Welcome to issue 4 of the college newsletter for 2023! IN THIS ISSUE: - Leadership at The Lakes - Reflections from students in Year 4 & 9 - Communication Policy at The Lakes - Activities and strategies to apply - Literacy and Numeracy skills at home
THE LAKES SOUTH MORANG COLLEGE NEWSLETTER 2022 - ISSUE 10 Date 00, 2022
Term 1, Week 9 Issue 04 - 2023
The Lakes South Morang College Newsletter
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
The Lakes South Morang College respectfully acknowledges that beneath the significant River Red Gums that feature across our school's landscape lay the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri - Willam people of the Kulin Nation.
Principal Welcome
1
Policy Spotlight
3
College Connections
4
Student Perspective
5
Primary Campus Awards
6
PRINCIPAL WELCOME MARCUS ABNEY - HASTINGS PRIMARY CAMPUS PRINCIPAL
Social Scene
7
Bringing it Home
8
What ’ s on @ The Lakes
10
Community Noticeboard
11
Hello to all our wonderful Lakes families ,
I hope your week has gone smoothly and you are all getting into the flow of the year. A busy one I am sure for a lot of you. A thank you to all our parents/carers on the Primary Campus who have come and supported the many initiative we have been running to start the school year including our “ Super Dooper ” Friday and Assemblies. These have been well supported throughout Term 1 and we will continue to give opportunities for parents/carers to get involved. A massive shout out to our 2023 Student Leaders who have been working hard to make our school an even better place. Our Student Leadership group is made up of over 100 students including our School Captains, House Captains, SRC leaders, Year 4 buddies and Peer Mediators. These leaders play such an important role in the fabric of our school whilst supporting students and giving them all a voice. Our School Captains, House Captains and Peer Mediators will next week have the opportunity to attend the state - wide Student Leadership forum in the city to build their leadership capacity and skills. Thank you for all your work to start the year.
SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST IN THIS ISSUE:
• Leadership at The Lakes
• Reflections from students in Year 4 & 9
• Communication Policy at The Lakes
• Activities and strategies to apply Literacy and Numeracy skills at home
ANNUAL REPORT DATA
Each year schools produce an Annual Report and share this information with their school community. The report contains specific data that Department of Education (DE) and schools collect to inform decision making and assess progress around strategic goals. We are really pleased with our Attitudes to School Survey data which indicates students feel safe and love coming to school here at The Lakes. With regards to Managing Bullying, we continue to see a strong endorsement percentage as reported by all our Year 4 - 6 students. In 2022 this positive endorsement was 78.9% which is nearly 10% better than the schools we are compared with and nearly 7% higher than the State average. A great endorsement for our students and staff. Our 4 - year trend data is also very positive with an average of 5% higher positive endorsement that the Similar School average. These results have been achieved through our staffs commitment and level of concern, extensive and comprehensive communications, positive classroom and behaviour management processes, social groups, buddy programs and of course our weekly wellbeing focuses across Prep - Six. The other pleasing data result is in our reading data with a significant increase in students being in the top 2 bands across our school. This shows that the work teachers
Secondary Campus 80 Jardier Terrace, South
Morang 3752 (03) 9401 3919
Primary Campus 275 Gordons Road, South Morang 3752 (03) 9400 9000
The Lakes South Morang College Newsletter PRINCIPAL REPORT
SCHOOL TOURS FOR 2024 ENROLMENT
are doing with regards to literacy to support and extend students is having a great effect on student learning. The big questions is: How do we keep working to make sure we remain such a strong reading school? At school, we will achieve this through a very strategic and detailed professional learning plan based on ensuring high levels of staff knowledge around what high quality reading for teaching is and how we deliver this consistently across the whole school each day. In fact, reading is so important at our school that we have dedicated a large portion of Professional Learning for staff across the past 3 years. At home, you can assist your child to find an extra 10 minutes a day to read. It might be as simple as 10 minutes less on technology or reading for 10 minutes before dinner. We know that you can become better at something if you focus on it more. Reading becomes easier and more enjoyable the more you do it! If you need some motivation have a think about this: If your child currently reads for just 1 minute a day, they will read 21,000 words this year. Increasing this by 10 minutes a day will lead to 321,000 words being read in a year. It also works for those students that are already reading for the suggested 15 minutes a day. Currently these readers would be churning through 1.8 million words a year. Ten minutes more would take this to over 2.7 million! This information was presented at our recent Principal Forum last month. A little bit can make a big difference in the long run. Another way is to help your child to choose different types of books to read and take turns to read with them. Talk about the book and look for words to pay special attention to. Most importantly, make the experience as fun and engaging as possible.
