Wonderful Finish to Swimming!

The past two weeks have certainly been busy and filled with activity. It was wonderful to see so many students participating in our Swimming Carnival on Thursday. Teachers were really proud of how our students supported and encouraged each other and their consideration and care shown. Many thanks to all teachers and parents who participated and assisted, ensuring our swimming program was successful for all.

I have really enjoyed receiving feedback from parents recently. A number of parents have discussed with me what they appreciate about our school and how they feel we are very unique in our positive culture and philosophy regarding our student learning and behaviour education. Feedback is really useful to let us know what we are doing well and areas we could improve on. We will offer a range of opportunities for parents to share their ideas and opinions about our school throughout the year. One way you can contribute to the direction and policies of our school is to join School Council.

Our Annual General Meeting will be held on

March 19th at 7.00pm.

School Council Elections

School Councils play a vital role in developing direction for educational programs offered at schools. Members of the council have the ability to directly influence the quality of education that a school provides and are able to contribute to decision making. School Council elections will be held over the next few weeks and I encourage all parents to consider nominating for a position on the council.

Nominations close 5pm on Friday 2nd March.

Nomination forms will be available from the office or via Compass. The following pages contain information about the role of school council: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/management/community/Pages/schoolcouncilsfunction.aspx

Please see the 'Important Information for Parents' page for further details about Council elections for 2018. Do see me if you have any questions about school council.

Family Fun Night

Friday 2nd March 5.30pm

Final preparations are being made for our annual Family Fun Night. Our Years 3 - 6 students have been very busy planning and organising their activities. The evening is always a highlight to kick off the year and all families are invited to come along and enjoy the evening. Family Fun Night is also an opportunity to visit classrooms, talk to our teachers and join in some fun with your children.

Our students in Years 3-6 will host a range of fun activities for all students at our school on Friday 2nd March. Parents and siblings are encouraged to visit every activity and partake in all the fun! Teachers will also offer information sessions throughout the evening to provide details about how the classroom program operates and daily routines and processes.

The evening begins at 5.30pm and this year our Parents & Friends Association will be offering a BBQ for dinner. Please see the Family Fun Night page for further details.

Poowong Basketball Association has been advised that this annual event is on and we ask that families prioritise this school event for their children.

Captain Elections

Our 2018 Captains enjoyed a special morning assembly for badge presentations and a visit from Strzelecki Lion's Club members last Wednesday.

Badges were presented to:

School Captains:

Bianca Monson, Patrick Morris & Charles Kerrison - King

Sports Captains:

Paige Barry, Aidyn Bourke, Bailey Nettle & Jasmine Westwood

Arts Captains:

Charli Allen & Bailey Lightowler

Resource Centre Captains

Chloe Jones & Jessica McKenzie - Ross

Enviro Captains:

Jack Silcock & Ollie Cronin

Enviro Crew:

Wil Layton, Bailey Nettle & Tyler Perkins

Students participated in a discussion about leadership and shared a yummy morning tea together. Many thanks to John, Alex, Dave, Frank, Keith and Phil from the Lion's, for their contributions and support to our school. Wonderful Loch community!

COMPASS

A brief information session will be offered at our Family Fun Night for parents who would like to know more about how COMPASS works. COMPASS is our online communication tool for everything here at Loch Primary School. All parents are encouraged to download the mobile phone app and to be regularly accessing the portal to stay up to date with information and news.

Safety In Our Car Park

Last week I spent some time watching our car park at drop off times in the morning and pick up times in the afternoon.

I am very concerned about student safety and am asking all parents to be mindful of our young people as they enter and exit our car park. The speed should be crawling pace under 10km and every care should be made as children can be unpredictable and are easily missed in mirrors or behind cars due to their size and agility.

It is my preference that parents park on either Roy street or Victoria Road (or down at Sunny Side Park - enjoy a short walk to and from school) and collect their children from the front school gate. This would alleviate traffic congestion and decrease the risk of an incident occurring.

A number of parents are not parking in designated car parking bays and we have had an incident of a car backing off the round about grass and colliding with a staff car. Another incident involved a child running ahead of her parent straight through the car park, a car backing off the grass did not see her and missed her by inches totally unaware of what had happened. I have witnessed many cars enter the car park with significant speed and pull up quickly to park.

The safety of all of our children is our collective responsibility and I ask that you carefully consider your driving speed and parking location.

Teacher Professional Practice Days

In the Education State, we achieve excellence by consistently focusing on improving the achievements of learners across Victoria, whether it is through improving the quality of educational services or changing the way we teach. The most important thing we can do to improve student outcomes is to develop and improve the skills of our teachers.

The Victorian Government will continue to provide opportunities to develop professional, passionate teachers and principals and equip them with the right knowledge and skills to be highly effective in the classroom. To ensure we support the learning and development of not only our students, but our teachers too; we are committed to providing professional development opportunities for our teaching workforce.

WHAT are the professional practice days?

As part of the Victorian Government Schools Agreement 2017, teachers will receive one day per term when they are out of the classroom to focus on the improved delivery of high quality teaching and learning.

What this means for your child...

Your child’s teacher will spend four days per year further developing their skills in areas that are aligned to the school priorities. Your child will directly benefit from these improvements in their daily learning. On these days, an alternate teacher will be provided with the learning plan for the day and be well equipped to assist your child with their learning needs.

Mentoring Program with the Strzelecki Lions Club

We are currently in the process of developing a 'Mentor Program' with members of the Strzelecki Lion's Club. Members will visit our school on a regular basis and work with some of students to assist with building confidence and providing opportunities to chat with someone who cares about them, developing a positive relationship with a significant adult who can act as another role model. Sessions with a mentor may include playing board games, completing jigsaw puzzles, working in the garden or enjoying a snack in the staffroom. We are very appreciative of the willingness of the Lions' members to volunteer to work with our students and will be in touch with parents soon to invite students to participate.

School Photos are next

Thursday 1st March

Please arrive at school in full school uniform. As our photos are important and we hope everyone takes pride in their uniform I do ask that students wear black or white shoes as per our uniform policy. Please no fluro shoes or laces for our official school photos.

Tracey King

Principal

Community Notices

World Day of Prayer

Music Lessons with Miriam

LOCH CFA Junior Volunteer Development Program