LPS eNews

17 February 2022


Principal's Message

COVIDSafe Schools Announcement today:
The Victorian Government has today announced a 6-week extension of the COVIDSafe measures for schools. These measures will now be in place for the remainder of Term 1, subject to any changes in health advice. We will update the community about any relevant details in the expected Operations Guide and, until then, continue our current school arrangements.

Our Parent Information sessions commenced on Tuesday this week, with Prep and the Senior School. We thank you for your attendance and look forward to meeting with parents/carers of the Junior and Middle Schools tonight. We aim to inform you about what is happening across the school and address any general queries you may have about this year for your child. Presentations will all be found on the Sentral Parent Portal by Monday.


Meet the Teacher meetings scheduled for next week are an opportunity to share important information about your child with the classroom teacher. Sentral bookings for these close today (17 February) at 5 p.m. After the bookings close, and before next Tuesday's meetings, teachers will send parents a Webex link for these. Parents who have requested an interpreter will be emailed their details separately.

The Parent Information Evenings this week were the first of our ‘formal’ meetings with, and reports to, parents.  We arrange these so there is at least one scheduled opportunity every term to know how your child is progressing and the next steps in their learning, as follows:

  • Term 1 Information Sessions (Week 4).
  • Term 1 Meet the Teacher (Week 5)
  • Term 2 and 4: Semester reports are sent home at the end of these terms.
  • Early Term 3: parent teacher meetings are held again. Parents will be advised of actual dates.

Additionally, parents of children with special needs or short-term challenges can expect:

  • Individual Learning Plans (ILPs), which are updated every five weeks if needed; or
  • Behaviour Support Plans (BSPs), which are reviewed each term.

We also offer Student Support Group meetings once each term for some families whose children have complex needs or Attendance concerns.

If you have questions or concerns at any other time, please follow the process in place below:

  • Contact your child's classroom teacher first to discuss their learning, behaviour, social or personal needs. The PLC Leader can also be involved in these discussions.
  • If you have more serious issues regarding your child’s learning, safety or wellbeing please contact the PLC Leader or one of our Leading Teachers/Learning Specialists (Mandy, Glenda, Jacqui, Kelli or Narelle) 
  • Finally please dont hesitate to contact Kathy Verbi, Jo Braden or Kim Dray if these steps do not resolve your concerns or questions, or for matters concerning the operation of the school

To arrange a meeting or conversation with your child’s teacher, or appointments with other staff, please email the teacher via their Sentral mailbox, or the school at laburnum.ps@education.vic.gov.au, or phone our office. 

As your child’s teacher is working with children for most of their day, email response times can be typically 24 - 48 hours. The secure school email address laburnum.ps@education.vic.gov.au is checked several times daily and important or urgent messages are conveyed to teachers. If your child’s teacher is absent on a day you email the school, messages can be passed onto the replacement teacher or PLC Leader if needed. Please do not send urgent messages to Sentral teacher mailboxes.

Our main communication tools are LPS eNews (the school newsletter), our comprehensive LPS school website and the Sentral Parent Portal for important messages or documents.  Our website provides the option of translating important information into many other languages and can calso be read on your mobile phone. All of these rely on parents/carers reading them!

In particular, LPS eNews is an essential communication tool and delivered to your email inbox every fortnight. Please read eNews to stay informed and up to date with important information. We are always looking to add students who have made significant achievements to our Superstars page. We look forward to hearing from you!

Our Learning Management System, Sentral, contains documents and tools for parents, including teacher mailboxes and Parents Group meeting minutes. It is also used to record student absences and publish student reports.

Relevant school policies are uploaded to the website as they are ratified, endorsed or noted by School Council and can be accessed on the website under ‘Our School’.

Each year the school compiles a list of Priority Projects, which School Council then considers as a focus for Parents Group fundraising efforts. Laburnum has a long history of major fundraising for projects that have included the school hall, Performing Arts Centre, The Lab, reading resources, synthetic oval and play equipment.

