Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Parent Communication

For general announcements and information, Lihir International School communicates with the parent body and the wider community through this Toksave, the school's website and the school's Facebook page.  We will now also be sending a hard copy of the newsletter home with the eldest in each family. Please make sure that the school has updated email addresses for both parents / carers. Please see Lorna in the office to update your contact information to ensure you receive all correspondence.

End of Term

Term 1 will finish next Thursday, 30th March at 12.00pm. For parents who live out of townsite, please ensure students are picked up by 12.15pm.  Students resume for term 2 on Monday, 17th April.

School Council

There will be a School Council meeting at 6pm on Thursday, 27th April in the year 9/10 room. All our Councillors are encouraged to attend. If you are interested in finding out more about the School Council, please give me a call or make a time to come in for a chat.

Parent / Teacher Interviews

Parent / Teacher interviews for all classes from Prep to Year 6 will be held between 3pm and 6pm on Monday the 27th and Tuesday the 28th of March.

Due to teacher absences, high school interviews have been postponed to Thursday 20th April and Friday 21st April (term 2, week 1). Parents do not need to rebook interviews - Monday times will be on the Thursday and Tuesday times on the Friday. We apologise for any inconvenience. Parents can change their times if required by contacting Mrs Romaso-Daimol, by either calling in to the office, emailing or by phoning the office. 

Regards,

Mr Greg Neville         

In term 2, our lower primary will have an opportunity to play Hockey, middle primary Netball and Golf for the high school. More info will come out in week 1 next term.

Tabloid Sports

The last Tabloid Sports for term 1 was on Thursday afternoon, Thanks to our school captains, Sharon and Hubert, and the term 1 Student Councillors for organising the games. Students had a great time participating in the various activities.

Easter Colouring

Student Council are running an Easter colouring competition. Students can submit one entry. Entries need to be submitted by 3.00pm Monday, Week 9. Winners will be announced at Week 9's Thursday assembly.

Canteen

Canteen will continue from Week 2 of next term. There will be no canteen next week as it is the last week of the school term.

This year, at the end of term 2, LIS will be staging a whole school dance and drama musical production titled – ‘Travel into Space on Apollo23’. This production will involve all classes, Prep to Year 10, as well as the LIS/STM staff. It is a musical drama about the Solar System that not only involves dance and drama but planning and preparation as well.  Apart from it being fun and entertaining, being part of a production is an activity that boosts students’ confidence. This will be a great experience for our LIS students.

Thanks to Ms Patricia Yip for being our production director.

Term 1 Monday 30 January to Thursday 30 March

Term 2 Monday 17 April to Thursday 22 June

Term 3 Monday 17 July to Thursday 14 September

Term 4 Monday 2 October to Thursday 7 December 

Key dates:

Parent Teacher Interviews: Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th March, 3.00-6.00pm (Primary classes); Thursday 20th and Friday 21st April, 3.00-6.00pm (Highschool classes)

Long Run and Ball Games Carnival: Wednesday 29th March

Easter Hat Parade: This is for the Prep, year 1 and year 2 classes and will be held after Thursday's Assembly in the undercover area.

Afternoon activities:

Tuesday: There is no swimming next week due to parent/teacher interviews. Next term, swimming lessons will commence from term 2 on a Wednesday afternoon.

Wednesday: There is no homework class next week.

Student Portfolios and Parent/Teacher Interviews

Student portfolios have been sent home today, so parents can see some of the assessment tasks that have been completed, prior to attending parent/teacher interviews next week. We ask that parents sit with their children and discuss the activities in the folio, identifying areas of progress and opportunities for improvement.

We ask that portfolios are returned to school or brought to the interview session. 

Long Run and Ball Games 

The Long Run and Ball Games Carnival will be held next Wednesday 29th March on the oval. This is for Prep - year 10 students. The long run will commence at 8.30am and the ball games will begin around 9.45-10.00am after the students have had a recess break.

P&W Bake Sale

We thank Rebecca Daimol-Matson and her team of helpers for organising next week's bake sale. We also thank all families who are supporting this activity by baking, setting up, working at the sale or coming and participating on the day. Come along and enjoy a sweet treat!

Library books

We ask that students from Kindy - year 4 return their library books next week. Students in years 5-10 are encouraged to borrow books to read over the holiday break.

Swimming Lessons

Swimming lessons will recommence next term in week 2 on a Wednesday afternoon. Thank you to Ms Dovaston and Ms Savitas for running these lessons after Hannah's departure. If any parents would like to volunteer to assist with the swimming program, please see Mr Neville.

High School Sewing Program

We are also looking for volunteers to assist with our high school sewing classes. This would involve helping over a two-hour period up at our STM Campus, once a week. Please contact Mr Collins or Mr Neville for any further information.

Kind regards,

Ms Cathy Langusch             

The Work Ready Program trainees are working toward the end of their training. We look forward to sharing their final week with them next week before they begin applying for positions both with Newcrest Mining Limited and their business partners.

STMC staff are in the final stages of planning with Divine Word University and the Local Provincial Education Office to finalise new Lihirian teachers' enrolment in the DWU Bachelor of Primary Education, ready for commencement of the program over the Easter period.  

Our FODE students are continuing to progress well.  

Regards, 

Mr Kevin Collins