Dear Parents and Carers,

It has been exciting to witness the innovative learning opportunities that students are engaged in each and every day at our school.  Teaching and non- teaching staff willingly go above and beyond to ensure our young people are given the best possible opportunities.  I have enjoyed attending exhibitions and getting to know students and also the many parents, grandparents and community members who have been part of recent panels. I am sure that you will agree with me, the level of learning being shared at exhibition has been most impressive.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind members of our school community of the importance of signing in and out of our school when visiting. We are working hard as part of a system to maintain covid safe practices and it is critical that we have an accurate list of those people who have visited our school.

It is also important that where possible, families wishing to meet with individual staff, pre-arrange meetings by either phoning our reception or emailing advisory teachers directly and establishing a mutually convenient time. We are very keen to establish and maintain an open communication channel with families and thank you for your support with this.

Attendance at School

I would like to take this opportunity to remind families about the importance of regular attendance at school. I have mentioned previously many times that it is imperative for good learning outcomes to be achieved that students attend school every day. A goal for students to aim for is an attendance rate at or above 90% and that is what we aim for as a school. As a school, we aim to know where our students are and why they are not at school.  What may seem harmless can have a cumulative effect that significantly hampers learning. We acknowledge that students are not always well and able to attend school and thank families for communicating this to our administration team as soon as possible. This can be done via text message to 0427 016 460 or a phone call to 6335 1500. Attendance at school is a legal requirement and we must follow this up accordingly following process and protocols as outlined in the Education Act.

The Education Act limits the reasons for a child to be authorised to be absent from school.

Reasons your child can be authorised to be absent from school include:

• sickness/incapacity
• medical/legal or related appointments
• natural disaster or extreme weather preventing your child from safely attending school
• terminal illness of an immediate family member
• bereavement of a person that your child had a close, significant, or family relationship with
• having witnessed or been subjected to family violence
• participating in a recognised learning experience
• being participant or official at a recognised State, National or International event
• an application for home education being received by the Education Registrar and provisional registration being granted.

An absence from school that is not for a reason in the list will be recorded as an unauthorised absence. We thank families in advance for your polite co-operation.

We understand that adolescence is a challenging stage and that there are times when teenagers seek independence and push the boundaries. No matter how hard parents try, some students experience times when they can be reluctant or refuse to go to school. We know that attendance patterns are established very early in the year and that is why we have a strong emphasis on working with you to address any attendance concerns at the start of the year.    

What You Can Do:

• Talk about the importance of showing up to school every day, make that the expectation. Regular attendance sets up good behaviours for regular attendance at work.
• Help your teenager maintain daily routines such as finishing homework and getting a good night’s sleep. On average, teenagers need 8-9 hours’ sleep to be healthy and alert. You may also need to monitor their use of the Internet, mobile phone and TV at night to ensure they are not staying up too late or being disturbed while sleeping.
• Avoid making hair, dental or medical appointments during school hours.
• Schedule family trips for school holidays, rather than during term time.
• Don’t let your teenager stay home unless genuinely sick. Complaints of headaches or stomach aches may be signs of anxiety.
• Monitor your teenager’s attendance and school performance. A regular check in by phone or email is a good idea. If you have concerns about your child’s attendance, please contact your child’s advisory teacher
• Contact me or our social worker.

Learning Through Internship (LTI’s)

Many of our young people have commenced or are busy putting the final organisational touches to their Internships. It is wonderful to chat with students upon their return from their Internships and see the real sense of purpose and authenticity in the work they not only completed off site but are participating in at school. Thank you also to those family members who recently responded to our survey with regard to assisting with student placements. We are aiming to have every young person involved in an Internship in early term 2 and to do this, require support from our community.

Some examples of current internships include:

• Harry @ IdeasBanq
• Kate @ Youngtown Primary School
• Claye @ Jessups IT
• Brayden @ Launceston Tram Museum

Exhibitions

It is great to see the school a hive of activity as students are busy organising and completing their first exhibitions for 2021- certainly different to our Covid impacted online exhibitions from this time last year! I have had the opportunity to sit in on many amazing exhibitions.  It was quite simply outstanding and demonstrated to me all the benefits of the Big Picture Learning design. From engaging and interesting icebreakers, to the sharing of new learning from personalised interest areas, student exhibitions have been super impressive.  Congratulations one and all and I am already looking forward to term 2 exhibitions.

Grade 11/12 Progress Reports

Progress reports for grade 11 and 12 students have been completed and families should of recently received them. This report is the first formal report home for senior students and is an indication of how your child has settled into the new school year. It provides an insight into their work habits. As always, if you would like to discuss anything regarding your child’s progress report please make an appointment with reception to see your child’s advisory teacher.   A more comprehensive report is provided mid-year for all students.

School Association

Last week we held our School Association AGM and first General Meeting for 2021. It was great to re-establish relationships with existing families and to also meet and welcome new family members to our Association. Parents and community members are always welcome to attend any of our meetings. A highlight of our first meeting for me was listening to year 12 student, Harry Radbone, detail and describe his learning journey at LBPS and also his future ambitions. Harry spoke for 7-8 minutes and was amazingly confident and articulate. Thank you Harry!

It was also fantastic to have lots of parent and community interest in joining our 2021 School Association. Congratulations to the following elected members for 2021:

• Chairperson - Dana Chick
• Deputy Chairperson - Nicole Crook
• Community Representative - David Meech
• Staff Representative - Tanya Ringuet
• Secretary/Treasurer - Jennifer Kendall
• Parent Representatives - Ben Cunningham, Kath Hawkins, Marcus Santamaria, Belinda Howorka, Sarah Westwood, Elena Rodriguez

Please remember that School Association meetings are open to all members of our school community. Our next meeting is on Wednesday 9^th June at 5:00 pm in our grade 11/12 classroom. Please feel free to come along!

Moderation Day and Assessment

Thursday 1^st of April is Moderation Day for all teaching staff. Our staff will be working with colleagues from Sothern Big Picture schools (Ogilvie, Kingston, Sorell). We will be working from Oatlands District High School and our focus will be establishing shared understandings of where student work sits but more importantly, we will be discussing strategies with regard to what we can do to assist our young people with extending their learning.

Please note that as a consequence of this, Thursday 1^st of April is a student free day for all students.

Please can I take this opportunity to wish all families a safe and happy term break and I look forward to seeing everyone in term 2.

Adrian Dean
Principal