Principal's Prattle

Term Two Beginnings

The start to Term Two has certainly been busy for our students and teachers and we have a number of exciting events coming up for everyone to enjoy.

Parents & Friends Association

Our Parents & Friends Association have been very busy getting ready for our Mother's Day stall, Student Hot Lunches,   Adults Only Movie Night and a Comedy / Hypnotist Evening.  All families are encouraged to join in the fun and support our school. Please see the P&F page for further details.

Special Events for Students

Students in Years Prep - Two will enjoy a special incursion about responsible Pet Ownership this Wednesday.  Our book week activities will begin week  and will  include a book character dress up parade, book fair and activities.  A whole school excursion to the city visiting the Immigration Museum and China town is being organised to support our focus on Multicultural studies this term.  The Loch Colour Run is back and we will be sending out links to the online sponsorship in the next few days.

NAPLAN

Students in Years 3 & 5, will be involved in NAPLAN next week.  At Loch Primary School undertaking these assessment tasks are seen as part of our normal day at school and there is no huge emphasis made.  Sometimes parents feel anxiety at NAPLAN time and I ask that you take a calm approach and not share your stress or worries with your child as this can result in students feeling uncertain and more worried.

Here are some last minute tips drawn from educators who have helped calm down many a frantic parent during test week. Parents can pass them on to their children who are heading for the tests.

• Don’t make a big thing of NAPLAN.
• If your child is stressed, talk to us at school, practice relaxation strategies and techniques.
• Encourage confidence in your child by sending them off with one of these you can do it statements, depending on the situation: “give it a go”, “try your best”, “do what you can”, but also reinforce that you expect them to do their best.
• Discuss feelings or concerns: let your child know that feeling anxious is normal, show empathy and listen to their fears, concerns and worries.
• Maintain a caring and positive attitude.
• Be approachable if your child wants to discuss their fears and worries.
• Prepare your child by encouraging them to go to bed early, have breakfast, and keep their drink bottle and lunch ready.
• Help your child reach the school on time.

ACARA will release the individual student reports in August. These can help you see how well your child is picking up literacy and numeracy skills compared to students in their school and across Australia. The report can help you celebrate achievements and identify any areas for improvement. They can also serve as pointers for follow up discussions with your child’s teachers. 

Parenting Program

The Magic 1-2-3 Parenting Program is on offer again this term. This program received rave reviews last year with those attending commenting on how worthwhile and inspiring it was. I encourage all parents to attend. Registration forms are available at the office.

District Athletics

Congratulations to all of our students who competed at the District Athletics. We came away with ribbons and smiling faces.  Everyone did their very best amidst tough competition.  Special shout out to Bianca Monson who was presented with the Rick Walters Medallion;  awarded for being the fastest girl in  the 1500m out of all age groups.

Allambee Camp

Awesome kids and fantastic camp. Staff had nothing but praise for our students who were  brave, kind and cooperative. Many thanks to Ms Geerts for her organisation and to Mrs Massaro, Mr Birnie and Ms Blogg for their care of our children and willingness to go above and beyond providing a wonderful camp experience for everyone. Great job to everyone involved.

Teacher Professional Development

Mr Mark Hunter and Mrs Natalie Francis completed their MSL training last week (Multi Sensory Literacy), staff visited Bentleigh West Primary School on Curriculum Day, Ms Rachael Geerts and Mrs Benita Hughes have been  involved in another two days of the Maths Specialist Initiative and the professional development undertaken has our team introducing new strategies and approaches in their classes.  We pride ourselves on ensuring that we are delivering quality programs which have a basis in research and evidence so that we know we will be effective with our students.   We will host a visit from occupational therapist Julie Martin on Monday 14th May. Julie will spend time in each of our classrooms and will then work with teachers on the topic of handwriting. Michael Ymer, Maths Consultant, will be at Loch on Thursday 17th May and will be in classrooms modelling lessons with students and will then provide extended Professional Development with teachers.  All of our teachers are busy engaging in their own learning and fine tuning their practice and skills in delivering high quality effective lessons for all of our students. it is an exciting time at Loch Primary School.

Staffing Additions

We welcome Mr Geoff Birnie and Mrs Sarah Coolidge to our teaching team this term.  Mr Birnie will be teaching Physical Education and Mrs Coolidge will be joining the 3/4 team in the Brolga Room.  The addition to our staffing team enables Mrs Spence and Ms Geerts to take on a coaching role and work closely with teachers in the development of our maths programs.  this will see these two teachers in classroom team teaching and modelling and working alongside teachers to ensure we are meeting the needs of our students. We are extremely lucky to have been accepted into the Maths Specialist Initiative and everyone, staff and students, will benefit from the extra funding, staffing and access to professional development.

We have also welcomed Mrs Emma Dowson and Mrs Daylene Bolch who are on teacher placement  in the Year 5/6 and Year 2/3/4 classes.

Respectful Relationships

We are also a partner school with Inverloch Primary School for the Respectful Relationships Initiative and teachers will be addressing many concepts and issues regarding respectful and healthy relationships in their health lessons with students.  

The Royal Commission into Family Violence identified the critical role that schools and early childhood education have in creating a culture of respect to change the story of family violence for future generations.  In 2016, respectful relationships education became a core component of the Victorian Curriculum from Foundation to Year 12, and is being taught in all government and Catholic schools and many independent schools.  Everyone in our community deserves to be respected, valued and treated equally. We know that changes in attitudes and behaviours can be achieved when positive attitudes, behaviours and equality are embedded in our education settings.  Respectful Relationships is about embedding a culture of respect and equality across our entire community, from our classrooms to staff rooms, sporting fields, fetes and social events. This approach leads to positive impacts on student’s academic outcomes, their mental health, classroom behaviour, and relationships between teachers and students.  Together, we can lead the way in saying yes to respect and equality, and creating genuine and lasting change so that every child has the opportunity to achieve their full potential.

"Family violence is c​omplex and multifaceted but research shows that gender  

inequality is a key driver"   (VicHealth, 2007)

More than one in three Australian women aged over 18 has experienced violence since the age of 15 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012). A 2013 VicHealth study found that of Australian young people aged 16-24:

ANZAC DAY

The ANZAC service at Loch was lovely. Well done to our students who sang in our choir and to our School Captains, Patrick, Bianca and Charles, who represented our school laying a wreath on our behalf. The choir sang a special ANZAC song which was written and composed by our talented music teacher Mrs Meredith Birnie and it was just beautiful! I had goose bumps as our children sang. The lyrics and music were very moving.  Students created stained glass windows, lanterns and maps of Australia in cooperative learning groups and these were hung on the fence. It was wonderful to see so many of our community present. Many thanks to the Loch Community and to Tom Loughridge for his efforts involving our students and ensuring they were able to experience such a meaningful ANZAC day. Thank you to all parents and staff who were present supporting students.

Wise words from Tigger!

Final news for this edition is very exciting for Mrs Davidge and her family who will be adding another member later this year. Huge congratulations to Mel and her husband Travis, and boys Ethan and Xavier. Wonderful news. We love baby news at Loch!

Ms Tracey King

Principal