The Launceston Preparatory School - Newsletter 1st August 2024

Why fostering Curiosity is SO Important!

Curiosity is the urge you feel to know more about something.

Curiosity is the innate desire to learn, explore, and understand the world around us. It's the driving force behind children's questions, their eagerness to touch, taste, and experiment, and their excitement when discovering something new. Encouraging this natural curiosity is crucial for their development, as it enhances their learning, critical thinking and creativity.

At The Launceston Preparatory School, we strive to create curious children with a love of learning that will continue throughout their lives. When children are curious, they are more engaged and motivated to explore new concepts and ideas. This leads to a deeper understanding and retention of what they are being taught. Encouraging curiosity helps children develop problem-solving skills and resilience. Also, curious children are more likely to become innovative thinkers and successful adults.

At The LPS, we believe that fostering curiosity is essential for every child's growth. Here are some ways we encourage curiosity in our students:

• In every single subject we create opportunities for students to ask questions and explore answers through hands-on activities. This approach helps them become active participants in their learning journey.
• We provide a rich variety of resources; we use books, games, musical instruments, science equipment and sporting equipment. We have wonderful playground spaces, play equipment and art materials. Our children have the opportunity to learn another language and we provide interactive digital tools, all to cater to different learning styles and interests.
• Our classrooms are designed to be stimulating environments that encourage exploration and experimentation.
• We celebrate inquisitiveness by acknowledging and discussing students' questions, fostering a culture where curiosity is valued.
• We make learning relevant by connecting classroom activities to real-world situations, helping students see the practical applications of their knowledge.

Parents also play a vital role in nurturing their children's curiosity. Here are some tips on how to foster curiosity at home:

• Surround your child with books, puzzles, art supplies, musical instruments and other materials that spark their interest and imagination.
• Be open to your child's questions and provide thoughtful answers. If you don't know the answer, explore it together.
• Show your child that you are curious too. Share your own interests and discoveries, and express excitement about learning new things.
• Provide opportunities for unstructured play, where your child can explore, create and experiment without specific goals or instructions.
• Take trips to museums, parks, and other places where your child can experience new things. Discuss what you see and learn together.
• Go driving. Encourage your child to look out the window, discuss what they see and look at road signs. Wonder aloud where you are, what things are and what they’re used for and wonder what might be around the next corner.

By fostering curiosity both at school and at home, we can help children develop a lifelong love of learning and a keen sense of wonder about the world.

Never stop being curious!

Mrs Harriet Thyne

Principal's Award - Hedley Archer

An ever ready, determined leader amongst our community, Hedley continues to embrace his experience at The LPS in 2024. He is caring and supportive whilst remaining humble in all of his endeavours.

He is patient, measured and engages his peers and adults alike with a thoughtful and calculated analysis. A thoroughly deserving recipient, please join me in congratulating Hedley. A wonderful achievement.

Mr Timothy Bristow

Principal 

'The End of Winter Fest'- Friday 30th August

We are excited to announce The Launceston Preparatory School 'The End of Winter Fest' event. This fun family evening will be held on Friday 30th August, 2024. Save this date with more information to follow in the coming weeks. 

Meet the Staff - Mrs Kellie Cook

We introduce the newest member of our teaching staff, the wonderfully creative Kellie Cook. We are so appreciative of what she offers all of us. Her wisdom, kindness and positive approach to life is simply contagious. We look forward to seeing her impact evolve this year and beyond.

Kindergarten

In Kindergarten this week, we have been learning all about Scotland. We have learnt what the Scottish flag looks like, we have made our own family tartans, and we have loved learning facts. Did you know there are castles in Scotland? Or that there's a monster living in Loch Ness? (yet to be confirmed). The highlight of this week has been a visit from Evie Beaton’s dad, Jamie, who was born in Scotland and now lives in Tasmania. 

 Ms Rebecca Howard

Prep/1 - Mathematics

This week in Mathematics, the Prep/1's are looking at ordinal numbers. Ordinal numbers are used to tell the position of objects placed in a particular order.

We have been discussing the Olympic Games and talking about the order of our amazing Australian team. We have played lots of games matching the numbers to their words, e.g. 8th to eighth. We have been ordering our own races with objects from the classroom and asking questions about their position and having fun timing some of our activities. Understanding ordinal numbers helps children develop higher order thinking. They are learning to think about objects in relation to one another and realising that the items have different values depending on their position or rank.

