School Captains 2023

I shared with the community in the newsletter 2 weeks ago the names of the 13 Year 5 students nominated by their peers and teachers to stand for election as school captains in 2023. Following their speeches and voting, it is my pleasure to announce that our 2023 School Captains will be:

Again, I would like to acknowledge all 13 nominees who throughout this process carried themselves extremely well but congratulate the students above on their leadership positions. They will make wonderful role models and student leaders. The next part of our process is to elect new sports house captains, this will get underway in the coming week. All of our new leaders will be formally introduced at the Presentation Day Assembly in Week 9.

Christmas Card Tradition

For those families new Lambton Public School in 2022, our school has a lovely student Christmas card tradition where, if they wish to participate, the students write Christmas cards for their friends and place them in a special Christmas Mailbox each morning. During the day, the ‘Christmas Elves’ (2022 Captains), sort and then deliver Christmas cards to each of the classes later in the day. It gives the giving of Christmas Cards a kind of ‘receiving mail’ feel and the students really love it. This process will run between Monday 28 November and Wednesday 14 December. Students can bring in their cards on any day during this period and post them in the mailbox. I’ve challenged the students this year to go beyond writing ‘To Tony, Merry Christmas from Bill’ to actually write a short message of thanks or gratitude in their cards. For example, ‘To Sue, thanks for always making me laugh, Merry Christmas your friend Julie’ or ‘Dear Joey, I really appreciate that you encourage me when we play handball. Have a Merry Christmas from Ross’. A little message with kind words could make a wonderful difference to our students. There are more details further on in today’s newsletter, however, please note that participation is optional for all students.

World Cup

I know from speaking with the students this past week that the Soccer World Cup has really captured a number of their imaginations and they are eagerly watching games. Personally, I am suffering a little sports fatigue and have not been able to throw myself into this like I would most other major sporting events. Being the end of the school year, there are a number of other priorities that have our focus at school at the moment, but please rest assured that we will do something before the tournament is over to support the students’ interest in this World Cup. 

Have a great week!

David Holland

Congratulations to our students of the week for Week 7 of this term

Year 6 students will enjoy Orientation Days at their respective high schools this Tuesday and should have already received information relating to Enrolment Day directly from their child’s high school. 

Students attending Lambton High School are reminded to wear full school uniform and arrive with their parents or carers at the Multi-Purpose Centre by 9:15 am. Parents and Carers will attend an information session and receive information about the uniform shop, school contributions and Year 7 stationery packs.

All students need to return to school immediately following the enrolment day at Lambton High School. Rolls will be marked by Mr Semmens under the COLA at 11:30 am.   

Thank you to those families that contacted us recently to let us know their 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 their 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.

Students in Stage One will enjoy a walking excursion to Lambton Park this week to consolidate their learning of road safety in conjunction with their “Safety First” PDHPE (Personal Development, Health and Physical Education) unit of work. Students should wear full school uniform including a school hat, fully enclosed comfortable walking shoes and apply sunscreen prior to coming to school. Their labelled fruit break and water bottle will be delivered to the park for students to enjoy during their excursion.

In the event of wet weather, please refer to Skoolbag on Wednesday morning for updated advice.

An excursion has been planned for the students in KH, KJ & K-6C this Friday where students will participate in the TimberNook program located at Inspired EC, Garden Suburb. Students should wear full sports uniform including their hat and bring fruit break, recess and water bottle. Students will return to school for lunch. Buses leave at 9:00 am. 

Parents and carers are reminded if their child was not enrolled at LPS in Kindergarten in 2016 to send their child’s Kindergarten photo for inclusion in the slideshow to be shown during the Year 6 Farewell. Photos can be emailed to Lambton-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au or students can bring them in to the office and staff will scan them for inclusion. Staff are busy putting the finishing touches on the presentation and ask that photos be forwarded no later than Wednesday 30 November please.

The weather was kind to us on Friday to support the running of the rescheduled P&C Colour Run. The students, teachers and volunteers had a blast – it was a great way to finish Week 7! Our sincere thanks to the P&C, Motiv8 Sports and the many volunteers that assisted us on the day, helping to make it a wonderful success. Here’s a few snaps from the day…..

The number of people contracting the Covid-19 virus has been rising again over the past week with health authorities encouraging citizens to be extra vigilant with adopting the measures that we know to be Covid-smart. We remind all families that if children are unwell, they should not attend school until they are well and symptom free.

Additional RAT tests were distributed via the eldest children in each family last week. We encourage all families to continue using these at home, when students present with cold or flu like symptoms. 

The final school assembly for 2022 is scheduled to take place in the hall on Thursday 8 December and will be led by our 2022 School Captains. Family and friends are invited to join us if you can. 

Transition to high school for teenagers

Moving to high school is one of the key milestones of a teenager’s life. It’s an exciting phase and it’s important for parents to stay informed about their teen’s transition to high school and to learn how to support them as they navigate these changes.

Click here to access what you need to know about the transition phase, tips for starting high school, how you can help your teen and how you can stay involved.

• 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.
  

Autism is significantly more common in boys than in girls.  It may be rooted in biological differences between the sexes but it seems many autistic girls remain undiagnosed. This week's articles discusses how social signs are less obvious in girls and how girls use camouflaging as a way of coping in social situations.  We hope you enjoy this week's article.