News

Coronavirus Update for Schools & Families

Below are some helpful documents regarding the Coronavirus from the Tasmanian Government Department of Health.  You can also find more information on their website:

https://www.dhhs.tas.gov.au/publichealth/communicable_diseases_prevention_unit/infectious_diseases/coronavirus

Life goes on at LCS

It's been encouraging to visit classes recently and find that teachers and students are not only coping with all the media news but also that smiles, laughter and fun are still being had.  A feeling of normality has been kept in our school culture.  This is being supported and promoted by all staff at our school and we sincerely thank all our teachers who continue to present a creative education program that is engaging to our students. 

Thanks also to our team of wonderful aides who work in the background, supporting our teaching staff every day by providing help as needed in and out of class - they are awesome!

Notice from CommBank School Banking

The health, safety and well being of our communities and our people is our first priority. Due to the rapidly developing situation with coronavirus, School Banking has been temporarily paused from 20 March 2020 until the start of Term 2.  Please don’t bring your deposit book with your weekly banking into school and we will notify you when banking will recommence.

Barrow go Back to Back - Carnival Report

Mr Ryan Bosker

Our rescheduled swimming carnival was held on Friday 13th March. While the weather was better than when we cancelled, we still had some rain later in the day. The morning session was lovely with sun breaking through on a very calm morning, and then the rain came!

The mix of weather didn’t dampen the spirit of the day with participation rates almost identical to 2019. A special shout out to the Yr. 7 and 8 cohorts who had the best participation out of all the Year levels and really embraced the spirit of the day.  Barrow clinched their second Swimming title in a row finishing on 2267 points. Melaleuca finished 2nd on 2148 and Tamar finished 3rd on 2013.

A special mention to all the staff and our volunteers, Narelle Howell, Jack Sladden and Julie Sladden who all braved the conditions to help the carnival run smoothly. In fact, we were so efficient that we ran ahead of time and were able to schedule an extra team swim as well as the big bomb competition for all grade levels and still finish ahead of time. The pack up was also done in record time, thanks to some great teamwork while the rain was probably at its heaviest.

A special shout out to Julie Sladden who had been officiating at these carnivals for as long as I can remember and now that her youngest son, Tom has competed in his last carnival it means she has finished this chapter as a parent in the school community. That being said, I have already let her know that she is more than welcome to make a guest appearance into the future!! Thanks Julie for your great contribution to LCS swimming carnivals over the years.

There were some outstanding individual performances on the day with 10 records tumbling. Tom Sladden was again the standout swimmer at the carnival, breaking a massive 5 records (33m Freestyle, Breaststroke, Backstroke, Butterfly and 66m Breaststroke). Well done to Kiara Sturdy (Yr. 9 - 66m Breaststroke) and Molly Farmer (Yr. 8 - 66m Breaststroke) who were the other individual swimmers to break records. 3 records also fell in the 4 x 33m Freestyle Relay events (Yr. 7 Boys, Yr. 8 Boys, Yr. 8 Girls).

Congratulations to our Grade champions listed below:

Congratulations to our 2020 record breakers:

Salubrious Sladden - thoughts from Mr Ryan Bosker

As I reflect on the last 6 years, it is appropriate to mention what Tom Sladden has achieved over the years at LCS Swimming carnivals. As carnival coordinator throughout these years, it has been an honour and privilege to witness this amazing swimmer rewrite the LCS swimming record books.

Congratulations, Tom, on your achievements. Your name is etched in the history here at LCS and you can be very proud of using your God given skills to achieve such heights. Through this success, Tom has been an outstanding example of sportsmanship and been humble in victory, never seeking the accolades or praise for his achievements. He has also been able to use these skills as he has represented LCS at the NSATIS swimming carnivals.

I’m a bit of a fan of statistics so I need to share just how amazing Tom’s achievements have been. He currently holds all the records in the record book, except one! That is 25 records! Interestingly the only record in the book that he doesn’t hold is the 66m Freestyle. Tom's brother, Jack, set this record back in 2017 and Tom was only .10 seconds away from the 66m Freestyle record this year!!

25 out of 26 records is totally amazing and certainly an achievement worth celebrating! Well done Tom! Absolutely brilliant.

