The Launceston Preparatory School - Newsletter 20 June 2024

Philosophy

The Australian Curriculum outlines the knowledge and skills that schools are required to teach in eight learning areas. At our school, we add a ninth area – that of Philosophy – and it is this area that most clearly distinguishes The Launceston Preparatory School from others. 

Socrates used to teach the young men of Greece by drawing out of them what they already knew rather than by telling them things.  He believed in making them think and that people learned best by questioning and discussing. So too do we encourage children to consider issues and develop values by exposing them to ideas and drawing from them their own opinions through carefully constructed questions. The emphasis in Socratic thinking is upon deepening the children’s understanding and formation of ideas and issues. 

A Socratic strand runs through all our teaching, across every curriculum area. We also conduct formal Socratic seminars once a week where participants gather in a circle for a discussion initiated by the teacher and facilitated by them through asking carefully considered and thought-provoking questions. These questions usually spring from the literature that underpins thematic teaching and learning in English.

The Socratic method has the greatest capacity to transform the nature of the students because:

• a bond of mutual respect is created among all participants;
• each student must learn to think critically, understand ideas, solve problems and make decisions;
• it helps to resolve conflicts by encouraging students to apply their knowledge and values to practical situations; and
• articulation, listening and critical thinking skills are all improved

Issues that we address across all ages include big ideas such as:

• the importance of defining and acting upon one’s beliefs
• the way we treat differences in people
• the effect of human activity upon the world, and
• the way we respond to the many conflicts and challenges that confront our everyday lives

The foundation questions of each group’s Socratic Seminar are published in our school newsletter each week so that families can see the topics and issues we are investigating.

Socratic Seminars are perhaps the students’ most difficult lessons each week! They must listen, follow, make decisions, and contribute their ideas.  We believe that the skills of critical thinking and articulate, well-considered speech are some of the most important and life-long skills that we can foster in our students.

Mrs Leonie McNair -Teacher of English (Groups 4-6) and Philosophy (Groups 2-6)

Ossa Fundraiser - Monday 24th June 2024

The Ossa Fundraiser will be supporting Tassie Mums. Tassie Mums is a volunteer-led group, passionate about providing essential items to babies and children in need. Students will be collecting CLEAN second-hand coats/jackets (please ensure zips are working and pockets are empty), gloves, scarves and blankets to donate to this cause.  A free dress day will coincide with this fundraiser (no money is required), however, students are encouraged to wear warm clothes, beanies and scarves (these are separate to the clothes they are donating).  

Kinder

Outcome 4 in the EYLF states that, “Children are confident and involved learners”, and every day in Kindergarten at The L.P.S. we witness evidence of this. 

Our days are brimming with experiences where we involve ourselves in thinking, moving, exploring and experimenting with new skills and ideas. Each day questions are asked and collaborative problem-solving takes place across all areas of our curriculum, as we build up our understanding and confidence in the world around us. 

Ms Rebecca Howard 

Prep / 1 - Art

In Art of late, the Prep / 1 artists have been making Nature Bugs. We went on a big hunt around our beautiful school yard and collected all sorts of things to create our bugs. We then arranged and rearranged our bugs onto paper and stuck them on with glue. This week, we are going to add details to the bugs and the background. The students' imagination, creativity and problem-solving skills have been very impressive.

Miss Nicole England

Group 2/3 - Maths and HASS

The Grade 2/3s are currently enjoying 'Sports Maths' every Friday.  Most recently, we looked at equestrian events.  We had a horse race, weaving, barrel race and show jumping.  Miss Ives, Mr Bristow, and Mrs S also joined in. There were many opportunities to compare scores, add them up, and sort ordinal numbers.

In HASS, the children have been designing a trip around Australia using different types of transport.  So far, we are hot air ballooning and paddling in a glass bottomed canoe in Queensland and having a sunset camel ride in in Western Australia.  Fortunately for us, we have an unlimited budget! 

Mrs Melissa Freeland

Seniors - Maths and Drama

Senior Maths

It has been such a joy to see children becoming more confident in Maths this term. Our focus recently has been on encouraging children to show their working out when solving problems around perimeter. This strategy has proven to be highly effective, as it allows them to identify mistakes they have made, and turn the errors into valuable learning opportunities. The children are beginning to see mistakes in a more positive light: not as setbacks, but as chances to deepen their understanding.

Senior Drama

The children have almost finished developing their performance of their characters going on a quest. Their ideas have been highly creative, showing considerable thought going into their script development. Over the past two weeks, the children have been performing to their own afternoon group, receiving positive feedback and constructive criticism to help them improve before performing to other children across the school.

Miss Mel Andrews

Meet the staff - Mr Edward Barnes

In this week's edition of The LPS Newsletter we wish to introduce Mr Edward Barnes. Eddie joined The LPS in 2004, this year marks 20 years of service at The LPS. We all feel very blessed to have Eddie fulfil the roles of a Senior Home Group Teacher, Science/HASS/DEEP teacher to our senior students as well as our Digital- Technologies teacher to Groups 2/3. Eddie, an all-round quality human, is a highly valued member of staff and all of our community.  

