Bring a Special Friend Open Day

Our school was full of smiling faces last week as we opened our doors and welcomed special friends into lessons. Our students were keen to showcase their learning and to get involved in some activities with their special friends. The positive comments from visitors was lovely to hear and share with our school community. We were treated to a delicious morning tea and thoroughly enjoyed a sneak preview of a few musical items from our school musical. Many thanks to everyone who came along and enjoyed the day's activities. We are all very proud of our students and our school.

Community Rewards

Our School Captains, Bianca Monson, Pat Morris, and Charles Kerrison-King attended the Michael's IGA community presentations last week and received a cheque for $1510 for our school. We are very lucky indeed to have such wonderful community support. Many thanks to Michael's IGA for the opportunity they provide each year and their support of our school too.

War on Waste

Jack Silcock and Clancy Jelbart were up early last Wednesday to enjoy a special "WAR ON WASTE" breakfast event. They met Craig Racusell and heard all about strategies to reduce waste in our schools.

Clancy was also interviewed on ABC Gippsland radio and did a marvellous job answering questions clearly and thoughtfully. He was very entertaining!

Jack and Clancy, along with a number of other passionate students, are leading the charge to make improvements at school and to get everyone disposing of their rubbish into the correct bins: food scraps for composting, paper and plastics for recycling and rubbish into the garbage. They will be suggesting ideas and working with all students to make improvements with the aim of greatly reducing our waste at school. The first suggestion is to introduce 'Waste free Wednesdays'. This will require students to pack their food in reusable containers and / or to take home any packaging. Stay tuned for more information about the War on Waste!

School Spectacular

Our students in Years 5 & 6 again headed into town for their second rehearsal day for the State School Spectacular Show. There is certainly excitement building and lots of media coverage as the show date draws closer. We are really looking forward to seeing our students perform.

Loch Primary School is Growing

We have again had inquiries about our beautiful school and parents requesting to enrol their children. A comment I hear time and time again is how wonderful our school community is and how supportive we are of students and their families. Our staff team are dedicated, passionate and highly skilled educators and are very proud of the culture and learning at Loch.

As we have grown in enrolment numbers over the past 24 months I have had many new families provide positive feedback about our school. The areas most often mentioned are:

amazing teachers who go above and beyond for their students
range of learning programs on offer
variety of opportunities for all students
literacy programs
extra support for students who need help

It is very affirming to receive such feedback as we do become accustomed to our "normal" and can forget just lucky we are.

I would like to thank those families who participated in the recent Parent Opinion Survey and look forward to sharing the results from this survey with our community. This data assists us with planning, decision making and gives us priority areas to focus on for improvement.

We have an open door policy and encourage parents to come in and talk to us at any stage - Don't wait for a survey. We do like to hear positive feedback but are very willing to listen to concerns and find ways to resolve any issues together. It is always best to be proactive when there are concerns rather than let worries fester and become large issues. Our team values the relationship we have with our families and works hard to be approachable, compassionate and understanding.

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCDSSD)

Each year I am required to collect and report data about students at our school who receive extra support for learning. These supports can be:

Quality differentiated teaching practices
Supplementary Adjustments: a need at specific times
Substantial Adjustments: Regularly provided to address significant impact of student's disability
Extensive Adjustments: essential measures are required at all times and are highly individualised.

Loch Primary School has a positive reputation for providing quality support to students who have learning disabilities and difficulties. Our teaching team has spent considerable time over the past few years building their knowledge and skills and increasing their effectiveness at supporting students with individual needs. Recently all staff attended professional Learning "Learning Difficulties Including Dyslexia" and further work and learning in this space is occurring on a regular basis.

All of our students are special individuals and our team take care to ensure that they are able to set high expectations which take into account the learning and social and emotional needs of all students. Often students with learning difficulties present with a range of additional issues related to emotional regulation, behaviour and attention.

Sometimes our students outwardly appear to be being "naughty" or 'defiant' when in actual fact they are struggling with processing information, feelings and regulating their flight, fight and freeze responses.

All of our students are learning how to behave and all of them will at some stage make poor decisions and find themselves in challenging situations. All of our students require support, encouragement and opportunities to develop their skills.

When you have an understanding of the different learning difficulties and the associated challenges, it is easier to have compassion and show greater patience with these students. This knowledge also informs the thinking and decisions behind our behaviour management and education practices and processes and why we have implemented 'Play is the Way' as our philosophy.

To help build awareness and understanding in our community I have included a page in the newsletter on learning difficulties to help all families to understand the learning needs of many of our students. Over the next few newsletters I will include a range of information about learning difficulties and disabilities and I encourage you all to read this information.

Reminders for Parents

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.

Minute to Win It

A special evening of fun has been organised for students and their special dads, grandads, uncles and other significant adults for this Thursday evening. (Mum's can meet at the Loch Wine Bar for a social catch up - please RSVP to the office)

Arts Showcase

This year our Arts Showcase will be held in Term 3 on Wednesday 5th September. This annual event is always a delight with visual art displays and student performances. Kids are already excited and getting themselves sorted. Congratulations to Michaela Richards for her stunning art work which has been selected as this year's showcase piece and appears on our posters.

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.

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

Staffing News

Mrs Melanie Davidge will soon be leaving us to go on maternity leave and enjoy the arrival of her baby. We are currently interviewing for a teacher to replace Mrs Davidge in the Year 1/2 classroom and will notify students and families as soon as the new teacher is confirmed.

Mrs Lyn Leppin, our Business Manager, has announced that she will be resigning her position at the end of this term. After 32 years of service to Loch Primary School, Lyn has decided to move onto a new journey. We wish her the best for her future.

Provocation

Ms Tracey King

Principal

Community News

Trivia Night

Nyora Cricket Club