Tom currently holds 25 Records (out of 26) in LCS Swimming Record Book

West Tamar Youth Strategy Road Show at LCS

It's a privilege to have Youth Development Officer, Andy Beeston from the West Tamar Council at our school last week. Andy is promoting the West Tamar Youth Strategy Road Show which focuses on the involvement of youth in decision making around the needs of the West Tamar Region. Our Student Representative Council had the opportunity to chat with Andy and more students were able to connect with him throughout the day.   What a great opportunity for our students at LCS to share their thoughts about our area and understand the many decisions that our local council has to make.   Thanks  West Tamar Council for this great opportunity! 

Crochet Hooks needed

Mrs Reid has put out a call for some crochet hooks for her class to use now and into the future.  If you have any lying around that you no longer use, or maybe you know someone who does, she would be more than happy to take them off your hands.  Donations gratefully accepted at our office.

Canberra Civics Education and the Compass Conference 2020

Recently, our SRC Executive students were given the opportunity to visit significant sights in Canberra and attend the annual

4-day Compass conference from Friday 28th February to Tuesday 3rd March.  It is important that our emerging young leaders learn how they can make a difference in civic life.  The leadership conference organisers proposed that young people may struggle to see how their faith applies to their daily lives.  According to the Compass team, it is common for students to feel unprepared to be a Christian influence because they haven’t quite learned how the Gospel can impact all aspects of our daily lives. The conference ‘aims to address this disconnect by looking at how the Bible shapes our worldviews, and by wrestling with the implications of the Gospel upon issues of culture and society.’  Compass challenged our students to live as leaders who faithfully translate the Gospel into the culture around them.  Learning more about how to engage in civic life and be a positive influence was rewarding.

At the conference, powerful sessions about the Biblical themes of creation, fall and redemption, encouraged us to wrestle with how our faith and life connect.  We learned from gifted teachers who ensured attendees were thoroughly immersed in great forums and discussion groups where ideas were explored with other young leaders from around Australia.  New friendships were formed and these personal connections will be important for our young people as they become the next generation of leaders, shaping the culture of our Nation.  

While in Canberra, we made the most of the opportunity to learn more about how people can get involved in shaping our political and civic landscape at the Museum of Australian Democracy.  We saw an excellent exhibition about how Australians have been heard through different protests, petitions and lobbying.  Students also participated in a role play to see how the Government debated and voted for conscription in the First World War. 

We also visited the War Memorial and had the privilege to watch the changing of the guard and witness the laying of wreaths in honour of those who died in various wars.  We spent time looking at the personal stories and heroic feats of several Tasmanians like the man often described as the ‘most decorated infantry soldier of the British Empire during the First World War’, Lieutenant Colonel Harry Murray VC—born and raised in Evandale. Also seen was the more recent recipient of a Victoria Cross, Corporal Cameron Baird, who received a medal for his actions in Afghanistan in 2013. 

At Parliament House we were privileged to watch Question Time and had an opportunity to meet with a Tasmanian Senator, Mrs Wendy Askew.  The Senator encouraged students to look for opportunities to help lead and serve others in our own community.  Question time was dominated by the Government’s response to the Covid-19 virus – a serious issue impacting us all.  

An opportunity to learn more about significant Australian people and historic milestones was experienced at the National Museum of Australia.  Some of best exhibitions showcased our Indigenous culture and we enjoyed the opportunity to watch footage of the ‘Sorry’ speech. 

After 5 full days in Canberra, there are many personal reflections students could share about the things learned and how they were positively impacted.  Jasmine shared how much she enjoyed the time to reflect on how great God’s love for us is.  ‘The Trinity is the complete reflection of love with the Father giving us His son to die and leaving us the Holy Spirit’.   Shedrian learned that the ‘only way to change culture is to create culture’ and therefore we can create a culture in which Jesus is honoured.  Ideas about leadership were all based on knowing our part on the Biblical narrative.  We have the ‘good news’ that the world needs!  Some compelling ideas were shared in the Q&A sessions. One poignant moment was hearing how important it is for people to base their ideas about ‘identity’ in Biblical truth.  Our ‘pop-culture’ advocates that our sense of who we are is fluid and self-directed – a distortion of the truth.    

