As our Tutor Learning Intitiative (TLI) program finished last term, there are some necessary staffing changes. Karina Gallace and Siobhan Keane have finished their six months supporting this program and some other teachers' roles have changed. Additionally, we welcome some new or returning staff:

• Ms Louise Rambaud returns from Parental Leave this term to teach in Year 1K
• Miss Chloe Wilson is teaching Year 6R while Maree Rovatti is on leave
• Mrs Sophie Knight joins us in an aide role. This position was left vacant when Deanna Poon secured a full-time position at another school
• Mrs Rebecca Wells is an Assistant Principal who will be shadowing our Leadership Team as a part of a DET leadership development program.

Additionally, we feel very fortunate that Ms Kelli Simmons, who was one of our Maths TLI Tutors, stays on this term in a Maths/Professional Coaching role.

A full list of Term 3 staffing can be found here.

Our Learn page this week provides an update on TLI and Intervention for Term 3.

School Council noted or approved a number of updated school policies last meeting. These can all be found on our Policies page:

• • Digital Learning Policy
  • Yard Duty and Supervision Policy
  • Volunteers Policy
  • Duty of Care Policy
  • Asthma Policy
  • Student Health Care Needs Policy
  • CCTV Policy

Finally, thank you to all those parents who are wearing masks in the playground and checking in using our QR code signs. We share your concerns about the challenging situation that has arisen in N.S.W. and spread to Victoria. These small but important behaviours show a commitment to protecting our school community.

We really hope that Victorian schools will remain safe and open. However, I do want to reassure parents, and especially those new to the school, that we are ready to support remote learning if the need arises. As usual, we will email parents a message link if we receive any official notifications about changes to COVIDSafe arrangements.

Today, due to conflicting reports, students will bring home any materials that may be needed for Learning from Home (LFH), just in case. These should stay in school bags until you hear more from us please, as we're hoping this won't eventuate. We will also email passwords to new families who have not yet accessed our password-protected LFH website.

In the meantime, let's do everything we can, including staying at home and getting tested if there are any symptoms of illness.

Take care everyone!

Kim

Our Vision:    Learn   •   Thrive  •   Contribute

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from the Assistant Principals, Kathy and Jo


Hall AV upgrade

It's very exciting to know that our new state of the art AV system, funded primarily through our Parents Group's fundraising efforts, should be installed over the coming weeks in preparation (and hope!) for future school community events, such as whole school assemblies. 
We will keep you updated...

Shade Sail 

Our long awaited Shade Sail covering the Year 5/6 playground has taken shape over the holidays, with all posts in place. We are just waiting for the shade sails to be installed to complete the project and are looking forward to being able to utilise this area all year round.


             


Parent Teacher Meetings

A reminder that our Parent Teacher meetings are scheduled for Week 3, on Tuesday 27 and Thursday 29 July. We also have meetings for parents requiring a Chinese interpreter scheduled throughout the day on Friday 30 July. 

Although families requiring an interpreter should have notified the office via email by 4 p.m. on Tuesday 13 July, we still have some spaces. Hui Lin will email those parents who register with details. 

Except for EAL interpreter meetings, all other families should book online:
Visit the Sentral Parent Portal and click on the Parent-Teacher meetings tab.

Opening and Closing Dates

Bookings will open Friday 16 July at 5.00 pm.
Bookings will close Friday 23 July at 5.00 pm.

Teachers will distribute Webex meeting invitations to parents who have registered, after the bookings close.

Please remember that, as appointments with Specialists are optional and limited, there is a maximum of one meeting per family.

Our Vision:    Learn   •   Thrive  •   Contribute 

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Our Tutor Learning Initiative (TLI) program finished at the end of Semester 1. We congratulate our tutors and teachers on the success of this program throughout that time.

Our approach was to maximise the TLI funding by providing a full support program through Terms 1 and 2 for identified students. TLI grants were intended to boost students whose learning growth was concerning after the lockdowns of 2020. Classroom teachers assessed and identified those students in Term 4, 2020.

