The Halfway Point

Well, here we are, half way through term two already. How time flies! So much has already happened this year and there is still so much to do.

Teachers, at the moment, are heads down, assessing students and writing reports. NAPLAN is completed and the rush of the 2016 Enrolment process has also slowed. As you will see from my report though, things haven’t slowed down in general with plenty happening throughout the school.

National Simultaneous Story Time

Yesterday was National Simultaneous Story Time, where tens of thousands of students across Australia enjoyed the same story.

This year, it was “The Brothers Quibble”. A mystery guest reader read the story to the whole school via video. Ask your children who that mystery guest reader was. You might be surprised. I know I was!

School Photos Next Week

Don’t forget school photos next week. It might be a good opportunity for a quick haircut over the weekend or a spruce up of the uniform in readiness. Photos will be taken on both Wednesday and Thursday of next week.

Book Fair

Thanks so much to Barb in the library again, for the wonderful Book Fair during Education Week. Barb and her team of helpers set up a great display and gave school families a terrific opportunity to get books at bargain basement prices!

Open Evening

Thanks to all of the families who came to our Open Evening last week. I hope you enjoyed your “Passport Questions” and were as impressed as I was at how amazing the classrooms looked! It’s no wonder so many children love coming to school.

The place looked incredible and I thank all of the teachers sincerely for the extra time that went into the classrooms and displays.

Principal Visit

On Friday, we also had a visit from a large group of Principals from other Private Partnership Schools from around Victoria. They too, were also very impressed with what they saw.

Lightning Premiership Day

That same day was District Lightning Premiership Day and it was so pleasing to be able to host hundreds of students from other schools on our magnificent grounds. It was a very successful day with plenty of fun and good sportsmanship. We are so fortunate to have the sporting facilities that we do and its great that the other schools in the district can benefit from them. Well done to all of our teams, especially our badminton team who came runner-up in their competition.

Year 3 Camp to Somers

I'm really looking forward to the Year 3 camp to Somers coming up in a couple of week’s time. It’s always such a fantastic experience for the students and a great introduction to the camping experience. Throughout the camp, children will be learning new skills, challenging themselves, getting along and developing their personal resilience and self-reliance. I can’t wait and I'm sure the students are excited as well.

Works Projects Around the School

We have several significant projects about to start around the school that I am sure the staff and children will appreciate.

There will be significant extension and beautification works on our Natural Play Area that are at the front of the school. Landscapers moved in yesterday to begin work to provide a range of natural seating and play options in an area that has become extremely popular for many students.

New Playground Equipment

This week, the students in the SRC met with designers from Omnitech Playgrounds to help design their new playground equipment. To be installed at the back of the school, the new playground design is wonderful.

The SRC reps have done a great job. We will let you know about the timetable for construction soon. The next job though is to raise the money to pay for the playground!

You will soon see a “Fundraising Thermometer” in the school. It's the PFA’s way of letting you know about their fundraising target and how close we are. As you will see, we are still a long way from our target.

The Walkathon is the PFA’s major fundraiser for this year so I hope the whole community gets behind the “Colours of the Rainbow” dress up day with plenty of sponsors!

Environmental Science Room Project

We will also soon be beginning to see new developments in our Environmental Science Room with murals, floor coverings, bench tops and other furnishing that will gradually turn our science room into an environmental haven. It’s very exciting!

OSHC Service – Private Provision

In recent weeks, we have been in confidential discussions with private providers regarding our OSHC service. The service is now a large and complex operation and Lisa Sutherland (Business Manager) and I, in particular, are finding it increasingly difficult to commit the time necessary to run, what amounts to be, a small business.

Compliance requirements and staffing are becoming increasingly burdensome and we feel our time is better spent on tasks more closely related to the learning program in the school.

We have spoken to three of the largest and most highly recommended OSHC providers as well as a smaller, local provider and we have been very impressed with the reception we have received, their interest in our program and the opportunities that exist for improving our service considerably.

School Council, at their last meeting, approved a recommendation that we consider turning our OSHC program over to a private provider and that we form a sub-committee to select a provider from invited companies. The first sub-committee meeting is scheduled for this Friday morning at 8.15am.

I want to reassure users of the OSHC service that this process is about improvements to the service to the school community. The committee will be considering the relative benefits of each company tendering with an assurance that fees will be similar and that the service for families and children will be improved.

Should you have any concerns, questions or feedback for the sub-committee, please do not hesitate to call. This is an exciting opportunity to provide an even better OSHC for the Lyndhurst community.

SchoolMate App

The Department of Education and Training has released an App which is designed to help you better understand the curriculum we use to teach your children every day.

The App, called SchoolMate, is available for free download now in the App Store for iPhones and iPads and in Google Play for Android phones and tablets.

SchoolMate gives you a general overview of the Victorian curriculum in each subject at each year level and:

· Provides you with an overview of what your children are learning in each subject at each year level according to the Victorian curriculum (AusVELS)

· Provides you with tips regarding activities and things you can do at home to help your kids in each subject and year level

· Suggests apps, books, events and activities related to each subject area and year level.

Our school, like all other government schools in Victoria, uses AusVELS as the basis for the learning programs we run at school every day.

Our teachers adapt the curriculum to meet the needs of our students and community, for example, designing learning programs around what your children are interested in, or around days or celebrations that are important to our community.

SchoolMate is designed to give you an overview of what children are expected to learn in Victorian government schools across every subject from Prep to Year 10.

I encourage you to download SchoolMate and to please talk with your teacher or myself if you are interested to find out more about how our school teaches the curriculum.

Greg Lacey

Principal

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