Welcome Back to 2016

Welcome back to everyone to another great year at Lyndhurst Primary School. This has grown to be such a great community since our humble beginnings in 2011 and it has been a wonderful start to the year. This year we begin with about 830 students with 143 of them begin new Preps. I would like to welcome all of our new families as you join this wonderful community and trust that your time with us is enjoyable and productive.

Learning Environment

I’ve spent quite a bit of time visiting classrooms and wandering around the school in the last few days and I have to congratulate our amazing teaching team for the way in which they have started the year. The calm, purposeful environment that permeates every corner of the school is the ideal learning environment and is so reassuring for the students.

We are focusing strongly this year on purposeful and productive learning environments, ensuring that students are in the best frame of mind to take advantage of learning opportunities. An important key to this is ensuring that students are focused on the learning, are respectful of the learning requirements of others and are respectful of the authority of the adults who support the learning. Our key mantra this term is about “doing what you’re told, when you’re told”. This not only has an impact on learning but also has an important safety dimension, ensuring that students are kept safe by caring, responsible adults. We will be repeating this term many times this term and it might be something you want to do at home as well.

Do you expect your children to do “what they’re told, when they’re told”? the questioning of the authority of a responsible adult can become habitual and can spread. Whilst our focus is always on positive relationships with children, it is supported by the need for children to do “what they’re told, when they’re told”. Of course, the vast majority of children do just that but it is the few who can disrupt the learning for the majority and this won’t be tolerated.

School Evacuations

I am sure most of you will have seen in the news lately, reports about school evacuations and hoax phone calls. We are constantly taking advice on this issue from the authorities and it seems, at this point, that although disruptive, the phone calls are hoaxes and that schools are in no immediate danger. In saying that though, I want to reassure parents that we would treat any such incident seriously and we would act immediately in the best interests of students. We have an up-to-date emergency management plan about which all staff have been briefed as part of the induction process.

Should anything occur that we feel we need to communicate to parents, we will use our available communication channels to do so. I would discourage parents from calling the school unless absolutely necessary. Our office staff were tied up for an enormous amount of time last week answering parental concerns about events at other schools, affecting our ability to manage other important school business. I don't wish to trivialize your concerns but I do ask for your cooperation. I would also encourage you to obtain the “Skoolbag” app on your smart phone if you haven’t already done so. It is the fastest and most convenient way for us to communicate with our large parent community.

Facilities

It was great to have access to most of the new buildings and to have furniture in place to ensure a smooth transition for students. Unfortunately, one relocatable building was not in place for school start and won’t be arriving till mid February. This has affected one of our 5/6 classes and I thank them and their teacher, Glen Hamilton, for their patience and understanding whilst we have had to relocate them. Whist talking of facilities, I’m sure everyone would have been impressed with the magnificent state in which our school was presented and that is all thanks to our Facilities Manager, Trevor. He worked tirelessly over the break to keep our grounds and buildings in tip top condition.

Prep Start

On Monday 1st, we had 143 Prep students begin their first day at school. What an exciting time for families! Everything went more smoothly than we could have imagined and again, the staggered start worked well for everyone. The whole morning was so calm with a gradual trickle of families entering classrooms instead of the usual crowds and noise. I thank all of our prep families for your cooperation. It made day one for our prep students so calm. I must congratulate parents and our local pre-school centres for the preparation of the children for school. They are a wonderful group and have so far been very mature, responsible and settled.

Canadian Exchange

As I mentioned last year, our ICT coordinator Greg Thomas has entered into an exchange through the International Teaching Fellowship (ITF) and is currently in Canada teaching at Manhattan Junior Public School near Toronto in Canada. In exchange we welcome Michael Griffith-Morison to community in his role as class teacher in 3A. Michael will spend the year with us and I know the Lyndhurst community, in particular the parents and students of 3A, will make Michael feel welcome. Michael is here in Australia with his wife and young child and we wish them a wonderful year and Lyndhurst and in our country.

New Staff

As well our exchange teacher, we welcome a number of new staff to the school. Beginning with us this year in the classrooms are Caitlyn Holley in Prep A, Shantelle Rizzo in Prep E, Claire Cullinane in 1A, Nicole Tolikas in 1C and Dana Vickers in 1F. We have three new teachers joing our growing specialist team with Shaun McEachern taking over the role of ICT coordinator, Julian Flanagan taking over our music program and Olivia Sonn supporting the Spanish program. Olivia will also share a grade with Emily Beeston in year 5/6. Blaire Turner will also join our staff soon, taking up a family leave position. We have two new members of our intervention and support team, Netty Bailey and Lisa Howells. We welcome all of these new staff and I know that they will all become important contributing members of our growing staff family.

Sub-Achool Arrangements

I wish to inform parents about the new arrangements in the school for supporting families as our school grows larger. This year, we have divided the school into 3 sub-schools, placing a member of our Principal Class team in charge of each sub-school. This year, Marc de ley will take responsibility for the years 4, 5 and 6 sub-school, Nicky Walker will be responsible for the Prep/1 sub-school and I will look after the Year 2/3 sub-school. We have chosen these divisions as they represent similar number of students and families. You will have communication soon from each of the sub-school leaders, regarding the sub-school arrangements and what that means for you.

Essentially though, it is our intention that this will focus each of us on a smaller cohort of students and families, allowing us to build stronger relationships and to support students and their families in a more personalized way, even as our school continues to grow larger. Each of the sub-schools will also be supported by a leading teacher whose main focus will be on supporting teachers and students in improving learning. Emily Ratten (nee Beeston) is working in the 4/5/6 sub-school, Emma Galvin is working in the 2/3 classes and Mansi Vadera is working in the P/1 area until she goes on family leave at which time, Meagan Walker will take on an acting leading teacher role. We are very excited about the sub-school initiative.