The success of TLI at Laburnum can be attributed to:

• continuing the Targeted Intervention model that we have used over the last three years. This evidence-based approach relies on regular assessment, preserves what students can already do and introduces next steps in their learning;
• selecting tutors who had specific expertise to work with students, their teachers and PLC teams in Maths or English. Thank you Mandy Ryan, Glenda Kelly, Jacqui Purcell, Lexie Hartney, Jenny Simmons and Kelli Simmons;
• having tutors work with students and their teachers in their own classrooms, also upskilling those teachers;
• adjusting classroom approaches to enhance student engagement and further differentiate learning tasks for the range of students in each class;
• creating an Intervention Team of tutors who met and shared their progress and challenges regularly;
• aligning Individual Learning Plans with each student's TLI focus, where possible.

We also have been very fortunate to use the expertise of Jess Bruce and Rob Palmer-Leeraar in a TLI leadership role. They have worked on school-wide systems that track learning growth in Reading and Mathematics. Based on our school Assessment Schedule and capturing every student, Jess and Rob will complete this work during Term 3.

It’s unsurprising that, given the expertise of our TLI team and engagement of classroom teachers, our students have benefitted. Many students have moved ‘off’ the TLI list. Wouldn’t it be fabulous to always have funding for resources like this?

Going forward, and although TLI is finished, students needing support in Reading or Maths this term have been classified into one of three tiers:

• Students in Tier 1 can be supported by their class teachers (this includes most students);
• Students in Tier 2 could benefit from additional small group work with teachers or the Intervention Team; and
• Students in Tier 3 will receive assistance from our Intervention Team, as well as their class teacher, this term.

Our Specialist teachers are also continuing to work with students who have English as an Additional Language (EAL) this term. They work with students who would benefit from an oral-language based program each week.

If you have questions or concerns about your child’s learning in English or Mathematics, please talk to their teacher at Parent-Teacher Meetings in Week 3 this term.

 

Our Vision:    Learn   •   Thrive  •   Contribute 

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Year 1 Astronaut Snapshots

Last term, the Year 1 students focused on the writing style of a ‘Snapshot’. This style of writing allowed students to write about an exact moment in time, using a picture stimulus for support.

Students began by creating a ‘Word Splash’, where students generate their own list of words to connect with a given picture. When looking at the astronaut picture, students used verbs, adjectives, the senses and their own knowledge of astronauts to create their Word Splash.  From their Word Splash, students wrote descriptive sentences using the interesting vocabulary to capture the moment of time within the picture.

  

Year 1 Shape Clues

Last term, the Year 1 students investigated and classified two-dimensional shapes and three-dimensional objects. This sparked the school value of ‘curiosity’, as students connected shapes with real life objects within the classroom and in the outside environment. We played Shape Clues, where students gave their partner a set of clues to describe different shapes using the geometric features. Their partner used the clues to try and guess the shape or object their partner had in mind. The Year 1 students enjoyed this game as they challenged their partner by giving them hard clues.

Year 2 Information Reports

In Writing, the Year 2 students chose an animal to research and write an information report about. They enjoyed looking through non-fiction books to gather information and plan their reports. Great care was taken with publishing and illustrating these. We have had the pleasure of reading each other’s information reports, as they are displayed outside our classrooms.

               

Science

In term 2 Science, the Year 2 students learnt about ways to save and use water responsibly at school and at home. At the beginning of the term, students made rain gauges, recorded the centimetres of water collected over time and created a graph to display their findings. From the data collected, students were able to understand the importance of the water cycle.

                    

After learning about the importance of water, students created Water Saving posters, listing all of the different ways to save water in our community.

          

Curiosity  •   Respect  •  Integrity  •  Resilience

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Year 3 inquiry

During Term 3, students have been learning about the different climate zones within Australia and how the environment supports living things. Students researched an area of interest and chose how this would be presented, producing amazing dioramas, posters, booklets and PowerPoint presentations.

