Principal’s report - 22nd October 2020

Welcome back to term 4 and, most importantly of all, welcome back to face-to-face teaching and learning. The staff have all been so excited about having the children back and the buzz around the place is palpable. The teachers were clearly excited at the start of the week but I think exhaustion might have described their state by the end of the week. The children have returned like they had never left, although the tiredness was obvious by Thursday and Friday. They have returned with enthusiasm for learning and were so excited about meeting friends and teachers face-to-face again. Their smiles and their bright “good mornings” as I saw them entering the gates were such a delight to see. Even our Preps, with so little time in the classroom this year, have fallen straight back into the routines of school and are showing so much confidence and maturity. It’s great to be back!

Tutoring program – Information from DET

The Victorian Government has committed $250 million to support tutors to support every student who has missed learning due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This is the largest initiative to support individual student learning in the history of the state. More than 4100 tutors will be recruited to partner with schools. Victorian teachers have done a remarkable job this year and with the additional support of on-site tutors, these teaching teams can ensure that students have dedicated and individualised support throughout 2021

Talented writers to be celebrated!

In this newsletter you will find two award-winning writing pieces entered writing competitions during our time of remote learning. The pieces are by Methuki ( a current student at our school) and Devmika, Methuki’s brother and a former student. “The Talking Pond” by Methuki was a winning entry in the City of Casey Young Writer’s Competition and “Echoes of the Murray” by Devmika was another winning entry in the same competition. “Echoes of the Past” by Methuki, received the runner-up award in the 5/6 category HTAV Historical Fiction Competition. Congratulations to both of our very talented writers. What a talented family! We are so proud of you. Perhaps their example will inspire others to enter into competitions in the future.

Classes for 2021

Already there have been parents making enquiries as to which teachers will be in what grades or roles next year so that they can make requests for particular teachers. Please know that it is my firm policy NOT to take requests for particular teachers. Certainly, there are a very small number of children who may have particular social or academic needs and these will be considered when deciding grade placements. These requests should be submitted to me in writing when we are allocating children to grades. Please also note that we do not have confirmed grade allocations for teachers until at least early-December so don’t start asking teachers which grade they’ll have next year. They probably won’t know and are not allowed to tell you anyway! Factors such as the employment of new teachers, mean that there may even be uncertainties about grade allocations during the Christmas holidays. The placement of children in grades is a complex task, taking into account the academic and social characteristics of each child, friendship groups, grade arrangements and special circumstances. A change of grade after they have been allocated is normally difficult and rarely accommodated. Please understand that allocations are arranged with the best interests of each child in mind. This may or may not coincide with your personal preferences as a parent.

High Abilities Program

We have two students who have commenced the Victorian High Abilities Program (VHAP) in Mathematics. The students from this program have been selected from the Department of Education & Training central office based on their results. These students have been identified to operate well above their peers in this subject area. VAHP started on Monday 12th and runs for 10 weeks. It is conducted online with students from various schools participating with ‘like-ability’ students for a 55-minute session. A facilitator presents challenging content in which the students need to investigate. Some of the purposed activities are to explore and create their own counting systems after exploring the history of counting systems of hundreds and hundreds of years ago. The children are exploring into facets of Mathematics that don’t necessarily have an exact answer but require them to invent and create using their knowledge base. Our VAHP leader, Haidee Rowell, discusses content with the students once they have completed their online sessions to help them articulate their thinking. Often high achievers can be abstract in their ability to say how they completed an operation and what their thinking processes were during this period. At our school level, the ICAS test will be conducted on Wednesday 4th November and leading up to this, students will experience some of the styled questions that can occur in this type of test. The school is currently reviewing the internal selections and operations of the Gift and Talented program, which will be complimented with the cycles of learning theories based off the Walker learning and Russell Qualgia approaches. This process has started and will continue to be revamped throughout 2021 as we extend our children across the whole school, with an increased focus on the above standard achievers.

Staffing Update

A few staff changes have been implemented in recent weeks. Of course, Elaine Lesiuk, we know, has taken up her acting Principal role at Banyan Fields PS in Carrum Downs. We all wish Elaine the very best as she takes over the school for a year during such challenging times. In her place, Mansi Vadera, one of our Learning Specialists has taken on the Acting Assistant Principal role as Years 4, 5 and 6 sub-school leader. We also welcome Paul Hennessy to Lyndhurst. Paul hails from Upwey South PS and takes on the Year 6 class in the absence of Katie Blythman who recently gave birth to a beautiful daughter, Matilda. Nicole Biuk has also joined us taking on a part-time teaching role in Year 1, grade sharing with Lauren Power. Further happy news is that Liam Flanagan and his wife have welcomed little baby Thomas into their family. The Lyndhurst family continues to grow.

Parent Opinion Survey

Parent opinion survey logins have been sent to all families recently. The return rate is traditionally very low so we will continue to encourage families to get online and complete the survey.

Planning 2021

We are currently forecasting for 2021, numbers over 950. It is often a difficult prediction to make as many families, in the past, have left the area during term 4 and often don't let the school know in advance. We encourage parents to let us know as soon as possible if they will be leaving the school. The numbers of classes planned for next year will be an increase of 1 or 2, taking us to 39 or 40 classes. At the moment, we are finalising leadership positions before we finally employ any further class teachers.

World Teachers Day – 30th October

On Friday 30 October, our school community will come together to celebrate World Teachers’ Day and recognise the continued dedication and support our teachers provide to our students. This year, World Teachers’ Day has the theme ‘Teachers: leading in crisis, reimagining the future.’ This theme reflects the continued commitment teachers have made to their students and as education leaders, throughout the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. While this year has been difficult for us all, World Teachers’ Day is a great way to say thank you to our teachers for their support and efforts in helping students adapt during this challenging time. Lyndhurst Primary School will be celebrating World Teachers’ Day in a number of ways. You and your children can get involved by sending a message of thanks to a favourite teacher by using the hashtag #WTD2020 on social media. Don’t forget to tag the school so we can see all your messages. Head to www.education.vic.gov.au/about/ events/Pages/world-teachers-day.aspx to access a range of resources to help you and your children to celebrate World Teachers’ Day 2020, including ‘Thank You’ card templates.

On this World Teachers Day, I can’t think of a better time to take the opportunity to thank our teachers for the amazing work they do, not just in 2020, but every year, in every circumstance.

Greg Lacey

Principal

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