Updates, Shop Closed, Chess Club and more: Term 4 | Week 1

Posted at 1:46 pm on 13 October 2020 Weekly News
Stay up to date with all of the news and upcoming events at Lake Heights Public School.
From the principal's desk
‘Starting strong is good. Finishing strong is epic.’ -    Robin Sharma Welcome Back Welcome back to Term 4. I would like to start by thanking our community for being flexible in supporting the move of our Staff Development Day from December 17 to yesterday. The day was a very productive day of School Planning. Following yesterday’s planning session, which considered the recent community survey, I would like to share some information with our community for consultation. In the coming weeks, I will be scheduling a community info and QandA session via Zoom for all members of our community, and I will share the link and access information when we have firmed a date and time with our PandC. Congratulations to our K/1 class who were the winners of the Term 3 Gizmo GotYa Challenge. It was very tight last term, with 4 of our 6 classes topping at least one of the week’s tally, but it was K/1 who finished strong winning the final two weeks to lead the term. We counted on the last day of school, so K/1 will now enjoy a special class reward this week in recognition of their efforts on the playground.
COVID Updates Over the holidays NSW Health met with the NSW Education Department to agree on guidelines for Term 4. I am happy to say that we can proceed with a Kindergarten orientation. It will look different though, with adults limited to 10 minutes on-site for pickups and drop-offs. We will be sending home specific information, but the 4 dates to mark are all Mondays: 2/11, 9/11, 16/11, and 23/11. The first two dates are optional PM sessions, and the last two are essential AM sessions. We are also hosting a parent info session on the afternoon of the third date. We are also happy to learn we can run 6-7 transition at local high schools following completion of the HSC, and we will share more info soon. Sport and Excursions are now also permitted but require adherence to strict social distancing and COVID plans. Unfortunately, PandC meetings must remain online, non-essential community visitors are still not permitted on-site, and we are still unable to hold assemblies for longer than 15 minutes or invite our community as audience members. We are hopeful this last restriction may ease in time for our end of year presentations and farewells, but we await further advice. Fencing Thank you for completing the fence survey last term. The response was strong, and in clear favour of a 1.8m fence as a preference. Our Department’s Assets and Safety and Security units support this decision, and I met with contractors over the break to confirm the Christmas break as our construction period. The colour the survey decided on was Blue, and the contractors have suggested navy would look best so this will be the colour. Our front fence will be completed first, with our back fence due for consideration late next year. Shop Our shop currently remains closed as they complete renovations and hand over to new owners within the family. I will inform our community of a reopening date and share any menu/procedure changes when they come to hand. Evacuation Practice On Thursday we must complete an Evacuation Drill. We have not completed one this year because of COVID, and they are mandated to keep our children safe. We will be evacuating to the back oval on Thursday afternoon at 12.45, emulating a fire situation. Our local Fire Brigade will be in attendance to meet children and discuss safety. Please don’t be alarmed if you hear tones and see the emergency services on-site. Have a great week. Kind regards, Kieren Corbyn (Principal)
The week that was
Click the link above to see all of the action from Lake Heights Public School from the last week of last term. While you are there, watch our other videos from the past.
Hats, hats, hats
With the approaching heat and higher UV levels, we encourage all students to continue to wear a school hat each day. Students without a hat will remain seated under the shade of the school umbrellas. Please check our website for the current UV level and temperature.
Year 7 selective high schools 2022
Here is a reminder of the most important information sent home today with Year 5 students. Applications for Year 7 entry to selective high schools in 2022 will be accepted from Tuesday 13 October 2020 to Monday 16 November 2020. Parents must apply online at https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/year-7. All applicants are required to sit the Selective High School Placement Test to be held on Thursday 11 March 2021.
Check mate
This term, the S.R.C. will be running a chess club for a small number of students at lunchtime on Mondays. The S.R.C. is also in charge of the caravan which now opens for use at recess for all students in the lower playground.
Child safety hub
The “NSW Police Legacy Child Safety Handbook” is a comprehensive resource to assist parents, carers as well as teachers on a range of topics essential to child safety. The handbook has been updated to include key messages about COVID-19 safety and bush fire safety given the unprecedented fires we experienced earlier this year. Please click on the picture above or follow this link to view the updated digital handbook http://nsw.childsafetyhub.com.au/downloads/ A Child Safety Handbook app is also available for download from Apple, Google, and Amazon.
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Next newsletter:  Monday 19 October 2020
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