A highlight was the excitement students demonstrated as they shared their presentations with each other. There was much discussion and sharing of information, with students giving positive feedback and taking notes about what they had learned.

      

Year 4 inquiry

Year 4 have had a productive term. We appreciate the support from families during LFH. Students transitioned back into the classroom smoothly, demonstrating resilience and positive social skills. To complete our inquiry unit, students created their own essential question and presented this on Google Classroom.

 

 

Students interviewed each other and created information reports about one of their peers.

They have also been working on solving problems involving money. Students created budgets, transactions and calculated change.

Curiosity  •   Respect  •  Integrity  •  Resilience

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Parents Group News:

 

Upcoming events

We have some exciting activities coming up in Term 3 and 4 - keep an eye out in the newsletter for updates and if you want to get involved in organising them please email us on parentsgroup.lps@gmail.com.

• Ivan’s Pie Drive : This term! See details below.
• Trivia night : Term 3 (TBC)
• Fathers Day Breakfast : Friday 3rd September before school
• Colour Fun Run : Friday 12th November
• Barefoot Bowls : Term 4 (TBC)

LPS leading the way with lockdown activities!

Our lockdown activities for the children didn’t go unnoticed with Parents Victoria including an article in their newsletter about our successful events! Our President of PG Tasneem wrote an article about our activities and you can read it here, (scroll down),or it is also included at the end of our section.

List of LPS family businesses

We are  still collating our list of businesses owned by LPS families so we can share with the school community, as well as possibly reaching out if there are any social or fundraising events that might be able to utilise these businesses. If you own a business and would like to be included please fill out this survey https://forms.gle/RL6kR7dwz949eAxn7.  

Umbrellas

Don’t be caught out without an umbrella! For anyone that wants to purchase a school umbrella they are $25 and can be purchased at the office.

Entertainment Book

Raise money for the school by purchasing the digital Entertainment Book! 20% of every Entertainment Membership sold goes to the school. With thousands of incredible offers of dining, activities, travel & shopping and loads of 50% off and 2 for 1 deals in Melbourne and across Australia. The membership is instantly available and valid all year. Sign up using the link www.entbook.com.au/185r982.

Joining Parents Group

Do you want to be more involved in the school community? Then come and join Parents’ Group! We are a friendly and supportive group that focus on fundraising and community events that in the past have included the Colour Run, Mother’s Day stall, Father’s Day breakfast, the Fete & Barefoot Bowls (just to name a few!). Past fundraising efforts have helped provide great facilities such as the Laburnum Lab.

We'd love new members to join and there is no expectation as to how much time you spend assisting on activities. Join a fantastic group of parents committed to ensuring Laburnum is not just a school, but a community. For more information please email parentsgroup.lps@gmail.com. 

Laburnum Primary: Lockdown Diaries

Article written by Tasneem P and published in the Parents Voice newsletter

Last issue we put out a call for Parent Clubs to send in their success stories; the wonderful things they've achieved for their school communities. Here's a great one from Laburnum Primary.

Laburnum Primary School has an active Parents Group working hard to build a strong sense of community through fundraising and social events throughout the year.

Along with the Parents Group, there are class representatives, who are volunteers for every class organising social activities for the class families.

Beating the lockdown...

Since the start of COVID last year, stuck in the house much of the time during lockdowns and unable to run the planned calendar social activities, Parents Group have been keen to have the community stay connected. Thanks to the internet, apps like Zoom, and parent organisers, we have able to run online social events for Laburnum families.

With the objective of staying connected with the community, we have run a few social online family events since the start of the pandemic. Class representatives have been an important part to communicate with their class families and engage their participation to these social events.

In 2020, over the couple of long lockdowns, whole-school Virtual Disco’s were organised for the students and families to come together and enjoy an evening with fun, laughter, dance and music. There was a big number of smiling, happy faces, enjoying themselves along with their friends online!

...and again!

Come 2021, with another extended lockdown, Parents Group were quick to organise Family Bingo Nights, this time as a year-level event, to have the students and families connect with the friends from their own year level. Bingo tickets were free, and winners received prizes organised by Parents Group.