Great work P/1’s

Miss Nicole England 

Group 2/3 - English - Paper Planes

The Group 2/3 children are very much enjoying our class novel, Paper Planes, by Steve Worland. This is a story of a boy called Dylan who lives with his dad, Jack, in the outback of Western Australia.

This novel fits perfectly with our theme as Dylan discovers he has a talent for making paper planes and works his way up through the ranks from his school competition all the way to the World Junior Paper Plane Competition. He experiences many of the feelings we think the Olympians would be feeling right now in Paris.

The children are very excited to be hosting a paper plane competition for everyone in our school later in the term. More details will be revealed closer to the time, but we are looking forward to some fabulous child, parent and teacher contests.

Start practicing making those paper planes and trying to perfect one that flies fast, straight and true (just like Dylan's).

Mrs Harriet Thyne 

Philosophy

Groups 2 and 3

Mrs Thyne has introduced the new term’s novel, Paper Planes, and already the students are keenly involved in the story. The main character has a phone which “is not smart and must be at least fifteen years old, with a mono green screen the size of a postage stamp. It was his dad’s back at the dawn of mobile phones and Dylan is well aware it’s extremely daggy.” We discussed whether we would be content to have this phone or whether it would be better to have no phone at all. This led to a consideration of what age people should be allowed to have their own electronic devices and what restrictions, if any, should be put on their use. Finally, we discussed whether electronic devices are improving or harming our society. It was a most illuminating discussion!

Groups 4 - 6

In our shared novel, many of the central character’s thoughts and actions revolve around wanting to be the same as everyone else. We explored why he might feel this way then extended our thinking to consider the ways in which we like to be the same as others, the ways in which pressure is applied to us to be the same as others, and how we deal with this pressure.

Mrs Leonie McNair

The Messenger - Episode 2

Book Week 2024

Book Week is coming! We are all super excited to announce that the upcoming Book Week is only 3 weeks away!

The CBCA Book Week theme for 2024 is ‘Reading is Magic,’ and we have a wonderful sprinkle of magic in store for you at The LPS.

While an array of fun activities is set for the week, our official dress-up celebration is on Thursday, 22nd August. We trust the enriching reading experiences we offer across the school have given everyone a bucket load of inspiration for costumes. At The LPS, we love books, reading, and all things magical. So, be thoughtful about your choice of costume this year. Get behind the spirit of books and choose your favourite character, rather than using this as an opportunity for free-dress or wearing your footy team colours.

We look forward to seeing all of your wonderful creations and magical concoctions soon.

Bass Fundraiser - Thursday 8.8.2024

Next Thursday, August 8th, Bass will be conducting their fundraiser, raising money for MND. Students are encouraged to dress up in blue and white and bring a gold coin donation.  Some of the Bass Leavers, as well as Mr Bristow, are going to participate in an ice-bucket challenge.

Wanted - Wool Donations

Does anyone have any yarns of wool that you would like to donate for various craft projects that we have planned for the students in Term 3? Any thickness or coloured wool would be greatly appreciated. Donations can be left in the school office. 

Scholastic Book Club

Issue 5 Scholastic Book Club booklets will be sent home this week. Please ensure all orders are returned to school with the payment by WEDNESDAY 7th AUGUST 2024. Alternatively you are able to process an online LOOP order directly with Scholastic. Please refer to the catalogue for more details. 

Super Silly Us Circus

Accidents do happen...

We understand that during the school day sometimes accidents happen. If your child arrives home with a replacement uniform item due to an accident for which they had to get changed, could you please launder and return the items to school as soon as possible? If you have uniform items that you still need to return, or those you no longer require and would like to donate them to these 'accident items', please feel free to send them in with your child.

Kitchen Table Studio - Children's Art School

The link to the booking form is here: https://forms.gle/7askJcdUBisUbKN16

My phone: 0487 538 117 - Susannah Coleman-Brown

Instagram: @kitchentableartschool 

Please note

Please note that any notices we include in this newsletter for providers of activities that occur outside of the school, are provided only for the interest of families and do not carry any endorsement by the school.