Thank you to all those parents who have expressed  their support for the campaign to improve teaching conditions.

The Australian Education Union (AEU) has indicated it intends to take five forms of action:

• In the event that an Australian Labor Party Member of the Victorian Parliament visits a school, AEU members who work at the school will stop work for the duration of the visit;
• A ban on performing work unless the employee is wearing insignia, slogans and/or other material concerning the AEU or its campaign about the enterprise agreement;
• Interrupting or stopping work to provide public comments, statements or any other information concerning the AEU campaign about the enterprise agreement including on personal social media, to members of the public or other media; and
• Interrupting or stopping work to hand out flyers about the AEU campaign for the enterprise agreement to parents and members of the public and/or to place campaign material on or off the workplace
• A full-day stop work on Tuesday 24 March 2026.

Enrolment for LPS 2027 Foundation (Prep) students 
LPS has had enrolment restrictions for at least ten years, assisting principals to successfully reduce our enrolments over that time. Last year, the Department also advised that we have an Enrolment Management Implementation Plan (EMIP), with a limit on Prep enrolments. We expect this to continue for 2027. The plan aims to support us in maintaining our preferred and projected school size.

This means that families wishing to enrol Preps for 2027 should let us know as soon as possible, to allow their child/ren to be considered for enrolment offers as part of the 'pool' of applications. Please see the 2027 Prep Enrolment page. 

Enrolling your child as early as possible also allows us to plan our classroom sizes, staffing and transition activities, ensuring your child has the best start to school.

Details about the Year 6 - 7 transition process, using the similar online enrolment system, will be available soon. We've also started adding information to our Year 6 - 7 Transition page in eNews. Parents are reminded to check their contact details on Sentral, and email our office if these need updating.

Finally, School Council has approved two student-free days next term:

•  Monday 18 May (Professional Practice Day)
•  Tuesday 19 May (Annual Assessment and Reporting Day)

As this unavoidably clashes with Grade 4 swimming, those parents will soon receive Sentral notification about swimming dates.

TeamKids will operate on those two student-free days for families who need childcare.

Kim

Our Vision:    Learn   •   Thrive  •   Contribute

Our JSC Reps have commenced selling ANZAC Day badges this week in preparation for ANZAC DAY on 25 April. 
You will also find them at the front desk for purchase.

Please complete your online ordering for School Photos scheduled for next Friday 27 March. PRE-NAMED and barcoded envelopes have been sent home this week. These need to be returned on Photo Day and given directly to the photographer by each child.
Family/sibling forms are optional and must also be returned on photo day. 


An important reminder when dropping off and picking up children at Janet St to please do so on the school side. It is important that children also exit the car safely by stepping straight on to the nature strip and not the road.
Please model safe road safety with your children so we can keep all pedestrians out of harm's way.

The canteen has been buzzing each Tuesday Morning and Thursday during recess as LPS students make the most of our Snack Club offerings. This initiative will continue in Term 2. A huge thank you to our Grade 4 Snack Club Leaders for running this operation in an organised manner. 

We are always looking for fresh and filling meals, so these Chickpea Lentil Burgers sound perfect! Give them a try and let us know what you thought. 

And finally, the end of term is fast approaching. Please note that Term 1 will finish on Thursday 2 April. Students will be dismissed at 2.30pm. Please ensure you make arrangements for the earlier finish on that day. 

Our Vision:    Learn   •   Thrive  •   Contribute

This year, Laburnum Primary School is excited to be part of the Mental Health in Primary Schools Initiative (MHiPS), a program developed by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne University and the Victorian Department of Education. The goal of this program is to help teachers and school communities better support the mental health and wellbeing of students.

As part of this program, schools have a Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader (MHWL) and I am excited to take on this role at Laburnum Primary School.

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader works with teachers to:

• embed evidence-based approaches across the school to build the capability of staff to better identify and support students
• provide support for teachers with students who have been identified as in need
• connect families with helpful services or support if needed

This role does not replace professional support services. Instead, it helps the school build strong systems so students can get the right support early.

Our goal is to create and maintain a safe, caring and supportive school where every child feels they belong and can learn and thrive.

                

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader role is not designed for direct intervention or assessment with individual students. If you have any concerns regarding your child’s mental health and/or social and emotional wellbeing please contact your child’s teacher.

Our Vision:    Learn   •   Thrive  •   Contribute

Grade 1 students have been very busy over the past couple of weeks!

After reading The Firefighters by Sue Whiting, they worked in small groups to design and build their own fire trucks. Then it was time for action! Students transformed into firefighters and zoomed around the school, racing to protect and help others. After that, they wrote a recount about their experiences including using the powerful and interesting verbs they had been learning. They carefully edited their writing to check for capital letters and full stops and finally published their work using their neatest handwriting. What a fantastic effort from our busy firefighters!

In Maths, students have been learning about number sequences and patterns. They worked together to place jumbled numbers from 0–120 on a number line and then cut the line into rows to create their own hundreds chart. This helped them see how numbers are organised and how they change as we move from the ones into the tens.

