Over the last 2 weeks, Kinder and Prep have been participating in the Lilydale District School Olympics!

Beginning with a torch relay for our Opening Ceremony and an energetic long jump into the sandpit, the Kinder-Prep Olympics were off to a great start. The next event was our swimming, where students showed off their best swimming styles by plunging through the blue streamers with their special caps and goggles on. Shortly after was the palindrome cycling event around the Kinder bike track. Next came the equestrian hurdles which required some horse-like hockey sticks and a bit of imagination! No imagination was needed for getting over the hurdles though, as the students leapt over them with ease. Possibly the most exciting to watch was the skilful gymnastics, where students created their own routines to do across the beam, ribbons and hoops. Finally, we had the soccer: shoot out style! We had some impressive kicks and some impressive blocks, but ultimately the goalies won.

Behind the scenes, we had a special surprise happening too; Kinders and Preps were secretly making gold medals for each other. At the closing ceremony, the Kinders presented the Preps with a medal each and the Preps presented the Kinders with a medal each, celebrating everyone for their participation in the Lilydale District School Olympics.

We had lots of success and fun in all of our events over the last two weeks. We believe the best part was seeing our students demonstrate the real Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect as they undertook the events as athletes and spectators alike. There was loud cheering for each competitor, hugs and high fives when races were completed and all athletes did their absolute best.

Well done to the Kinders and the Preps for a spectacular Olympics!

On Wednesday, 21 August, K-6 students paraded their wonderful costumes at our annual Book Week parade. There was a lot of creativity on display! Everyone looked fantastic and we would like to thank all our families for supporting this spirited celebration of books!

Book Week Poem

By Mr Alex Johnston

In forests where the wild things play,
Or through the stars, we find our way.
Each chapter is a brand-new quest,
Where heroes rise and give their best.

Books are more than ink and paper,
They’re keys to magic, every caper.
They teach us love, and joy, and fear,
And bring the far-off places near.

So let’s celebrate the tales we share,
The books that take us everywhere.
In every story, there’s a spark,
That lights the way when times are dark.

For Book Week’s here, it’s time to cheer,
For every tale we hold so dear.
In pages old and pages new,
Adventure waits for me and you.

A huge thank you to Mrs Karin Denehy.  The wonderful castle she created has already added so much joy to children’s faces as they enter the library and I’m sure this will be their best and most magical book week ever!

Thanks also to Mr Deane for his hard work in getting the display up.

A big thank you to our school community for your support and diligence with attendance so far this year. We are currently 2% ahead of the same time last year and are above like schools. We know that this collective effort provides students with more opportunities to access and engage in their learning, each and every day. Lets see if we can keep raising the standard especially as the weather improves.

Our senior students continue to build their understanding of life, post education, through the range of activities and opportunities we are accessing for them.  The support of significant businesses and foundations allow us to provide these opportunities for whole grades and cohorts and we know that this formative decision making is enhanced through hands on experience and interactions. The feedback we receive from students and businesses alike has been very positive and we are buoyed by the requests we have from some businesses, asking students for resumes, with casual, short and long term employment opportunities in mind.

As you would all appreciate the staffing shortage across professions is challenging currently. We are no different to many schools in our region who are struggling to find relief staff. I want to thank and congratulation our students for managing the disruption that has occurred with staffing shortages and demonstrating their focus to learn. Their positive behaviour and work focussed approach when dispersed to other classes or working in small groups was really a great reflection on their attitude and commitment to their learning.

This challenge also reinforces the value of having high functioning Professional Learning teams who have the opportunity to plan together during the week, in their non-instructional time. The consistency that this collaborative work provides means that access to a consistent curriculum is available to all students in each cohort.

Our reading program is working well with visible gains across the school, measured by our ongoing testing. Increasing reading levels and sustained growth means that we are seeing increasing percentage of students with at standard or above foundational decoding skills. Our future work will focus on fluency and comprehension, including PL with staff to enable us to better support learners at their level. This component of reading for meaning is a complex balance of speed, accuracy and understanding of vocabulary – a progression we are teaching to our learners.

Thank you to families who are reaching out to discuss challenges that their children may face from time to time. Speaking with class teachers, sector leaders, Assistant Principals and/or myself is the best way to approach challenges that may arise. The resolution to any problem lies in understanding the problem in the first instance and then teaching students the skills and dispositions that allow them to self manage in a range of situations. We will continue to evolve our Respectful Relationship work through our class teachers and also our Health teachers to build this capacity and awareness for students.

