From the Principal

Dear LPS families and friends,

This term has felt like it has gone on forever, despite being only 9 weeks. We have seen a large amount of illness both in our staff and student communities. These absences bring with them stress and uncertainty and I think the holidays have arrived just in time for us all to reset.

Our staff have continued to focus on improving our teaching of mathematics, this has been a focus in our Annual Implementation Plan and the main component of our work. We have learned a lot and made many changes in a short period of time, something we hope you have noticed in the way your children talk about maths. Our efforts have been noticed by the Department with our school chosen to host a middle leaders professional learning day early next term where Mrs. Harvey will share our maths practices with staff from approximately 20 schools. This is great recognition of the work we have all done to implement these changes and improve the learning of our students.

Cookie Dough

Last newsletter I thanked the PFA for their hard work in raising funds for our school and this was on show again yesterday. We had approximately 10 PFA members here yesterday, some of them for the whole day, sorting 1600 tubs of cookie dough as well as hundreds of prizes. Some of these people took a day off from their "real" job to ensure we were able to sort and distribute your orders. This is a huge amount of work and commitment and we can not thank them enough.

Student anxiety/behaviour

Over the past couple of weeks, we have noticed an increase in students struggling to start the day. Teacher and student absences and split grades can be a challenge for some students as they are never quite sure what to expect from their day. They wonder "who will be my teacher" and "are my friends at school?" We know that the holidays can sometimes increase anxiety in students and whilst this is completely normal, it is a challenge for parents.

These are some things that we can promise you as a school:

Our teachers, principals and all other school staff have had plenty of practise in supporting upset children. If your child is unable to calm down after a period of time we will call you. I have very rarely had to do this and in almost all circumstances the child has calmed down in under 5 minutes.

You can trust us to do the best thing for your child, we truly care about them and their wellbeing.

Here are some things you can do to support your children with getting back to school after the holidays. These steps may be enough for some students to be perfectly ok, for those that are still stressed and possibly even upset on the return to school, it is ok, we will get through it together.

Get back into the school-day routine– waking up, eating and going to bed at regular times.
Get your child involved in planning out their lunches and snacks for the first week back.
For anxious kids, plenty of detail can be calming. Talk through the steps of getting to their classroom: talk to them about where they will be dropped off and where they will be picked up.
Stick to familiar routines as much as possible. Try to have a calm evening the night before the return to school and allow more time to settle before bedtime if your child is feeling excited or nervous about school.
Help your child pack their bag the night before. A visual checklist can help them remember what they need to take. Layout their clothes so everything’s ready for the morning.
Allow some extra time to get ready on day one so you’re not rushing.
Don’t wait around once your child has left you. Often a child that is doing ok will start to worry if you haven’t left. It can make them feel like there is something to be concerned about.
Remember….your anxiety is your anxiety and not theirs!

Have a great break and we will see you in the new term.

Adam Wight, Principal