Dear LPS families and friends,

I hope everyone is well and looking forward to the end of winter weather! For those of you that noticed, I have been away for the last couple of weeks after my second surgery for the year, this time on my back. I would be more than happy for that to be the last one.

In our school

Earlier this week Mrs. Roose, Mrs. Mowat and I attended the Outer East Principals conference at Karralyka Centre in Ringwood. At the conference we heard from David Howes (Deputy Secretary, Schools and Regional Services) who spoke about the key challenges facing school at the moment. Whilst some of the things he raised have not been issues for us at Lysterfield Primary School, there are some that we have been addressing more regularly.

One of the challenges that all schools have been facing in an increasing manner has been the exposure of students to antisemitism, racism and misogynistic views through social media. Unfortunately, it is easier than ever for students to come across extreme points of view online with the algorithms within apps designed to keep exposing us to something we have showed a small amount of interest in. I'm sure we have all had the experience of our children asking us about Taylor Swift tickets and then before you know it your social media feeds are full of articles about Taylor Swift, or is this just me?

As adults, in general, we are able to ignore extreme views and have the capacity to ignore, however, children have less developed minds and are more likely to believe what they see, as facts. This can lead to discriminatory, prejudiced and hurtful behaviour or language.

At times we hear students use language at school such as:

Boys are better than girls because girls are weak
You're gay or that's gay
Making comments about students' skin colour or cultural background
Comments about a student's family situation
You're fat

Often this behaviour is disguised or explained as banter amongst friends, however as we all know even some things said by a friend can be hurtful.

Whilst this is a societal issue rather than a school issue, we are aware that we have a part to play in supporting families through this challenging time. The way we respond as a school, and you as parents, will play a huge part in whether students learn how these views and behaviours will impact others and themselves.

We are currently planning a parent seminar to help you better understand the current challenges for students, how we are responding as a school, and what you can do as a parent. If you only attend one event this year, this should be the one. Please keep an eye out for future communication about this.

In our community

We have been contacted by some of neigbours about parent parking when dropping off and picking up students. Please ensure that you obey common sense and road rules when parking around the school. We very much understand that it can be a challenge to find parks near the school, however double parking or parking across someone's driveway is not acceptable and causes angst within our community. Parking at the back of the oval can certainly make life easier, with students able to walk across the oval to be collected.

Parent Opinion Survey

WE WANT OUR PARENTS / CAREGIVERS / GUARDIANS TO TELL US WHAT THEY THINK!

Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents / caregivers / guardians think of our school. The Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education that is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behavior, and student engagement. The survey is optional but we encourage all families to participate. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies. A random sample of approximately 30 per cent of parents / caregivers / guardians has been selected to participate in this year’s survey.

The Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey will be open from Monday 7 August to Friday 8 September 2023.

The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time within the survey period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. The online survey will be available in English and 10 other languages including Arabic, Greek, Hakha Chin, Hindi, Japanese, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Turkish, and Vietnamese. Please speak to the office if you would like more information.

In our staffroom

Over the course of this year, one of the major professional learning focuses for our school has been on the development of leadership skills across our school. Effective leadership in a school is crucial to the continued improvement of our teaching practices and it is important for us to allocate time and resources to this. We have been working with consultant David Anderson throughout the year to improve our practices in this area.

Currently, our School Improvement Team members are working on developing the "art of inquiry". This looks like us using an approachable voice, using the language of inquiry and clarifying and probing. The result of our leaders getting better at this means that their teams are more likely to share ideas and concerns. We are able to challenge each other and tease out the things that aren't working. This leads to us continually improving our practices.

Recently at a meeting of principals from our network, I was asked to share the work we are doing as a model of excellent practice, this was a nice affirmation of the hard work we are doing.

Adam Wight, Principal

Visual Art