Dear Parents and Caregivers,

I look forward to welcoming back all students to Lihir International School, next week Monday, the 31st January. Students should be at school by 8.00am at the latest.  I am sure our students are eager to start the new school year, with all the exciting learning to be had ahead! Staff resumed on Thursday the 27th January. Parents are able to enter the school grounds to escort their children to classrooms if they wish to do so, but must adhere to COVID-safe protocols including social distancing (wearing a mask when unable to social distance) and washing hands. In the afternoon, early years parents can wait in the undercover area for their children or near the front gate, but again need to follow COVID-safe practices. School finishes at 3.00pm. Kindy parents can collect their children from the Kindy room at 12.15pm.

Junior Kindy

This year, the Term 1 school day for Junior Kindy children will be from Monday – Friday, 10am to 12.15pm. These times are designed to give the Junior Kindy children a more regular Kindy experience – plus some extra hours in the week. 

Uniforms

The office is open for parent enquiries and the purchase of uniforms. At this stage, we can only allow the purchase of one new uniform per child, until the new uniform order arrives in the next couple of weeks.

School Entrance

Parents and community members are reminded that the only entrance to school is from the Anginas Oval carpark. Visitors are asked to social distance and wash hands at the wash station. Townsite residents who walk to school are also to only use this entrance. 

2022 Staff 

Principal K-10 LIS / STM Gregory Neville (includes Coordinator Wellbeing/Discipline 7-10)

Deputy Principal K-10 Catherine Langusch (includes Curriculum Coordinator K-10, Coordinator Wellbeing/Discipline K-6)

Deputy Principal STM  Kevin Collins

Coordinator Physical Education Simon McKeiver

Coordinator Learning Support Catherine Langusch

Library Jenny Pesas

Administrative Officer Rachael Andar

Kindy Angela Collins and Clementa Exzil

Prep Liz Daimol and Georgina Kinkinteng

Year 1/2 Diana Saua and Anastasia Tukata

Year 3/4 Grace Savitas

Year 5/6 Catherine Langusch

Year 7/8 Simon McKeiver - Class Patron

Year 9/10 Patricia Yip - Class Patron

LIS School / STMC assistants

Jenny Pesas, Lorna Romaso-Daimol, Ronnie Sarufa

High School and School to Mine subject teachers

Elizabeth Laien, Patricia Yip, Kevin Collins, Simon McKeiver, Joseph Takaundo, David Wengip, Jeffrey Tore, Edwina Jason

The arrival of our new staff member, Jenny Dovaston, has been delayed due to personal issues and we hope to welcome her to the island in term 2. Until Jenny's arrival, Mrs Liz Daimol will teach the Prep class.

School Council

The annual General Meeting of the School Council will be held on Thursday, the 24th of February 2022. At this meeting, voting for vacant positions for Parent Representatives will occur, in the Yr 9/10 room from 7.00pm– 7.20pm. Nomination forms are available from the school office and must be returned to the school office by Thursday the 10th February 2022. If you would like to know more about the functions of the School Council, please make an appointment to see the principal.

Regards,

Mr. Greg Neville         

In line with company policy, good hygiene and social distancing practices will continue to be implemented in the school during Term 1 2022. Please read the points below carefully. Thank you to all members of the STM/LIS community for your patience and commitment in ensuring that we keep our children and island safe.

1. It is imperative that parents and carers do not send their children to school if they are sick or showing any symptoms of a cold or flu. If your child is sick, please keep your child home and seek appropriate medical attention. Children who display any signs of sickness will be isolated under supervision in the school's sick bay and parents called to come and collect them.

2. Entrance to school for students and parents / carers will be via the Aginas Oval gate only, which will open at 7.45am. Students who arrive before this (which is discouraged) are to wait in the carpark undercover area until 7.45am. Students should be at school by 8.00am, ready to start the day at 8.10am.

3. On arrival all students are to wash their hands at the wash station and then proceed to the undercover area. Parents will be permitted to escort their children to the undercover area / classroom and pick them up at the end of the day. Parents will also need to wash their hands after entering school. If parents need to go to the office or see a teacher, they are permitted to proceed to the wash station and are then to make their way straight to the school office or to the relevant classroom. Parents and High School students are to have a face mask ready to use when social distancing is not possible

4.  Students will be required to wash their hands in the mornings, before school and before and after recess/lunch.

5. All desks, door handles, playground equipment and other high contact equipment will be sanitised twice daily or after use by cleaning staff.

6. Social distancing will be employed in classrooms through desk arrangements. Social distancing markings have been painted on cement areas where students line up and in the undercover area for recess/lunch eating times. The school will implement staggered lunch and recess breaks between the primary and high school to reduce the number of children in the eating area at one time.

7. High School students will each be issued with a reusable washable mask. Students will be required to use these masks for activities where social distancing is not possible.

8. Students will need to bring a packed recess and lunch each day - there is to be no dropping off of lunches by parents, siblings or haus meris. Students are also asked to bring a water bottle to school that they will refill. 

10. In Term 1 on Mondays, separate primary and high school assemblies will be held in the basketball court, employing social distancing measures. On Fridays, there will be a whole school assembly on the basketball court that parents are welcome to attend. Social distancing measures will be  employed.

Term 1 for students will begin on Monday 31st January.

 Term 1: 31st  January – 31st March 

Term 2: 19th April – 16th June 

Term 3: 11th July – 15th September 

Term 4: 3rd October – 1st December 

Welcome back to 2022 and a special welcome to our new students and families to the LIS community! We look forward to meeting you over the coming weeks.

Teachers have been busily preparing for the start of the year and are eager for the term to begin. 

This year, we look forward to working with parents and students to consolidate the excellent teaching and learning practices in place at Lihir International School. In English Literacy, we will be continuing our focus on reading/comprehension and daily writing activities and in Mathematics, we will consolidate our SEE, PLAN, DO, CHECK problem-solving strategies from Year 2 onwards.

Over the coming weeks, I will again present parent workshops on Soundwaves (Spelling) and Maths Problem-solving, which would be beneficial to new parents to our school or to any parents who may have missed last year's workshops.

I look forward to seeing parents and students next week.

Kind regards,

Ms Langusch             

Welcome back to a new year. The School to Mine Campus is now an integral part of LIS/STM and as such, I will be updating our community on the STMC programs throughout the year in the Toksave. 

The STMC is currently preparing for our 10 Programs of the School to Mine. We are currently shortlisting students for our Year 9 / 10 FODE Program for 2022 and awaiting results from our previous Year 9 FODE cohort before enrolling them into the Year 10 FODE Program.

STMC staff are also working closely with the Local Provincial Education Office to finalise new Lihirian Teachers' enrolment in the DWU Bachelor of Primary Education, finalise Teachers for the Lihir Elementary Teacher Support Program and working toward delivery of our first Trupla Principal Program in early March. 

We are continuing to work with Lihir Secondary School to finalise participants for our Academic Support Program.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone all the best for 2022.

Regards, 

Mr. Kevin Collins