Students also explored repeating patterns using colours, shapes and objects. They created their own patterns, identified the repeating part, and practised continuing patterns made by others.

Grade 2

In Reading, students have been identifying different reading strategies to help support their understanding of the text. They have all been making predictions, including using the front cover of the book to support their predictions. It has been a great strategy to make them think about different books they read every day.
                               

Curiosity  •   Respect  •  Integrity  •  Resilience

There are many families that have credit available on their family accounts. This means that you can ask for that amount to put towards any excursion or event, simply by emailing the office. 

Do you have a credit in your Family Account that you could be using for school invoices? Just check the statement you receive for any credits. 

Using the Department's finance system, family statements with a (-) minus in front of the amount, are a CREDIT. 

Examples of credits on Statements:

Unallocated Receipts      -$3.60 (this family could direct $3.60 to a school payment)

Unallocated Credit          -$210.00 (this family could direct $210 to school payments)

Our Vision:    Learn   •   Thrive  •   Contribute

Buddies in Training

This year, the Grade 3 students are learning about what it means to be a Big Buddy at Laburnum Primary School. This is in preparation for becoming a Big Buddy in 2027, when they will have a new Prep student to guide and mentor at school. Becoming a Big Buddy is an exciting opportunity, and it is important that we understand how to be a good buddy so we are prepared for this responsibility next year.

Recently, students discussed and shared their ideas by thinking about the following questions before creating posters that included statements about “A buddy is someone who…”

• What does being a Big Buddy look like?
• How should a Big Buddy speak and sound?
• What sorts of things could a Big Buddy help with?

Through this activity, students began thinking about the important role they will play in helping younger students feel welcome, safe and supported at school.

Inquiry

This week in Inquiry, the Grade 3 students explored different ways to stay active in their communities and rated a variety of games that encourage physical activity.

Being active has many benefits for both our bodies and minds, including:

• improving muscle flexibility, strength and endurance
• helping to prevent disease
• improving sleep
• supporting concentration and learning
• strengthening social connections within our communities
• building confidence

Students enjoyed participating in a range of games, including Shrinking Blanket, Search by Sound, Alphabet Actors, Agility Ladder, Animal Walk Circuit and Clap and Catch. You might like to ask your child about these games at home and even give some of them a try together! 

                         

Grade 4

This term, Grade 4 students have been exploring what makes a community active, connected and dynamic. They learned how communities can change over time and investigated the contributions of Australian community change-makers who have helped improve the lives of others. Students also explored ways people can support the wellbeing of their communities by encouraging healthy and active lifestyles. As part of this learning, they examined a range of community health messages and discussed how these messages can influence the choices people make.

The students have also practised the habit of Persistence, which involves continuing to work even when something is challenging, staying focused and seeking help when needed rather than giving up. To do this, the Year 4s participated in a cup stacking activity in which they had to attach string to an elastic band and then pick up and stack plastic cups. All classes showed an amazing level of persistence!

Curiosity  •   Respect  •  Integrity  •  Resilience

Welcome to Term 1 in the Art Room.

I’m very pleased to announce our Art Captains this year are Ananya and Zac. You may have already met them presenting our Art and Marrung items at assembly. They will be keeping our Art Notice Board up to date with student awards, community art classes, holiday activities, competitions and exhibition information. The Art Notice Board is on the right as you enter B Block opposite the art room.

To begin the year, classes focused on our school values for Art lessons, including safety, integrity and resilience around spills and mistakes. We value mistakes in Art for finding new perspectives and problem solving. Students take pride in their work and respect the works of others. They develop autonomy, taking responsibility for looking after equipment, helping and sharing.

Grade 3 are looking at the works of James DeRosso and making clay monsters or creatures. They are improving on hand building skills and will use new joining and carving techniques. Their works will be on display most of Term 2, in our reception area near the Grade 3 classrooms.
                                       

Grade 2 have been exploring the theatre of shadow puppetry. They cut props and characters with silhouette in mind, learning about how light and shadow, sound and movement, create ideas or a story.

Grade 1 are experimenting with printmaking, creating collagraph stamps and cutting shapes for stencilling. They are using acrylic paint so smocks have been valuable. Our focus has been on the parts and shapes of fish. Students have also been slowly working on a fish collage, using decorative paper to make scales and scale-like textures.

Preps are familiarising themselves with the art room, learning about safety, and collecting their own materials and equipment for drawing, colouring and painting. They have started making a small clay tablet which they will glaze and take home in time for Easter.

Current displays in B Block include Grade 1 printing fun, “Fire Horse” paintings and some Tiny Art from across all year levels, particularly by 2D, 5R and 6P students. There are spaces waiting for further Tiny Art contributions. All members of our school community are invited to participate.

As always, we are grateful for donations of clean recycled and non-food related small packaging for sculpture units. We are currently needing cardboard cylinders from cling wrap and aluminium packaging. Science, gardening and home decorating magazines are also appreciated, as well as ribbon for weaving projects.