Each week we continue to host individual tours of our school with a particular focus on students beginning school in 2024. If you know of a family with a child ready to start school, please encourage them to ring the school to book a tour with myself. I am pleased to say that our school continues to have a good reputation in our local community and people attending the tours often share the good things they have heard about our school.
WHOLE SCHOOL ATHLETICS CARNIVAL
A reminder to all our parents/carers that we will be holding our whole school Athletics Carnival on Wednesday 29 th March 2023 at Meadowglen Athletics Track, 146 - 156 McDonalds Road Epping. Students on the Primary Campus will be transported by bus too and from the track. We encourage all students to wear their house colours on the day and bring appropriate food and drink. There will a limited canteen running on the day for students across Prep - 12. Please ensure all Primary students are at school by 9am. They will return to school by bus before 3.15pm in time for pick up. It should be a great day. END OF TERM ASSEMBLY Our Primary Campus end of term assembly will be on Thursday 6 th April (last day of term) starting at 12 noon. Parents/carers are most welcome to attend. A reminder that students will be dismissed at 1.15pm on the last day of term.
PARENT/CARER TEACHER CONFERENCES
CURRICULUM DAY
This is a reminder that our Primary Parent/Carer Teacher Interviews will be held on Tuesday 4 th April 2023 between 3.30pm - 8pm . On this day, students only attend school for the duration of their conference. Bookings are now open via Sentral. Teachers will be having their Professional Development Day from 8.45am - 3.15pm. This is where teachers build their capacity to support students in the classroom. Across Victoria, all teachers receive two of these a year to build capacity and upskill their professional learning. A reminder that other than the interviews, this is a student free day. As is always the case, should you wish to discuss any issue with your child ’ s teacher throughout the year, you can contact them to make a suitable time.
A reminder that we will be having a curriculum day on the first day of Term 2, Monday 24 th April. Staff will be working off site on this day and the school will be closed. Camp Australia will be running their program on this day. If you need care, please get in contact with them. We look forward to seeing students back at school on Wednesday 26 th April. Please keep your eye out for important school events and information via your email and on Sentral.
Have a wonderful weekend. Thank you for all your support.
NAPLAN ONLINE
Marcus
Across the past two weeks, our Year 3, 5, 7 & 9 students have been completing the annual NAPLAN assessments. This year, the test was completed online using iPads or their laptops. The value of using this platform is the testing adapts better to match the student ’ s level as opposed to a one size fits all where often there is only one or two questions that stretch students at the top end. The online platform will also mean that in time schools and families will be able to access the data and results in a timely manner. In the past, NAPLAN results have been sent to schools in September which is well past the used - by - date for our teachers to use the assessments to guide their teaching and planning. If you have any questions about NAPLAN, please contact your child ’ s teacher.
POLICY SPOTLIGHT
THE LAKES COMMUNITY FEEDBACK PRIMARY & SECONDARY CAMPUSES
Your feedback is valued. Please use the following link to provide our College Council and Leadership Team with feedback to help make The Lakes a positive learning community for all.
COMMUNICATIONS POLICY
http://www.thelakes.edu.au/uploads/8/3/9/0/83901006/communication_policy_2022.pdf
Successful communication strategies are an integral part of building The Lakes South Morang College ’ s reputation and image, both within our community and the wider public.
The Lakes South Morang College aims to build a community where all members – students, families and staff are able to communicate with integrity in an honest and respectful manner. The development of a partnership where all are valued, connected and informed are primary considerations. The Lakes South Morang College Communication Policy provides guidelines for the provision of effective formal and informal communication between the College and our school community.
The Lakes South Morang College is committed to:
•
Promoting a friendly, collaborative and cooperative relationship between students, parents/carers and teachers.
•
Listening and respecting both students ’ and parents ’/ carers ’ ideas, opinions and suggestions.
Therefore it is essential that all members of the community consider and incorporate the school values and protocols when communicating information so as to:
•
Providing opportunities for parents/carers to share information both formally and informally with the College.
•
preserve the professionalism of the school,
•
Nurturing a spirit of respect and cooperation between students, parents/carers, and the College.