The SRC Executive members are Jasmine Poole, Shedrian Buist, Tom Sladden, Esther Gbasie, James Ferguson, James Turner and Georgia Worthington.  All who attended are grateful for the opportunity to learn more about civics and citizenship and our roles as active participants and young leaders.  We acknowledge the generous support of the Australian Government who contributed $200 per student towards the cost of travel to and from Canberra. 

Mrs Julie Ferguson

SRC Coordinator

Term 1 Update from Mrs Niebuur

Head of Junior School

This first term of 2020 has certainly not been the term we had expected, especially in this last week. However, I can report that the start to the 2020 year began well and we have been able to achieve some good progress. Our classes have settled well into their new spaces, and into the routines of the year. The work around the school continues, with a clean-up in the 2-6 play area, a rock wall that students can clamber up on, and plans to move the vegetable garden beds across as added learning opportunities. The Daily PE program each morning sees our students beginning each day with energising activities, and ready to settle into their classroom routines.

Thank you to all of the parents who came to the Parent Information Evening to listen to the class teachers explain their goals and expectations for the year. There was a good turnout of parents at that event, as well as the Kinder Welcome BBQ. Our partnership with parents is highly valued.

Congratulations to our swimming champions for 2020:

Girls: Josie Strating (Year 3), Sarah Beasley (Year 4), Christal Yussof  (Year 5), Henriette Lourens (Year 6)

Boys: Lewis Bosker (Year 3), Harrison Stokes  (Year 4), Samuel Strating  (Year 5), Eden Myburgh (Year 6)

Also, congratulations to our team who represented LCS at the Interschool Swimming Carnival on the 12th March.  LCS came in 5th place, which was a very good result.  Most importantly, they represented the school in an exemplary manner. Well done team!

Our Year 6 students thoroughly enjoyed their leadership training at the Grip Conference, and were challenged in their thinking about how they can contribute to the school community.  West Tamar Youth Road Trip (a West Tamar Council initiative) visited our school this week, encouraging our students to become involved in planning and ideas to develop the local area.

Our Junior School students have enjoyed some extra sport clinics with the Rangers Soccer Club and North Melbourne Football Club as reported in our last Hearld. Our involvement in physical activity each week at school has qualified us to receive a $500 gift voucher for additional sport gear through the Move Well Eat Well Program.

Unfortunately, due to the COVID19 situation, a number of our planned events for the remainder of this term have been cancelled. These include the 5/ 6 Interschool sport roster, all class excursions, the Year 4 visits to Regis Homes in Legana, Grandparents and Friends morning and Easter Assembly. Our usual fortnightly assemblies are also on hold until further notice.  LCS will not be participating in any ANZAC events this year.

We trust that God has this situation in His mighty hands and will bring about His purposes. We have a faithful Father and we look to Him as He guides us in the days ahead.

Position Vacant - check out our website for more info

Year 9 Canberra Camp Report

On Monday March 24th, our year 9 cohort travelled to Canberra for a week of exploration and appreciation regarding our National Government and history. This trip included visits to Parliament House, The Australian War Memorial and The Museum of Australian Democracy as part of our Civics and Citizenship program. Students were given the opportunity to reflect on the history of our nation, its past and present governance and their role as a citizen through the lens of a biblical world view.

An important aspect of any camp is the personal development of students through being away from the comfort of their families and for some, the first experience of interstate travel. This year’s introduction of The Rite Journey program contributed to the building of strong friendships and a sense of community within their year group, a theme that will continue throughout the rest of the year.

Other activities included The National Zoo, Questacon, the Big Splash Waterpark, tenpin bowling and of course, shopping. A huge thanks to all students for fantastic engagement and behaviour; to attending staff for leading with excellence and to LCS for the opportunity for this experience.

In addition, the Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist the school in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government is contributing funding of $200 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion. We would like to thank the Australian Government for their support of this programme.

LCS Vimeo

Did you know that our school has a vimeo channel where you can see the many films our Visual Production & Design Team create about our school community?  Vimeo is a great way to show prospective families more about our school as it allows the opportunity to explore school areas and programs at leisure.  You can click on the Vimeo logo on our website, view some creations on our Facebook page or use the link below to see all of the audio visuals that have been created by our team.  Below is one sample of what you can see on our page and we'd love you to follow us!

LCS Vimeo home page - click HERE