Colin Pearson
Principal

Attention: Parents and Carers of students in Year 4-12.

Student Wellbeing and Engagement Survey 

The wellbeing of our students is important to us - we want to hear how students feel, and think, about different things going on in their lives.

Those in Years 4-12 at Lilydale District School will be taking part in the Student Wellbeing and Engagement Survey. The results from this survey will help us get a picture of the current wellbeing of our students, and what we can do to improve future wellbeing for learning. The more students who take part, the clearer our picture will be. 

The Student Wellbeing and Engagement Survey is part of the Department’s Child and Student Wellbeing Strategy .

The details for the survey are 

When:   3/9/24 to 6/9/24

Who       Years 4-12

What do I need to do:  You and your child don’t need to do anything. The survey will be done in class time and will not require your child to prepare in any way.

A letter with more information has been sent home with all Year 4-12 students, including Frequently Asked Questions and a form to sign and return to the school if you do not want your child to participate in the survey.   

If you would like further information, please contact the school on 6395 0100 and ask to speak with Isabel Garrett.

Thank you for supporting us to ensure that all our learners are safe, feel supported and are able to flourish, so they can engage in learning.

On August 14-15, our Year 9 students participated in the Smith Family Work Inspirations program. They visited several local businesses, including JMC Motors, Sky Podiatry, Tas City Building, and Du Cane Brewery. The program provided valuable insights into different career paths and the skills required in various industries. The students learned how to get involved in the industries we visited and what a day looks like in those careers. Each business encouraged our students to interview the guest speakers and provided a hands-on experience. Our Lilydale students were excellent representatives of the school, receiving positive feedback for how they conducted themselves. Students are encouraged to organise work experience at these businesses if they are interested. Thank you to all the businesses involved and to the Smith Family for organising this worthwhile experience.

In 9/10 English we have been studying suspense stories. Students were asked to write a suspenseful narrative that included text features such as descriptive imagery, a high stakes situation, time constraints and/or a feeling of uneasiness. Below are just samples of the stories of some of our students.

It was a quiet, foggy night on the 18th of December, everyone had just come home from their last day of school. No one was out, the town was dead. The night seemed too odd, too empty to be the last day of school.

Brooklyn High had just hired their new maths teacher Lola Davidson. She was new to the town, the only thing she roughly knew about Brooklyn high was that weird things have happened in and around the school after hours…

by Chontelle

She peered out her bedroom window longingly, thinking about how she might get home. How am I going to get out of here?  I say to myself quietly almost hoping for someone, anything to answer. I’ve already been here for 3 hours, when will someone come find me. Have they even noticed I’m gone yet? BANG! What was that?? It sounds like it came from downstairs, after hyping myself up for a bit I decide to start heading down the familiar stairs that I go down every day, only its different, darker, more gloomy, paintings hang upside down the eyes of my distant relatives almost seeming to follow me, things floating around.

by Connor P

I knew there was something strange about the house the minute I set foot into it. The room was cold, yet I didn’t feel cold in fact I felt hot very hot, I felt as if any movement I could go up in flames. The only reason I’m here is because my parents recently passed away and left the house to me. The house sits on the outskirts of a forest not to far out of the city. People come out here a couple times throughout the year to visit the apple orchids. But there are rumours that those who visit never come back, I don’t believe those rumours but that could just be because I grew up out here before my parents got their big-time jobs in New York and before everything happened...

by Grace

Ansa falls. She doesn’t stop falling. She falls from nothing into nothing, she is nowhere. They pursue. She hits nothing, she hits it hard, but there is no pain. She continues running, without getting tired. They pursue, closer than before. “You cannot escape! Enyo is omnipotent!” Enyo announces. They are almost in arms reach. Ansa trips. She opens her eyes, nothing, black and white nothing.

by Ben

I grab my cards and view them, a three of spades, a four of spades, a seven of hearts, a nine of clubs and a five of spades. After I see my cards I light my cigar, the smoke is heavy already.

“Don Miguel, think of the offers I bring. You cou-“ he was speaking with that silver tongue again.

“Do you take me for a fool Antony? You speak of what I could gain when we both know you’re in this offer for yourself!” I snap at him furiously. “You’re a snake down to your very core, so I’ll make you a better offer. Whoever wins this game of poker, gets the business of the loser.” I say knowing full well how reckless this idea is.

