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Dear Families
Recent Events for LPS students
Over the last few weeks many of our students have represented Longford PS with pride during various events. On Friday the 24th I was lucky enough to attend the Dance Fever performance. Our students put on an energetic and very professional show, and it was fantastic for them to have the opportunity to collaborate with other schools. This was the first time Longford has been involved in Dance Fever and we now hope to continue our involvement into the future. Thank you to Launceston College for facilitating this opportunity and to Jen Copeland for the way she supported our Dance Fever students throughout the process.
Last week a group of students in Y3-6 represented LPS in the Northern Midlands Swimming Carnival. Our students displayed grit, courage and good sportsmanship in all events they entered, and their behaviour was excellent throughout the day.
The student leaders met with our school chaplain Ali and myself to reflect on their learnings and achievements for the year. This team has supported many events and causes including raising money for community charities and encouraging our students to improve their reading through the reading challenge. It was lovely to hear how our leaders had grown from their leadership experience and to celebrate their achievements.
During our Line Up Assembly this week, students from 3/4 Duncan Talbot performed a Christmas play for students to enjoy. Students pushed through their nerves and put on a very entertaining and polished performance.
Congratulations to all these students for their involvement in these extra-curricular activities.
Reading Data Growth
Last week schools received their PAT Assessment Data. Reading is one of our school priorities, that we have been aiming to improve. Our data has shown that Longford PS is above the state average for reading achievement and our overall reading growth rate has increased from 73.5% to 88%. It is very pleasing to see these positive results and shows that our students and teachers are putting in a huge effort to improve reading skills across our school.
Staffing 2024
In the next newsletter we will publish our 2024 staffing information. Students will have the opportunity in week 10 to meet their 2024 teachers and classmates. If you feel your child might need extra support with this transition, please contact the school so that we can support them.
Candice Burnett
Principal
SRC - Helping Hand Christmas Appeal
The Longford Helping Hand Christmas Appeal
On Friday 8th December we will be having a Free Dress Day to support the annual Longford Helping Hand Christmas Appeal. If students would like to take part, they can simply wear plain clothes and bring along an item to donate.
- Biscuits, chocolates
- Jams
- Gift vouchers
- Toiletries (male and female)
- Socks
- Books, games, toys
- General non-perishable food items
PrepA Crawford/Woodberry | Vincent / Olivia / Iylah |
PrepB Taylor | Riley |
1/2A Wright | Jensen |
1/2B Jackson/Hughes | Jerome |
1/2C Viney | Jade / Albert |
3/4A Freeman/Ellis | Dex |
3/4B Laskey | Alexis |
3/4C Duncan/Talbot | Grace / Rhylee |
5/6A Oates | Ruby |
5/6B Richards | Nadiah |
Library | Claudette |
PrepA Crawford/Woodberry | Lincoln / Bailey / Henry |
PrepB Taylor | Milli / Everly / Ellanor |
1/2A Wright | Campbell |
1/2B Jackson/Hughes | Conner |
1/2C Viney | Frankie / Leah |
3/4A Freeman/Ellis | Ruby |
3/4B Laskey | Shylah |
3/4C Duncan/Talbot | Jax / Bibi |
5/6A Oates | Oscar |
5/6B Richards | Milla |
Ellis (Nthn Midlands Swimming) | Heath |
Our Kindergarten had a visit from Rotarians today and each child was presented with a book to take home. Rotary has supported our Kinder over a number of years with their 'Books for Life' program. Children enjoyed sitting with the Rotarians and reading their books.
THANK YOU LONGFORD ROTARY CLUB
Dance Fever is a collaboration between Launceston College and local Primary and High Schools to produce a quality dance event. It has been my absolute pleasure to work with our students through the 2023 Dance Fever process. Since the beginning of Term 3 they have met with their tutor Temiya weekly and practised at home and in spare time at school. They performed 3 pieces at the event at the Door of Hope on Friday, including a contemporary piece that they co-choreographed with Temiya. They demonstrated our school attributes of Creativity, Integrity, Health and Grit and did themselves, their families and our school proud. I look forward to our next adventure at Dance Fever 2024.
Jen Copeland
AST
Some thoughts from our dancers…
Rhys “I did Dance Fever so I could dance with my friends and have a great time – it is what I love to do.”
Zayliah “ I joined because it was something new to try and for me a grade 6 my only chance at Primary school. I enjoyed it very much – the best bit was dressing in costumes and dancing a stage like DoH”
Koa “I really enjoyed it because I was able to make bonds with people I didn’t know that well. Temiya made it really enjoyable for everyone.”
Ruby “Dance Fever was really fun. I joined because I like dancing and I thought it would stretch the dancing that I could do. Some steps were hard and some were easier to learn. My favourite dance was My Way – the finale – I don’t really know why, maybe because it was a different type of dance. People should be a part of Dance Fever because it stretched your abilities and it is really fun.
Lil “Dance Fever was really fun. It was a time to connect more with my friends. On the stage – when the lights first went on my eyes started to water, but when the music started I just danced.”
Lilly “I did Dance Fever because I’ve never done dancing really and I wanted to see what it was like. It was a little hard to get used to the dances and remembering the steps. It was nerve racking on the stage, but I just breathed and danced.”
Milla “I did it because I thought it would be fun to be on a stage – in the moment. I don’t do competitions for dancing. It felt nerve wrecking the first time for the contemporary, but once we got going I got more energetic, then I wasn’t scared any more.”
Piper “I liked it because it is different to my normal dancing – I got to experience dancing with different people and learn different steps with my classmates. It was fun to be on the stage.”
