Dear Families, Students and Friends,

Goodbye and Best Wishes

Mrs Carol Roberts, Mrs Kayla Farran, Mrs Trudy Owen, Mrs Ruth Holt and Mr Nathan Guy will be transferring to new positions in 2021.  What an honour and privilege to have met and worked with this incredible team of teachers in recent years.  Carol, Kayla, Trudy, Ruth and Nathan have made an outstanding contribution to the Longford Learning Community.  Congratulations on your new positions for 2021, I sincerely wish you continued growth and happiness.   

Mrs Carol Roberts has had an incredible impact on many children and families of Longford over 18 years.  Carol approaches all that she does with her whole heart.  She is dedicated, kind and deeply compassionate.  The students, families and staff of LPS will miss Carol’s gentle smile and warm reassurances.  Norwood Primary School are extremely lucky to have Carol as part of their team from next year.

Mrs Kayla Farran has been teaching at Longford Primary School since 2011. Kayla is hardworking, dedicated, kind and driven. She is an incredible advocate for every student in her care and works tirelessly to ensure every student and parent work together in partnership to achieve learning and wellbeing growth and success.  Kayla’s work ethic and advocacy for every child will be missed by all who have learnt from her or worked with her.  Congratulations on your transfer to Norwood in 2021.

Mrs Trudy Owen has been at Longford Primary School for 5 years.  Trudy is imaginative and creative in her lesson planning and organisation of her learning environments.  Trudy always has the ability to ‘think outside the square’ and aims to authentically engage every learner every day.  Trudy will be moving to East Tamar Primary School in the new year. Trudy is a deep thinker and reflective; she can always be counted on for leading thought provoking discussions during Staff Professional Learning.  Enjoy the next journey Trudy!

Mrs Ruth Holt has been with us at Longford for 4 years.  In this time, Ruth has warmly welcomed many children and families to Longford Primary School as a Kindergarten and LiL teacher.  Ruth has worked to ensure all families enter their school life in a positive and supportive way.  She is caring and kind and has made a significant contribution as a teacher of the Department of Education over many years.   Ruth has initiative and drive and is an incredible advocate for all learners.  Congratulations on your position in the private sector for 2021 and beyond.

Mr Nathan Guy has worked at our school for the past 2 years.  In this time Nathan has had a rippling effect of positive impact across our learning community.  Nathan is honest, approachable, and always prepared to go the extra mile for anyone within our school.  Nathan has supported many students in accessing and participating at school at many levels.  Nathan is always solution focused; he is reflective and considered with this words and actions.  Nathan will be missed for his innovation and proactive mindset.  Congratulations on your position at Launceston Christian School for next year.

I wish you all joy, happiness and growth in your new learning environments in 2021.  May Longford always hold a piece of your heart.

Welcome

In 2021 we welcome, Ms Roxy Walls, Ms Jane Archer, Mrs Jo Bent, Mrs Shanley Freeman, Miss Kayla Quin, Mrs Eerin Hardman and Mr Alex Payne to our teaching team.  

Long Service Leave

We wish Mrs Courtney Baker a restful Long Service break for Term 1 of 2021.

2021 Classes

A sincere thank you to all families for your support and consideration as we have worked through the process of class placements for 2021.  Thank you for working with us to best support your child as they prepare for their transition into the new school year.

Grade 6 Events

Our Grade 6 Students have enjoyed two special events to celebrate their end to Primary School.  Congratulations and thank you to the School Association members and Grade 6 parents for working tirelessly to ensure our Grade 6 students have had such memorable experiences over the past weeks.  Thank you to Cathy Cloudsdale for working with our Grade 6 students to plant their leaving sunflowers last week.  These will bloom in 2021 to remind us of the 2020 school leavers.  These seeds were harvested earlier in the year from the sunflowers that were planted by the 2019 group.  This cycle continues each year.

Earlier this week we celebrated a fantastic leavers dinner with our Grade 6 students.  The event was just perfect! Sincere thanks to the Grade 6 parents for helping to create such a memorable and special occasion for our Grade 6 leavers.  Thanks also to the staff that worked to make the night so special, including Miss Doran, Marg and Mr Collighan.

To our Grade 6 Students – what an incredible group you are! Remember to Dream Big and Work Hard.  You will be sincerely missed and we hope you return to visit us over the coming years.

Celebration Assemblies

Congratulations to all who have contributed to our recent celebration assemblies.  To the teams of people that worked together to make these events so successful – we offer our sincere thanks and appreciation.

Congratulations to all award recipients for a year of fantastic learning and growth across all curriculum areas.  To our Care for People Award recipients – thank you for being outstanding role models to all of our Learning Community. 

Thank you to the very generous sponsors for their ongoing support of our students at Longford Primary School.

School Association

This team of incredibly dedicated volunteers have made an incredible contribution to our work of 2020.  Thanks to our retiring member Mr Nick McKinnon.  Please consider nominating yourself or a friend for our School Association committee of 2021.

MND Challenge

Congratulations to Longford Community for your ongoing support of our fundraising for MND 2020! We are so excited to share that we exceeded our $1500, raising $1800.

Fun Day

We had a fantastic day on Friday.  Every student participated and engaged in the incredible activities that were running on the day.  Thank you to all staff for your organisation and running of such an incredible event, and to Marg and Lynton for cooking the BBQ.  Students gave us overwhelming feedback of support for the event to become an annualised part of our end of year celebrations.  We hope you enjoy the photos of our Fun Day!

Save the Dates 2021

• The school office is open on Thursday 28th January and Friday 29th January for book collection and uniform purchases.
• Week 1:  All students and families of Grade 5/6 students in 2021 are asked to attend an Information Session in the School GP room on Thursday the 4th of February from 4:30-5:30pm.  Please pop this date in your diary – it will be a critical meeting and your attendance would be appreciated.  
• Week 2: On Thursday the 11th of February all families of students in Prep-2 and 3-4 will be invited to hear our 2021 messages.  These will be spaced sessions that run over the afternoon.
• Week 3: On Tuesday the 16th of February all LiL and Kinder families are invited to an afternoon picnic to hear some welcoming messages for 2021.

Students Last day of Term

The final day for students this year is tomorrow, Thursday the 17th of December.  School will conclude at 2:00pm. Students in Prep-6 return to school on Wednesday the 3rd of February.  Keep a look out for any Facebook updates regarding the new year that will come out late January.

And finally,

To all of our students, families, staff and community, it has been an incredibly challenging year for so many.  Please take some time to rest, relax and rejuvenate with your families over the holiday break.  Merry Christmas and best wishes for a safe and healthy 2021!

Carolyn Sutton
Principal