Langy’s Local School News

DIARY DATES RESPECT COMMUNITY POSITIVE MINDSETS POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS

A Message from the Principal

Capital Works Funding

As announced earlier this year, our school was successful in being allocated $150,000 in the 2019-2020 State Budget as part of the government’s capital works program. This funding is currently being used to plan for an upgrade and modernisation of the facilities at Lang Lang Primary School,

including increasing our built capacity from 175 students to 250 students.

Currently we have been working through the Asset Management Plan (AMP) process. The AMP sets out the goals and aspirations of our school ensuring that future capital works projects align

with our school vision and educational philosophy.

During this process the Victorian Schools Building Authority (VSBA) have guided the school and

School Council through the AMP phase. There are a number of steps we are working through:

Complete planning document that articulates the School’s Educational Direction

Appointment of Architect

Phase 2 : Development of Master Plan

Schematic Design

Design Development

Tendering & Evaluation

Appointment of builder

Whilst this is a process that will be ongoing over the next 12 months, we are looking forward to this next exciting development for Lang Lang Primary School. I want to thank all those families who participated in the current phase of our plan by completing our survey and to our students,

staff and School Council for their thoughtful consideration and ideas.

School Uniform

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our school community on behalf of School Council for their support of our revised school uniform policy. The suggested addition of a Burgundy/Maroon coloured top was approved by School Council this week and becomes effective

immediately. A copy of the new policy is attached to this weeks newsletter.

School Review

This week marked the end of the review of our 2016-2019 School Strategic Plan. I want to thank all the staff, school council, students and parents who participated in our school review and provided feedback. The feedback to our school from the review panel was that our school has accomplished many things over the past 3 years and that we are well positioned to continue to improve into the future. We have now developed draft goals and targets for our next Strategic Plan which we will publish in the near future. The report from the Review Panel will be available in the

coming months.

Sharon Mitchell

Principal

REMEMBER!

Life Ed Van 31st July & 1st August

Resilience Workshop Grade 6 1st August Dental Visit 8th August Interschool Sport Select students Wed 14th August School Concert Wed 14th August 6.30pm Bug Blitz Grades 3 - 6 21st August 2020 Prep Open Day 22nd August Book Fair 27th - 30th August Fathers Day Stall 30th August Grandparents and Special Friends Day 30th August Interschool Sports Select students 30th August

LUNCH ORDERS AVAILABLE ON FRIDAY

Head Lice Head lice continues to be a significant issue across the school and we have many frustrated parents and students. The follow-

ing information was taken directly from the Health Department website:

http://www.health.vic.gov.au/headlice/

Head lice have been around for many thousands of years.

Anyone can get head lice.

Head lice are small, wingless, blood sucking insects. Their colour varies from whitish-brown to reddish-brown. Head

lice only survive on humans. If isolated from the head, they die very quickly (usually within 24 hours).

People get head lice from direct hair to hair contact with another person who has head lice. Head lice do not have

wings or jumping legs so they cannot fly or jump from head to head. They can only crawl. When treating head lice

you must ensure that you repeat the treatment after seven days.

There are multiple products available from pharmacies and supermarkets varying in prices. A cheap method is using condi-

tioner and a head lice/fine tooth comb using the following steps:

Step 1

Comb any type of hair conditioner on to dry, brushed (detangled) hair. This stuns the lice and makes it difficult for them to grip

the hair or crawl around.

Step 2

Now comb sections of the hair with a fine tooth, head lice comb.

Step 3

Wipe the conditioner from the comb onto a paper towel or tissue.

Step 4

Look on the tissue and on the comb for lice and eggs.

Step 5

Repeat the combing for every part of the head at least four or five times

You should also ensure that you continue to check your child’s hair after these two treatments just in case all eggs were not

removed. If everybody is diligent in treating any head lice thoroughly then we are likely to be able to minimise the prob-

lem. We ask for your support with head lice infestations at the school and to spend time to ensure there are no head lice in

your child’s hair.