•
protect the rights of individuals,
•
Providing an environment that is sensitive to the cultural and social values of families and the community. Ensuring confidential information is managed in a manner consistent with community expectations, professional standards and legal obligations.
•
uphold our duty of care to students, and
•
comply with departmental and legal requirements.
•
Policies are available to all families via the Sentral Portal (under Resources) or via our website http://www.thelakes.edu.au/policies -- reports.html
The Lakes South Morang College Newsletter COLLEGE CONNECTIONS
LEADERSHIP AT THE LAKES
SECONDARY HIGHLIGHTS
The Lakes South Morang College is committed to supporting students with pathways that allow for them to become community and professional leaders in their chosen fields, both now and in the future. Student voice, agency and leadership at The Lakes creates a unique opportunity for students to amplify their educational experience. This is achieved through a relentless drive and focus on the creation of: collaborative conditions that encourage leadership; leading by example through actively demonstrating the school values; and acting in ways that embrace authenticity, responsibility, integrity and service. The college firmly believes that it is these conditions and dispositions that develop the leaders of the future. Decision making across the college is a collaborative process. Distributive and democratic mechanisms are employed to involve students through both formal and informal leadership and feedback opportunities, supported by an Amplify leader on each campus.
The Secondary Student Leadership Team have had quite a busy Term. Our School Captains started the year by running both the Primary and Secondary start of year assemblies. The School Captains also ran a detailed application and interview process for all the Secondary Student Leadership positions in our college, including the Peer Support Leaders and Secondary House Captains. Our Year 12 Leaders and Year 10 Peer Support team attended the Secondary Youth Leaders Conference in February and heard from a number of inspiring young leaders in the community. A number of our female leaders represented our college at International Women ’ s Day events, some of our leaders attended a Luncheon hosted by the Hon. Lily D ’ Ambrosio at Parliament House while others attended a breakfast with student leaders and staff from a number of secondary schools in the northern region.
At The Lakes, Leadership is one of our four core values.
To be a Leader within our college we encourage learners to:
•
strive for personal best in learning, effort, attitudes and behaviours.
•
believe in themselves so they can be bold and brave with their learning, seek opportunities to learn and grow, take risks and try new things.
For the remainder of Term 1 we look forward to our Peer Support Team mentoring Year 7 students, our House Leaders organising chants, posters and events for our 1 st Whole School Athletics Carnival in a number of years and we look forward to our Primary and Secondary SRC teams meeting together to plan out events for the remainder of the year.
On each campus, we have School Captains, House Captains, Cultural Leaders, Peer Support Leaders, student members of the Student Representative Councils and student members of our College Council.
STUDENT PERSPECTIVE
PRIMARY HIGHLIGHTS
YEAR 4 REFLECTION GEORGINA & HARRY YEAR 4 SRC
School staff are also encouraged to pursue leadership opportunities, both within our College and beyond. Over the years, we have committed to building leaders within the education sector. In our 16 - year history, we have seen 17 teaching staff move into either Assistant Principal and/or Principal roles, and 12 teachers into Leading Teacher roles – a true testament to all members of our College community living and breathing our core values. STAFF LEADERSHIP AT THE LAKES The House Captains are getting ready for our Athletics Day and have been running a Junior Primary Sports club. They are continuing to look at ways to engage all students in the yard and build on our positive culture. Our Peer Mediators have begun supporting students in the yard and helping them to work through socialisation behaviours, fair play, being kind and polite and showing our school values. The SRC have hit the ground running with ‘ Zooper Dooper Fridays ’ and a number of fund - raising initiatives to help provide engaging resources for our classrooms. On the Primary Campus, Term 1 has seen us establish our Primary Student Leadership Team, made up of School Captains, House Captains, Peer Mediators and SRC. All students went through a thorough and extensive process to be successfully selected in their student leadership role. We thank all students for their applications and congratulate our team for 2023. Our School Captains have made a smooth transition into running our Primary Assembly and looked at ways to improve our school. They also attended a Q & A forum with other school leaders where they were given a chance to voice their opinions and give an insight into the 6 – 7 transition process.