At the end of 2021, we began preliminary communications with Jeavons Landscape Architects to develop a Master Plan to guide future improvements to our grounds. The plan will focus on flow and connection, accessibility and inclusion, and the connection between indoor and outdoor spaces. We look forward to discussing options and ideas and collaborating with the school community at future Building & Grounds committee meetings.

Our Year 6 Student Leadership positions have been finalised this week. Congratulations to Annika D and Chloe G on being elected Spanish Captains and to Chloe W being elected as the second Wellbeing Captain for 2022 (all pictured above). We are hopeful that we can present our Year 6 leadership badges at a special Year 6 assembly in the near future. 
 
Parents are reminded that Tuesday 15 March is a student-free day. Our literacy expert, Viv Arbaci will continue to work with staff on this day to build teacher practice in the teaching of Reading. OSHClub will be operating for interested families.


Finally, a message from Dr Kim Dray, Principal:
Unfortunately, I have had to take some unavoidable personal leave. Mrs Kathy Verbi is Acting Principal until my return, hopefully soon. Please follow the communication channels above should you need to follow up any matters about your children.
Stay safe everyone! Kim

Take care,
Kathy Verbi

Our Vision:    Learn   •   Thrive  •   Contribute



2022 School Council Elections

Reminder:


Schedule 4: Notice of Election and Call for Nominations

An election is to be conducted for members of the School Council of Laburnum Primary School.

Nomination forms may be obtained from the school from Friday 25 February 2022 and completed nomination forms must be lodged at the office by 3.00 pm tomorrow, Friday 4 March 2022. Please call or email the office if you would like a nomination form emailed to you, or we can send one home with your eldest child.

Following the closing of nominations, a list of the nominations received will be posted at the school. The terms of office, membership categories and number of positions in each membership category open for election are as follows:

 MEMBERSHIP   CATEGORY

 TERM OF OFFICE

 NUMBER OF   POSITIONS

 Parent member

 From the day after the date of the declaration of the   poll in 2022

 to and inclusive of the date of the declaration of the   poll in 2024

 

    4

 DET employee   member

 From the day after the date of the declaration of the   poll in 2022

 to and inclusive of the date of the declaration of the   poll in 2024

 

    2


If the number of nominations is less than the number of vacancies, a notice to that effect and calling for further nominations will be posted at the main door to the school.

 SCHOOL COUNCIL ELECTION PROCESS AND TIMETABLE

 1.             

 Notice of election and call for   nominations

 by Friday 25 February    2022        

 2.        

 Closing date for nominations

 3:00 p.m. on
 Friday 4 March 2022

 3.        

 Date by which the list of candidates and   nominators will be posted

 Tuesday 8 March     2022

 4.        

 Date by which ballot papers will be   prepared and distributed (if required)

 On or before  
 Monday 14 March   2022

 5.        

 Close of ballot (if required)

 3:00 p.m. on
 Monday 21 March   2022

 6.        

 Vote count (if required)

 On or before   Wednesday 23 March   2022

 7.        

 Declaration of poll

 On or before  
 Thursday 24 March   2022

 8.        

 First council meeting to elect office   bearers and community member (the   principal will preside)

 On or before
 Tuesday 26 April 2022


Kim Dray
Principal


Are you interested in joining our School Council?

Each year in February/March, an election is conducted for members of the School Council for Laburnum Primary School. All government schools in Victoria have a School Council; a legally formed body that sets the key directions of the school within clear DET guidelines.

There are three possible categories of membership:

  • A mandated elected parent category. Potential and retiring councillors can be nominated.
  • A mandated elected Department of Education and Training (DET) employee category.
  • An optional community member category. Our community member is currently a Parents Group representative.

The term of office for councillors is usually two years. Some members retire each year and this creates vacancies for the annual School Council elections. 

At this time, we thank our retiring councillors for their contributions to improving LPS during most unusual times in 2021. 

If you have a desire to work in partnership with others to help shape the school’s future, and positively contribute in ways that reflect the best interests of all students, please consider nominating.

If you require further information about School Council or the process for filling vacancies, please contact the school.

Our Vision:    Learn   •   Thrive  •   Contribute 



What's Happening?

