On Tuesday, 31October, the Kinders and Preps celebrated Halloween by having a games and activities afternoon. Children engaged in a variety of Halloween activities (making masks, spider collages, ghost paintings, and beaded broomsticks) before heading outside for a game of Pumpkin Sweeping. We finished off the day with a scavenger hunt for Halloween chocolate coins. We had so much fun that we ran out of time for our Toilet Paper Mummy Race! Never fear though, we got together again on Wednesday to do this event – even Miss Latimer and Miss McHenry got wrapped up! As you can see by the photos, we all had a fun time together celebrating Halloween.

Our School Values

In 9-10 B we have been doing work around our school values which are, ‘We are at our best when we are safe, respectful and learning’. During class we have focused on what it means to be respectful. As a class we identified specific respectful behaviours and which ones were most important to us and why. We wrote these down to display in our classroom.

We are thrilled to share the exciting activities that our Year 9-10 science and biology classes have been engaged in this month.

In our science classes, students explored the fascinating world of energy sources. They delved into the various forms of energy and their practical applications in our daily lives.

To bring this knowledge to life, students had the opportunity to create miniature solar homes and catamarans. This hands-on experience allowed them to understand how solar power can be utilized effectively. Witnessing their enthusiasm and witnessing their innovation during the construction of these models was truly remarkable.

In addition to exploring energy sources, our students also ventured into the realm of robotics. They got to acquaint themselves with programmable robotic tracers, which serve as the primary technology behind NASA's Mars rovers. This activity provided an excellent platform for students to gain insights into the complex mechanisms that drive these incredible machines.

It was awe-inspiring to see our students challenge themselves and showcase their problem-solving abilities while programming these robots.

Shifting our focus to Biology, our students embarked on an intriguing project centered around the human body systems. They were tasked with researching and presenting a complete body system of their choice.

This project not only deepened their understanding of how different body systems function together but also created a functional lung model.

An update from our Science for College group! Recently, our college students had the opportunity to engage in a peer learning model by guiding and facilitating Year 5-6 students in an exciting practical activity.

The experiment of choice? Elephant Toothpaste.

During this activity, our science for college students acted as mentors and provided guidance and explanations of the scientific principles behind the reaction that occurs inside the flask resulting in the impressive eruption of "elephant toothpaste".

The Elephant Toothpaste experiment involves a chemical reaction that never fails to captivate and awe. Our young scientists were able to witness something truly spectacular.

But it doesn't stop there! Our science for college students took the learning experience to another level by explaining the science behind the reaction happening inside the flask.

We understand that with the end of the year rapidly approaching, there are a lot of competing pressures for families. As we have reinforced all year, attendance is critical to each student’s ongoing learning and for embedding sustainable learning habits. Term 4 also provides further opportunities for learners to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and understandings towards their overall results. Please continue to support your child with their attendance.

Our recent swimming carnival, held at Scottsdale pool, was a fantastic event and one that we will look to build upon in 2024. Student behaviour was positive, and the pool staff were very complimentary of their manners and the lack of litter left after each session. Our primary students got in and had a go and it is encouraging that we had very few non participants in the stands. Whilst participation was down in our high school space we are confident that there will be more students having a go next year based on the feedback. 

We have representative swimming for primary and high school teams next Wednesday, 15 November as well our Swimming and Water Safety Program over the next fortnight. We are adjusting to ensure all our students are able to participate in their activities. SWSP is a crucial part of students’ life skills and something we as a school support.

Another life skills program that we have engaged with is Ready for Road, Distracted Driver program delivered by RACT. The long term benefits of having safer learner and beginning drivers will far outweigh the inconvenience of not having access to the car park for a day.

With numerous excurisons planned in the next four weeks, we strongly encourage you to return permission forms as soon as possible so that we can plan effectively and ensure that students don’t miss out. As a snapshot we have Ag Studies students going to Sheffield and Scottsdale Show, our Kinders going to Hagley Farm School, and some of our primary students are attending Scottsdale show as well.  All this alongside our SWSP (year 3-5) and Fire Education for our Prep to 6 students in week 5.

As part of our reading focus we are conducting testing for our students not only to measure their growth but also to measure our collective success with lifting reading rates across our cohorts. Please continue to encourage your child/ren to do their best in all situations, especially in academic assessments. When students log on, click a few random answers and then log off we don’t see a clear picture of their skills and it makes it challenging to put the correct supports in place.

We have a school association meeting Monday, 13 November. I would encourage others to attend so that you understand where we are headed as a school and to help us make Lilydale District the best if can be.

Colin Pearson
Principal

We are currently beginning the process of forming classes for Kinder to Year 6 for 2024. When placing students in classes we take several factors into consideration the academic, behavioural and social and emotional needs of students.

Class teachers will be asking students to nominate 3 friends they would be successful with in class.

Families who have specific request based on academic, behavioural, social or emotional factors are asked to provide information in writing to class teachers by Monday, 13 November.

You are invited to check out students work grades 1 to 10 at Remade 23 on Saturday 11th 4 to 7.30pm.  All welcome FREE At Inveresk Railyards in front of the QVMAG Museum.

The Beacon Foundation organised an opportunity for our students to tour the Komatsu site at Rocherlea. Komatsu provides essential equipment, technologies and services to the construction, mining, energy, government, waste and quarry industries. Our students were able to view the sales, parts and maintenance area. Komatsu team members also shared with us what their roles were and provided information on how to attain employment in the industry. Thank you to the Beacon Foundation and to the team at Komatsu, our students found it incredibly engaging and it really peaked their interest in the heavy machinery industry.

Kinder Enrolments are now open.  If you have a child turning 4 years old this year, they are old enough to start Kinder in 2024. 

Kindergarten enrolment forms are available now from the school office.  Please complete your enrolment as soon as possible and return to the school office.

A Kindergarten information session will begin in Term 4.

Please contact Janina Gilmartin or Bec McHenry on 6395 0100 if you have any questions.

Our School Association usually meets on the second Monday of each month in the Kinder space. Our next meeting will be on Monday, 13 November at 7:00pm (TBC). 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.

We have a number of RAT tests available for our families to use at home. If you do require some to be sent home, please let us know and we will arrange for your child to bring home a supply.

You can either email the office at: lilydale.district.school@decyp.tas.gov.au or phone us on 6395 0100. You can also call into the office after 3pm and collect a supply, or send a note with your child to the class teacher and they will let us know.

Thanks so much.