From the Principal and Deputy Principal

Welcome back to Term 2. We hope everyone had a relaxing break and are back ready to start the term with new energy. We have had lots happening recently so please read the updates below!

New Building: Our new building is almost ready. Handover will be soon and then we need to outfit the building with the new furniture that has already arrived, as well as return all of the equipment that has been stored or used around the school. Governing Council have volunteered to lend a hand with this by organising some volunteers to assist. Please see the flier in the newsletter to see if you can help.

NAPLAN: Our NAPLAN testing began smoothly this week for Years 3, 5, 7 & 9 thanks to the great organisation of Nat Austin and Sarah Trussell. This testing will be completed next week with some catch up tests for students who may have been absent.

Staffing update: With Adrian on leave for the first half of this term, Jane is acting Principal for that time. Lucinda Smith has won the Acting Deputy Principal position and Carol Hille has won the Acting Special Programs Coordinator for this period of time also. Congratulations!

Kylie Ware joins our SSO team this term, with Adele Theron also returning. Welcome to Kylie and welcome back to Adele!

Covid update: Thank you to parents who are contacting us to let us know your child is absent due to Covid. This helps us to inform the school community about when and where students may have been exposed so parents can watch closely for symptoms. Please ring and let the Front Office staff know so that we can keep on top of this.

Our most recent update from the Department for Education (received Thursday 12/5/22) has let us know that indoor assemblies can now resume, as can camps with no travel restrictions. Keep an eye out for the date of our next Primary Assembly. We hope to see you there!

Communication: Last week you all received an email to let you know that we no longer use the School Stream app that we implemented last year. EdSmart has taken over the school communication part of this and information goes directly to your email account. Please make sure these details are up to date with the Front office staff.

For parents wanting to communicate with school, you have multiple ways to do this:

• Call the Front office and talk to our admin staff on 87662084. They can assist you with many enquiries or messages can be left with them for staff to call you back as they are usually teaching.
• Email our 0740.info@schools.sa.edu.au address and it will be forwarded to the relevant staff.
• Go to our website Lucindale Area School – Department for Education (las.sa.edu.au) to find out information about the school.
• Use our handy online absentee form on the website. Absentee Form – Lucindale Area School (las.sa.edu.au)
• Our website also has individual staff email addresses so you can contact them directly.
• Drop into the Front Office on your way past to ask a question. If you are wanting to see particular staff, especially teaching staff, it is best to ring and make an appointment first.
• Don’t forget, students have diaries or communication books. Please use these to message your Home Group teachers, especially if there is a school event and you are unsure how this affects your child.

Mobile Phone Policy: Governing Council has endorsed the Mobile Phone Policies for students R-6 and Years 7-12 after consultation with families, staff and students. The updated policies will be available on our website under the Parent Information tab shortly. Thank you to everyone for your feedback.

The policies state that students from R-6 should not have phones at school. Students from Years 7-9 may have phones at school but may only use them with teacher permission and may not take them into the yard at break times. Students from Years 10-12 may have phones at school with them and may access them with teacher permission and at break times. Any breaches of the policy result in confiscation of the phone and return at the end of the day. If a second confiscation occurs, a parent or guardian will need to collect the phone from the school.

Volunteers in Schools: With the world getting back to a semblance of normal after the last 2 years of Covid disruptions, you may be thinking about volunteering some time here at school. Volunteers are welcome for all sorts of tasks from listening to reading, assisting in class, working bees, helping in the library, helping on camps or excursions, etc. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer at school, we are shortly adding a volunteer application form on our website under the Community tab or you can contact the Front Office and they can email one to you so you can express your interest.

Volunteers are required to submit this form and to undergo training in child safety practices. This training is available online, or if you would prefer face to face training, our Wellbeing Leader Nat Austin can run a group training for those interested. Please contact the school to let us know.

Student Work: Are you interested in seeing some of the work your child has been doing lately? Ask them to log into their Microsoft Teams account where you can see what they have been doing. Secondary students use Microsoft Teams regularly in classes to receive and submit work. Our Primary students are just learning to use Teams and our JP students can show you their work through SeeSaw.

Excursions: Fabulous to see our students out and about again in the community! Our Year 10s have been busy with work experience and Ag excursions to Di Giorgio Family Wines, along with Knock Out Touch Footy in Penola. Equine Program is running again this term. Our Outdoor Ed students are off again shortly, this time paddling the creeks instead of climbing cliffs. SAPSASA is busy with Netball trials and Cross Country is in Naracoorte on Friday May 20^th. Make sure you keep an eye on our School Calendar on the website and check your email regularly so you don’t miss out on notices.

National Simultaneous Story Time: We will take part in this event on Wednesday May 25^th at 11am with our students in the Library and a guest reader. I wonder who it will be this year? The story this year is ”Family Tree” by Josh Pyke. Information is available through this weblink ALIA National Simultaneous Storytime – 2022. Feel free to come and join us in the library on this day and join in the fun!

Let’s look forward to a fun and productive term!

Jane & Lucinda

Brebras Computing Challenge

The Bebras® Computing Challenge introduces computational thinking to students. It is organized in over 30 countries and designed to get students all over the world excited about computing. They hold two challenges each year. Bebras® Computing Challenge is designed to help students explore their talents and passion for informatics and computational thinking with engaging challenges. Participating in the challenge is free. Each participant gets 45 minutes to answer 15 multiple-choice questions that focus on computational and logical thinking. It is completed online in school and it shows to schools and students how well their skills are developed. The Year 3/4 class participated in the first Brebras challenge during Digital Technologies in April. A special congratulations to the following students on their achievement.  DISTINCTION  Year 3  Charles 

CREDIT  Year 4  Taylor  Year 4  George 

MERIT  Year 3  Jack  Year 3  Austin  Year 3  Bridie  Year 4  Rebecca  Year 4  Amelia  Year 4  Oliver. 

Well done to all Year 3/4 students on their participation and effort.   Mrs Pauline Rivett 

Rock Climbing Camp