Dear Parents/Carers,

The start to Term 3 has already been a busy one! Our students overall made a positive start to Semester 2, with our Year 9 and 10 students in particular moving into their Semester 2 electives. The changeover in semester provides us all with a valuable opportunity to start fresh with new learning, as well as re-establish our routines for being a successful learner and learning environment. Therefore, our focus on the pre-conditions for learning continues. We expect that for every period, students are bringing their essential equipment of a fully stocked pencil case and workbook/folder. This ensures all students have the fundamental basics to be able to engage with their learning.

We also emphasise that in order for students to be able to fully engage with their curriculum, a laptop device is critical. As a college, we have a small bank of laptops available to borrow on a day use basis for students who may not yet have a device, or have a device being repaired. However, our aim is for every student in our college to have their own laptop from Year 7 to give them the best possible learning opportunities.

If your student does not currently have a laptop, we encourage you to visit https://www.lyndhurst.vic.edu.au/student-life/student-computers/ to look at device specifications and work towards arranging a laptop for your young person. As a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) school, parents and carers have the option of buying laptops from a range of providers. We also have a partnership with Edunet where we have pre-selected some devices that meet our requirements and come with warranty options.

As we commence Semester 2, it is important to also remind students, parents and carers of some key policies, including our Mobile Phone Policy and Uniform Policy.

With regards to mobile phones, students are not permitted to use these during school hours of 9.00am to 3.00pm.

This includes recess and lunch break times. Our current policy outlines that mobile phones that are sighted by staff members during this time will be confiscated and the following consequences issued:

1st breach: Confiscation and warning
2nd breach: Confiscation and after school detention
3rd breach: Confiscation and Principal’s detention (Friday after school)
4th breach: Confiscation and possible suspension

As a school, we want to ensure that student mobile phones that are confiscated are kept safely and securely. Therefore, when a phone is confiscated, it is placed in a labelled envelope and taken to the main office where it is securely stored for the day. Students are then able to collect their phone at the end of the day.

As the weather hits a cold snap, we recognise that this is often the time students add layers or additional items to their school uniform. We are in the final stages of updating our uniform to include warmer mid layer options for students (to be available from 2023), but want to remind students, parents and carers of the following key rules regarding uniform:

If a student is out of uniform for a legitimate reason, please provide a note or contact the school to notify. A pass will be issued for the student for the day/s required.
No uniform passes will be issued for non-school jumpers or hoodies
Students wearing non-uniform items will have the item confiscated - loan items available where possible
Students can wear a plain navy/white underlayer for additional warmth if required, as long as this is not visible e.g. white t-shirt under polo
Families experiencing financial hardship can contact the college for uniform support

We look forward to sharing our exciting new uniform items and further information about our phase out process shortly.

From a learning perspective, even though we are only halfway through 2022, we are already busily working on our 2023 curriculum structures and offerings for students. Currently, all students (including Grade 6 students coming to LSC in 2023) will have some voice and choice in their curriculum. This increases over their years of education, and we are excited to see what options our students choose in their course counselling meetings (for current Year 8 students and up). I thank the team of students and staff who were involved in the consultation and construction process, and look forward to continuing this work as we start the process of planning for our new subject offerings.

A summary of our revitalised curriculum structures and offerings will be made available via our website shortly. We encourage all students, parents and carers to read this summary so you are informed about the exciting work happening at LSC.

With the shift in curriculum structures and offerings, I would also like to highlight a key change coming in 2023 for all students, with the introduction of a daily homegroup. The purpose of this time is to commence each day with a consistent person (mentor teacher) in a consistent space that students can build ownership over. The mentor teacher will play a critical role in being a significant adult that works with each young person over the year, knowing them as learners and individuals, as well as tracking critical measures such as attendance and growth.

Homegroup also provides important opportunities to improve year-level and school-based communication, with Team Leaders able to meet with cohorts or small groups about things coming up for the specific year level. Finally, homegroup will add another layer to our work on wellbeing and connection, whereby we will see more opportunities for house-based competitions, as well as regular time for wellbeing strategies to be implemented and used by students. A team of staff and students will be working together this semester to co-construct our vision for homegroup so we ensure that it meets the needs of each of our year levels based on their voice.

In order to facilitate these important curriculum shifts, we will be making an adjustment to our school bell times. This will allow for effective transition time between classes, as well as the facilitation of our new curriculum. These bell times are below for your reference.

Finally, we are looking forward to the many events and learning opportunities our students will have in Semester 2 this year. We have lots of exciting excursions, incursions and guest speakers already lined up for students so I encourage our young people to make the most of these opportunities by getting involved! This all commences on Friday 22nd July with our College Athletics Carnival – GO HALE!

Ms Eloise Haynes

Principal

NEWSLETTER

Issue 6 · 20 Jul 2022

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