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Term 2, Week 1
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MISSION STATEMENT
To work under God in partnership with parents to provide an inclusive, nurturing and high quality education for every student.
VIsion
Flourishing through faith, belonging and the pursuit of excellence.
From The Principal
Child Protection Policy updates
Schools are dynamic, never static. As the world changes and we learn more about how children learn, our approaches are modified accordingly. This week, we focus on updates to our Child Protection Policy.
Child protection policy and procedures
Our first priority is the safety of the children in our care. The School Board recently approved our latest version of the Child Protection Policy and we have made that available through our school website.
As a result of the former Royal Commission recommendations, the NSW Child Safety Standards and recommendations from the Office of the Children’s Guardian (OCG), you may notice the following changes:
- Volunteers and contractors will now need to annually sign a declaration form. This form asks those on our campus to declare that they are not barred from working with children, nor are they under investigation. They agree to abide by our Child Protection Policy and procedures.
- Child Safety Officers have been appointed. The NSW Child Safety Standards recommend that multiple adults serve as Child Safety Officers who champion a child safe culture and support parents or staff who need to report a child safety concern. Our school Child Safety Officers are as follows:
- Karen Suckling
- Janet Moeller
- Johanna Stanton
- An email address has been set up for concerns, whether the concerns be from staff, parents, carers or community members: [email protected]
- The School website and newsletters will include the names and contact details of Child Protection Officers. Emails to [email protected] will be forwarded to the Child Safe Officers. Karen Suckling and Janet Moeller may also be contacted via Seesaw. Johanna Stanton may be contacted directly through [email protected].
Our Mission Statement features the words “in partnership with parents”. Those aren’t just words on a page. By speaking up about concerns, you help us build the culture of child safety that our students deserve.
Janet Moeller
Principal
From The DEPUTY Principal
Professional Learning Day – Restorative Practice
On Monday 24 April, our teaching staff worked with staff from St John’s Jindera, and St Paul’s, Henty. The professional learning day was led by a consultant from the Association of Independent Schools, New South Wales (AISNSW). The focus of the day was the use of ‘Restorative Practices’ in supporting our students in their Social and Emotional Learning. It gave our staff an opportunity to ‘role play’ some different scenarios and use restorative practices to resolve incidents and restore relationships between the students involved. The day was a valuable one in staff gaining a deeper understanding of the powerful impact restorative conversations can have on our students in their social and emotional development.
ANZAC Day March
It was great to see so many of our students marching yesterday to commemorate ANZAC Day. Our School Captains laid a wreath on behalf of the school during the service. Many thanks to staff who assisted in the march.
Superhero Day – Tuesday 2 May
Next Tuesday 2 May will be our Superhero Mufti Day. All students should come dressed as a Superhero and make a gold coin donation. Money raised will go the Wagga Wagga Base Hospital Children’s ward, the place where heroic health workers looked after 11-year-old Nate Lawson. Sadly, Nate lost his battle against a rare genetic disorder – Schimke Immuno Osseous Dysplasia (SIOD).
Stage 3 Mortimer Shield and Stage 2/3 Rugby Union Gala Day
On Thursday 27 April, many students from Years 5 and 6 will take part in the Mortimer Shield at Paramore Park. Next week on Thursday 4 May selected students from Yeasr 3 to 6 will take part in the Rugby Union Gala Day.
Best wishes to all students competing in the tournament.
Dylan Evans
Deputy Principal
Values Award
Congratulation to the students who received a Term 1 Values Award!
Values Focus
Have you ever wanted to start afresh? To scrap something/everything that has come before (a day, a week, a year) and begin anew?
Hollywood is enamoured with the idea of starting again. There are many movies involving time travel, or adults waking up to find themselves in the body of their younger self, who can now make right all their wrongs, make better decisions, or have all the fun they missed out on when they were younger.
The dream to start afresh is normal. The stories in Genesis tell us that even God wanted to start again, so much that God chose to flood the world and start from a new family through Noah. The Jewish Scriptures are full of stories where God hits a ‘refresh button’ of sorts.
