Newsletter:
PRINCIPAL'S NEWS
What are the benefits of attending a coeducational independent school?
I pondered this question today as I walked around the playground at lunch. I saw Year 10 boys smartly dressed in uniforms with the addition of Santa hats, students playing basketball, students playing UNO and students reading books together. Year 7 students playing handball, Year 9 on the equipment and Year 11 studying hard. Later in the day, sitting at the Warnervale train station at 5.30pm – one of our Santa hatted boys sat quietly at the station. He still had his Santa hat on, his uniform was still immaculate, and he waved happily at me. He then sat down and read a book while waiting for our train. Not a phone in sight. His quiet confidence and the way he presented himself in uniform was heart-warming.
Lakes Grammar is a school that reflects the rich and diverse culture and society that we live in today. A culture where there are interactions of different identities, personalities, and cultures. Different socio-economic backgrounds, different faith backgrounds and academic goals and expectations. Where students learn to live together, learn to understand social norms and expectations, and ready themselves for an unpredictable and uncertain world.
Our school is a school where we proactively teach children and young people to develop confidence, to have empathy for others and learn and highlight their leadership skills. These interactions and positive relationships in coeducational schools will help our students break down gender misconceptions and learn the skills that will prepare them for the world that is outside and beyond their schooling life. Here at Lakes our students’ friendship groups are based on interests and passions rather than gender. Our girls don’t just sit around, chat and look at their phones, and our boys don’t just run around and play sport – they do what they love.
Our class groupings and elective choices are based on student interest rather than being influenced by the expectations of their gender. Our food technology classes, for example, have a healthy number of both boys and girls in the classroom, as do our science and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) courses. Our English and CAPA courses and associated activities attract a wide range of student participants - from those who are just giving it a go for the first time, to those that see the arts as their future career. You would only have had to see Aladdin Jr earlier this year to see the skills and passion of some of our students.
In single sex schools, peer pressure can be a strong factor in decision making for young men and women. Peers may laugh at a choice to do dance, or physics, or join the book club – but at Lakes we just don’t see that. We see an authentic school experience that mirrors life. Our Year 12 students and leavers are not going to a single-sex work environment or site, or a single sex university. Their social lives will inevitably bring them into contact with a broad variety of backgrounds, cultures, and beliefs, and they are well prepared for this at Lakes.
Mrs Deborah Clancy
Principal
KEY DATES FOR THE DIARY
Week 7
- Wednesday 23 November – Sports Awards Breakfast
- Thursday 24 November – Year 6 farewell disco
- Monday 28 November – Junior school end of term awards assembly
- Friday 2 December – Year 6 graduation ceremony
Week 8
- Monday 5 December – Kindergarten graduation ceremony
- Tuesday 6 December – Motiv8 fun day
- Wednesday 7 December – Junior school speech day
- Thursday 8 December – Senior school speech day
CHAPLAIN'S CHAT
Every year as groceries and toys start to come in for our Samaritan’s Christmas Appeal, I am reminded again how generous our school community is. I know how tough it is at the moment, with the ferocious rising costs of living and to see the sheer volume of items donated has brought a tear to my eye. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you so much for your generosity and how you will change the lives of so many families this Christmas. Donna and her team of volunteer helpers at the emergency relief centre pass on to you all their deepest appreciation too. Donna informed me that all gifts will go to families in need before Christmas and the food items will last well into next year. Have a look at the photo to see how we have made a difference.
In our chapels this term we have been thinking about the Christmas story as it unfolds in the Bible. It has been a great adventure as we have dived back into history some 2700 years and thought about what it was like to look forward to the birth of the Messiah. We have tried some taste testing as we remembered John the Baptist pointing to Jesus and saying, “He’s the one” even before the Matrix movie was thought of. We have also conducted light experiments as we looked at John’s version of introducing Jesus in his Gospel account. This week we are getting close to the actual event and will reflect on how Mary is a part of the Christmas story. My hope is that as we tell the stories of Christmas and see some of those Christmas signs start to appear in our community, we might all be reminded of how God loves us. The lights, the presents, the trees, the stars, the angels, and the nativity scenes all speak to us of a God who wants to be in relationship with us.