Hi everyone, our names are Georgina and Harry, and we are your Year 4 SRC students at The Lakes South Morang. This Term we ’ ve had lots of exciting things on. The Year 4’ s have had lots of different sport events this term. We ’ ve started year 4 sport every week, which has been fun to go outside and have a cohort game or sport session. We also had our Primary Cross Country on Friday 17 th March, where we went up to the Secondary Campus and competed against the Year 3 - 6 students. The Lakes will be having our Athletics Day next Wednesday, which everyone is excited about because we get to go to the sports ground on a bus. Both of us were excited to receive our SRC badges at Assembly. We also got to work on a Harmony Day speech which we delivered to the Year 4’ s as well as the Preps. We are excited to see who wins the Easter raffle as well.
YEAR 9 REFLECTION ZAF YEAR 9 SRC
This term started off with a bang! We headed off to ‘ The Island Camp ’ in Cowes, Phillip Island on the second week of Term 1. Over the two nights, we had the time of our lives. We participated in a range of activities such as archery, the giant swing and rock climbing. Later in the term, we also had the opportunity to visit Melbourne Polytechnic to have a trade tester. We participated in activities such as bricklaying, painting and decorating, civil engineering and animal studies. Students got the time to engage in practical and theoretical activities, while also having the opportunity to check out the campus. A few weeks after, the Years 9/10 inter school sport volleyball teams were off to Diamond Valley! The girls team ended up finishing 4 th and the boys went unbeaten to win the tournament. With term 1 ticked off, it ’ s time to look forward to Term 2.
The Lakes South Morang College Newsletter PRIMARY CAMPUS AWARDS
LEARNER OF THE WEEK
Prep A
Prep B
Prep C
Viraaj C
Adrian J
Daksh S
1A
1B
Krish P
Cooper Z
2A
2B
Chace K
Jasmine B
3A
3B
Aubrey W
Alexis T
4A
4B
Levi B
Arsin J
5A
5B
5C
Taylah G
Vishal S
Anitej S
6A
6B
6C
Hanan D
Thong B
Ramneet P
LIFESTYLE AWARDS
Sport
Art
STEM
Prep
Ivy L
Vedansh R
Hunter B
Year 1
Rylee G
Eleftheria G
Rocco N
Year 2
Aydin R
Chace K
Isaac M
Year 3
Aleks P
Cohen V
Avery E
Year 4
Maneel R
Hudson U
Kenzie E
Year 5
Grace T
Andrew M
Anitej S
Year 6
Kobi E
Annika M
Yvonne Y
NEXT ASSEMBLY DATES:
Week 11: Thursday 6th April at 12pm
SOCIAL SCENE
The Lakes South Morang College Newsletter BRINGING IT HOME
FAMILY MATHS SHARE
A SPOON OF MACARONI
NUMBER FOCUS – NUMBER
You will need
2 tablespoons of macaroni
What to do
1.
Measure out the two tablespoons of macaroni.
2. Share the macaroni between the people in your family, by estimation (eg: a few for each member)
3.
Count to see if each person has the same number.
4.
Can you share them evenly?
5.
How many will each person get? (there may be some left over).
6.
How many macaroni pieces were there altogether?
Extension:
• Create and record on a graph. Discuss – Who has the most? Who has the least? What can you notice?
•
Work out the fraction.
Some questions you could ask to get your child talking about maths …
•
What else can you do with the macaroni?
• If there were more members in my family, would our graph be the same?
•
If we had more/less macaroni, would we have the same amount?
•
What did you notice about …..?
•
What do you think?
•
How can you prove that?
•
Is there another way we could work that out?
•
How do you know?
WHY CAN ’ T I SKIP 20 MINUTES OF READING TONIGHT?
How do I get my 20 minutes?
Make a set time to read aloud to your child – even if it ’ s for 5 minutes
•
Keep a few books in the car
•
Add reading into transitions – reading while you clean up lunch or getting ready to leave
•
Read everything! Signs, food boxes, magazines, etc
•
Keep books in bed
•
Have a set time for your child to read quietly to themselves
•
Play reading games – snowman, Brain Quest, etc
•
Read while you wait at a restaurant or doctor ’ s office
•
Listen to stories online. Try Storyline Online!
•
As part of Harmony Week celebrations at school we have collected together some stories that can be shared at home.
