P&C Succession

We are coming up to that time of the year when we host the P&C Annual General Meeting. At the AGM all positions are declared vacant, and we elect new executive members to lead the P&C into the new year. This year is a critical year for our P&C. Quite a few of our dedicated and long-serving members who have held additional leadership roles have children heading to high school or need to step back from leadership due to changing family circumstances. Our P&C do outstanding work and are an asset to our school. Without them, many school improvement projects like the installation of new playground equipment (x2) would not be possible. Lambton is also one of a handful of public schools in Newcastle that still operates a canteen 5 days per week – thanks to the P&C. At this AGM we will need new parents and carers to consider taking on leadership roles or getting involved in the work of the P&C for 2023.

Serving on P&C is a rewarding experience. Working alongside other parents in partnership with the school is a wonderful way to be involved in your children’s school experience. Please read the information below, provided by the P&C and give some consideration to getting involved in 2023, I don’t think you will regret it. And don’t fall into the trap of thinking you need particular ‘skills’ or ‘talents’ to be able to join, all are welcome, and many hands make light work.

Warmer Weather and Hats

It was lovely this past week to start to have a few warmer days at school. As more warm weather arrives, it is important that students have their school hat with them at school each day. We promote sun safety and therefore, students must have a hat on to access the playground otherwise teachers will direct them to the shaded areas. Please check that your child has a hat and that it is clearly labelled with their name. As we move towards a new uniform, plain bottle green bucket hats are fine to wear if you do not have a branded school hat, however we do not permit students to wear caps as they do not cover the ears or the back of the neck. Plain hats are still available from the uniform shop via My School Connect.

Principal Conference

This coming week I have the privilege of heading to Sydney for the Australian Primary Principals Association conference. It is an opportunity for professional learning, strengthening professional networks and for me to be updated by educational leaders in NSW of the priorities and initiatives across the state. I will be out of the school from Tuesday to Friday, and the school will be in the very capable hands of Mrs Kristen Saunders whilst I am away. If you need executive assistance this week, please see one of our Assistant Principals, or Mrs Saunders as the relieving principal.

Have a great week!

David Holland

Congratulations to our students of the week for Week 3 of this term

We are very much looking forward to meeting our 2023 Kindergarten students and their families this week as our Kindergarten Orientation Program commences on Thursday. It will be great to return to a more traditional orientation program that isn’t impacted by Covid restrictions with parents and carers able to stay on-site and interact more with our staff.  

On 30 September, National Cabinet announced that from Friday 14 October 2022 people who test positive to COVID-19 do not need to self-isolate. In line with this announcement, the following advice is based on recommendations from NSW Health and will support schools in adapting the change while minimising the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

Students, staff and visitors should only attend school when symptom free. We strongly encourage all students, staff and visitors to follow the guidance issued by NSW Health. Schools should continue to send home students or staff displaying symptoms.

Anyone who believes they have been exposed to COVID-19 is strongly recommended to monitor for symptoms and test if they have any concerns, as well as wear a mask. The department will continue to make rapid antigen tests (RATs) available for students and staff who need to test for COVID-19. Rapid antigen testing may help identify the infection early and is important if you are in contact with people at greater risk of serious illness if exposed to COVID-19.

If any families have run out of RAT testing kits and need some additional ones, please speak with our friendly office staff who can assist you to obtain some extra kits. We thank the community for remaining vigilant with Covid-19 and for monitoring children for symptoms.

There’s a few extra-curricular learning activities happening at school over the coming weeks, here’s a quick overview of events happening in each Stage:

Stage 3 LifeChanger Program – Tuesday 1 November

Our school was recently recommended a mental health and wellbeing program designed to help students develop better wellbeing outcomes. All Stage 3 students have the opportunity to participate in this ‘free’ program delivered by trained educators from the LifeChanger organisation. The program closely aligns with the NSW Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) curriculum and centres on building emotional, social and resilience skills. There is no cost for students to participate in this program which consists of 3 x 1.5 hour sessions commencing this Tuesday. Permission is due  tomorrow, so please ensure you have provided permission if you wish your child to participate.

Year 4 Better Buddy Program – Friday 18 November

All Year 4 students will participate in Better Buddy training on Friday 18 November between 9.30 am – 12.00pm in preparation for their important role of being a Senior Buddy to our 2023 Kindergarten students.  Students will enjoy a celebratory pizza lunch at the conclusion of their training. There is no cost for students to participate and permission is due Friday 11 November.

Stage 2 Taronga Zoo Excursion

An excursion has been planned for Stage 2 students to Taronga Zoo on Friday 11 November. The cost is $50.00 which includes bus travel, entry to the zoo and education workshops by zoo staff.  Payment and permission is due Friday 4 November. 

 Timbernook Excursion

All students from KH, KJ and K-6C will enjoy an excursion to Timbernook, located at Inspired EC in Garden Suburb on Friday 2 December. TimberNook is a play-based program that links to Mathematics, Science and Indigenous Perspectives areas of the curriculum.  It will be a great opportunity for these classes to take their learning outdoors in a beautiful setting. The cost of the excursion is $28.00 with permission and payment due Friday 25 November. 

Are you receiving permission notes via email?

All permission notes are now being emailed via School Bytes allowing parents and carers to complete consent and make payment online. 

• Emails are sent to you from  
  noreply@mail.schoolbytes.education.  Please ensure emails received from this address are not marked as spam/junk in your email system
• If you are not receiving permission notes via email, please contact the school office and we can update our system. 
  

With the support of the team from Hunter New England Health, our Year 3 - 6 students enjoyed the opportunity to learn and practice CPR skills. 

We would again like to acknowledge and thank the doctors, nurses and paramedics who gave up their valuable time to guide and instruct our students who are now more informed about how to perform CPR should they ever face an emergency situation. 

Thank you to those families that contacted us this week to let us know that your child will be leaving or moving to another school in 2023. If any other families learn between now and the end of the year that your child will need to work, we would appreciate you letting us know early, as it influences our enrolment and therefore our class structures and 2023 planning. The best way to notify us of a move, is simply to email the office. 

 From Week 1, Monday 10 October, the following COVID-smart measures will remain in place in our schools:

•            Students and staff must stay at home if unwell and test for COVID-19 if showing any symptoms

•            Extra cleaning of bathrooms, drinking fountains and other high touch areas will continue in Term 4

•            Masks continue to be strongly encouraged for all staff, students and school visitors, particularly when indoors and when physical distancing is not possible. Masks continue to be mandatory for all staff working with students at greater risk of severe illness if they were to get COVID-19.

•            Household or close contacts who are symptom-free can attend mainstream schools if they receive a negative RAT result every day for 5 school days and wear a mask (staff and high school students) while on site.

•            Natural ventilation will be maintained with windows and doors open whenever possible, including when cooling/heating systems are in use.

•            Additional circuit breaker measures continue to be implemented at schools when the risk of transmission within the school or wider community is considered high. Some schools may be directed to temporarily reintroduce additional COVID-19 measures including mandatory mask-wearing to minimise transmission risks.

Refer to COVID-smart measures for further details.