As we enter our last few weeks of term, I pray that you will know that we will be celebrating all things Christmassy and helping our students to notice all the signs around them of God’s love. I am sure that some of our junior school students will be making some sort of Christmas craft or colouring in a scene from the Christmas story. Year 7 are being subjected to Christmas carols in our CRE lessons and our Samaritans Christmas Appeal has put us all in a generous spirit. This is truly wonderful, since Christmas is about the greatest gift of all, the present of God’s very presence in his son Jesus. Immanuel.
Bless ya!
Reverend Matt
Chaplain
WHOLE SCHOOL NEWS
BRING YOUR OWN DEVICE
As we move towards the end of the year and continue to plan for 2023, a reminder that Lakes Grammar is a Bring Your Own Device School. If you are considering purchasing a new device for your child (Years 5 to 12), please check the JB Hi-Fi portal for the schools’ recommendations. This does not mean that you must purchase these items from JB Hi-Fi. We recommend accident insurance for any purchase.
To access the JB Hi-Fi portal www.jbeducation.com.au/byod/ and use the code: LAKESBYOD
With Years 5 and 6 now moving towards continuous reporting and utilising the full functionality of Schoolbox, we will be transitioning to those year groups also having a device, with all Year 5 and 6 asked to have a device by the start of 2024. Year 5 and 6 are asked to bring devices from 2023, however, we understand that this may not be possible for all, and we will manage this at a school level.
If you have any questions regarding BYOD, please contact the school.
UNIFORM SHOP HOLIDAY TRADING
The Uniform Shop's final day of trade for 2022 is Friday 9 December.
All orders placed after this date during the holiday break will be dispatched or available for collection from Monday 16 January.
Visit our website to book your appointment - https://www.alintaapparel.com.au/
We will be open in January on the following dates:
Mon 16 Jan 9am – 2pm Appointment only
Fri 20 Jan 9am – 2pm Appointment only
Mon 23 Jan 9am – 2pm Appointment only
Wed 25 Jan 9am – 2pm Appointment only
We look forward to welcoming you back into the shop in the new year!
Phone 0412 168 048 | Email lakesgrammar@alinta.com.au
CANTEEN HELPERS ALWAYS NEEDED
Our junior and senior canteens always need helpers. Any parents, caregivers or grandparents are more than welcome if you can spare a day once a fortnight or once a month.
If you can spare time to help, please email canteen@lakes.nsw.edu.au
SENIOR SCHOOL NEWS
Senior school is quickly drawing to an end for 2022. What a busy place it currently is! We are excited to hold our inaugural Sports Award breakfast next week on Wednesday 23 November in our school hall starting at 8.15am. At breakfast we will recognise and honour more than 200 of our students from K-12 for their sporting achievements. This year we will honour several of our students for their representation of the school, at the local, state and/or national level. We will also name and honour our senior school and junior school sports person of the year. A highlight of the event is our guest speaker, Mr Aiden Munford. Aiden is an alumni student of Lakes who has had a successful career in the national soccer league.
A reminder our senior school Speech Day is on 8 December at 10am in the hall. Students and parents will receive notification if they are receiving an award on Speech Day during week 8. Our Speech Day is compulsory for all students to attend. A reminder that students need to be dressed in their formal school uniform for the event, which includes their blazers.
Student assessments and final reports
All students in Years 7-10 have now completed all yearly exams and in class assessments. Students will receive their marks for their final assessments back over the coming weeks. Although it is the end of the year, I still encourage you to sit down with your child and consider the marks they will receive. Student reports will be available in the parent lounge on Monday 5 December. If you have any concerns regarding your child’s final assessment marks or report, I encourage you to contact the classroom teacher or the coordinator of the subject.
