FROM THE PRINCIPAL

TERM 1 

French Visitors to LHS

Last Wednesday we bid farewell to our visitors from our French sister school  le Lycée Darchicourt. The students had a wonderful time learning about Australia and it's culture.  Many expressed that they were very sad to be leaving their host family.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the families who hosted one (or more) of the students while they were with us.  The program wouldn’t be a success without your kindness and hospitality. I know that life long friendships have been made and that it has given so many of our students the valuable experience of learning about another culture.

This month, a group of our students will be heading to France on a reciprocal visit. We look forward to hearing about their adventures.

This program would not go ahead without an enormous organisational effort.  My sincere thanks to the teachers involved and in particular, to Head of Languages Kelly Farrell, who was working around the clock to ensure a successful time was had by all.

Three Way Conferences – Tuesday March 10

Bookings will open this week on Compass to enable parents/carers to attend the upcoming Three Way Conferences held on, Tuesday March 10.

Sessions begin at 8.30 am.  The normal school program will not be in operation on the day, however, I strongly encourage students to attend the interviews.

This is a very important part of the reporting and feedback process. The aim of the conferences at this time of year is for information to be exchanged between parent – student – teacher so that the best learning outcomes can occur.  

Reporting and Feedback

Another important part of the reporting and feedback process are the Cycle Reports.  The first cycle is due to be released on Friday 6 March.

Please log into Compass to see how your child is progressing in relation to their effort, behaviour and approach.

Over the past years we have moved away from End of Semester Reports to ongoing continuous feedback.  Feedback is effective when it is immediate and acted on quickly.

The processes at Lilydale High School is summarised below:

We also strongly encourage parents/carers to be involved by: 

• Contacting teachers via phone or email (Compass)
• Engaging in conversations with your child about their progress
• Assisting them to be organised for class and assessments – writing them in their planner
• Creating time and space for students to study effectively at home

Lilydale and Upper Yarra Education Plan

The Lilydale and Upper Yarra Education Plan involves schools working together to improve the educational outcomes for all students in the Lilydale and Yarra Valley areas.  

Included in the plan is;

• Collaboration to improve curriculum and delivery of the curriculum
• Planning events to promote state education and capital works projects; Ours being the new Zoology Centre and Administration building

Progress is currently well on track for the end of 2020 completion date, with the new locker areas for Year 7 and 8 due for completion by the end of this term.

We are very pleased with how the students have adapted to the disruption caused by the fenced off areas in the school and thank them for their assistance.

Teaching and Learning

The Teaching and Learning program at Lilydale High is constantly reviewed and adjusted to enable students at varying levels of ability, to expand their skills and knowledge and experience success.

Teachers work collaboratively to create tasks and link assessment to them. The assessments provide feedback on both knowledge and skills to students. This occurs in class throughout the unit of work (formative assessment) and at the end of the unit, sometimes with a test, oral presentation, or product that is produced (summative assessment).

The discussion with students is always in relation to what they need to do to improve and conversations about the importance of the effort that they put into the task. Teachers examine individual data of students and aim to have each student progress from their starting data point over the course of the semester.

Please keep an eye on Compass for regular feedback in relation to your child’s progress and don’t hesitate to contact teachers or coordinators if you have any concerns or require clarification.  

Shopping Precinct

A reminder that the Lilydale Marketplace is out of bounds for students travelling to and from school, unless in the company of a parent/carer.

There are a number of issues that arise when students loiter in the area and we are finding that some students are late to school. Please assist us in ensuring that students avoid this area.

Mobile phones, Lockers and Uniform

Thank you to everyone for ensuring locks are secured on lockers, mobile phones are locked away and correct uniform is being worn. We can get on with the business of learning when these things are a ‘non issue.’

Wendy Powson

Principal