.

Our students enthusiastically embraced this opportunity, stepping into diverse roles across multiple industries. From shadowing professionals in medical practices and engineering firms to contributing to creative projects in media and design companies, our students demonstrated outstanding initiative, adaptability, and eagerness to learn.

We are incredibly proud of our students’ achievements and the positive feedback we received from the participating employers. The skills and experiences gained during this week will undoubtedly serve as a solid foundation for their future careers.

I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all the local businesses and professionals who generously hosted our students and provided them with such enriching experiences. Your support and mentorship have made a significant impact on their educational journey.

To our students, your hard work, enthusiasm, and professionalism have set a high standard, and I look forward to seeing how these experiences will inspire and shape your future endeavours.

Information Evenings for 2025 Subject Selection

This week we have our Year 9 into 10 2025 Subject Selection Information Evening for parents on Thursday 1st of August at 6 pm in the Drama Centre. For those parents that have students going on the Gold Coast Camp, there is an additional presentation on the same evening that begins at 5.30 pm in the Drama Centre. I am looking forward to seeing you all there. 

The following week we have our Year 8 into 9 Information Evening on Tuesday 6th of August starting at 6 pm. All of the necessary details are on Compass. 

Year 10 into 11 Course Counselling

On Monday 5th and Tuesday the 6th of August, all year 10 students will be given an individual time to discuss their senior pathway with an experienced member of staff. Students must take on board the information provided at last week’s subject selection assembly and have completed the required research before their appointment. Students who don’t actively engage with this process risk missing out on the subjects that they would like to complete. 

Laptop Audit

To ensure that all students have the necessary tools for their studies, we will be conducting laptop audits for all students with a school-purchased device over the coming year. Students are required to have their laptop at school every day and are required to repair any damage that may be caused to the laptop. If required, we will issue students a loan computer as we undertake repairs. Families will be contacted if they are required to pay for repairs. The laptops at all times remain the property of the college and will be returned to the college at the conclusion of a student’s enrolment at LSC. 

Uniform Policy

As we strive to maintain a sense of unity and pride in our school, we remind all students to adhere to the school’s uniform policy. Please ensure you are wearing the correct uniform each day and that it is clean and in good condition. Students who are wearing non-uniform items will be asked to remove these items. Our uniform is designed to have many layers to keep students warm, including scarves, beanies and a new rain jacket with extra warmth. If families require support to purchase the correct uniform, please contact the relevant student manager for support. The uniform policy is provided to every enrolling student and a copy is also available on our website. 

Vaping Notifications

You will also be aware that there are new laws and that it is illegal for students under 18 to purchase or use tobacco products or vapes. https://www.health.gov.au/vaping/new-laws

Like tobacco products, vapes are dangerous for an individual’s health and well-being and are banned.

To protect our students, we have installed vape detectors at the college. The detectors are incredibly accurate. If a student is in the toilet and the vape detector sends an alert, the student is either vaping or is in the toilets with other students who are vaping. We expect that our students will report health and safety concerns. 

If a student is in the toilets when a vape detector sends an alert and claims that they are not vaping, but have not reported this to their student managers, that student is involved as a bystander in the vaping activity and is contributing to an unsafe environment for our students. 

Vaping is highly addictive and sadly, despite the illegalities, they are very easy to access by students and we must act to protect our students from those who choose to engage in this dangerous activity and impact the health and wellbeing of others. 

To protect our students’ well-being and to provide you with updates on risks that your child may be taking with their own health or risking the health of others, we will send parents a text message when their child has been in the toilets and an alert has been triggered. 

In the first instance, we have given students warnings about the vape detectors and outlined what will occur if they vape in the toilets or if they are in the toilets and do not report others vaping. 

If you receive an alert that your child has been vaping or smoking, you must have a conversation about the dangers of vaping and the dangers of vaping around others with your child. 

Sadly, the addictive nature of nicotine means that some students continue to endanger their own health and that of others. In that case, we will manage the students according to the student code of behaviour applying the consequences listed in Appendix I which I have included below. 

School Processes to address Smoking, Vaping and E Cigarettes

Definition

Smoking in this document refers to the inhalation of tobacco products and any other associated substance using any device including but not limited to E and vapour cigarette products. Students who engage in the use of these products at the college are impacting their own health, but also the health of other students.

Students must not: 

• Bring smoking materials to school or on school activities and excursion
• Smoke on school grounds
• Smoke while wearing the school uniform
• Smoke while representing the school
• Remain in the company of students smoking

Students who are in breach of this policy will: 

• Hand to the staff member any cigarettes, VAPES, E cigarettes or lighters in their possession which will then be disposed of. 

School Procedures

The following procedures are to be implemented when a student is found smoking or in the company of smokers, on school premises or at a school sponsored activity:

At first instance:

• Reported to the relevant Student Manager
• The incident is placed on Compass as a smoking incident
• Two detentions and parents informed by email and SMS via Compass
• Quit information supplied to student from; http://www.quit.org.au/

At second instance:

• Reported to the relevant Sub-School Leader
• Friday Principals detention
• Exclusion from area where the smoking behaviour has occurred 
• Further parent consultation

Subsequent instances:

• Suspension increased
• Exclusion from area where the smoking behaviour has occurred 
• Further parent consultation

Julie Ryan 

Assistant Principal