Year 11 2022 students have settled into their new role as Year 12 2023! Whilst the rest of the student body has now completed their final assessments, these students have just started their first assessments for Year 12. Over the next four weeks they will complete several assessment tasks, across all subjects. We wish them well as they settled into their HSC year!
Schoolbox developments
Over the past month we have released short videos to highlight the developments of Schoolbox at the school and what our community will be able to use Schoolbox for in 2023. One exciting development is continuous reporting our parents will have access to.
What is continuous reporting? Continuous reporting is where students’ summative assessment results will be released on Schoolbox when a task has been marked and returned to students. For each of your children you will be able to see under the grades tab your child’s profile:
- Individual task marks
- Individual student feedback from the teacher
- Overall subject grade
- Student achievement of course objectives and areas of learning
- Your child’s individual progression and achievement of the main skills, knowledge and understanding for each of the courses they study
In early Term 1 2023 we will be holding parent Schoolbox learning sessions to explain the finer details of the above to our parent community and how students will utilise eportfolios and their academic care time to set goals and record their achievements. Please keep an eye out for this parent Schoolbox learning sessions on our Schoolbox news feed.
Online Safety
One of the hardest things for young people to learn is the dangers of social media and how individual decisions made about how to use social media can have an impact on their lives and others around them. At Lakes we are constantly reminding our students about the dangers and the responsible use of social media. The Australian Government eSafety Commission has many downloadable resources which are useful to use with your child to discuss cyber safety. www.esafety.gov.au/parents/resources
Mrs Michelle Smith
Deputy Principal
CELEBRATING OUR STUDENTS
This week we celebrated our English Honours students with a morning tea in the library. These students will receive recognition for their efforts at the end of term awards.
Congratulations to the following students:
Christopher W – Year 7
Lexi M – Year 8
Briella M – Year 8
Scarlett K– Year 10
Anugraha B – Year 10
Alyssa D – Year 10
Mrs Serena Hart
English coordinator
JUNIOR SCHOOL NEWS
HEAD OF JUNIOR SCHOOL
Year 1 Fizzics Incursion
After the success of the kindergarten incursion from Fizzics Education, it was Year 1s turn to participate in the Curious Kids Science Workshop.
HRIS (Hunter Region Independent Schools) touch football
Thanks to Mr Holden and Mrs Herbert for selecting, coaching, and accompanying our teams to the HRIS Touch Football Gala Day on Wednesday 9 November. All reports suggest it was a fun day. Congratulations to all involved with our girls’ team finishing just outside the podium with 4th place, after winning their pool and the boy’s teams coming 8th on the day.
Remembrance Day
K-6 paused for a minute of silence on Friday at 11am to acknowledge and pay our respect to Australian soldiers who have fought for our country. The students were very interested in hearing the history of Remembrance Day, as well as the importance of The Ode, The Last Post and The Rouse.
Swim School K-2
There is a flurry of activity in K-2 each day, as students venture off to their two weeks of intensive swimming lessons. Many thanks to our parents and teachers who have worked hard to prepare the students for swim school.
Term 4 key dates
- Wednesday 23 November – Sport awards breakfast
- Thursday 24 November - Chapel, no assembly
- Thursday 24 November – Year 6 farewell disco
- Thursday 24 and Friday 25 November – Year 3 cru camp
- Monday 28 November – End of term awards assembly
- Thursday 1 December – Chapel, no assembly
- Friday 2 December – Year 6 graduation ceremony
- Monday 5 December – Kindergarten graduation ceremony
- Tuesday 6 December – Motiv8 fun day
- Wednesday 7 December – Junior school speech day
Mrs Kylie McPherson
Head of Junior School
LIBRARY NEWS
Borrowing over Holidays
Please note that borrowing has now ceased for all grades in the junior school library. Could you please ensure all returns are back by the end of Week 7 in order to complete our annual stock take in Week 8. Thank you for your support with this and for borrowing throughout 2022.
Mr Danny Summers
Junior School Teacher Librarian
