Just last week, while on an excursion, we were given a timely reminder that fundraising at LNPS is appreciated by our friends in the wild. This koala brought a smile to everyone's face, we left him some water as it was a pretty warm day. Last year, a group of boys raised funds for the koalas at The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital who had suffered during the bushfires in NSW.

This happy little creature was spotted while at Urrbrae Wetlands on Cross Road. Seeing this reminded us of our efforts last year but also for what is to come this week.

As you may be aware, students were asked to bring in old books/toys and board games to sell at our stall this Friday 21st February. The group of students who have taken this fundraising effort on in a very short space of time have advertised at Primary Assembly and visited all Early Years classes.

This Friday is also a casual day so students are requested to bring a gold coin donation. All proceeds from the casual day and toy/book stall will go towards families affected by the bushfires on Kangaroo Island. We hope to buy the 12 children aged 2-10 years old some new toys and books with the money raised.

The students are happy to be involved in this Random Act of Kindness and it is amazing to see the generous donations already being dropped into F12 and the office. Please keep them coming and thank you all for your generosity and support with our Toy/Book sale on Friday - items will be priced between $1 and $5 with all proceeds going towards putting 'smiles back on faces'.

This term, we have started to investigate our LNPS Student Voice website, hopefully we'll have news about our first edition to celebrate Term 1 and the many events, excursions and other fun aspects of learning. The students have chosen to call the website UNLOCKED!

This has initially started with Fisher students but we aim to broaden this to a whole school newsletter by students for students throughout this year and beyond. All the news articles will be written by the students so if you believe your child has what it takes to share their writing to a wider audience, to persuade, entertain and inform others, please encourage them to apply for the positions in Torrens and Mellor later this term.

We value our students opinions and want them to understand that we are all here to make sure they have fun, are happy and learn as much as possible during their time with us. We need to instil polite, respectful communication skills so our students become active and engaged citizens.

'We may not always like what our children have to say but it is always important to give them air time to show that we value and respect their input and feedback.'

Happy Random Acts of Kindness Week (16-22 Feb). As teachers, parents and carers there are many things that our students/children do that makes us immensely proud. This week we focus on 'COURAGE'.

'My latest proud moment was for a group of 'quiet' students who stood up at the recent Primary Years Assembly and communicated confidently and totally embraced the experience. Were they nervous and a little anxious about standing in front of a huge audience? YES! Did they show a great amount of courage? YES! '

As children, many of us (myself included) would reflect on being quiet and shy and not having the confidence to stand and talk in front of class mates, never mind 350+ people. It is important that we encourage our children to be brave, talk about their feelings but also expect them to be courageous - they can do it! We often want to rescue and protect them from challenging situations, however how much learning about themselves took place during that short well prepared script that they delivered with such strength and courage?

Explaining to those students that we all have nerves when talking in front of others, it's just that some people learn to deal with their nerves, some are better at hiding it, are more confident or have more courage. Having people believe in them (peers, parents/carers/family members and SSO/teaching staff) and give them a nudge in the right direction allowed these students to demonstrate their courage.

Hopefully next time the opportunity arrives, these students - Ayla, Emi, Juliette and Arielle - will reflect on this positive experience, the skills (above) they demonstrated and will continue to be brave when facing challenges. Well done ladies!

The images below are from Random Acts of Kindness website - these will be used throughout the year.

Thanks for your continued support,

Mike

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