Pupil Free Days – Term Four

As mentioned our previous newsletters we have two student free days remaining for this term. These are the remaining 1 of the 4 curriculum days allocated per year and the Term 4 Professional Practice Day (PPD) as part of Victorian Government Schools Agreement.

• Professional Practice Day on Monday 5th December

• Pupil Free Day on Tuesday 20th December

The final day of 2022 for all children is Monday 19th December, with the day concluding at 1:30PM.

State Election BBQ

Saturday November 26th is Election Day and in the past, we have run a BBQ fundraiser to support the school. We will do this once again this coming weekend, along with cake stall. Thank you to all of the parents and staff who have volunteered to help out on the day. Any additional cake donations can be dropped off, with ingredients noted on the packaging on Friday or Saturday morning. A big thank you too to all the families who donated items for our hamper which will be raffled on the day!

Warburton Bike Ride

Once again, we are holding our annual bike ride to Warburton for all children from Year Three to Six on Friday 2nd December. Even though it is an optional activity we are encouraging as many children as possible to go. Active kids are healthy kids!

We leave school about 9.30 am and usually get back between 2.30 and 3:00pm.

Children must have a roadworthy bike and be wearing a helmet. We would encourage parents to check their child’s bike before next Friday. Sometimes a child’s version of “roadworthy” may not necessarily meet our requirements. Working brakes and safe tyres will be checked before they ride off in the morning. Oil on the chain is also handy as we have had a few broken chains in the past, simply because they have been too dry and don’t run freely.

The school has 6 mountain bikes available if a child wants to go and doesn’t have a bike. We will consider any requests and allocate bikes at our discretion if needed.

Parent Support:

We require all the help we can get! Either with support vehicles and traffic assistance or with riding along with the children. If you are intending to go, either riding or in a support capacity, please notify the school so we can include you in the program.

Christmas Concert and BBQ

We will be having our Christmas Carols Night on the Netball Court on Wednesday 7th December from 5:30 pm. Each year, this concert is always a happy occasion where we get together as a whole school community to share some Christmas cheer, have a break after a very busy year, and hopefully see a friend or two who we haven’t caught up with for a while. Parents are invited to bring along picnic rugs, chairs and their picnic tea and drinks. There will also be a sausage sizzle, popcorn and drinks to purchase. A reminder that smoking and the consumption of alcohol on the school property is against the law and therefore not permitted. At 6:00pm, we will commence our Christmas Carols evening here at the school. This will be a very low key evening where we can all get together, enjoy each others company and sing along to our favourite Christmas Carols. We would love to see you all here. Grandparents and extended family are very welcome as always. Let’s hope the weather is kind to us this year!

End of Year Carol’s Night

Wednesday 7th of December

5.30pm

BBQ Sausages $3.00 each

or 2 for $5.00 / Drinks $2.00

6.00pm- 7.00pm Class performances

Concludes at 7.15pm

Netball Court

Please note: All LPPS students will need to sit with their grade on the netball court during the performances. An announcement will be made at 6pm to remind students to come down to the court and sit with their grades. No bikes, scooters or skateboards please 😊

School Council – Review from meeting Monday 21st November

It was a productive meeting on Monday as our School Council met to hear feedback around our School Review from Martin Winfield our school reviewer. Martin presented some data around our school’s performance over the past four years and some goals for us to work on over the next strategic plan period. These will be communicated at the beginning of 2023 as we share our Annual Implementation Plan (yearly) goals.

Family Fun Afternoon

Thank you so much to all our students and families who attended our Family Fun Day last week. We all had a blast! It was lovely to connect with each other.

‘Meet your 2023 Teacher’ Morning

The Family Fun afternoon was also a great opportunity for families to reconnect with staff across our school. On Tuesday 13th of December, we will be having our whole school transition day, where the children meet their new class and their class teacher for 2023 from 9:30am until 1:10pm. This date is also the state-wide transition day for Year 6 to Year 7. More details will be shared with our Grade 6 families closer to the date.

School Uniform Reminder

LPPS has a uniform policy and dress code which is reviewed by our School Council regularly and communicated to families by our staff.

As our days get warmer students are required to wear:

A navy blue school hat with logo
Shorts – navy blue
Leggings – navy blue
Polo shirt- light/navy blue
Netball skirts/ sports skirts – navy blue
School dress
Skort – navy blue
Navy Windcheater with logo
Bomber Jacket with logo
School shoes or runners

We appreciate all uniform items being clean and presentable. Out of uniform notices are sent to parents who have not indicated to the school why their child is out of uniform.

Often a supply of second hand/donated uniforms is accessible to parents/ students in need, just check in at our office. In cases of financial hardship the Principal/Business Manager is able to seek support through State School’s Relief on behalf of families. Let’s show pride in ourselves and our school by proudly wearing our uniform!

Remain vigilant for COVID-19

Just a reminder that there continue to be sporadic cases of COVID-19 in our school community. Although cases have minimised greatly from the ‘wave’ we had in Term Three, we are still having cases reported us both in the junior and senior areas of the school. Keep up regular testing and please report any positive cases to our office.

Information regarding 2026 term dates and Commonwealth Games forward planning

There have been changes to Victorian school term dates for 2026. This will provide an opportunity for Victorian communities to participate more broadly in the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

The 2026 Commonwealth Games will take place across regional Victoria from Tuesday 17 March to Sunday 29 March 2026, with Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton hosting a range of activities and events for 20 different sports and 9 para-sports.

The 2026 Victorian school term dates are:

Term 1: Tuesday 27 January to Friday 13 March

Term 2: Monday 30 March to Friday 19 June

Term 3: Monday 6 July to Friday 18 September

Term 4: Monday 5 October to Friday 18 December

For the list of school term dates until the end of 2030, refer to School term dates and holidays in Victoria.

Brain Informed Parenting Session for Families

Wednesday 30th November: 7:30 – 8:30PM

Meeting Link: https://eduvic.webex.com/eduvic/j.php?MTID=mdc8185e4bc5f517bc563b100af265fc9Password: Launch

Struggling to understand your child’s behaviour?

Frustrated with yours and your child’s emotional responses to each other?

Overwhelmed and anxious about your child’s future?

Do you want to unlock the secrets of your child’s brain and behaviour?

Join Sian Chambers-Vallance and Tony Vallance, Clinical Play Therapists, Educators, and Owners of Building Better Brains, a clinic specialising in child and family therapy using creative and person-centred strategies.

This workshop provides essential knowledge for caregivers on children’s brain development, engaging the whole brain, how early experiences, stress and trauma affect's behaviour and emotional health, and practical strategies for managing these behaviours. Working from a brain informed parenting approach demystifies your child’s behaviour and helps you discover better ways to connect and increase the fun and joy in parenting.

Please feel free to share the link and information with friends and family. The more the merrier!

Thanks everyone and see you around our place!

Birthdays

A child’s birthday is a very special occasion and every fortnight we will share this celebration. Happy Birthday to the following students who celebrated their special day for July.

November