Respectful relationships and why we need them! Hi Everyone , In response to Junes Pastoral care needs for Lang Lang Primary, I have compiled and adapted the following information from a variety of different resources. The main issues this month Anxiety issues relating to family breakdown. This issue is quite a chunky one and is written for no one in particular but affects adults and children outside our family home. Chances are that the following information may assist you to assist another person or family, thereby changing the outcome for an entire community, even our school community. Too many young people, and adults, grow up in homes in which there is too much anger. Anger and violence may be directed against a partner and/or against children. Both are problematic. Increases in anger intensity tend to develop gradually over time. First may come too-frequent anger with too much telling others what to do, too much insistence that someone did something wrong, too much blame for problems, too much criticism. Then louder yelling, name-calling, and maybe verbal abuse. Then escalation into harming things and eventually people (physical abuse). Do any of these various levels of anger occur in your family? Too many victims (men, women and children) cope by playing down these behaviours. "Oh, he's just under stress." Or, "all mothers yell at and hit their kids." "If I can just do what they want me to do, the anger and violence will stop." And all too often, "Some of the times he / she is so loving.” I can't leave because I love him/her so much when s/he is being nice to me." And lastly, "What would I do without him/her?" I can't make it on my own." If you hear yourself saying any versions of these statements to yourself, odds are that you are "in denial" about the excessive anger, which is really just calming yourself by telling yourself that the problem is not really a problem.

What can you do if there is too much anger in your family? If the anger is coming from you, learn to exit ASAP from any situation that triggers even the beginnings of angry responses. Calm down, and then return to re-address the situation in a friendly talking voice. Look to solve the problem instead of to criticize or blame anyone. If the anger comes from someone else in the family, exit the situation also. Change the topic, or leave the room for a few minutes. Explain that you will be glad to discuss the situation once both of you can talk calmly. Be crystal clear that you only interact in cooperative voice tones. Anger is a stop sign! Stop to recognize that the anger is warning you that there is a problem. Do not proceed in the conversation however until the coast is clear, that is, until talking cooperatively, in quiet voices, toward the goal of solving the problem will be possible,” especially if children are present. Physical effects of anger

Anger triggers the body’s ‘fight or flight’ response. Other emotions that trigger this response include fear, excitement and anxiety. The adrenal glands flood the body with stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. The brain shunts blood away from the gut and towards the muscles, in preparation for physical exertion. Heart rate, blood pressure and respiration increase, the body temperature rises and the skin perspires. The mind is sharpened and focused. There are also many different health problems that are caused by excessive anger which are very serious – too many to mention today in fact. Teaching children how to express anger – This is where the rubber hits the road folks! Expressing anger appropriately is a learned behaviour. Suggestions on helping your child to deal with strong feelings include:

Lead by example.

Let them know that anger is natural and should be expressed appropriately.

Treat your child’s feelings with respect.

Teach practical problem-solving skills.

Encourage open and honest communication in the home.

Allow them to express their anger in appropriate ways.

Explain the difference between aggression and anger.

Have consequences for aggression or violence, but not appropriately expressed anger.

Teach your child different ways of calming and soothing themselves.

In Summary Essentially you can see that angry homes create anxious people, both adults and children alike, this topic affects us all in a variety of unhealthy ways that for our kids, eventually finds its way out at school which is not just embarrassing for them, it can be for mums and dads as well. When we respect ourselves we can more easily respect each other and this too will show in the lives of our children here at school. Next month I will look at ways to help us create a healthy family culture without impacting on our uniqueness - creating family cultures that we can be proud of. Thanks for reading – Matt Stear Resource locations used in this article came from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/resolution-not-conflict/201701/is-there-too-much-anger-in-your-family-how-can-you-respond https://www.education.vic.gov.au/parents/family-health/Pages/family-violence.aspx https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/anger-how-it-affects-people

Where to get help Your GP (doctor) Counsellor Kids Helpline Tel. 1800 55 1800 (24-hour telephone counselling service for young people aged 5-25) Lifeline Tel. 13 11 14 (24-hour counselling service) ReachOut.com

Welcome to Term 3. We have begun our new topic about The Senses and we have been having fun learning about sounds, smells, tastes, things we see and feel. In reading we continue to think about all the strategies we have been learning and how to use them when we read new words. The students are working hard to learn their M100W words and to say them quickly. We are also learning to spell them. In writing we are thinking about how to achieve our individual goals which are displayed in the classrooms and also to use describing words to make our writing interesting. We are revising the shapes in maths and learning some new 3D shapes such as cylinders, cubes and rectangular prisms. We are continuing our learning about the friends of 10 counting to bigger numbers and by 10s. We look forward to visiting the Life Education Van next week and meeting Harold. We wish Miss Dalton a speedy recovery and thank Miss Harper for teaching the Prep/One grade in her absence. Enza Sutton and Courtney Dalton.

