From the Principal

Dear LPS Families and Friends,

This is our last full newsletter for 2025, there will be one in the last week but it will be a short one.

I want to thank everyone for their flexibility and support this week with the rescheduling of our Xmas Carols. Decisions like that give me sleepless nights, especially when I knew our backup date wasn't a great option either. I was so proud of our students and staff and their ability to switch to a new plan and make it work despite the heat. Thank you!

The Xmas Carols is my favourite night each year, one where our community comes together to celebrate. There are many challenges for our families each year, as in any community there are times when we are in conflict with each other and I am truly grateful for events like our Xmas Carols where there is a real sense of joy and community.

In early 2025 we will be introducing a new evening event for the community. This will involve bringing us all together to welcome in the new school year with lots of fun activities for students. We will share more as it becomes available, including a date to put in your calendars.

2024 has been a huge year for us at LPS. Our staff has done a power of new learning and transferred this to classrooms. Our students haven't missed a beat in adapting to the new ways of learning or to The Pegasus Way, our behaviour routines.  I can confidently say that our classrooms and corridors are more settled with fewer distractions and as such students are able to spend more time on learning.

We have introduced some new practices this year around a concept called Daily Review (also known as spaced retrieval). These practices support students in remembering learned concepts. I think both educators and parents have been frustrated and confused at times as to why students can learn something and show you that they know it, only to forget it almost immediately. We are taking action to remedy this.

Next Tuesday students will find out their classes for 2025, including their teachers. The creation of classes is something that takes many hours and is very carefully thought through. Teachers and leaders spend time considering:

• the needs of individual students
• the strengths of teachers
• friendships (both positive and negative)
• student separations
• and also potential friendships

There are always students who are disappointed at not being with 1 particular friend or a teacher that they had their mind made up on. What we ask is that you trust that we have considered everything. The disappointment that students feel on Tuesday is very unlikely to last all year, and in most cases is gone by the time we finish. Moving students once we have created classes is almost impossible as it impacts:

• your child's friends
• class numbers
• and is often in conflict with separations in other rooms

We are currently in the process of wrapping up 2024 and planning for 2025. I look forward to sharing our 2025 goals with you at the beginning of the new year. For now, I hope you can enjoy the final 2 weeks of school and the craziness of the pre-Xmas rush. 

Adam Wight \  Principal