French - Creating Stories in French

From Preps to Group 6, students have all read a very simple story in French called La Petite Famille as part of a unit of work building vocabulary around the topic of Home and Family.

Students in Groups 2 - 6 then used the story as a basis for some creative writing as a whole class. It was impressive to see how positively our students worked together on a collective task as well as the engagement and creativity on display.

I recently attended a conference on motivation in the LOTE classroom and was taken by the effectiveness of using stories in this way to help with the retention of vocabulary and build a sense of achievement. I am very impressed with the results so far and look forward to building on these initial successes.

Please find the story written by the Group 5 students below. You might want to ask your child to have a go at reading to you, or they might even be able to share their own group’s story?

La Famille de Fruits

La Maison.

Dans la Maison il y a le bol de fruits.

Et dans le bol de fruits il y a la mangue et les fraises et les raisins et … le mixeur!

Miam-miam, la famille de fruits.

Ms Jane Dean - French Teacher Prep to Group 6

Philosophy Group 2/3

Life skills are something that we talk about a lot in the real world. They cropped up in the Group 2/3 shared novel when the young hero is allowed to “learn of life by roaming free in the city.” This led to a discussion of what life skills are, how we learn them and whether children today should be allowed to roam free like Lief in the novel in order to learn life skills. 

 Mrs Leonie McNair

Philosophy Groups 4-6

With the Group 4 – 6 students, we explored the concept of community spirit. In their shared novel, people volunteer contributions to get a school up and running in Poverty Gully. This is an example of a community working together to achieve something. We discussed similar examples in today’s society, whether community spirit is a necessary part of society, whether modern society has lost it and, if so, how it might be restored or strengthened.

Mrs Leonie McNair

Sport Reports

Soccer

The LPS Barnes Bashers played Launceston Church Grammar at Scotch Park. The score was 1-3, in their favour. It was an amazing game we put up a great fight. Special mentions to Stella, Max B, Archie, Charlotte and Kathryn.  In some parts they showed bad sportsmanship, but we dealt with that really well - Stella H and Esther L

The LPS Green Machines soccer team played Scotch Oakburn at Scotch Park. The scores were 0-7 in their favour.  Even though we didn't win we did an amazing job especially pushing forward.  Well done to Logan for great clearing the ball in defence and to Xavier for getting back on the field after an injury - Poppy S

Netball

The LPS netball team played Scotch Oakburn at Hoblers Bridge. All the team played brilliantly and coordinated well. The score was 6-6 which is our best score for the season. The team has improved a lot since our 1st game. - Henry Holloway 

Hockey

The LPS Wackadoos hockey team played Launceston Church Grammar at Scotch Oakburn Park. The scores were 17 - 0 in our favour. We played really well, with a special mention to Aagaman for his amazing improvement and all the people who scored a goal - Jack G

Lost Item

Could the parents/carers of students in Prep/1 please check your child's bag or be on the lookout for a mageneta and blue lava lamp type toy, as we have had a 'show and tell' item go missing. This item is very sentimental to the child involved and we would love to be able to return it to them. If you find this item, could you please return it to the office.

All Schools Cross Country - Symmons Plains - 18.6.2024

Tuesday was an action-packed day out at Symmons Plains, with over 500 students across the state attending the All Schools’ Cross-Country meet!

Although chilly, the sun, as well as the nervous energy, radiated throughout! We all had a really fun time being part of a wonderful event and there was nothing better than cheering on the team. We all tried mighty hard and did the school proud thanks to our energy, resilience and humility. A special thanks to the parents for being our number 1 cheer squad fans, helping with marshalling and pep-talks prior to running, and also for taking the time out of their busy working lives to show support! Mr Payne for organising us last week and Mrs Batten for ushering us through the day were notable supports. It was an all-round great day!

To top this all off, our Group 5 Girls division took out the Tasmanian Team title for their age! 

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NIJSSA Cross Country - Windsor Park 19.6.2024

The LPS Cross Country team did an outstanding job, especially the Group 3 who were attending their first Cross Country carnival. We all ran tirelessly, and the home stretches were great to see such and speedy athletes. Although not all of us, including myself, got the individual win, it was fun to watch and cheer for all our competitors from both our school and others.

 Robert Mackinnon - Cross Country Captain

Group 6 Leavers' Camp - Change of Date

Please note the previously advertised dates for the Leavers' camp at Camp Carnacoo, Paper Beach have changed from Tuesday 22nd - Friday 25th October 2024 to now being held Tuesday 15th - Friday 18th October 2024. Please note this camp commences on the 1st day of Term 4, so if planning appointments and holidays in advance, please take this into consideration.

Parents of The LPS

Susan McLean - Growing Up Online

Don't miss this opportunity to learn how to better support your child in the online enviroment. An educational and empowering session for parents and carers.  Susan's unparalleled knowledge leaves audiences shocked at the reality of the online world. It is a wake up call to even the most switched on parent and is delivered with Susan's famous 'no nonsense' approach.

Where: Riverside Primary School Gym, 7/11 Cleghorn Ave Riverside

When: Tuesday 2nd July 2024 - 7.00 - 8.30pm

This is a FREE, non-ticketed event, please register your interest by using the link below  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LGN3QRZ