The Lakes South Morang College Newsletter COLLEGE REPORT
NEW KINDERGARTEN We are delighted to announce the opening of the new The Lakes South Morang Kindergarten. This wonderful new space will provide funded 3- and 4-year-old kindergarten for local children with a welcoming, safe, and inspiring environment to learn, play, and grow. The new kindergarten reflects our commitment to supporting early childhood education and ensuring families in our community have access to high-quality learning opportunities close to home. We look forward to seeing many young learners begin their early education journey at The Lakes South Morang Kindergarten and wish all staff, children, and families a fantastic start. NAPLAN 2026 While we have completed our early entry tests and data collection, we now prepare for the Year 3, 5, 7 & 9 NAPLAN. The testing process began on Wednesday 11th March and will conclude on Tuesday 17th March. We wish all our NAPLAN students the very best as they share their learning and knowledge during this process. NAPLAN is a measure of a point in time and is an adaptive test. Students begin with the same test question however their following questions are then tailored based on the previous responses. This allows students to respond to answers at their level and hopefully alleviates any angst. SCHOOL COUNCIL 2026 We have now concluded our School Council nomination process. I am pleased to announce our 2026 parent representatives – Veronica Marsh, Anna-Lisa Tewma, Grant Voss, Jenny Archibald, Katie Morris, Laura Johnson and Jo Mallapa. We will hold our AGM on Tuesday March 17th, to present the Annual Report to the School community and to co-opt nominated community members onto council. Our School Councillors play an important role in our school and we are grateful for their thoughts, considerations, and perspectives. A massive thank you to Josie Benfari, Helen Skendaris and Kathryn Lieschke, who are taking a well-earned rest after serving on the School Council for over a combined 10 years with dedication and distinction. Your commitment and contribution to making our College the best it can be, cannot be denied. We are incredibly grateful for the time, energy, and passion you have given to our school community. MOBILE PHONES A reminder that the Department of Education has in place a mobile phone ban that requires students who bring mobile phones to school to have them switched off and securely put away during school hours. Smart devices such as iWatch need to be put on flight mode or School mode, if they are going to be worn during school time. The Department required all schools to ensure the ban was in place and enforced from the beginning of 2024. The ban applies equally to all Government schools right across the State. For further information, please visit our school website.
LEARNER REVIEW MEETING Thank you to all parent/carers who attended our Learner Review Meetings on Tuesday. It was fantastic to see a very high number of bookings and conversations happening throughout the College. We highly value the opportunity to meet with families and students in person. Students have been working hard to develop their learning goals to share with their families. This is a new focus for the Term One meeting on Primary. We changed the timing of the Term One Learner Reviews in response to feedback we received from parents and carers that they wanted more information about their child's learning sooner in the year. This will be further enhanced by a progress report that will be completed by teachers at the end of Term One. Parents and carers will also receive formal semester reports in Term Two and Four, which is a requirement of the Department of Education. FAMILY ENGAGEMENT AT THE LAKES At The Lakes, we believe that when schools, homes and communities agree that they are stronger together than apart, students will be able to thrive academically and personally.
Good partnerships are based on: Open and honest communication
Trust and respect Working together Fair and reasonable expectations by all.
The Department of Education Respectful Behaviours within the School Community Policy outlines the shared roles of parents, carers and school staff in creating a positive environment for learning. We want all students, staff and families to feel safe and supported in our school environment. We want to emphasise the importance of raising issues or problems in a respectful manner with the school. It is not appropriate to approach other families or children in the school environment. If something has happened at school, please raise it with the class teacher or a member of leadership. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AT THE LAKES Throughout the year, we are required to conduct emergency management drills as part of our school Emergency Management Plan (EMP). This will include a range of drills for different purposes including fire drills, lockdown drills, evacuation drills etc. If for any reason you think that these drills may be a cause of concern for your child, please contact the office to discuss this further. We will let the community know via Compass prior to the drills being conducted. IMPROVING TOILET BEHAVIOUR We have noticed a range of issues in the toilets over the past few weeks, including throwing toilet paper, vandalism and wasting learning time. To help minimise disruptions and ensure our facilities remain clean and available for everyone, we strongly encourage students to use the toilets before school and during scheduled break times such as recess and lunch whenever possible. We appreciate everyone’s cooperation in taking care of our school facilities and supporting a positive learning environment for all students.
Have a wonderful week ahead.
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