Hello and welcome to the new 2020 school year! I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of our new families, as well as those returning. Spending time in the classrooms this week, it has been so wonderful to hear all of the holiday stories. It has been my absolutely pleasure to see how engaged, connected and enthusiastic our students are. It is also wonderful to see how quickly the relationships between students and teachers are forming, and how the classroom spaces have come alive over the past few weeks. Our dedicated staff have spent hours preparing these spaces, ready to maximise every opportunity for learning, and they have done an amazing job setting up your children for success.

We are looking forward to a very productive and busy term. Already some of you may have seen the work going on behind and adjacent to the Music Room. The School Association very generously donated $25,000 towards building a new deck so that we can transform a tired and impractical area into a wonderful outdoor learning space that will eventually be home to an outdoor amphitheatre and music walk. This will be an ongoing project that we hope to connect with the school/community garden and loose parts play area so watch this space! Thank you to Devil Decks for the fantastic work they are doing. 

Early classrooms have also benefited from some new flexible furniture, also donated by our wonderful and hardworking School Association. These have been very well received by both the staff and students, offering alternate ways of utilising our spaces. If you would like to be a part of our School Association we are always looking for new and fresh ideas! Please pop in or email me and I can tell you all about when we meet and how your contribution can help our school.

Below is a few of the upcoming events and new procedures for 2020. As usual we are always open to feedback and would invite all parents to email, make an appointment and call through the office to speak to either you child’s teacher or a member of the leadership team if you have any questions or feedback.

INFORMATION NIGHT & WELCOME BBQ

Next Wednesday 19th February is the evening of our annual Information Night & Welcome BBQ. Your child's teachers will be in their classrooms during their assigned times and parents are invited to come in for the 15 minute sessions. This is an opportunity for you to hear about classroom routines, things like how each class uses SeeSaw and other relevant class programs or expectations, answer any questions and get to know your child’s space. After this, the School Association run a BBQ in the courtyard where teachers, parents and students can mingle and hopefully enjoy some sunshine together. It is a wonderful opportunity to get to know the teachers, other families and make connections with all of our staff, interacting outside the business of drop off and pick up times. We understand that some parents will have students in several grades so have tried to spread the times in the most equitable way. I look forward to seeing you all there!

ASSEMBLIES

Assemblies will continue to be held fortnightly in the GP room on Friday afternoons, beginning promptly at 2pm. All classes will take turns in hosting the assembly as well as presenting once a term. Please see the timetable below. In Term 1 the first Assembly will be in Week 3 and will be hosted by the newly elected SRC. At each assembly there will be at least three classes showcasing and sharing their learning. The focus for this term will on work students are doing on the Zones of Regulation. Principal Awards will now be called “Lindisfarne Learner” awards and each classroom teacher will personally present one or two per assembly. These awards will be presented to those students who have consistently demonstrated the DoE values of courage, aspiration, growth and respect. Our Admin staff will endeavour to send a message to parents via Schoolzine before the assembly if your son/daughter will be receiving an award. 100 nights of reading awards will now be given out once a month by our Literacy Coach, Mrs Sheehan Sophie during classtime. Assemblies are an excellent way to celebrate our students and their achievements and everyone is welcome to attend. 

OUTDOOR CLASSROOM

Last Tuesday before students returned to school, we were fortunate to have the Mt Nelson Sustainability Centre visit and share with us some creative ways of using our outdoor environment to complement our curriculum. It was a really enjoyable and valuable learning experience. As a result we have developed a partnership with their team and they will be joining us weekly for the rest of the year to work with each class. The Grade 4 team will begin next Wednesday and this involves a variety of different activities and locations. Keep an eye out for some follow up photos and be sure to ask your children what they are doing and learning.