On behalf of all the staff at Lilydale District School I want to thank you each of you for the support we receive from parents, families and the wider community.

Again I want to recognise and congratulate all our recipients at recent assemblies but also to acknowledge the growth and improvement in our student population, with their increased focus on making positive choices and improving their learning. Our school has a calm feel to it each morning and is a great place to come to work.

As mentioned on Tuesday we have a number of staff leaving us tomorrow: Yvonne Albers (Campbell Town), Emma Folo (East Tamar Primary), Kate Green (Ashley School), Priya Bindal (Launceston Church Grammar School), Haydn Robertson (St Patricks College) and Ashlee Robbins (Social Worker – interstate).  We will also start the year without Annette Djakic LSL term 1 and Alex Jenkins who is taking paternity leave for weeks 1,2 and 3. We wish Alex and his wife all the best for their new arrival.

We warmly welcome Zorba Nathan, Angela Baldock, Henk Smit and Jake George as new staff in 2024. Lorna Clifford has joined Lilydale as our School Business Manager and will be with us moving forward. Lorna brings significant experience to this role and we are grateful for taking up the role.

Thank you to all our teacher assistants and support staff, especially our office staff who have coped with significant change over the past 12 months. They do an amazing job.

Please be safe and enjoy your break with family and friends. Take the time to make memories and enjoy the summer weather.

Colin Pearson
Principal

The following information was sent home via the 2023 EOY Student Reports. But just in case, we would like to remind our families of some important dates and information.

Lilydale District School are having one day dedicated to levy payments and uniform sales on Thursday, 1 February 2024, between 9:00am and 6:00pm.

PLEASE NOTE: Levy invoices will be generated and posted out in February from Head Office. Once you receive your invoice, Bpay is a quick preferred method of payment, or you can pay at the school office by cash, cheque or eftpos.

The Uniform Store will be open and uniform items will be available to try on and purchase. Families are encouraged to pre order uniforms so they can be collected promptly on the day.

School books and stationery will be distributed by your child’s teacher during the first week of school 2024.

Enclosed in this envelope is the 2024 Levy Information and Payment Plan forms. Parent/Guardians who hold the following cards listed below, will be eligible for support on student levies after application approval.

• Service Australia – Centrelink Health Care Card
• Service Australia – Centrelink Low Income Health Care Card
• Service Australia – Pensioner Concession Card
• Department of Veteran Affairs – Pensioner Concession Card

If you have any further questions regarding STAS please contact our School Business Manager, Lorna Clifford, through the school office.

Please note that the Validation Forms will be sent home during the first week of Term 1. A reminder to families to please ensure you complete the Special Data Collection Form section within the Student Validation (all information is strictly confidential). It is a requirement by the Department for Education, Children and Young People that Student Validation Forms are completed annually. Please also ensure you update all emergency contacts and student permission records annually through the form. Validation forms will need to be returned to the school office by the end of week 2 (Friday, 16 February) 2024.

As the school year draws to a close, the Senior Student leaders would like to thank the whole school community for their support and encouragement throughout the year. The Year 10 students ended the year with a busy two weeks. We had our Celebration Dinner last Friday at the Boathouse. Which was a wonderful and fun event and we thank Mr Robertson for taking photos, Mrs Denehy for organising the event and all the other teaching and office staff that helped with setting up and the administration.

A couple of weeks ago the 9-10 boys basketball team was also able to win the championship again. A huge thank you goes to Mr Smith and Mr Tuffin who gave up their time to coach us. This week we were able to celebrate each other’s success at Tuesday’s assembly and we were also able to give back to the school on Wednesday by helping clean, tidy and fix areas where we could at our Service to the School Day.

We know that next years 9-10s are anxiously waiting for the renovations to be completed so that they can move into their new classrooms. It will be a great space to learn in. All the best to next year’s Student Leaders, Makira, Amalia, Jye, Josh, Tilly, Rochelle, Kayla and Cleo. You guys are great representatives of the school and are more than capable of leading Lilydale through 2024.