“…he… ha..hahahaHAHAHA” He laughed as if he was mad, he laughed so terrible that he sounded like he was going to cough up a lung. “You’re on Don Miguel, I’ve never had a game with such high stakes!”

by Memphis

I hear movement behind me. Handcuffs are rattling as my hands are pulled into them. Somebody to my left is yelling my Miranda Rights. Cars are speeding past, red and blue lights blaring bright in my peripheral vision, a person in a cop uniform opening the back car door and grabbing the boy. I turn slightly to see two people opening the boot of the car and immediately pointing their guns at me as their faces rapidly pale. I vaguely feel my jacket falling off one shoulder as I’m shoved into the back of a cop car, but I can’t focus on anything when there’s thirty voices in my head all screaming different things, and a pounding headache coming along.

by Charlie

The Ferris Wheel slowly begins to go around, and the cart holding the culprit to the shadow begins to get closer to the ground.

“What do you think is in there?” Ashley asks rather intrigued in the situation.

“I don’t know, and I’d rather not find out” Sarah replies with a panicky tone in her voice.

 As the cart got to the ground, Ashley opened the door to the cart and the two girls jumped in. “Theres nothing here” Ashley exclaims, as they both suddenly become wary of their surroundings.

Just then, a loud bang comes from the top of the cart and two small circular objects were shadowed on the top of the yellow Ferris Wheel cart. Then the feet like objects disappear and an evil laugh comes from the side of the cart door.

by Zoe

As the night rose, we decided to head to bed but as I started to fall asleep, I heard a blood curling scream coming from the basement. I turned to look at Chloe, but she wasn’t there. I felt something drift past me as I slowly walked down the stairs to investigate. I see Chloe’s dad out cold on the couch, as I sneakily walk past him down towards the basement. I walked straight towards the old wooden door; I grabbed the shiny handle and opened it up I quickly look around to see old creeping looking dolls sitting in a pile up against the wall in the corner.

by Haylee

As I walked down the street that the shop was on, I was wondering what this present is?

Why wouldn’t mum tell me, she tells me everything?

While I walked into the shop, I noticed someone that looked like someone I had seen on the news. I could not remember what for, so it could not have been anything good otherwise I would have remembered. He was wearing the store uniform, or so I thought. The man saw me looking at him and walked over.

“hello” said the man. His voice made my hair stand on end…

by Lilah

Although the house was empty, only containing a twin mattress, few boxes, a couple packets of noodles and a small tub of formula for Hallie, Zara had a feeling the house was more crowded. She couldn’t shake off this feeling. Zara felt a presence, one as large as another human wrapping around her shoulders, and as heavy as a tombstone strapped to her waist. It would follow her through every downstairs room. But when she lifted her last foot off the highest stair, the feeling would leave. It was almost as if it was trying to hold her downstairs, like it feared her going to the next floor.

by Amalia

My soul sears with desperation as I regain my bearings. My skin feels almost as frigid as the ice-covered marble floor I now find myself lying face down on. My masterfully detailed metal encased spell book lies not two meters from my arms reach.

Pushing through the extreme pain I manage to weakly utter a few words.

“Weiss… wake up, please.”

Warm tears burn my frozen cheeks as they begin to flow heavily. A loud smug voice reverberates off the palace walls.

by Jye

In 7/8 maths the students have been working on Linear Relationships. Throughout this unit we have looked at solving equations, finding rules and more recently plotting coordinates on a Cartesian Plane. To further enhance our understanding of this topic students have engaged in multiple games of battleships, which they have all thoroughly enjoyed!

High School – Student of the Week

Every week all staff, Student Leaders and the wider community have the opportunity to nominate a high school student as a ‘Lilydale Legend’. These nominations acknowledge when another person has noticed the student demonstrating our school values of being safe, respectful and learning. If a student is nominated by multiple people their name will appear twice. Lilydale Legends for the week will get recognised in our high school assembly and receive a certificate. Congratulations to the Lilydale Legends for Week 4 and 5 - Term 3.

Week 4 

Week 5

Battle of the Houses was a fun outdoors afternoon playing soccer with friends. The end score between Maralinga and Corinna ended 8-8. (3-2), on penalties, with Maralinga coming out on top.

With an entertaining, high scoring game, which was very hard fought and competitive, played on a muddy and slippery ground. There was lots of slipping and sliding throughout the contest from both teams, featuring a few fouls and rough tackles leading to one yellow card.

6v7 with the help of Mr. Taylor filling in for Maralinga, the game was played very much like a futsal match on grass using a small field, small goals and no throw-ins.

Teams consisted of mainly year 7-8s with one year 9.

Our School Association usually meets on the second Monday of each month in the Kinder space. Our next meeting will be on Monday, 2 September 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.