Term Three is Flying!

Another couple of busy weeks have flown past and we are now heading into the final days of Term 3. Students have been involved in a range of special incursions and events which have held their engagement and helped to build our community spirit further. Please see our calendar dates page for the remaining weeks of term.

Our Parents & Friends Association have been working extremely hard with a number of events organised and underway. Hot lunches have been popular and the Loch Foodies have enjoyed some delicious lunches together in various local spots. Our 'Out of Dough' pie orders arrived to everyone's delight and our team of industrious parents also provided a terrific Fathers' Day stall and raffle for our students. Many thanks to all of the parents involved. Events such as these really do show how wonderful our parent community is.

Arts Showcase

Wednesday evening saw our community fill the Loch Hall and enjoy another outstanding Arts Showcase. Our students were delightful in their performances and took great pride in their beautiful art works. Congratulations to our Arts Captains, Charli and Bailey, for hosting the evening, they did a marvellous job!. Talents were aplenty and every student who performed is to be acknowledged for their courage and determination to succeed. We took the opportunity to recognise the efforts and work of teachers Kerry Tregoweth, Wendi Rahilly and Meredith Birnie who all make tremendous contributions to the opportunities provided to our students in both the Visual and Performing Arts areas.

Bert & Ernie's Arrival

Bert and Ernie, our new calves, arrived and quickly took off exploring their new paddock. The Prep / One class came out to meet our new calves with excitement.

Sincere thanks to Louise and Paul Sherar who have generously donated both calves to the school. Bert & Ernie will help keep the grass down in our paddock and will be sold next year.

Year 6 Basketball

Congratulations to both our girls and boys teams who played basketball last week representing our school. The boys played hard and gave it their best shot against some very tough competition but were beaten. Our girls made it to the semi final but missed out on a win. All students gave their best and were great team players. Many thanks to Wendi Rahilly and Jody Achterdenbosch for coaching and to Charli Hall for umpiring. Well done to everyone!

Congratulations Levi

Congratulations to Levi Perkins who recently placed 7th out of 50 in the Long Island District Golf Competition. Levi is dedicated to his golf and trains six days a week rain, hail or shine. His skills are developing at a high standard and he now has a handicap. Levi will be competing in the Regional Finals in November. Great effort Levi!

State School Spectacular

Our students will spend Thursday and Friday in rehearsals ready for the State School Spectacular Performances on Saturday. This will be an amazing experience for every one of them. The show will be televised later in the year and I encourage families to watch with their children and celebrate the many talents of our Victorian State School students. Good luck to Paige, Bailey, Chloe, Aidyn, Charli, Ollie, Flynn, Bianca, Jess and Jas.

Education Support Staff Week

Last week was Education Support Staff Week. We recognised our ES staff at our Arts Showcase and enjoyed a special morning tea to celebrate these amazing people. Our ES team are dedicated to our students and give above and beyond on a daily basis working hard to help make sure everyone is cared for and given the assistance they need. Sincere thanks and recognition to:

Anne Kerr, Dayna LIghtowler, Kerry Tregoweth, Wendi Rahilly, Hannah Blogg, Shareena Boyd, Megan LeServe, Kerry Harvey & Lyn Leppin.

Staffing Update

We welcome Mrs Daylene Bolch and Mrs Jodie Olden to our team this term. Daylene will be teaching the Year 1/2 class and will replace Mrs Melanie Davidge when she goes on maternity leave. Jodie Olden will take on the role of Business Manager.

We wish Mrs Melanie Davidge all the best as she makes final plans for the arrival of her baby. We will look forward to hearing of her exciting news in early Term Four.

Mrs Lyn Leppin will be heading off on Long Service Leave and a well deserved holiday before she officially resigns in Term Four. After 32 years of service to Loch Primary School, Mrs Leppin's shoes will certainly be hard to fill. She has made significant contributions to the Loch school community and has seen many changes during her time as Business Manager. On behalf of our school community she is thanked for her dedication, commitment and hard work. She has certainly touched the lives of many families and been a positive influence in the development of our school. We wish Lyn all the best for her new adventures.

Inclusion Funding

In term 3, 2018 all Victorian government schools have received $4,800 in inclusion boost funding. The funding is to help refresh inclusive education policies and practices. The inclusion boost will help schools embed the Education for all policy. The policy articulates the expectations and vision for inclusive education for students with disabilities and additional needs.

The Department is committed to embedding inclusive education in all school environments for students with disabilities and additional needs. All Victorians, irrespective of the school they attend, where they live or their social or economic status, should have access to high quality education.

An inclusive education system enables all students to be welcomed, accepted and engaged so that they can participate, achieve and thrive in school life. Inclusive education:

ensures that students with disabilities are not discriminated against and are accommodated to participate in education on the same basis as their peers
acknowledges and responds to the diverse needs, identities and strengths of all students
occurs when students with disabilities and additional needs are treated with respect and are involved in making decisions about their education
benefits students of all abilities in the classroom and fosters positive cultural change in attitudes and beliefs about disability, in and beyond the school environment
contributes to positive learning, engagement and well being outcomes for students.

Teachers have started this body of work by completing the new online learning modules about Disabilities and schools. Teachers will be working towards reviewing our current policies, processes and practices throughout Terms Three and Four.

As promised in the previous newsletter, I will be including information each issue about different learning disabilities and difficulties. This is to provide all families with clear information and to develop understandings, awareness and of the needs of many of our students.

Included in this newsletter is some information about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Reminders for Parents

School Uniforms

The School Uniform Store will open again next Tuesday 18th September and remain open until October 19th. The next delivery will then arrive mid November.

https://onlineshop.fcw.com.au/lochps

Inventors Expo

Join us in the Brolga Room to bear witness to the creative genius of our kids. Come and celebrate their hard work and awesome ideas on Wednesday 19th September between 2.00 - 3.00pm. Please note the change of time.

Enrolments for 2019

We are calling for all enrolments for 2019 to be confirmed as soon as possible. If you know anyone who is intending on enrolling their child please remind them to complete their forms and return to the school office as soon as possible.

Loch Primary School Roma's Op Shop is calling for volunteers and donations. If you are interested in assisting with the OP Shop in any way please let us know via the office.

Whole School Musical

Our end of year musical is confirmed for

Friday 14th December.

Mark this date in your calendars as it will be a fabulous night that you will not want to miss! This evening will also involve the presentation of end of year awards and will replace our Celebration Evening event.

Curriculum Day

Loch Primary School will have a Curriculum Day on Monday 15th October when staff spend a day with Dr Lorraine Hammond on Explicit Instruction.

Final Assembly

We will hold our final assembly for the term on Friday 21st September at 1.30pm.

Official dismissal will be 2.30pm

Please read the 'IMPORTANT INFORMATION page for PARENTS' to keep up to date with news from the school office.

Provocation

Tracey King

Principal

Student of the Week Awards

TERM 3

Week 7

Week 8