Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Our school community acknowledged the passing of Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare last Friday on assembly with a minute's silence. Next week's assembly will be held on Thursday due to the public holiday on Friday 12th March, marking the end of the period of mourning. At this assembly, the students will play a short video of tribute to Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare. All parents and friends are welcome to attend. There will be no school on Friday the 12th March.

School Review

On the 22nd and 23rd of April, officers from the QLD Department of Education, Education Improvement Branch (EIB) will conduct a virtual review of LIS. This process involves interviews with teachers, parents, students and community members. Myself, Ms Langusch and Mr. Collins will also present to the reviewers our pedagogical framework and other curriculum documents. A variety of parents, teachers and students will also be asked to complete and online survey in preparation for the review. If any parent / carer is interested in participating in the survey, please contact me.

After School and Weekend Sport/Activities

At LIS, students can be involved in a variety of afternoon and weekend sports and other activities. After school sports/activities are run by teaching staff and/or parent volunteers. If you would like to volunteer to run a sport/activity this year, please let me know. If you would like to run a sport/activity, it is your decision as to what day and which classes you will include in this sport/activity – our school community is always grateful to those who take the time to organise after school sport/activities.

Activities currently underway this term

Wednesday: Homework Club for years 3/4 and 5/6 students, from 3pm-4pm.

Thursday: High School Study Hub - School to Mine Campus for years 7-10 from 3pm to 4pm.

Saturday: High School Study Hub - for years 7-10 students who need access to computers to complete assessment tasks;  will be held this Saturday in the year 5/6 classroom from 9am to 11am. Year 5/6 students who have work to complete may also attend this Saturday.

Saturday: In respect of Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare and his status to the country, we will not be holding any weekend sporting activities during the 2 weeks mourning period. This means that soccer will not be on this Saturday. We thank you for your understanding.

Thursday: Lunchtime Chess Club for students in years 4 - 6.

School Council

The School Council has extended the time for nominations for 1 parent rep position. If you would like to nominate someone for this position, please fill in the form in the office.

Regards,

Mr. Greg Neville         

Thanks to those parents who have volunteered to help out with the after school art and craft club.

Art club will start on Wednesday the 10th March from  3-4pm  for students from Prep - Year 2

Please let your class teacher know if your child wishes to attend.

Interested parents can contact Claire Litson on clairemutton36@hotmail.com.

In line with company policy, increased hygiene and social distancing practices will continue to be implemented in the school during Term 1 2021. 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. All students  are to wear a face mask and will be greeted at the gate by a teacher and temperature tested. They 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 need to wear a face mask and 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.

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 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 lunch and recess breaks between the primary and high school to reduce the number of children in the eating area at one time.

7. Students will each be issued with a reusable washable mask. Students will be required to use these masks for travel to and from school and during specific identified activities at school.

8. The school canteen will be closed for the duration on term 1 due to renovation. 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 instead of drinking from the bubblers. 

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. Masks and social distancing measures will be  employed.

Wednesday 3 February to Thursday 1 April

Monday 19 April to Thursday 17 June

Monday 12 July to Wednesday 15 September

Tuesday 5 October to Thursday 2 December

P & W Sausage Sizzles

Thanks to the P & W for our sausage sizzles this term. The next sausage sizzle will be on Thursday Week 6 because of the Friday public holiday. Money is due to your child's teacher by Wednesday.

Maths 'Problem-solving' workshop 

Thanks also to the parents and carers who attended our 'Problem-solving' workshop. If you have any further questions about the SEE PLAN DO CHECK strategy that we use in Maths when problem-solving (for students of Year 2 and up), please do not hesitate to see your child's teacher. 

Calendars and School Photos Update

Due to unforeseen circumstances with our printers, the printing of our calendars and 2020 school photos has been delayed and we are hoping that they will arrive soon.

Kind regards,

Ms Langusch             

The School to Mine Campus had a changeover of staff this week. We said goodbye to Edwina and Jeffrey and welcomed back Joseph and Aisa. Aisa Victor re-joins us again after being away for almost 12 months. Both Joe and Aisa are keen to get back into working with our various programs.

We are continuing to shortlist students for our Year 9 FODE Program for 2021. Pre-enrolment testing for this program is continuing this Saturday for the shortlisted students. This Saturday, last year's Year 9 FODE students will also undertake their Year 9 Exams. 

STMC is also continuing to work closely with local education authorities to finalise Lihirian teachers' enrolment in the DWU Bachelor of Primary Education. 

Regards, 

Mr. Kevin Collins