School Council Elections

Materials have been sent out this week regarding the School Council elections. I hope that parents consider School Council membership and nominate for positions. The School Council is an important part of our school community and there are certainly vacancies on the 2016 Council. Please don’t hesitate to call if you have queries about School Council membership.

General Points of Information

To follow are a few general points of information for parents.

Mobile phones: Children should NOT have mobile phones at school. Should there be a compelling reason for a child to have a mobile phone, parents should put a request in writing to me and the request will be considered. If permission for mobile phone use is given, the child will be required to hand the phone in to the office when they arrive at school each morning and collect it again as they leave each afternoon. Children must NEVER have a mobile phone in their bag or in their possession during school time.

Heat Policy: We have formulated a policy to cater for days of extreme heat. It has been decided that, should the temperature reach 37 deg or over at lunchtime (local temperature), then children will be kept inside and supervision arrangements as for a wet day timetable will be implemented. If parents feel that children are better off at home on a very hot afternoon, then you are welcome to call at the office before 12.50 pm to pick them up.

Hats: Lyndhurst PS is a “Sunsmart” school. The official school hats are compulsory for all children until the end of April. Baseball caps are not an ideal form of sun protection, and are not acceptable. The school hats look terrific and are also very “Sunsmart”.

Medication: We CANNOT give medication of any kind, without your written permission. If you need your child medicated during the day, whether on a short term or long term basis, you must fill out a medication form, available from the office. The information that you send should have full information as to dosages, times, indications for use and permission for the medication to be administered. This information should be given to the office along with all medication in suitable containers. If the medication is for ongoing issues such as ADHD or asthma, a full management plan should be given to the school on the appropriate form.

Entering the school: There are several entry gates to the school grounds. Children, upon arrival at school, should come in one of those gates and remain inside the fences until it is time to enter class. Please DO NOT bring children through the car park gates but ONLY USE PEDESTRIAN GATES. The car park gates are dangerous and this sets a very poor example for children.

Entering the building: With over 700 families in the school now, we have to reduce congestion in the main building and around the office. We are asking that no parents enter the main building through the office door before school or at pick-p time unless they have specific business at the office. We are also asking that parents drop off children to the external classrooms doors and pick them up from the same place. There should be no parents waiting inside the main building. We thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Early morning and after school supervision: Children should not be in the school grounds prior to 8.45am each morning. The school grounds are supervised from 8.45am and we have a well-staffed and closely supervised Before School Care program that opens at 6.45am. Beyond this, we cannot take responsibility for children left in the playground in the morning unsupervised. This applies equally after 3.45 pm in the afternoon. Drop off and pick up for children in before or after school care is through the end door in the colored glass wall near the staff car park.

Parking and traffic: Please be patient and considerate when picking up and dropping off at school, especially at this time of the year. We understand that it is a difficult situation, especially after school, as it is at most schools. There is plenty of parking around the school grounds. Parents must not park in the staff car parks at any time. The risk to children with traffic in that car park is high. There should be NO children in that car park at any time. We will be speaking to the children regarding safe practices when travelling home on foot or on bicycles.

Bicycle and scooter use: It is the school’s policy that children may ride bicycles and scooters to school, unaccompanied, ONLY from Year 4 onwards. Children below Year 4 MUST be accompanied by a responsible adult if they ride to school. Even beyond year 4, it is the responsibility of parents to decide whether children are skilled enough, responsible enough and have sufficient road sense to ride safely. It is also the responsibility of parents to ensure that bicycles and scooters are safe and roadworthy. All bicycles and scooters must be stored in the bicycle shed and children MUST dismount and walk prior to entering a school gate.

Using the school crossings: The school has two supervised crossing but many parents put themselves, their children and the children of others’ in danger by not using the crossings properly or not using them at all. You MUST use a crossing if one is provided within a reasonable distance and you MUST follow the instructions of the crossing supervisor. Road safety becomes such a critical issue in such a large community and we rely on EVERY PARENT to consider the safety of our children.

Parking and pickup: A reminder to all parents to be particularly mindful of the increased traffic and pedestrian use around our school as we grow. The safety of children is such and important issue for all of us. I thank parents for their understanding after the notice went out last week about some traffic and parking changes. The main change is that NO PARENTS are to use the staff car park at any time, unless you are legally accessing the disabled parking space. It seems that the message has been heeded and that there is improved driver behavior around our busy school. There are some simple messages about parking and pickup.

Be patient and courteous
Please consider our school neighbors and park in designated spaces
NEVER double-park to pick up children!

Uniforms: The wearing of school uniform is compulsory at Lyndhurst Primary School. The uniform policy is there for reasons of uniformity of appearance, pride in the school, convenience for parents and security for children. Please ensure that your children are wearing the prescribed uniforms at all times. On those odd occasions when the drier has broken down or the dog has eaten the only clean shirt, please send a note along. There can often be “variations” that appear in children’s uniforms and that is disappointing. The uniform is attractive, comfortable, functional and good value for money. We don’t want a whole lot of variations appearing. Changes to the school uniform are approved by School Council. I ask for all parents to support our efforts to maintain this important part of our school culture. We are proud of our uniform and we hope that the children feel the same.

Forms to Fill In

This week, you have received a number of forms to be filled in. It is most important that these forms are filled in correctly and fully. This is also a time to update any student information. Current information will be provided to parents at the parent/teacher interviews. The forms will contain all current information on our system. Parents are asked to check the form carefully and alter any incorrect information or add further information where appropriate. We emphasise the importance of up to date information in case of illness, accident or emergency. New Asthma Management forms are also available from the office if there have been any changes to the management plan for your child.

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