Dear parents and carers,

Welcome back to all our students for Term 4 2021! We have a term packed full of learning and activities ahead. Welcome also to new students and families to the LIS community.

Year 8 and 10 National Exams

Next week, our first year 10 class sit for their Lower Secondary School Certificate Examinations. The class have been working hard in preparation for the exams. Thanks to Ms Yip and the Year 10 teachers for all the hard work in helping to prepare the students. We wish them every success next week. Thanks to the Year 10 parents who attended the parent meeting yesterday regarding the examination process.

The year 8 National Exams are in week 4, from Monday the 25th October. Our year 8s are currently very busy in preparation for these exams. The 2021 National Exam dates are outlined below.

World Teachers Day

Tuesday saw the celebration of World Teachers Day. It was a great opportunity to acknowledge all the good work that the LIS / STM  teachers do on a daily basis. Thanks to parents Rhoda Likia and Nellie Lagisa and their helpers who prepared a tasty Friday lunch for all the teachers in recognition of World Teachers Day.

School Office Relocation

Please note that the school office has been relocated to the new building at the Aginas Oval entrance. This area will also have a small meeting room that will be able to be accessed by parent groups as well.

School Council

Next week, Thursday the 14th November, there will be a School Council Meeting - held at the School to Mine Campus at 6.00pm.

Regards,

Greg Neville

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.

1.  A comprehensive deep clean of the school will be undertaken by Nayal LTD, prior to school resumption in term 4.

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 social distance and  wait in the carpark undercover area until 7.45am. Students should be at school by 8.05am, ready to start the day at 8.10am.

3. All students will be greeted at the gate by a teacher, where they will be temperature checked. They will then wash their hands at the wash station and then proceed to their classroom.  Parents and carers will be permitted to escort their children to classrooms, If parents need to go to the office, they will be permitted to proceed to the wash station and are then to make their way straight to the school office. 

4. Several wash stations are installed around the school and hand sanitiser is available in all classrooms. Students will be required to wash their hands in the mornings before school, before and after recess/lunch and before leaving school in the afternoons.

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 measure of 1.5 metres 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 recess breaks between the primary and high school to reduce the number of children using toilets etc.

7. Students will be issued with a reusable washable mask. Students will be need to wear these masks for travel to and from school and during all activities at school.

8. The school canteen will be open on Fridays in term 3. The P&W will send more info out regarding this in due course. Students will need to bring a packed recess snack and lunch each day - there is to be no dropping off of food by parents, siblings or haus meris. Students are also asked to bring a water bottle to school that they will refill.

9. Term 4 will see assemblies in the basketball court  throughout the term. Parents will be welcome to attend, adhering to social distancing protocols.

Welcome back to term 4! It has been great to see students keen to be back and engaged in their learning. There has been a real buzz of excitement around the classrooms as students begin new units of work! 

In the primary school classes, teachers will be monitoring students' home reading, so please ensure that students regularly return their homework reading folder. Remember at LIS, we want every student reading every day! We thank parents for your support with encouraging a love of reading in your child.

Primary students are to bring their library bag on their library borrowing day in order to borrow from the library. Students can also return and borrow a book at lunch time.

Parent overviews

Term 4 parent overviews will be sent home today, Friday, and will be emailed to parents. If you did not receive either an email or paper copy, please contact your child's teacher.

Exam Prep

Year 10 students will have their final Saturday exam preparation session this Saturday, along with our year 8s who will have a couple more Saturday study sessions. We thank our STM staff for supporting our students with their exam preparations and we wish our year 10s all the best for their exams next week. 

 Kind regards,

Ms Langusch

Term 4 - Tuesday 5 October to Thursday 2 December

Term 1: 31st  January – 30th March 

Term 2: 19th April – 16th June 

Term 3: 11th July – 15th September 

Term 4: 3rd October – 1st December 

This Saturday, the Year 8 and 10 students will again attend STMC for their National Exam Preparation. This will be the last of these sessions for the Year 10 students and we all wish them the very best next week with their exams. We will continue to work with the Year 8 students for the next three Saturdays in preparation for their exams.

Over the holidays, our Divine Word University Bachelor of Primary Education Program continued with Mr Pulip Lyokao delivering two weeks of lectures for our teachers from Lihirian Schools. By all accounts these went well, and the teachers have plenty of assessment to continue over the coming months.

This week, we commenced a new Work Ready Program with 14 young Lihirian people coming to develop work readiness for a future of work with either Newcrest or other stakeholders in the mine. The week commenced well, with all trainees keen and eager to learn. We look forward to teaching and progressing their confidence and skills over the next seven weeks.

The Kisim Save Library remains open to all Townsite Residents and Newcrest Employees every Saturday by appointment. Please email kevin.collins@newcrest.com.au .

Regards,

Mr. Kevin Collins