Parents Group with immense support from the school leadership have been successful in engaging the school community with these free out-of-box events and are continually endeavouring to maintain and nurture a strong and vibrant community at Laburnum Primary School.

 

Click on these links for Community News or information:

                     

  

OSHClub - please register your child - it's free to register and you'll always have that option for childcare, even in unexpected circumstances.

ICAS tests for Years 4 - 6: Entry is available to students in Years 4, 5 and 6 ONLY. This is a reminder that time is running out to enrol your child in the ICAS assessments for this year. Entry through the Parent Portal will be closed on Friday 23rd July. There will be no entry through the school or the ICAS Parent Portal after this date.  The tests will be held before school on the following dates: English ICAS test – Thursday 19 August  Science ICAS test – Tuesday 24 August Maths ICAS test – Monday 30 August To enter follow the link below, and use the school access code to enroll your child.  Access details for parents: Laburnum Primary School access code: RET186 Your parent page link is: https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps

Please click on the link here for information on Digimaker

Please click on the link here for information on Chess

 

Our Vision:    Learn   •   Thrive  •   Contribute 

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P.E.

Whitehorse Division Cross Country Carnival 2021

On Thursday 24 June, 13 of our LPS students attended the Whitehorse Division Cross Country Carnival at Ruffey Lake Park in Doncaster East. Our students performed exceptionally well, with many of them finishing in the top 20 in their age group. Congratulations to all the students on making it through to Division Cross Country, as well as to Niklas C, Rachel P and Jim C on making it through to the Regional Cross Country Carnival which will be held at Yarra Glen Racecourse on Thursday 22 July, we wish you all the best!

Finally, a huge thank you to our parents who took the children to and from the venue. Your support and assistance are greatly appreciated!

List of Division competitors:

9/10 year old boys	9/10 year old girls	11 year old boys	11 year old girls	12/13 year old boys	12/13 year old girls
Alex S	Jacqueline W	Edwin K	Jessica M	Niklas C	Rachel P
Edward S	Lucy S		Mia H	Jay C
			Nicola B	Jim C
			Catherine M

 

Upcoming Events

• Regional Cross Country – Thursday 22 July (selected students only)
• Winter Sports Round Robin – Friday 23 July: AFL (Australian Football League), Netball, Soccer and Teeball. See Sentral note.
• LPS Years 3-6 House Athletics Carnival – Thursday 29 July (back-up date Friday 30 July). Parent helpers are still needed - see Sentral note please.
• BDPSSA (Blackburn District Primary School Sports Association) District Athletics Carnival – Monday 23 August (back-up date Tuesday 31 August). See Sentral note.

Spanish

¿Qué pasa?       

“¡Hola!”Welcome back to Term 3 Todos!  Room 17 will be filled with great learning again this term.

Please read on to find out what is happening across the school-

Prep - Food Glorious Food

• (More) Healthy Foods
•  Traditional foods found throughout Spanish Speaking Countries (please try one from Spain  listed below)*
•  Restaurant Roleplay with Foods and Numbers

Years 1 and 2 - Seasons, Weather and Clothing

• Start Term off with Alebrijes (Mexican Folk Art) Gallery Walk and Talk
• Traditional Dress in Mexico and Spain
• Seasons
• Weather
• Everyday clothing

Years 3 and 4 - (Imaginary) J  Trip to Mexico

• Geography
• Food
• Money
• Celebrations
• Games

Years 5 and 6 - Discover Spain through Music and Dance

• Traditional Music and Dance (Flamenco, Fandango, Paso Doble , Sardana)
• Instruments
• Songs/Lyrics
• Celebrations
• Sport 
• Own Spanish Song Writing and Group Performances

Spanish Captains and Spanish Club will have a special activity this term, researching which Spanish Speaking countries will be participating in the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics, athletes, facts on each country AND KEEPING A MEDAL COUNT  (including Australia, of course!)

Curiosity  •   Respect  •  Integrity  •  Resilience

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