Up on the farm this week, Rob gave the Certificate 2 Agriculture students a tour of our facilities and explained what is required of them to complete their qualification. As well as agriculture, the Lilydale 11 and 12 Extension school also offers the following subjects to its senior students:

Certificate 2 in Workplace Skills
English Inquiry 1
Essential Skills – Reading and Writing
Essential Skills – Maths
Financial Literacy
Mathematics 1
Pathways to work 1

It’s been great to see our Year 11 and 12 students make a positive start to the year.

We would like to welcome some new permanent staff to Lilydale for 2024. We know they have already had a positive influence on their classes and around the school building new relationships and getting familiar with our beautiful school.

Angela Baldock - P-2 Music and 1-2A Class Teacher (Fridays)

Zorba Nathan-5-6A Teacher

Henk Smit - 5-6B Teacher (Photo unavailable at time of printing)

Josh Taylor - 9-10C Class Teacher, History, HPE/HWB & Transition

Welcome back to the 2024 school year. We are grateful for the effort that families have made to ensure their children came to school well prepared, in uniform and with a positive outlook. Change is always difficult for people, young and old, and we appreciate the challenge that this may create for your child. Please communicate with your child’s teacher if you have any concerns about how they are settling in. You can support your child by encouraging them to look for positives and opportunities.

Having new staff and students to the school is one of the opportunities for students to build relationships. It also provides them with a broader perspective based on people’s experiences, interests and passions. We have prioritised relationships in the first two days back with classes working predominantly with their home room teacher/s so that staff can understand students’ strengths, needs and personalities.

We would encourage you to support and reinforce natural curiosity about their learning. Describe the best learning you did today. What was a challenge you came across in class and how did you overcome it? Who do you learn best with in your class. This interest in children’s learning makes them feel valued and important and helps with their self-image and self-esteem.

Building and maintaining relationships is time dependent. This is one of the reasons that we as a school and a system are advocating so strongly for every student to be at school every day. The depth of understanding gained through continuous contact and participation with their learning and teachers is paramount to their success. Please have strong expectations about your child being above average or excelling with their time at school.

Safeguarding of students continues to be a key focus for ALL government agencies. As such there are increased expectations for school relating to this. One example is that people who wish to volunteer in classrooms must have a current RWVP card as well as completing the Mandatory Reporting training module before they can step into the classroom as a rostered helper. We will be providing support and access to people who wish to undertake this training through QR codes, access to ICT resource in the Online Access Centre or through the library after school. This will also be included as part of the school’s Risk Management plan.

We have experienced some vandalism over the break and would encourage families and community members to report any unacceptable behaviour to us via the school office. We understand and respect your right should you wish to remain anonymous, but we really value your input so that we can maintain our facilities.

We are very excited to be moving into our new contemporary classroom spaces around Launceston Cup Day. We will offer tours of the space during our open afternoon on Tuesday, 27 February. We appreciate the patience and maturity shown by our senior students with these unexpected delays.

Student Safety

Please ensure that you have had conversations with your child/ren about how to stay safe around cars, busses and busy roads. Students should get out of the vehicle on the left so that they are away from traffic. Having adults meet students on the side of the road where the bus stops and leaves from, enables you to model the appropriate behaviours. Also teaching children explicit behaviours so that they can eventually independently cross safely by themselves.

We also have a clear responsibility to stick to the speed limits and be vigilant about unexpected student behaviours. Our car park is 10km/h. Please check before you pull out of or into parks.

Student Drop off zone:

If you are dropping children off in the designated spaces in front of the Performing Arts Centre (PAC) please ensure that you use the parks furthest from Kindergarten so that the flow of traffic is kept moving. If you are escorting children to class, please find a park and then use the crossings to access the footpath and subsequently classrooms. When leaving at the end of the day, do not cross between buses or across the road ways other than at the crossings to get to your car.

Colin Pearson
Principal

We all have a role to play in keeping children and young people safe.  

This year, there is important training that anyone who works with children or young people must complete. This includes all our volunteers and service providers.

The training is compulsory under new laws designed to better safeguard children and young people in Tasmania.

It will help you understand what to do if you believe a child or young person is or may be being harmed, and to make sure you are doing all you can to prevent this from happening. The training will also tell you what you must report under the new laws.  

This simple, online training must be done as soon as possible, and you will need to complete it before you work with any children and young people this year.   

Once completed, you will receive a certificate, which you can save.  

To complete your training, simply visit Safeguarding Training. 

Thank you for leading the way in caring for our children and young people safe so that they can focus on living bright lives with positive futures.  

Lisa Bailey

Safeguarding Lead Lilydale District School

Did you know… Tooth decay has a significant impact on a child’s health and wellbeing.

* Cavities and tooth decay are preventable with good oral hygiene habits.  

* All it takes is 2 minutes every day twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste.   

* Spit and don’t rinse the fluoride toothpaste once finished brushing  

Oral Health Services Tasmania (OHST) will be delivering the Fissure Sealant and Fluoride Varnish Program (FSFVP) at LDS in March 2024. This programme is only funded for children is a certain age group. If you receive a consent form, please sign as return so we can take advantage of this free service.

Oral Health Services Tasmania also provides FREE dental care for ALL children and teenagers with a current Medicare card.

If you are concerned about your child teeth, please ring, and make an appointment with your local children’s dentist, or if you would like some advice, please feel free to contact Nurse Lauren, primary school health nurse. Lauren.frost@decyp.tas.gov.au

To commemorate being a Year 10 student in 2024, students have the option of buying a personalised jumper. The cost of the jumper is $110 and needs to be ordered and paid for online by February 27, 2024. Details on how to do this are included below. Students are also able to put their name or nickname on the back. If they leave this area blank, no name will be added. Payment plans can be arranged next year if required.

The Year 10 jumper is an optional uniform addition, if students choose not to buy it, they are required to wear the jumpers and jackets indicated on the school uniform policy.

Letters containing the same information have been sent home with our current Year 10 students at the end of last year.

Unfortunately we are no longer able to provide families with RAT tests. The allocation we were given from the Department has been exhausted. We will not be receiving any replacement RAT Tests.

Thank you.

Parents/guardians who are applying for STAS for the first time need to apply online at: www.onlinesubmission.education.tas.gov.au

Alternatively applicants can search STAS in Google and be taken directly to the online application site. Applications can be completed on any electronic device including mobile phones. Parents/guardians must hold a current Centrelink concession card or Department of Veterans’ Affairs concession card to be eligible.

STAS 2024 assessment letters have been posted to all families. 

If a parent/guardian wishes to add a newly enrolling or additional student to their existing STAS file they need to email their full name, the student’s full name, date of birth and school attending in 2024 to: stas@decyp.tas.gov.au and the file will be updated. Financial Assistance Services will also accept details of newly enrolled children of families who are approved for STAS directly from schools via email to stas@decyp.tas.gov.au.
For queries, please contact stas@decyp.tas.gov.au

Our School Association usually meets on the second Monday of each month in the Kinder space. Our next meeting will be on Monday, 4 March at 7:00pm. We would love to see more people at the meetings and invite you to attend.

If you need to get in contact with members of the School Association, please contact the school office on 6395 0100. Thank you.