From the Principal

Dear LPS Families and Friends,

We are a community

Last Saturday I accompanied my son to his basketball game at the State Basketball Centre. Whilst there, I was reminded of the fact that we are part of a community and there is an interconnectedness to this.

As I entered the stadium I said "hello" to some past parents and students of our school. When I arrived at the court I said "hi" to some current parents and students as they waited to start their game and watched a couple of ex-students who were playing on the court. As my son's game started, I noticed that there was a referee at the stadium who was an ex-student and they were umpiring a game where there were a couple of other ex-students playing. A current student came and sat next to me and we chatted whilst the games went on.

As my son's game progressed I noticed a coach who was very loud, and I would say aggressive, in the way he spoke to his players, yelling and often berating them if they made mistakes or instructing them to play differently. As a parent, I found it uncomfortable to hear how this person spoke to young people and in my opinion, it doesn't matter that they are a coach.

With lots of young people around and many adults watching, the only person who addressed the coach's behaviour was the referee who was recently a student at our school. What dawned on me as I watched is the part we all play in educating our students, your children, in how to treat people and to manage our emotions. There is a need for us all to think about what we expect and will tolerate in society and how we will address this. I would hate to think that this group of young people will grow up to think that it's appropriate to yell at people in order to communicate. Or that acting in an intimidating or aggressive manner is how you get what you want, whether it is in sport or life.

2023 Fundraising

Last year through the hard work of the PFA and your generous support of our fundraising, we were able to support our new STEM program through funding for new resources for coding. Mrs Chamberlain and Mrs Adams have been doing a lot of research and investigation to try and ensure your money is well spent on resources that will support our program and be engaging for students. I am pleased to let you know that we are soon to order sets of Lego Education's Spike kits.

To learn a bit more about Spike, click the links below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsoD6jpedxI

https://spike.legoeducation.com/

2024 Fundraising

During term 1, Mrs Campion (Business Manager) and I have met with a number of contractors to look at the soccer pitch and what needs to be done to level and replace the current surface. I am very excited to let you know that our plan is to have this work done early next year, either during the Xmas break or potentially the term 1 holidays. 

This is a costly exercise and also logistically a challenge as it will take up to a week, with heavy machinery required. Timetabling work such as this needs to consider whole school events, student safety and impact on learning therefore we will be trying to avoid doing this during the term.

PFA fundraising for 2024 will be going towards the upgrade of the soccer pitch, with a target of $30,000, this will be offset with funds from the school budget. On upcoming PFA fundraising brochures, you will notice a "fundraising thermometer" showing our progress towards the $30,000 target. We are very fortunate to have such an active PFA and supportive families, as this project would not be possible without locally raised funds. Thank you!

2025 Prep Enrolments

2025 Prep enrolments are now open. The Department of Education and Training has released a new state-wide Prep digital enrolment and timeline and this timeline advises families when and how to enrol their child into Prep at a Victorian government primary school. Enrolments are now open, please click here for the registration link and to complete the enrolment application. 

Enrolment timeline: 

● Submit an enrolment form for Prep by Friday 26th July 2024 

● You will be notified of the outcome of your application on Monday 29th July

● When you receive an offer of placement, you should accept the offer by Friday 23rd August 2024. You can accept only one placement offer.

Have a brilliant weekend!

Adam Wight | Principal