The story we tell over Easter is different.
In the Gospel of John, Mary meets the resurrected Jesus in the garden and mistakes him for the gardener. The author is doing something really clever and brings to mind that in the beginning the people were gardeners who cared for the creation. The Gospel of John is a story of God hitting the refresh button; but instead of using a flood or violence, God chooses to use love to renew the world. Instead of hitting the reset button God reminds us that we are created as people who are loved so that we might be people who love others.
Resurrection is God’s new plan, God’s refresh button. The Kingdom of God is here, we are in a new relationship and we’re able to start afresh.
Last term’s value was love. As we move into Term 2 we at Lutheran School Wagga will continue to strive to create a community of people who are loved so that we might love each other.
Welcome back.
Chaplain Darren
Curriculum Matters
It’s that time of the year again, when students who love the thrill of spelling interesting words are invited to put their name down for the 2023 SpellMaster Competition.
SpellMaster is a great opportunity for students in Years 2-6 to explore words, develop self-confidence, improve vocabulary and earn House points for the LSWW Summit Cup.
Students in Years 2 – 6 are able to participate in a weekly round of 20 unseen words that will get progressively harder as the rounds progress. Successful spellers will progress through 4 rounds of the competition. Those in the top 20 will make it to the Oral Round and then the top 10- 12 will go through to the Grand Final.
The Grand Final will be held in the Chapel. The finalists are required to spell words out loud, while on stage in front of an audience. The competition dates will be announced once finalised.
Please note that this year the competition is changing. Each round, competitors will be asked to spell unseen words. This change reflects how we learn to spell and requires students to have a sound understanding of spelling sound patterns, morphology (parts of words) and etymology (origin of words). During the competition students will be required to spell words of varying difficulty. All words align with the Macquarie and Oxford dictionaries.
Good luck to all students.
Emma Grant
Learning Innovation Coordinator
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From The Sports Desk
LSWW Cross Country
Our K-6 Cross Country was held at Apex Park, Lake Albert on Tuesday 4 April. The day was full of lots of colour, healthy competition and beautiful sunshine. All students are to be congratulated on their participation, enthusiasm and determination in their events. Congratulations to our Age Champions, the students who broke new records, our Champion House and the students who qualified for the RAS Cross Country. A big thank you goes out to Mr Phil Hoey (paramedic), the K-6 staff and our wonderful parent volunteers/spectators for ensuring this event ran so smoothly.
Caroline Stewart
PE Teacher/Sports Coordinator
OSHC
The Easter school holidays have been such a blast at OSHC! We went to the Junee Chocolate and Licorice Factory, Pinot and Picasso and painted ‘Ollie the Octopus’. We had a visit from Little Champions who taught us all about gymnastics and we even went flying high at Zana Ariel Dance! On each of our excursions the children showed respect and listened carefully to all instructions. They did a great job representing Lutheran School OSHC and should be proud of themselves.
With the weather cooling down a little, we took full advantage of being able to spend more time outside. Sport was a major hit over the holidays. We spent lots of time down on the school oval playing games of soccer, football, dodge ball and hockey and had plenty of fun with hula hoops. Children showed off their skills of teamwork and sportsmanship.
During these holidays children also played many inside games. A few of the most popular games were chess, Just Dance, silent ball, Uno, Guess Who and even the beep test. These holidays the students really showed compassion towards one and other and were supportive to those around them.
Melanie Elmer
Other Information
Families leaving the school
Please note that one full term’s written notice is required if you are withdrawing your child from Lutheran School. We purchase learning materials based on projected enrolment numbers at least one term in advance. Hence, the enrolment contract you signed specifies that failure to provide a term’s notice will result in you being charged for the subsequent term.
Uniform Shop Orders
If you would like to purchase uniforms from the Uniform Shop, please email [email protected]
We will email you once the order is ready to be picked up from the office. Thank you.
