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.

Kind regards,

Kel Innis

Principal

Launching into Learning (LiL) begins this week. This year we will again have two LiL sessions each week; Tuesday morning 9am-9:45am in the Music Room with Amanda Brown, and Thursday morning 9am-10:15am in various locations with Purdie Hudson. 

Paper copies of the timetable below are available from the office.

If you know of any families in the area that LiL might be suited to, please invite them along! Launching into Learning sessions are open to all children, birth to 5 years. Enrolment catchment areas do not apply to LiL and you may attend as many LiL sessions at as many schools as you like. There is no charge for attending LiL. 

For more info, head to the DoE website:

Assemblies will be held fortnightly on Friday afternoons in the GP room, beginning in Week 3 (Friday 21st February).

The schedule of presenting classes is below:

Once again, we will endeavour to notify parents of upcoming assembly awards using the SZapp, however this is not always possible. Please make sure you have subscribed to our school's profile. SZapp is available for free via the App Store or GooglePlay.

Please read the information below carefully as it outlines changes to our Athletics Carnival.

This year we welcome Mr Vincent Kamano to our staff. Mr Kamano will be our PE teacher and although this is his first time running such events, he brings with him experience of how other schools run their events, as well as up to date education in the area of HPE (Health and Physical Education).

The Athletics Carnival is coming up and the school has given careful consideration to feedback from students, staff and community as well and ensuring we put the needs of our learners first before making a change to the athletics program.

In order to accommodate the growth in student numbers, ensure enough time for the running and timing of interschool qualifying Grade 3- 6 events, incorporate more novelty events and ensure the heat or time constraints isn’t a factor in the performance and/or wellbeing of our students we will move to running the carnivals over two half days.  

Grade 3 – 6 Athletics Carnival will be on Tuesday 25^th from 9:10am – 1pm (back to eat lunch unless more time is required for interschool qualifiers to be completed.) 

It is important to note that as with the Swimming Carnival last year, we will also be aiming to time the Grade 3 – 6 races and events which are part of the interschool program. This will ensure both equity and transparency, but also promotes the message that every student’s race is important and valued. This means that there will not be finals run on the carnival day and there will be no divisions. Mr Kamano has committed to completing some of the qualifying events for the interschool as part of his class PE Athletics Program this year. The interschool team will be selected based on times, and as with all carnivals there is a maximum of events that students can compete in if selected in the interschool team. Students who qualify for more than their allocated events will work with Mr Kamano to identify their preferred events.

K-2 Athletics Fun will be Wednesday 1st April from 9.10 (timing and events list TBC) 

This move will ensure we give our younger students more time to re-adjust to school structures and build their confidence, plus it enables both Kinder classes to take part. It also means we can structure a greater variety of movement events which focus on fun, community and participation.

House meetings will be happening over the next couple of weeks to elect our House Captains and programs for the Grade 3-6 Carnival and K-2 Athletics Fun will be sent out via Schoolzine as they become available. If you are unsure of your child's house allocation, please check with office staff. 

Beth Vince

Assistant Principal

School banking is on again in 2020, thanks to our wonderful volunteers Megan and Jess. 

Banking day is THURSDAY.

Please remind your child to pop their bank book in the grey satchel in their classroom in the morning. Banking deposits will be processed that day and bank books returned to students. 

It is important that all slips are completed correctly and that the amount being banked is correctly written in the bank book. 

If you would like to open a Youth Saveer account for your child, head into your nearest branch of the Commonwealth bank. As well as helping your child learn the basics of money management, school banking benefits the school as every deposit made earns us fundraising dollars. 

Reward items for this term are:

On Thursday February 20th, both Grade 4 classes will be going to Molesworth on an excursion focussing on team building. We will be leaving school on the bus at 9:00 am and returning by the end of the school day.

This is a free dress day for students. Please make sure your child has appropriate footwear for a very active day (sports sneakers would be best). Please also ensure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather and has a wide brimmed hat to bring along. If the weather is inclement, please note that a decision will be made after consultation with the teachers at Molesworth. You should send your child ready to depart, even if it is raining.

Your child will also need to bring a packed recess and lunch and a drink bottle with water.

Kind regards,

Jacquie Moore and Michelle Isaac

Thank you to all families who have completed their Validation forms and paid their 2020 levies! We understand that the forms are time-consuming, and we appreciate your patience and perserverence.  

If you have not returned your Validation forms, please do so ASAP so that we have the most up to date information to care for your child, as well as valid permissions for excursions and photographs.

If your child requires medication at while at school, please make sure you have supplied us with a current Action Plan (if needed), Administration of Medication form and any medication required in original packaging. 

Levy payments can be made at any time via EFTPOS or cash in the school office, or via Bpay using the reference numbers on your DoE invoice. Kinder 2020 levies are $180, Prep - Grade 6 levies are $280. 

Please see office staff if you have any questions about levies, student medication or permissions.