Click on the book to watch the read aloud
The Lakes South Morang College Newsletter WHAT ’ S ON @ THE LAKES
Breakfast Club on Both Campuses
Every Tuesday & Thursday - 8.15am
(Except for the first week and last week of the term)
MARCH:
Monday 27th
Year 2 Westgarthtown Excursion
Primary School Leader Conference
Tuesday 28th
6pm School Council AGM
Wednesday 29th
Whole School Athletics Carnival
Thursday 30th - Friday 31st
Dental Van (Secondary)
APRIL:
Monday 3rd - Thursday 6th
Dental Van (Primary)
3.30pm Primary Parent/Carer Teacher Interviews
Tuesday 4th
Thursday 6th
12pm Primary End of Term Assembly
1.15pm End of Term 1
Book Now for Primary Tours on 9404 9000 for individual 2023 School Tours
Book Now for Secondary Tours on 9401 3919 for individual 2023 School Tours
COMMUNITY NOTICEBOARD
ATTENDANCE - EVERY DAY COUNTS If you are aware that your child will not be attending school due to illness or other circumstances, please ensure that you contact either office to ensure our attendance records are accurate. Ways of communicating absences include:
MEDICATION USE AT SCHOOL If your child requires medication, prescribed or over the counter (including paracetamol) whilst at school, there is some important steps you need to take. Please access our Administration of Medication Policy, which includes The Lakes Medication Authority Form. Fill in and return the form to the school office. http://www.thelakes.edu.au/uploads/8/3/9/0/83901006/ administration_of_medication_policy_2022.pdf Medication brought in by a student needs to be in original packaging and clearly labelled with the: Parents and carers are reminded that the Department of Education does not provide personal accident insurance or ambulance cover for students. Parents and carers of students who do not have student accident insurance/ ambulance cover are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including the cost of ambulance attendance/transport and any other transport costs. NO HAT - NO PLAY We will be enforcing our ‘ No Hat, No Play ’ policy in Term 1 and Term 4 on the Primary Campus. Wide - brimmed hats (with the school logo), are available at the uniform shop. BELONGINGS, AMBULANCE & INSURANCE Private property brought to school by students, staff or visitors is not insured and the Department of Education does not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage.
Placing a future Absence Request through the Parent SENTRAL Portal;
•
Calling the office;
•
Sending an SMS on 0427 226 537.
•
As required by the Department of Education, all schools must notify parents informing that their child is absent. Please inform the office of absences before 10:00 am each morning.
STAY CONNECTED
The Sentral Parent Portal is the primary method for home - school communications at The Lakes.
We are excited to say that most families have access to the Parent Portal. The portal allows students and parents\carers to keep up to date with important information and communication. This includes student academic reports, parent - teacher interview bookings and permission for students to attend camps, sport and excursions.
The Student and Parent Portal can be accessed at school, from home and from mobile devices. If you are experiencing any issues with Sentral, please contact either office to assist you.
•
Students name
•
The dosage required
•
The time the medication needs to be administered.
•
Be in date for use
Some things to be aware of: - Medication such as paracetamol and other analgesics are NOT kept in the First Aid Kit as can mask signs and symptoms of serious illness. Medications should not be with students unless needed for emergency access. i.e. Ventolin inhaler or epi - pen.
Sentral Portal
STAY UP TO DATE WITH COLLEGE EVENTS, ACTIVITIES AND UPDATES THROUGH OUR FACEBOOK PAGE.
https://www.facebook.com/ TheLakesSouthMorangP9School
The Lakes South Morang College Newsletter COMMUNITY NOTICEBOARD
DUE: 24TH MARCH
CANTEEN ORDERS
This year the school canteen is offering lunch orders through the Flexischools app.
Scan the code below to setup an account and select The Lakes South Morang College.
Orders need to be in by 8am on the day.
Please call Karen on 9404 900 to discuss further, if you have a service or upcoming event you would like to promote through our Newsletter.
We are always looking to build new or foster current connections within our community!
Please call Karen on 9404 900 to discuss further, if you have a service or upcoming event you would like to promote through our Newsletter.
To thrive, children need a safe and supportive environment at school, at home and in the broader community; no exceptions. At The Lakes South Morang College, we believe meeting the physical and emotional needs of our students is paramount in laying the foundations for a fulfilling future. We pledge to provide an environment that has zero tolerance to child abuse and will strive to work in partnership with our parents and community members to keep our students safe every day, in every way.
The Lakes South Morang College Child Safety Statement
PRIMARY CAMPUS: Telephone: 9404 9000 275 Gordons Road South Morang 3752 SECONDARY CAMPUS: Telephone: 9401 3919 80 Jardier Terrace South Morang 3752 ABN 52 938 171 499 PO Box 207 South Morang 3752 lakes.south.morang.co@education.vic.gov.au
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker