Rise and Shine, Picnic Day Changes and more: Term 4 | Week 10

Posted at 1:20 pm on 14 December 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
‘A hard beginning maketh a good ending’
  • John Heywood
What a year. There are so many things we could reflect on. Ultimately though we reflect on our successes, and there have been many. Thank you to all staff, students and community members who have helped LHPS thrive throughout one of the most challenging school years in recent history. I have fingers (and toes) crossed that restrictions continue easing into 2021, and we can enjoy a school year with a resemblance closer to that of normality. Our last day for students in 2020 is Thursday December 17. I realise this is different to many schools, but we also had one extra day of holidays for students at the beginning of this term. Our students in Years 1-6 students return to school on Friday, January 29, 2021. Kindergarten have individual best start arrangements before starting for a full day on Tuesday, February 2. Thanks to the hard work of staff and PandC, we were able to send off our Year 6 students in marvellous fashion on Thursday evening. It was a lovely night. The celebrations continue for Year 6 this Thursday with a Pizza party for winning the Term 4 Gotya challenge, before a clap out to their final bell at LHPS. We invite parents to watch, but please remain outside the fence on Grandview, and remain socially distanced. We will ensure the procession on the court can be seen from the fence. Fingers crossed for sunshine. Staffing classes, and creating them for 2021 is complex. It is not a process I can complete this year with certainty. As I type we are accepting new enrolments. It is a delicate process based on numbers and staff. I intend to start the first morning of 2021 in 2020 classes, before we finalise any new enrolments, and start classes in new groups at lunchtime. The census date is at the end of Week 2, and changes can still occur up until this point. What we do know though is that Mrs Sernig has accepted a role in 2021 which will take her away from Lake Heights. She will be perfecting her skills in special education, and working in an itinerant role which services many schools and students. We wish her the best, thank her for her work here, and hope very much she is not gone too long. She is an asset to our school community, but also to NSW Education, and we wish her well. In her departure, we look forward to adding Mrs Jemmah Layton to our team of educators in 2021.  It is with sadness I inform our community that we have made the hard decision to alter Picnic Day this year and hold a day of celebration onsite. I will send home individual correspondence today outlining new arrangements and considerations. The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting a 90% chance of heavy rain and dangerous weather. Safety and comfort of our students are always paramount. I trust they will still enjoy the day to celebrate 2020. I thank Mr Hurd for organising the day and its contingency. This week we invite our community to consider supporting Rotary, through the information shared later in our newsletter. They give lots to our school, and we look to support them when we can too. Next year in Term 1, we are installing peace poles with the assistance of Rotary. Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.rafflelink.com.au/rcfmraffle2021​​ Thank you also to the members of the community who have given their opinions on how we can best communicate. It is very helpful for our planning team. The survey will remain open this week, and can be accessed here https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KLVMCHH I hope the reports that come home today shed some light on how your child is progressing socially and academically at school. Please make contact with your child’s teacher/s over the coming days if you have questions, and then as normal, Parent and Teacher conversations will occur again in Term 1 (hopefully face to face).  Our new fence is to begin construction on Monday, December 21. After the completion of the fence, our school will have new gates, and the builders will lock them as is the process until we return in 2021. We are unable to share our space under normal arrangements when major construction works are happening for safety reasons. In 2021, we will consult our community around security arrangements for our site, but we are looking forward to having our new shiny fence. Have a very merry Christmas if this is a holiday you celebrate, but take time to rest regardless. Have a great week. Kind regards, Kieren Corbyn (Principal)
Rise and shine
Lake Heights Public School really ‘cleaned up’ (pun intended) at the Rise and Shine awards this year. Out of all the Illawarra schools who entered, our students won first prize in the drawing competition and Serena P. won the students Environmental Award. We were also awarded first place in the ‘Best Environmental Research Project’ category. Here’s the link to the award presentation in case any parents would like to watch it.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T23tp9XFYAE&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3U-u52GY7dwEmgI0EFztsHPSI_BeRQ53C---pTVsXqNmTe6Zzw9q5D0sQ
The week that was
Click the link above to see all of the action from Lake Heights Public School from the last week. While you are there, watch our other videos from the past.
Year 5 opportunity class

There is an update on the modified timeline for Year 5 opportunity class entry in 2021.

The Opportunity Class Placement Test was conducted on Wednesday 18 November 2020 in 1068 primary schools and test centres across NSW. We expect to release the results to parents and schools in mid-January 2021, which may have implications for your staffing and class structures. To ensure that most vacancies are filled by the start of Term 1, 2021, parents who are offered placement on behalf of their children will have just one week to respond to their offers. Parents are being emailed to ensure that they watch their emails or depute someone else to respond on their behalf if they will be out of contact when the results are released as offers will lapse if parents do not respond in time. We would be very grateful if you could reinforce this message to parents through your newsletter or similar communication. By Monday 25 January 2021, we will provide all primary schools with an update of students from their schools who have accepted offers to schools with opportunity classes. Key dates principals should be aware of for the remaining stage of the OC process:
  •  Mid-January 2021 – Placement outcome information is sent to parents and schools. Parents with offers must respond within one week.
  •  From mid-January 2021 – Parents accept or decline offers. The Reserve List is activated.
  •  25 January 2021 – Primary schools will be provided with an updated report of students with accepted offers.
  •  27 January 2021 – At 5pm, students with accepted offers are withdrawn from the reserve list.

Thank you for your ongoing support of the opportunity class placement process.

Yours sincerely

Magda Pollak Leader, High Performing Students Team
Changes to picnic
We are going to have a great Picnic Day at school tomorrow. There will be trivia, dances, games and movies for everyone to enjoy. Students will still receive a juice and an iceblock and students can still wear mufti clothes.
Merits
Living classroom raffle

Please use the link below for your staff and parents if you wish, to buy tickets for The Living Classroom raffle which has been kindly organised by Fairy Meadow Rotary Club for the Warrawong CoS. Hopefully LH staff and parents will buy a ticket for $5 as the prizes include $200, tickets to Jamberoo Water Park, seafood and Bunnings vouchers. All proceeds will go to our CoS schools for garden resources.

This raffle has been used successfully by numerous rotary clubs and schools and the tickets are emailed to the applicant.​

Thanks for your support and have a lovely Christmas.

https://www.rafflelink.com.au/rcfmraffle2021​
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