Final Newsletter for 2022

It always seems to arrive quicker than you anticipate, but after 41 weeks of school we have reached the final week of 2022. There are still a few things to do, not least of which is to send off our awesome Year 6 group and those students leaving our school at the end of this year out with a whole-school clap-out on Friday. There are no Covid restrictions this year, so please join us if you can for this event, more details further on. For now, my thanks to all our families for your support throughout 2022. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year break and that you each get some valuable quality time with your children.

Presentation Day Award Winners

Congratulations to all of the students who received an award at the Presentation Day assembly last Wednesday. For those parents and carers that were unable to attend this assembly, our Major Award recipients were:

Dux – HyoEun Yang

School Citizenship – Lucinda Shaw and Meg Rayner (dual recipients)

Creative and Performing Arts Award – Frida Borthwick Frostis

Community Spirit Award – Finn Smith

Lambton High School Encouragement Award – Harlem Green

Outstanding Sportsmanship Award – Johnathan Nohra

Sporting Blues Recipient – Tyler Johnson (Rugby League and Touch)

Junior Girls Sports Champion – Sophie Agland

Junior Boys Sports Champion – Riley Ford

Senior Girls Sports Champion – Lily Stewart-Jurd

Senior Boys Sports Champion – Tyler Johnson

P&C Reward Day

As a thank you to all students for their hard work and effort throughout 2022, our wonderful P&C are providing a special reward day at school tomorrow (Monday 12 December) for all students K-6. Motiv8 Sports Newcastle will be on-site tomorrow providing fun, sports activities for all stages. Each stage will participate in activities for approximately 1 hour. Class teachers will supplement the sports activities with some additional classroom fun and the students are invited to come to school Out of Uniform wearing Christmas themed clothes. There is no cost to participate and because activities are on the school grounds and of a similar nature to normal school sport activities, parental consent is not required. However, if for any reason you would prefer your child does not participate, please phone or email the office by 9am tomorrow detailing your wishes.

We thank the P&C for providing this great opportunity and wish our students all the best as we set aside our normal routine for a little fun.

Wishing you all a very Merry, Safe and Peaceful Christmas. See you in 2023!

David Holland

Congratulations to our students of the week for Week 9 of this term

Semester reports will be sent home with students this week, most likely Wednesday 14 December. If there are any families that require a second copy of your child’s report and do not receive one, please contact our friendly office team who would be more than happy to print or email a second copy for you. If you have questions or need further clarification about your child’s report, please contact the office to arrange a time to speak with their class teacher. 

Congratulations to the 224 students from Lambton Public School who successfully completed the 2022 Premier’s Reading Challenge.

Thank you, teachers, parents and caretakers who encouraged them along the way. K-2 students participated in the PRC at school during library and class lessons, while 3-6 students who chose to participate, did so in their own time. Certificates will be handed out next week.

Three students have received a PLATINUM AWARD for successfully completing the Premier’s Reading Challenge for 7 years.

As is our custom, students in Year 6  may choose to have their peers and staff sign their Year 6 or one Lambton Public School t-shirt on their final day of school. Please note that it will be assumed that each student will wear or bring with them, one shirt to be written on or signed. We do expect all students to participate in this task responsibly and only use the textas for purpose in which they are intended.  If you do not wish for your child to collect signatures or write on their shirt, please contact the office as soon as possible.

Staff Development Days and Starting Dates for 2023

Parents, please note that the 2023 school year begins with two staff development days. This continues the change that was made by the Department of Education for all schools at the beginning of this year.

For your reference, the dates for the start of 2023 are as follows:

• Friday 27 January – Staff Development Day 1  
• Monday 30 January  – Staff Development Day 2
• Tuesday January 31  – Mainstream Years 1 – 6 students return
• Thursday February 2 – Kindergarten students begin

Please add these dates to your calendar. On the first day of school students in Years 1-6, are asked to line up under the cola with their 2022 class when the bell rings in the morning.

Our Year 6 students and teachers enjoyed a wonderful evening last Tuesday, celebrating the end of 7 years of primary school via the Year 6 Farewell. Thank you to the parents and carers that assisted with planning and preparing for this event. Here’s a few pics from the night.