Engagement & Wellbeing Committee Meeting

We have scheduled our first Engagement & Wellbeing Committee Meeting for 7pm Tuesday 8 March and will be celebrating the school's strongest-ever results, compiled by DET in our LPS 2021 School Performance Report. Our Leading Teachers and Learning Specialists will be discussing the report's findings, as well as providing insight into what programs and initiatives have impacted these outcomes. 
This meeting will be held via Webex, so please email the school (laburnum.ps@education.vic.gov.au) if you would like a meeting link to join us.

Useful Information

Parents are encouraged to read our 'A - Z of Useful Information for Parents'. Also found under the website 'Community' tab/Starting at Laburnum, this handbook contains all the essential information about our school that parents may need. It was last updated in January 2022.


Some important reminders in this document include DET information which schools must convey to parents each year, as well as school-based information, such as:

  • Parking 
    This section provides details about parking and signage around the school that is in place to maximise safety. It includes the following:

    Please observe all parking restrictions and obey traffic rules when dropping off and picking up your child. These are in place to maximise safety for everyone, including our students.

    Janet St has parking restrictions and areas where cars cannot be left unattended during certain times.

    There is a ‘2 minute parking’ zone located off Pakenham St. Please be aware that this area is for drop off or pick up only. Please do not park in the drive through area (there is parking available at the Bowls Club if you need to wait or leave your car).

    Please ensure that traffic can keep moving in these areas and teach your child the safest way to enter and exit the car, from the passenger (not driver) side of the vehicle. 

  • Ambulance Cover                                                                           
    It is strongly recommended that families take out Ambulance Cover. If a child requires urgent medical care, an ambulance will be called, irrespective of whether they are insured or not. The Department of Education and Training advises the following:
    • parents/guardians of students, who do not have student accident insurance, are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including the cost of ambulance attendance/transport and any other transport costs; and
    • parents/guardians can purchase insurance policies from commercial insurers.

  • Attendance and Absences
    This section provides information on the school's legal responsibility to promote and check student attendance. It includes the following, which is relevant to families whose children attend regular specialist appointments:

    In the event that a child needs to attend regular appointments during school time, parents should email the Principal to seek approval.

  • Personal Property
    The Department of Education and Training does not hold insurance for personal property brought to schools and has no capacity to pay for any loss or damage to such property. We therefore regret that we are unable to take any responsibility for lost, damaged or missing items, nor follow up such instances.

    Please encourage your child to leave valuables or ‘special’ items at home.

  • Playground Supervision
    Supervision of the playground before school begins at 8.45 am and finishes after school at 3.45 pm.
    Students should not arrive at school before 8.45 am and they need to be collected by 3.45 pm, unless attending OSHClub.

    AND


    Teachers are on Yard Duty in the playground before school from 8:45 - 9:00 am and after school from 3:30 - 3:45 pm. If a child arrives at school before 8.45 am or has not been collected by the 3:45 pm bell, they will be brought to the office, then placed in the Before/After School Care program. There is a charge for this facility.

    At recess and lunchtime there are always teachers in the yard to supervise the children’s play. 

Annual privacy reminder for 2022

Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy.

Please take time to remind yourself of our school’s privacy collection notice, found on our website Planning and Policies page, or click here.



Our Vision:    Learn   •   Thrive  •   Contribute



Prep

The Prep students have been very busy learning all about Laburnum Primary School in their first week of school.

We read the book ‘Where is the Green Sheep’ by Mem Fox but the Green Sheep was missing from the book! The prep students followed clues that took them to the playground, the library, the hall and the science room. The cheeky Green Sheep was hiding in our classrooms all along!

Each morning we begin our day with developmental play. This is a fantastic opportunity for students to develop their fine motor skills and social skills. We are focusing on the school value of Respect. The Preps have learnt that active listening means you look at the speaker, listen, legs crossed, hands in laps and have quiet lips.

  




We are learning to write our names and have created rockets with each letter. This was a fun way to count how many letters are in our names. We wish our rockets could fly us to the moon!




