Dear LPS Families and Friends,

I trust that the students had a great time at the Colour Run today and thank the PFA for their efforts in organising the event. We are very grateful for the work the PFA does throughout the year to raise funds for our school.

Values

During this year we have spent time with parents, students and staff reflecting on and reviewing our school values of respect, curiosity, acceptance, resilience and integrity. During this process we asked each of the groups to consider if these values still reflect our priorities as a community. Whilst there is no doubt that the current values are all important, we did think that maybe there are some other values that we more representative of our community.

After a long and considered process, I am excited to announce that from the beginning of next year our school values will be:

Teamwork

Respect

Aspire

Community

Kindness

I think if we can all display these values regularly, our community will be on the TRACK to success. I look forward to providing more information about this as the new year begins. I also hope that as parents you can keep these values in mind with regard to how you engage with the children and adults in our school community.

What part do parents play in helping our children display these values?

For better or worse, our children often reflect us. I know my children certainly model the positive and negative behaviours of my wife and I, with a few of their own random acts thrown in for good measure.

Parenting is a tough job!

There is no rule book for parenting and we each have to figure it out as we go. No two children are the same and need slightly different approaches, however there are some things that are true of all parent-child relationships, one being that our children observe us and copy us, whether we like it or not. If your child says they love maths, or hate maths, it is likely because a parent feels the same way. If your child is anxious, they possibly have an anxious parent. If they love the outdoors, they probably have a parent that does as well. If they react overly emotionally to situations, they may have seen this at home. This isn't a criticism, it's a reality.

"What you model is by far more important than any parenting strategy you could use. If you are consistently negative, unhappy, depressed, anxious, angry, disappointed, blaming, frustrated, or any other negative you can imagine, you can count on your kids imitating and reflecting that right back to you." Psychotherapists Barbara & John Frazier write about this in the article linked below. If you want to know more, or make some changes to how you support your children, please read the article linked here.

Otherwise, start studying our new values and think about how you model these for your children in their lives outside school.

As the new year starts, we will spend time explicitly teaching our students what these values look like in the school setting and ensure we provide opportunities to practise them.

2025 CLASSES

The end of year will be on us before we know it and planning for 2025 is underway. If there is anyone who has not yet enrolled, or knows someone who hasn’t, please encourage them to do so immediately. Likewise, if for any reason you are not returning to LPS in 2025, please advise the office in writing ASAP.

In the past, we have received a small number of requests for children to not be placed with other children. These requests are considered on a yearly basis, meaning that a request in prep can not be considered for the entirety of a child's schooling. Please also be advised that the requests need to specifically relate to your child, not a general concern.

If you believe you have information about your child related to these issues that need to be considered for class placement for 2024, and you think your child’s teacher is not aware of it, please put the information in writing to me via the school email or drop it off at the office by Friday 8th November. Requests for specific teachers will not be considered.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Adam Wight \ Principal

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