Principal’s Report - 11th December 2020

Welcome to the last newsletter for 2020. What a year it has been! The exhaustion across the whole school is tangible in both staff and students as we near the end of a year like no other. I know families too, are feeling that worn-down feeling as we approach the holidays because it’s been a challenging year in your homes as well. However, I do want to focus more on the positives that have come out of the extraordinary 2020 rather than dwell on the negatives that are so obvious to all of us. Positives, you say? Yes, there have certainly been positives, not the least of which has been how every member of this school community, staff and families, have risen to the challenge of lockdowns, COVID safety plans, remote learning, etc., ensuring that our children have emerged from this year in great shape to meet the challenges still ahead. The connection between school and home has never been stronger and one challenge for us next year, is to ensure that connection, not only remains, but is strengthened. You might remember back in February and early March, we were sending home information to families about the “Learning Partnership”, raising the importance of the home as a key partner in the learning journey for children. Well, not long after that, the partnership became real as we entered lockdown 1. Parents and carers became critical partners in the learning partnership. And what great partners you were! Overwhelmingly, our students, with the professional support of dedicated educators and the commitment of hard-working families, received an education during lockdown, the quality of which, we could never have imagined. Not only did teachers turn their practice on its head to become remote teachers, parents turned their homes and their lives upside-down to assist in the process. That was a real partnership, and everyone deserves a big pat on the back! What a wonderful thing to come out of an otherwise disastrous year!

Graduation

I am looking forward to a graduation like no other next week as well. With all of the changes to regulations over recent weeks, we have had to shift our planning along the way but I think next Thursday will be a memorable event for everyone! It’s always a very special day and will be no less special with the changed arrangements. The Year 6 team have put an enormous amount of effort into ensuring that our exiting Year 6 students have a wonderful and memorable celebration to celebrate the end of their primary schooling. I wish all of our Year 6 students the very best for 2021 and beyond. I know they go very well prepared to take on the challenges and the exciting opportunities that lay ahead.

Woorabinda and Somers Days

We were so lucky to be able to provide our years 5 and 6 students with an opportunity to have a “day at camp” experience this year. I was fortunate enough to attend both days and had a great day at each camp. It was nice that we were at least able to give the children the experience. We have had a long relationship with both camps and we thank them sincerely for opening their doors to us and providing the children with, not only a great day, but a fond memory too.

Staff update

We have some new staff joining us in 2021 and we excitedly welcome Lilli Cooper, who will be teaching in Year 2, Bradley Clinch who will be teaching in Year 1 and Alisha Stevens who joins us in a Learning Specialist role and who will be teaching part-time on Year 2. We are very pleased to welcome these talented teachers to the growing Lyndhurst team. We also have a departure from our school to farewell. Caitlin MacGregor, who has been in an Acting Learning Specialist position for this year, joins the team at Courtenay Gardens PS as a Learning Specialist in 2021. Caitlin will join former Lyndhurst Assistant Principal, Marc de Ley, who of course became Principal at Courtenay Gardens at the beginning of the year, Megan Donaldson who took up the Assistant Principal position at the school and Madi Sheather who joined the Courtenay Gardens team earlier this year as a Learning Specialist. We wish Caitlin all the very best.

Step Up Day

On Tuesday, as you know, we had our Step Up Day. It was also our first opportunity to have our new Preps for 2021 up to the school to meet their teachers face-to-face and to see their classrooms for next year. The whole day went very smoothly and everyone, students and teachers, seemed very excited about their new classes. I want to sincerely thank the Year 6 students who acted as tour guides for our new Prep parents. They were all so responsible and polite. I was very, very proud of them. They were shining examples of the kind of students we produce here at Lyndhurst. They were great ambassadors for our school.

Tutor Learning initiative – information from DET for parents

The 2020 school year has been an extraordinary and challenging one for every school community. Many Victorian students spent much of Terms 2 and 3 this year learning remotely and Victorian schools and their communities have made an exceptional effort to provide continuity of teaching and learning to our students during this time.

During Term 4, schools across Victoria have been focused on supporting students’ mental health and wellbeing, in addition to assisting students to readjust to on-site learning. Teachers have also been focusing on assessing student learning, addressing individual learning gaps and identifying those students who need extra support for their learning, using classroom-based observation and assessments.

We know that the remote learning experience was different for every student. While some students thrived, some students may not have engaged as fully with remote learning. For most of our students, regular high-quality teaching in 2021 will be enough to help them progress to the expected level of learning. Some students will benefit from additional intensive learning support in 2021.

As you may be aware, in response to this, the Victorian Government is investing $250 million in the Tutor Learning Initiative to enable schools across Victoria to engage around 4,100 teachers as tutors in 2021 to support students who need extra assistance with their learning. Schools will determine how this initiative is best implemented for their students and will ensure that students will get this support in a way that minimises disruptions to other learning or school activities.

By engaging additional teachers to support children with intensive learning, classroom teachers will have a greater capacity to ensure that all other students’ achievement, engagement and wellbeing needs are met, so that all students receive the support they need in 2021.

Further information about the Tutor Learning Initiative, and how it will be implemented for students who need individual learning support in our school, will be issued before students begin tutoring in 2021. If you are concerned about your child’s engagement in their learning, while learning at home or following their return to school please contact your school.

School Holiday Mental Health and Wellbeing Support

The Department has worked with headspace to make sure mental health and wellbeing support is available for secondary school students and senior primary school students over the school holidays.

Webinars for parents

The Department has partnered with headspace to run two parent information sessions.

Supporting young people – Notice, Ask, Connect

Date: Thursday 10 December 2020

Time: 7pm — 8:15pm

Platform: Online

Cost: Free

For more information and to register visit Eventbrite.

Supporting young people transitioning from primary to secondary school

Date: Tuesday 15 December 2020

Time: 7pm — 8:15pm

Platform: Online

Cost: Free

For more information and to register visit Eventbrite.

The above registration links are also in the parent and carers factsheet.

Finally

This, as I said earlier, has been a year like no other I have known in more than 40 years in education and over 20 years as a Principal. I am looking forward to 2021 with great optimism and I hope that is shared by everyone. We know that we still have the responsibility to continue to “do the right thing”, to ensure that we don't fall back into another wave of infections, but I am truly hopeful that we can avoid the disastrous circumstances that many other countries find themselves in. I would like to wish everyone the very best over the holiday period. I hope you take the time to connect as families and enjoy your time together and launch into 2021 with positivity and enthusiasm. I know we will.

Greg Lacey

Principal

Library Report