Thank you to all those parents who have provided students with Art Smocks for this year. Please clearly label your child’s smock with their name and class. All students will require a smock for Art lessons.

You might have noticed our beautiful textile works, created by Grade 6 classes of 2024, on display in the Senior School building. Please take some time to view these works and if you know any of our “Class of 2024” you might let them know that their work is gracing those walls!

Curiosity  •   Respect  •  Integrity  •  Resilience
 

Bunnings BBQ Fundraiser Wrap Up!

On Saturday 7^th March LPS Parents Group fundraised $1,746 at the Bunnings Sausage Sizzle!  Well done and thank you to Caroline H and all the many volunteers who helped on the day.

Parents Group Meetings

LPS Parents Group meets most months on a Tuesday evening at school. Our next meeting is Tuesday 24^th March at 7pm. All parents and carers are welcome to attend! If you’d like any further information, please email: parentsgroup.lps@gmail.com 

Keen to Help with a 2027 School Fete?

Parents' Group is exploring the possibility of holding a school fete in March 2027 (not confirmed), but we need to know if there’s enough parent interest to make it happen. If you are interested, please fill out the form via the link below and come along to the Fete Information evening on Wednesday 1st April (details to be confirmed). 

It’s a huge event and needs a team of reliable, enthusiastic helpers that will start working on it for the next 12 months. We're gauging interest now to see if it's viable and if we get the core volunteer group then we will take the next step in bringing it together (which will need more volunteers).

Key roles & how many people we’d need are:

- Fete Convenor/project manager to lead the event (2)

- Sponsorships & Donations to reach out to local businesses (4)

- Advertising & Communications to promote the event and keep the school community informed (2)

- Logistics to organise physical equipment and supplies (2)

For more information on the roles and to submit your interested please let us know via this form:

https://forms.gle/oh2E3bR2N7HcLWNg8

Once we have the core group and approval from the school we will reach out for all other roles needed. 

If you have any questions or thoughts, please email us on parentsgroup.lps@gmail.com

Entertainment App Membership for Sale!

Your Membership to The Entertainment App will save you up to 50% on dining, shopping and activities – all while supporting our school!  Vouchers are for businesses right across Australia, New Zealand and Bali, and once you activate your membership you have 12 months to use the vouchers.

The app costs $75 for 12 months. Join this March to receive:

• $30 donated to your selected charity (double donation)
• Entry to win the cruise of a lifetime
• Another 12 months of exclusive member savings

For more information or to purchase your membership, please click the link here:

https://subscribe.entertainment.com.au/fundraiser/185r982

Curiosity  •   Respect  •  Integrity  •  Resilience

OPEN NIGHT: Thursday 19th March, 5.30–7.30pm

Take a self-guided tour with staff and students who will be ready to
answer your questions. Come and see what makes our school special
– we can’t wait to meet you! 
Please click on the image for more information. Scan the QR code to secure a place.


OPEN Day: Tuesday 28th April, 6pm.
Please click on the image for more information. Scan the QR code to secure a place.

School tours are a wonderful way to see Box Hill High School in action, and bookings are now open for a tour of the school for prospective parents/carers and students.

Not only will visitors see classes in operation, but there will also be opportunities to ask questions, meet BHHS staff and students and hear from a member of the Principal Class Team. Explore the school on a tour and find out more 

about how BHHS provides the perfect balance between academic, social, and emotional growth and development in its students.

School tours at BHHS will run from 10 February – 7 May. Bookings are now open at Trybooking.

As there will be no Open Afternoon during 2026, we encourage you to book your place on a School Tour if you are considering Box Hill High School for your student’s needs in 2027 and beyond.

Free resources for families of adolescents aged 10 to 14 years

The Department of Education has launched an Easing into adolescence webpage for families of students aged 10 to 14 (Grade 5 to Year 8).

The webpage has information and strategies you can use to help ease your child into adolescence and secondary school. These include:

• a guide to emotion coaching. Staff from The University of Melbourne’s Tuning in to Teens Kids program developed the guidance.
• how to support your adolescent with their studies and more generally. Parenting expert and clinical psychologist Andrew Fuller helped develop this resource.

Subtitles for videos by The University of Melbourne on the webpage are available in 10 languages. You can select your preferred language on the translations page.

Our Vision:    Learn   •   Thrive  •   Contribute 

Click on these links  below for Community News or information:         

TeamKids Out of School Hours Care  Please register your child here - it's free to register and you'll always have that option for childcare, even in unexpected circumstances.  More information is on our website here. We’re bursting with excitement to let you know that bookings for our Autumn Holiday Program are now officially OPEN for Laburnum Primary! See what’s happening at our school → https://downloads.teamkids.com.au/laburnum_primary.pdf

Digimaker will start in Term 2.

Please click on this Chess Club image for Term 1 registration.

Click on the image for tennis coaching information.

Please click on the image for registration in the Winter season, Terms 2 & 3.

Pleae click on the logo for a holiday program.

Please click the image for Term 2 after-school basketball, ages 5-9.

Our Vision:    Learn   •   Thrive  •   Contribute