Principal's Report

Principal’s Report 3rd June

As you may have seen in this recent Age Newspaper article, these are challenging times in Victorian schools. On top of COVID numbers that refuse to go down, we have had a dramatic increase in flu, the cold and various other infections. Absences from both students and teachers mean that, every morning, we are doing our level best to ensure classes are properly supervised and that, as far as possible, the learning for children continues. However, with high absence numbers and constant staffing challenges, this is difficult. The daily disruptions impact across our school. We know that, due to two years of lockdown, our immune systems are down and we are more susceptible to diseases. Sheer exhaustion, stress and pressure, also make us all more likely to fall victim to illness. At a time when it seems like life should be returning to normal, in schools, we are facing more pressure than ever before. I want to take this opportunity to thank the school community for your understanding and cooperation during this period that, we hope, will soon ease. This pandemic is not over and it is more important than ever, that we continue to take measures to reduce the transmission of disease. The community’s support in this is incredibly important.

Here are just a few things to consider:

• sanitise and hand wash
• stay home and test if you show symptoms
• keep your children home if they are ill or show symptoms
• test regularly if you are a close contact and isolate if you develop symptoms
• wear a mask in high-risk environments and, for children,
• make sure they get good food and adequate sleep.

We are a strong community. We have shown this in the past, through this pandemic and now we need to redouble our efforts. We are at our best when we work together. Let’s all do our bit to minimise the risks and to get through this difficult time. We will get through this.

A lesson for our student leaders

What a great learning opportunity we had, last week, for our student leaders to be part of the media cycle and to participate in an interview and photo session with Age Education reporter, Nicole Precel. It was a very busy morning, with lots happening on the day but we had a team of our senior student leaders as well as some of our future leaders from Year 5, showing just how confident, capable and articulate they are, as they responded to Nicole’s questions about how they, and their peers, are coping at the moment. I was so very proud of the way they represented the school and how they spoke so clearly of the difficulties and stresses being experienced by, not only students from our school, but by students all across Victoria. They had an important message to convey and they delivered that message brilliantly on behalf of all Victorian students. Well done to you all!

Teddy Bear’s Picnic

On a brighter note, coming up next week is our annual Teddy Bears Picnic. It’s always a wonderful day! My Bomber Bears (below) can’t wait! They’re looking forward to meeting lots and lots of other Bears!

National Reconciliation Week and National Sorry Day

This week, across our school, we have been recognizing and learning about the significance of National Sorry Day and National Reconciliation Day. Sorry Day emanates from a National Apology by Kevin Rudd, our then Prime Minister, for the wrongs committed in our past history to our First Nations People. A framed print of the Apology Document can be viewed in our school foyer if you are interested. Reconciliation is a process in which First Nations People all over the world are involved and I have been proud to watch how this has progressed in Australia in recent years. We still have a way to go but, certainly here at Lyndhurst, we are educating a new generation of Australians who will have greater knowledge and understanding of our Indigenous past that will lead to a better future for all of us. Friday’s assembly was a small but significant sign of this progress. The children were incredibly engaged and enthusiastic, especially as our guest artist played the Didgeridoo and told Dreamtime stories. Some of our students were privileged to participate in a traditional “smoking ceremony” as we dedicated our Indigenous Garden at the front of the school. Many thanks go to Emma Lebrasse, the main organizer of the day for her commitment and hard work. There were a few challenges on the day but we managed to see it all through, as we always do at Lyndhurst.

Pupil Free Day – 17th June

Due to some complexities with the new staffing agreement which is currently before the Fair work Commission for ratification, the government has made arrangements with the AEU (Australian Education Union) for all staff to have their professional practice day on the same day for term 2 this year. That day will be June 17th where we'll have literacy expert, Narissa Leung, at the school, working with staff on our School Strategic Plan Literacy Priority, specifically on the teaching of Writing. This is not one of the four “official” pupil free days that we have each year, but students are not to attend on the day. TeamKids will be running Long Day Care on the day. Contact TeamKids for details.

Greg Lacey

Principal