   





Curiosity  •   Respect  •  Integrity  •  Resilience



Senior School - Years 5 & 6

Year 6

Year 6 have commenced the year demonstrating the true qualities of leaders; from collecting house points to facilitating assemblies and even ensuring the bins go in and out. They have settled into school routines independently, showcasing their organisation skills through setting up the classroom library and sorting class resources.

We have launched our training sessions for the Summer Round Robin Sports. We look forward to continuing the wonderful positivity we’ve experienced so far throughout the year.


                             

Year 5

Year 5 has begun the new year with our ‘Ready to Learn’ program. All year levels are involved in this unit which supports every child as they step-up and into their new year level. Our expectations for learning are high!
                         

The unit develops shared understandings about Laburnum’s school values of Respect, Integrity, Curiosity and Resilience. We believe this ensures every student is well prepared and supported for a successful academic year. An emphasis is placed on developing learning tools and strategies, including goal setting, developing a growth mindset, feedback and resilience.

The Year 5 students have been discussing communication, independence and confidence and will, throughout the coming year, study aspects of leadership, teamwork, curiosity and problem solving.

                          

Curiosity  •   Respect  •  Integrity  •  Resilience



Specialists

Art
Hello and welcome back to the Art Room for 2022.

To begin this year, Years 5 and 6 will be exploring clay sculpture and Year 4 will be introduced to fun ideas around portraiture including the Young Archies. Year 3 will discover the theatre of shadow puppetry and Years 1 & 2 have been considering all things Chinese New Year, looking at artists' illustrations of Tigers for inspiration and using ink for drawing. Preps will become familiar with their Art Room, experimenting with a variety of materials in response to the world around them.

Our Art Captains this year are Tony L and Annalisa T. They will be keeping our Art Notice Board up to date with student works, art activities, competitions, awards and exhibition information.

As always, we are grateful for donations of clean recycling and non-food related small packaging for sculpture units. Science, gardening and home decorating magazines are also appreciated, as well as wool and ribbon for weaving projects.

Please make sure your student has a smock or old shirt, clearly labelled with their name and class.

Geckos, turtles, lizards and mermaids at NGV for Kids

This Summer’s children’s exhibition at the NGV introduces two significant contemporary Yolngu artists from North-East Arnhem Land. Award-winning artist Ms N Yunupingu and her sister Eunice Djerrkngu Yunupingu share stories and learning from their culture and language, through displays of art and hands-on activities developed especially for the exhibition.

The exhibition is free at the Children’s Gallery, NGV International. Open from 10am to 5pm until April 25. Click here for further information.


       

NGV also has lots of fun family activities to celebrate Chinese Lunar New Year here.

We're looking forward to another great year in the Art Room.

Ms Farlow

Curiosity  •   Respect  •  Integrity  •  Resilience



Contribute: Parents Group & Community News

Parents Group News:

Would you like to be involved in the school?

If you would like to be more involved in the school community, we invite you to come along to our next Parents Group meeting. 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 Vicky at parentsgroup.lps@gmail.com

AGM

The Parents’ Group Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Tuesday 1st March at 7pm (followed by our March meeting at 7.30pm). In an AGM we elect office bearers for the year – all positions are vacant and available. In order for Parents Group to be a constitution we must have a President, Secretary and Treasurer. For any questions or interest, or for the online meeting link, please email parentsgroup.lps@gmail.com. Look forward to seeing you there!


_____________________________________________________________

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund helps eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities.

If you have a valid means-tested concession card, such as a Veterans Affairs Gold Card, Centrelink Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible. There is also a special consideration category for asylum seeker and refugee families.

Payment amounts this year are $125 for eligible primary school students. Payments are made direct to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions and sporting activities for the benefit of your child.

If you applied for CSEF through our school last year, you do not need to complete an application form this year, unless there has been a change in your family circumstances. Changes in family circumstances can include: a change of name/card details or a new student has started from the family.

If you would like to apply for the first time, please visit our website and download a form. This link has information regarding the program including eligibility, and information translated into Mandarin. A writable pdf is available for parents/carers.

If you have any questions, please email the office and return completed forms to the office as soon as possible.