Welcome back to term 3! We have so much planned for the upcoming term and will keep you updated each fortnight as well as on Seesaw, so remember to keep checking to stay in touch. In maths, we are working on money; students have been earning $2, $1 and 50c coins as rewards for their participation in classroom activities, behaviour and various other things. Using this money, they were able to ‘buy’ activities to do during FAT time last Friday. It was lots of fun and we will do that again this week. Next week we will move on to 3D shape, so remember to find 3D objects and learn their names with your children. During writing, we are working on descriptive writing using our senses. We are using lots of great adjectives to help us. Soon we will be learning about poetry too. Our reading focus over the next fortnight will be on the comprehension strategies of asking questions to understand what we are reading, and using a 5-finger retell. Please continue to read with your child as often as possible, we will be checking home reading again starting from next week. This term we will start learning about Australian animals and will be completing a research project on an animal. This will be consolidated with a visit to the moonlit sanctuary later in the term. Please continue to practise spelling words with your child, from this week and next week they will all have individually levelled words to work on and will not be able to move to a new level until they have completed a test at school to show they can spell the words on their coloured card. We appreciate your continued support!

What’s happening? Our term started with a look at some of the significant events happening at the moment including NAIDOC week and the anniversary of the moon landing. Now we are into the second week of term and there are lots of exciting events planned for the coming months. We have our visit to the Life Education van, the Lions Club Speech Competition, a ‘Bugs Blitz’ day at the arboretum, the School Performance and Book Week just to name a few. In the Classroom In writing we are focusing on descriptive writing. Our students are learning how to use interesting vocabulary including adjectives and adverbs and figurative language to enrich their writing. They are looking at using each of their senses to expand their ideas. In reading we have been working on the Café reading strategies such as using the text to create mental pictures to improve our comprehension. Students read daily in class using a selection of fiction and non-fiction ‘good fit’ books and choice books. Our focus in maths has been on multiplication. Students have been working with arrays and how these can help us with our understanding of the concept of multiplication. Upcoming Events

A visit to the Life Education van Lions Club Speech Competition Ron Payne from the Lions Club has spoken to Grades 3 to 6 about the competition. Each student will be required to present a 3 minute speech to the class. This year’s topic is ‘The day I went into outer space and met an alien…’ Further details, including dates, will be sent home next week. Students can start thinking and talking about their ideas at

home now.

Sarah Michie, Deb Youseff and Jason Horton

The following students received a school values award for Respect within our school and contributing to the Lang

Lang Community helping to make us great!

Charli Misha

Bikes and School Safety Please note that due to safety reasons bikes and scooters etc are not to be ridden in the school yard between the hours of 8.45am and 3.45pm. They may be ridden outside of these hours provided children are wearing a helmet.

Cutlery Please provide your child with their own plastic spoon or fork if they need utensils to eat their food while at school. Staff will no longer be handing out cutlery for students to use.

Save the Date

Wed 14th August 6.30pm Lang Lang Primary School Concert

On Wednesday 14th August at our school will be holding a whole school concert at the Lang Lang Memorial Hall. All classes will be involved and the concert will start at 6.30pm. More information about this very special event will follow.

Online Payments Bpay is our preferred payment option when paying online for excursions, incursions and camps etc. Please write your Bpay reference number on any forms you return to school. We also accept cash or card payment in the office.

Head Lice We have been advised that several students have had head lice. Please check your child's hair regularly for lice and eggs. If any are found treat your child promptly.

Disabled Parking

Parents must not park in or in front of the disabled parking bay in the staff car park. This car park space needs to be kept free and clear for people who need it. Please use the ‘Stop and Drop’ zone on Westernport Road instead.

Student Absences If your child is absent from school you are able to inform us via the Skoolbag app (this is the preferred method). The school must be notified of student absences on the day of absence.

School Banking If your child participates in the school banking program, please ensure their money to deposit is securely sealed inside their plastic pocket. If the seal on your child’s pocket no longer works, please see a replacement from the bank.