Alexis “I did it because it sounded really fun and I haven’t danced in about 8 years and I wanted to learn to dance better. I had to do hard work, but it was really fun to dance with the other people. I liked the Rock This Party best. I was nervous and scared but I ignored that. I was able to laugh off my mistakes and keep on dancing.”
Skylah “I did it to build up my confidence, dance with my friends and to help others.”
Lailah “I did Dance Fever because I haven’t done dancing for a couple of years and I really miss it. I had been begging mum for ages, but we couldn’t. This was an opportunity to dance again – it would be awesome. On stage it felt really good. I felt I had been there before, and it brought back memories. I was only a little bit nervous. The best bit was being with friends, costumes and seeing my fiends cheer me on.”
Indie “I did it because I thought it would be fun and it was. The best bit was being on stage dancing. The worst bit was nothing. It felt amazing when I was on the stage. I think people should try it to work with other people and it is fun!”
Science
This term, in Earth and Space Sciences, we are learning about the Water Cycle. On Friday, our class split into groups to create some mini stop-motion animations using our school cameras. Some students also recorded sound effects using the Voice Recorder app on the computers. We put these all together to make a 100 second stop motion movie which we would love to share with you.
Bee-bots and Magnetic Tiles
Last week in STEM, Prep classes explored some new magnetic tile sets and invented some very creative designs. The bee-bots were also out, and students were challenged to program their bee-bots to get from ‘A to B’ using a series of instructions that are pre-programmed using the buttons on top.
Push and Pull
1/2A are continuing their Science lessons on Forces. In week 6 we made Whirly Birds which demonstrated Air Resistance against gravity. We were able to add paper-clips to the bottom of our Whirly Birds to see if this made a difference to how our creations floated to the ground.
Derby Challenge
This week we put the finishing touches on our Derby cars ready for the competition next week. During STEM classes next week there will be a grade 1-2 comp, a 3-4 comp and a 5-6 comp. The winning teams will go through to the Grand Final, scheduled for Tuesday 12th December at Break 2. There will be a small prize and trophy for our champion car. Good luck to all entrants.
For more information on this innovative project provided by UTAS, watch this video:
Student learning in the garden has been especially rich lately. Students have pondered the elements of life, entered the invisible world of microscopic organisms and observed the water cycle at work. They've animated stories about 'A Gardeners Best Friend' and dug worm tunnels big enough to crawl through.
In the kitchen, the 1/2s created a feast with egg salad, garlic butter and broad beans, while the 5/6s prepared an incredible pita bread salad. A big thank you to Megs for leading this work, and Mark and Aidan for supporting.
We were absolutely delighted to welcome LiL participants to the garden on Friday. They met the chickens, sang songs, planted sunflowers and picked rainbow posies. Hopefully this was the first visit of many.
The Rotary Club of Longford spent an evening in the school garden recently. They listened to stories from Megs and Mrs Burnett about the students work and our hopes for the future. In true Rotary fashion, they took the opportunity to give generously to our patch, donating $480 on the night.
As we approach the summer holidays, I would like welcome families into the kitchen garden and food forest. When school finishes for the year, perhaps you could share a picnic at the 'Macrotable' with friends, take a walk, or harvest herbs for dinner. Please do what you can to keep the garden inspiring and nourishing students and families though the holiday season.
Cathy Cloudsdale
Agriculture and Garden Co-ordinator
Christmas Carols
Carols are Thursday 14th December 5-6:30pm. Sausage sizzle anad water provided. Coffee available for purchase.
Christmas Raffle
Raffle books have been sent home to each family. Please return your tickets to the office by 9am on Friday 15th December. Thank you to our local businesses for their generous donations. Good luck!
Prep - 2
On Friday 15th December Prep to Grade 2 students are invited to wear free dress to school. There will be an organised disco during the school day for these students as a fun way to celebrate their year of learning together.
Grades 3-6
On Friday 15th December students in Grades 3 to 6 will be going to the Launceston Aquatic Centre for their end of year school excursion. A letter with more details has been sent home.
Prep-6 Presentation Assembly
Our Prep-6 Celebration Assembly is on Monday 18th December at our front school garden commencing 11:30am. Visitors in attendance please be prepared for all seasons with hats and sunscreen. There will be opportunities for photos after the assembly.
Breakfast Club - Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 8:30am | ||
December | 7 | School Association Meeting 5:30pm |
8 | Helping Hand Christmas Appeal - Free Dress Day | |
13 | Kinder Celebration 2:30pm | |
14 | Christmas Carols 5-6:30PM | |
15 | Gr 3-6 Launceston Aquatic Centre | |
15 | Prep-Gr2 Disco (free dress day) | |
18 | Prep-6 Presentation Assembly | |
18 | Grade 6 Celebration Dinner | |
21 | Students last day of Term |
Term 4 2023 |
Monday 16th October to Thursday 21st December |
Term 1 2024 |
Thursday 8th February to Friday 12th April |
LONGFORD ROTARY - COMMUNITY MARKET - BBQ & DRINKS
SATURDAY 9TH DECEMBER
9am - 2pm
SANTA 1pm
Harcourts Car Park
Stall holders welcome, call Di 0419102811 (or call into the Rotary Shop) to book a spot
Leadership Staff
Principal | Mrs Candice Burnett |
AST | Mrs Jen Copeland |
AST | Mrs Jodi Claxton |
AST | Mr Justin Nobes |
Support Staff
Psychologist | Mrs Allison Maloney | Tuesday |
School Nurse | Miss Amy Bradley | Wednesday |
Speech Pathologist | Miss Alison Gardner | Monday |
Social Worker | Ms Alexandra Robinson | Wednesday |