Last Friday KJ, KH and K-6C went on their very first excursion to TimberNook Newcastle on Awabakal land, this special experience is managed by Yamuloong, the Indigenous Cultural Centre.

Students bushwalked to a large outdoor area where they were given the time and space to explore nature, play with mud and water, create cubbies and play on swings and in tunnels. All students and their teachers had a great day out in nature.

TimberNook offer many wonderful sensory based experiences for children in Early Childhood and Primary School settings. If you want to find out more go to their website below:

https://timbernook.com/provider/inspired-ec/

Last Wednesday was the SRC’s last meeting for the year and Mrs Gillard asked us to reflect on what we have enjoyed as an SRC representative.

This year has been a wonderful year for our SRC at Lambton Public School. Please enjoy the student leaders and student council representatives’ reflections for the year.

Holly - It was the best time when helping the school with composting.

Penny - I’m really proud of the SRC and everyone!

School Leaders - We strived for success ad success we got!

Liam - I enjoyed the Starlight Foundation Fundraiser and the out of uniform day. I hope for SRC again next year.

Chiara - I liked when we got to do the compost, but the bugs were very annoying.

Acacia - It feels nice knowing you contributed.

Will - In my opinion SRC was great, helping others in the school, helping charities, and having the best fun days ever. From the Starlight Foundation to other hospitals, helping those people was a blast. So, in my opinion being an SRC representative was the best thing I’ve ever done so far.

Kayla - I loved being in the SRC because you help a lot and you get to be in a good leadership role.

Home Reader returns

It’s not too late to get these back to school.  We are still missing quite a few home reading books that have not been returned at this end point in the year. We would respectfully ask all parents and carers to search high and low at home – on bookshelves, under beds, in bottom of wardrobes and at the back of the cupboard for any home reading books that your child may have brought home this year and return them to school as soon as possible. There will be no questions asked, just please return them ASAP so that we can check them off and account for those missing.

Surplus student medication

If your child takes prescribed medication during the school day, please arrange to collect any surplus or leftover medication from the office prior to the holiday break.  Please note that we are unable to give surplus medication to students to take home in their bags, it must be collected by an adult. If you are unable to arrange for collection, please contact the office to discuss alternative arrangements.

Donations needed of second-hand items

We are always in need of more 2nd hand uniforms to assist families through this transitional period before our new uniform is available for purchase. If you have uniforms that still have good life in them or your child is leaving the school (eg Year 6) at the end of the year, we would sincerely appreciate donations of these items. Please wash the items before sending them in to the school office. 

Student movements 2023

Thank you to those families that contacted us recently 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 move, 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. 

Christmas Cards

The last day for students to place Christmas cards in the mailbox for the elves to deliver them to classrooms is this Wednesday 14 December. Please do not send any further cards to school after this date. 

Classroom Activities

Please note, some classes are now participating in several Christmas themed activities due to the time of year.  These are not religious based activities such as scripture lessons for students who opt-in to do those lessons.  These activities are quite often curriculum related.  At other times of the year, curriculum activities are also often themed, eg, Anzac Day, NAIDOC Week, Harmony Day etc. This is another example of that practice. Please contact your child's teacher if you do not wish for your child to engage in Christmas-themed activities. 

Today is the final day in which you can purchase tickets in the P&C Monster Christmas Raffle. There are over 52 prizes to be won with many including amazing, family holiday packages. The winners will be announced on Monday with prize-winners asked to arrange collection of their prizes from the school office as soon as possible after that.

Please visit MySchoolConnect to purchase tickets – only $2.00 a ticket for your chance to win.

 https://www.myschoolconnect.com.au/lambton-ps-raffles

Our onsite OOSH provider, LakeMacNewy OOSH are offering Vacation Care to keep the students entertained during the Xmas holidays. Their program runs 6:30 am - 6:00 pm  Monday 19 December -  Friday 23 December and then resumes Monday 16th January. 

Further details about how to book and pricing can be found on their website Lakemacnewyoosh/Lambton or by contacting the service on 0409 180 123