Principal's Page 

It feels like Easter is creeping up very quickly, and with only 3 more weeks of Term 1 remaining, it is a great time to reflect on how well students and teachers have started 2022. For the last two years, by week 8 of Term 1, we were either heading for a lockdown and remote learning, or were already in it! I know that I am grateful for what has been a relatively 'normal' start to the school year, and for students to have the opportunity to engage in most of the activities and milestones that they traditionally would do.  One such event was the Kayaking that I was lucky enough to attend on Friday of last week with some of our Year 6 students. The students of Launching Place Primary School are so fortunate to have the opportunity to engage in such a broad range of opportunities, particularly in the sporting field, and their commitment, skill and enthusiasm was rewarded with Launch coming 2nd overall on the day. Even though Kayaking is a solo event, the students were there as a team. Being able to be part of a team is so important for students, and as well as celebrating the victories and successes, there are valuable lessons and gains to be taken from defeat. Learning to share in the success of others, even if it means that you don't 'win' can be a tricky skill for some people to master, but something that once acquired, can make participating in competitive pursuits a much more enjoyable experience. We have all experienced losses in sports and competition, and I am sure that we have all come across people we would consider to be 'sore losers' as well as ungracious winners. The students here are so lucky that they get so many opportunities to practice showing good sportsmanship, and sharing in their peers victories. There are some quick tips on how to encourage children to share in the success of others here.

In the spirit of sharing in the success of others, it has been a highlight of my day having visits from students wanting to show me work they have done in class. They are so proud of their achievements, as am I! This week, I had some Year 4/5 students wanting to share their persuasive writing with me, trying to convince the reader to purchase a spooky house! 

Class Reps

Thank you so much to the parents who volunteered to act as class representatives. We were so pleased with the response and have a large group of willing parents. We welcome parents who are wanting to be involved in school activity, so please reach out if you are wanting to help, but are not sure in what capacity. 

NAPLAN

As you will be aware, each year, Students in Year 3 and Year 5 undertake the NAPLAN assessments. The bulk of these assessments are conducted online, apart from the Year 3 writing assessment which is still pen and paper. Some students will participate in a practice test next week, but this is simply to test if the system works, not to test the students. There are no results recorded from this, it just gives students a chance to familiarize themselves with the platform, and the style of questions. If your child is in Year 3 or 5, and you have any questions about their participation in NAPLAN, please speak with your child's teacher or Miss Nyman. 

Rapid Antigen Tests

A big thank you to those families who have continued with the surveillance testing using the Rapid Antigen Tests. We are still waiting for the latest delivery, but we should have enough to send home another pack to each child in the coming days. 

School Council

Last week, I was pleased to hold the AGM and first official meeting of the 2022 School Council. I'm thrilled to announce  the members for 2022 are -

Parent Representatives

Gemma Wynd - President

Jessica Patterson - Vice President

Anne Tinkler - Treasurer

Bronwyn Page

Melissa Jones

Emma Roberts

Simone Cichelli

DET Representatives

Brent Smith

Brydie Tatterson

Audrey Watt

Jacqui Eycken

I am looking forward to a productive year with school council, and thank both incoming and outgoing members for their service.

Environment Club

The Environment club is a thriving and active part of Launching Place PS. It is wonderful to see students caring for their school environment and it's surroundings. I am constantly blown away by the caring nature of the students here, even more so today when two lovely students came in offering me strawberries from the garden! 

That's it from me for another fortnight. Enjoy the next two weeks, everyone! 

Jess

Acting Principal