Principal's Message
Happy Education Week!
‘Move, Make, Motivate’ – is the theme of 2023 Education Week. What a theme! It reminds us all, that learning and education is an active process. I’m quite often chatting away about how ‘Learning is doing’. Children moving, designing, making and motivated to grow, improving and sharing with others. Miss Nyman, our Inclusion Leader, has also been spreading the word amongst staff about increasing our students' ‘opportunities to respond (OTR)’. This ensures that each child is engaged in the lesson, contributing and receiving feedback. This theme is timely for our work at Launch.
This week we have held:
- An open afternoon on Monday afternoon in which current and prospective families were invited to tour our school and complete activities in classrooms.
- A Teddy Bears’ picnic on Tuesday afternoon that was well attended by our prospective 2024 Prep students and their families.
- Grandparents Day celebration on Thursday in which we had a great turn out of our grandparents, who enjoyed a morning tea, performances and activities with their grandchildren in classrooms. Thanks all for coming along!
- Friday will see a special assembly held from 9:00 – 10:00am. Everyone is invited to come down and see our student performances and a special circus show.
Mother’s Day Event
A big thank you to all our Mums, Grandmothers and special people in our students’ lives who came along last Thursday afternoon for our Mother’s Day event. It was lovely to have the opportunity to share in an afternoon tea and then welcome you into classrooms. We hope you enjoy your mug and your special Mother’s Day stall gifts organised by our Parents and Friends Committee. Thanks P and F!
Heat Incursion
Our Heat Incursion has been postponed due to the presenter contracting COVID. Our apologies that this planned celebration for Education Week could not go ahead this week. We look forward to rebooking for a date super soon and will communicate this to families via COMPASS.
Yellow Arrow Leadership Day – Year 6 Leaders
Next week our school captains and vice captains will attend Upper Yarra Secondary College to participate in the Yellow Arrow Leadership Day with other local student leaders. Thank you to Upper Yarra Secondary and Yarra Ranges Council for providing the opportunity to our students.
Ultimate Frisbee Program
Beginning in Week Six of this term our students will take part in a weekly Ultimate Frisbee Program as a part of Physical Education. Please ensure that student wear suitable footwear such as runners on Tuesdays (Prep – Year Two) and Fridays (Year Three – Six).
Poisonous Mushrooms
This advice follows the health alert issued by the Victorian Department of Health Chief Health Officer on Wednesday 12 April 2023 about the danger of consuming potentially poisonous mushrooms, particularly death cap mushrooms and yellow staining mushrooms. These mushrooms commonly grow in both metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria. You can view images of the 2 poisonous mushrooms on the Better Health Channel's Mushroom poisoning webpage.
The toxin in death cap mushrooms remains even after cooking, peeling or drying. If ingested, poisoning can cause nausea, stomach cramps and/or long-term liver damage resulting in death.
Yellow staining mushrooms look similar to field mushrooms commonly found in supermarkets but can be harmful if consumed. Symptoms experienced after consumption include nausea, stomach cramps, vomiting, and diarrhoea. The severity of symptoms varies with the amount eaten.
Whilst we regularly check our school grounds for mushrooms to ensure student safety, we are aware that Jadodade Park is home to many species of mushrooms. If your children walk to school, especially through the park area please talk with them about the dangers of mushrooms.
Mobile Phone and Wearable Devices Policy
We encourage students to wear watches during the day to help them tell the time and develop independence. However, with new technology comes new challenges and with many smart watches, communication with others outside school can become an issue during the day. Phones and smart watches are great for safety and communication with parents and family before and after school, however, the use of such devices is during the day, whilst students are at school, is unnecessary. If parents need to contact their child during the day, you are always welcome to contact our office who will then pass on a message. Watches with a SIM card for messaging or calling are mobile devices and hence must be turned off and left at our office with Audrey during school hours. More information can be found in our Mobile Phones Policy on our website.
Student Attitudes to School Survey
Students in Year 4, 5 and 6 will be participating in the 2023 Student Attitudes to School Survey (AtoSS) this year. We value student voice as a means to improving student engagement, wellbeing and quality instruction and are conducting a survey to find out what your child thinks of their school. The AtoSS is an annual student survey offered by the Department of Education to assist schools to gain an understanding of students' perceptions and experience of school. Students will be asked about their thoughts and feelings in relation to their school, their learning, peer relationships, resilience, bullying, health and wellbeing, physical activity, and life in general. This year, the AtoSS will be conducted at Launching Place Primary School during Term 2. What are the benefits? Young people enjoy having a say! This survey has been running for nearly 20 years and is invaluable in helping schools understand student views to plan programs and activities to improve your child's schooling experience. The survey responses also help the Department of Education understand how student’s learning experiences can be improved. Candice Nyman and I plan to conduct the survey with children so that we have consistency in how it is delivered across our school. Please contact the school if you have any questions about this survey.
See you around our place!
Virtual Tour
Laura Caddy
Principal