Click on these links  below 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.

              
                            

                           

 

Our Vision:    Learn   •   Thrive  •   Contribute 



Building strong working relationships with teachers



Studies show that healthy parent–teacher relationships are a more significant factor in student success than parent income levels or social status. Parent teacher relationships require effort and energy from both parties if they are going to really benefit children and young people. These key strategies will help you build a healthy working relationship with teachers in the year ahead.

Get to know them
For your partnership to be meaningful and successful, you need to meet with your childrenʼs teacher(s) with the goal of forming a respectful professional relationship. Be willing to share your aspirations for your child and be willing to build the teacherʼs knowledge about your family. For balanced perspective, also gain an understanding of the teacherʼs approach and what focus areas they have for their particular year group. This can be done formally by attending start of the year information evenings and informally through conversations, reading newsletters and staying in touch in digitally and in real-time.

Trust their professionalism
Children need to know that their parents are fully behind what their teachers are trying to achieve if they are going to commit fully to learning. The best way to support your childʼs teacher is to trust their knowledge, professionalism and experience. Avoid the temptation to question the expertise of teachers in front of children, particularly when the teachers use methods that you are unfamiliar with. Initiate conversations with teachers around methodology to give them the chance to explain the approach they are taking.

Got through the right channels
Despite the best teaching practices, things do go wrong at school. Kids experience learning difficulties. Conflict and peer rejection happen. Kids will often come home from school with grievances and call on you for assistance. Resist the urge to react emotionally. If you need to contact teachers do so respectfully, calmly and through the correct channels. A measured response will generally achieve the best result for your child.

Stay solution-focused
When problems arise at school, particularly pertaining to a childʼs learning or wellbeing avoid taking a fixed position to your childʼs teacher. Gather the facts as best you can and present your concerns but remain flexible to gain an outcome thatʼs both obtainable and in the best interests of your child. Parent-teacher relationships can easily falter when one or both parties take a firm position about a problem and are unwilling to give ground.

Utilise their resources
Teachers and schools often put a lot of work into sourcing and sharing credible resources that they think will help parents. Take the time to read, utilise and enjoy the information provided to you. Itʼs intended to make your parenting journey easier, which will also benefit your child not just at school, but at home. If your school doesnʼt yet have a clearly defined source in place, consider suggesting one to the teacher, such as the Parenting Ideas! 

Build links to student learning
Thereʼs a huge body of research that points to the correlation between parent engagement in student learning and their educational success. If you want your child to improve their learning, take an interest in what they are doing. Follow school and teacher guidelines about helping at home and attend as many conferences, meetings and events involving your child as possible. This strategy has a significant, long-term impact on your childʼs attiude to learning.

Stay in touch
Lifeʼs not always smooth sailing for kids of any age. Family circumstances change. Friends move away. Illness happens. Mental health challenges can hit anyone at any time. These changes affect learning. Make sure that you keep teachers up to date with significant changes or difficulties that your child or young person experiences so they can accommodate your childʼs emotional and learning needs at school.

Be loyal
Show your loyalty to your childʼs teachers by being an advocate. Talk positively about your childʼs teacher and school, rather than being negative about them when speaking in the wider community. Teachers hold very public positions and generally work hard to build good reputations both within their school and their wider education community. Consider a teacherʼs reputation among the community and with children when you discuss educational matters with others.

In closing
Building healthy relationships with your childʼs teacher doesnʼt just happen. It takes goodwill from both sides, a commitment to setting aside the time necessary to support the home-based learning tasks that are expected, and a willingness to communicate concerns and commendations through the correct channels.


Michael Grose
Michael Grose, founder of Parenting Ideas, is one of Australiaʼs leading parenting educators. Heʼs an award-winning speaker and the author of 12 books for parents including Spoonfed Generation, and the bestselling Why First Borns Rule the World and Last Borns Want to Change It . Michael is a former teacher with 15 years experience, and has 30 years experience in parenting education. He also holds a Master of Educational Studies from Monash University specialising in parenting education.

 

Our Vision:    Learn   •   Thrive  •   Contribute