Dear parents and carers,

Please read carefully the 'New Normal' requirements for Term 4 below. These practices continue to be in place to keep our children and island safe.

2022 Classes

I am currently in the final stages of organising classes for the 2022 school year. If you know your child / children will not be attending Lihir International School in 2022, and you have not yet informed me, please let me know as soon as possible, so that year level numbers and class organisation can be finalised. 2022 classes will be announced in week 9.

Awards Night

In the last week of this term, on Wednesday the 1st of December, the school will host its Awards Night. The evening will consist of various awards for each class and feature class concert items. This year, social distancing precautions will apply, with limited guests per family able to attend. Further information regarding the Awards Night will be disseminated in coming weeks.

School for Term 4 will finish on Thursday the 2nd December.

Year 8 and 10 National Exams

This week, our first year 10 class sat for their Lower Secondary School Certificate Examinations. The class have been working hard in preparation for the exams. Thanks to Ms Braun from Lihir Secondary School who was our external invigilator for the exams. Thanks to the Year 10 parents who provided a lovely lunch for the students to enjoy on the completion of their exams.

Our National Exams coordinator, Ms Patricia Yip, will attend year 10 exam marking in Kavieng next week, representing Lihir International School.

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.

School Office Relocation

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

School Council

Next week, Thursday the 21st  October, there will be a School Council Meeting - held at 6.00pm. 

Regards,

Greg Neville

Next week, the Year 10 students will be undertaking an alternate program for the week. This will primarily consist of Technology in the workshop, developing practical safety and hand skills while working with timber. It will also involve preparation for the Year 10 Work Experience Program students will be undertaking in Weeks 4 and 5.

Next week, for the entire week, Year 10 students will only be required to attend classes until 1:25pm and will then be released for the afternoon. Please note scholarship students can remain at school and do community service and private work.

From Monday 25 October, the Year 10 students will commence their Work Experience site placement until Friday 5 November.  This is a valuable part of education for life and an experience that opens the eyes of students to the reality of life in the workplace.  It especially prepares them to start thinking seriously about their Year 11 and 12 studies and about their preparation for life after school. LIS thanks the following organisations for their support in welcoming our Year 10 students to get a taste of working life for 2 weeks:

City Pharmacy Lihir, NML Community Development, Anitua Services, External Relations & Communications NML, Lihir International School and Lihir Sports and Social Club. 

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.

Friday Morning Assemblies

A reminder that parents are welcome to attend Friday assemblies, held at 8.10am at the basketball court. This week, the Prep/1 class will be sharing a short presentation and next week, it will be the Year 1/2 class.

Healthy Lunches

We ask that students do not bring chips/crisps, lollies or chocolate to school as part of their lunch. These treats are best left for at home. Please ensure your child has a water bottle for school.

Year 10 Resources Return

We ask that Year 10 students return all textbooks, novels and calculators by the end of next week. Students may continue to borrow books from the library.

 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 students will again attend STMC for National Exam preparation, with next Saturday being the last of these sessions. Our FODE students are also continuing to work hard as we near the end of the year and their final assessments.

This week, Mr Neville and I will attend a meeting with Lihir School Principals to discuss the upcoming Year 8 National Exams. This will also provide an opportunity for us to promote to local schools the DWU Bachelor of Education Upgrade Program for 2022 and ask principals to encourage more teachers to enrol for next year. We will also promote the upcoming Trupla Principal Professional Development which will be delivered at STMC later this term.

This week, we commenced Week 2 of our Work Ready Program with 14 young Lihirian people continuing to develop work readiness for a future of work with either Newcrest or other stakeholders in the mine. We look forward to progressing their confidence and skills over the next 6 weeks. Over the coming weeks, I'll share some Trainee profiles through this Toksave and share some of their background and goals. 

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