The Launceston Preparatory School - Newsletter 8th August 2024

Have You Flipped your Lid ?

Have You Flipped Your Lid?

Recently, staff participated in two professional learning sessions with Bel Flint and Franny Stewart from Emerge, focusing on the idea that kids do well if they can, not if they want to. Bel and Franny explained that behaviour is a form of communication. So, when children in our care are emotionally dysregulated, our main role is to identify the obstacles they're facing and help them become regulated. 

One key take-away from these sessions is Dan Siegel's "Hand Model of the Brain" which is an analogy of how our brains work. Staff are all working towards using a simplified, age-appropriate model with children to support children's emotional regulation. The following video of Dan Siegel explaining his "Hand Model of the Brain" is only 2½ minutes and well worth the watch.

Below are some tips for supporting your child: 

• Identify escalation signs: Work with your child to recognise signs of escalation (e.g. red face, picking nails, clenched fists, hiding, crying, yelling, negative thoughts)
• Brainstorm de-escalation strategies: Discuss and practise calming techniques with your child when they are calm (e.g. breathing exercises, taking a break, exercising, journalling, colouring in)
• Stay calm and connected: When your child is dysregulated, asking them to "Look at me" or "Use your words" or "Why did you do that?" doesn't work because they don't have access to their thinking brain. Instead, it's important (but sometimes easier said than done) to stay calm yourself and offer support. A dysregulated child needs a regulated adult. Sometimes, this may mean tapping out and getting another adult to support.
• Name the Emotion: Help your child identify and name their emotions, which can aid in regulating them and bring their thinking brain back online.

We all flip our lids, and that's okay! The goal is to have the tools to regulate when needed. I hope you find these strategies helpful the next time your child flips their lid.

Miss Mel Andrews

** Please note, we are currently working with EMERGE to offer a parent workshop in the future. Spots will be limited, so keep on the lookout for our notice.

'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.  

Payment arrangements, entertainers' bios and more great information on the event to come in the next fortnight's newsletters. 

Meet the Staff - Mrs Harriet Thyne

This week, we introduce our Group 2/3 teacher, Mrs Harriet Thyne. Harriet is in her 25th year with us at The LPS and we all feel very blessed to have her as a highly valued member of staff and all our community. 

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.

Sneak peek into our week:

Monday - presentation in MPH (all parents welcome)

Throughout week - competitions and reading fun

Thursday - Dress up fun!

Early Learning - Transitions at School

Our Early Learners are constantly learning. They spend time transitioning between minor transitions at school like playtime to hand-washing and then sitting for morning tea or between other more substantial activities throughout the day like moving to Library sessions and Sport lessons. These transitions can be helpful in helping the children adjust and learn routines. The children do an exceptional job coping with such a variety of experiences both inside the classrooms and in other areas of the school. They are building connections with more staff within the school and are developing confidence with the process of change. Last week, the Early Learners were captivated by the performance of “Teddies and Bin” in the Multipurpose Hall and happily joined in with singing and movement as they celebrated “100 Days of School.”

Mrs Alice Batten

Prep/1 - World Travel on a Magic Carpet

Prep and Group 1 students are travelling the world using our imaginations on a magic carpet ride. We fly alongside our map of the world which is held aloft by seagulls.

So far, we have travelled to Finland to pick cranberries and blueberries in the forest then headed further north to sleep under the Northern Lights. The next journey was to London, England to sightsee with Mrs Cook tours. We even stood on the travelator which took us past the Crown Jewels. We have seen the opening of the Highland Games in Scotland where we competed in the caber toss and tug of war. Finally, we visited Venice, Italy for a ride on a Gondola. Such adventures inspire enthusiastic writing and delightful participation. I wonder where will we be flying to next?

Mrs Kellie Cook

Group 2/3 - Term 3 Highlights

The Group 2/3's have all made a wonderful start to the term and they are loving the thematic work we have been doing. 

Some highlights include:

• Building card castles - apart from being a lot of fun, this activity also helps our focus, fine motor skills and creativity.
• We were fortunate to have Liliana’s special family friend, Hubert Tuifua, visit us.  He came to speak to the 2/3's about his island home, Wallace Island.  Hubert told us that they learn French, Wallisian, and English.  He showed us some wonderful videos about the island as well as teaching us some traditional dances.   Thank you, Liliana for organising this.
• Our novel, Paper Planes, has continues to inspire a lot of our learning.  We love making and flying them.
• Cooking has also been a highlight, with delicious food being made and shared with everyone.  Thank you to those parents and grandparents who have already booked in, we ABSOLUTELY LOVE cooking with you.  Let Mrs Freeland know if you are keen to cook with us on a Friday – we’d love to see you.  We also appreciate the effort you are all making to get your Working With Vulnerable People cards – the turnaround time from applying to receiving these seems to be pretty fast at the moment. 
• We are enjoying PCYC each week and our skills are improving each week. 

Mrs Melissa Freeland

Philosophy Groups 2 and 3

There is a moment in Paper Planes when the central character, Dylan “realises this is one of those moments when he could lie or he could tell the truth. Everyone’s always saying you should tell the truth, but what if the truth makes someone feel bad? Should you tell the truth then?”

This led to a very thoughtful (and, at times, humorous) discussion of whether it is ever ok to lie and, if so, under what circumstances. We also considered how we know whether to tell the truth or lie. Some children were aware of the voices that sit on their shoulders, urging them one way or the other!

I then introduced students to a series of books by Jack Heath called Liars where a teenage boy has invented The Truth App, a mobile application that listens in on your conversations and can tell when someone’s lying. We discussed whether the world would be better or worse with such an app on everyone’s phone. There were mixed opinions!

 Mrs Leonie McNair

Parent Philosophy Immersive opportunity!

While Week 6 (August 26 -29) seems a mile away, giving you all plenty of notice is key to making this special opportunity accessible to all parents. We have many intricacies that will enable us to say, "we know your child," and that understanding speaks most prominently through our commitment to the Paideia Philosophy.

Our very own Socratic Seminar extraordinaire, Leonie McNair, will open the forum up in Week 6 for all parents to visit and observe just how these seminars play out in real-time.

Sessions are as follows:

Monday 

Mrs Thyne's home group 1:30 - 2:15pm

Mrs Freeland's home group 2:15 - 3:00pm

Tuesday

Seniors Z group 2:15- 3:00pm

Wednesday

Seniors X group 2:15 -3:00pm

Thursday 

Seniors Y group 2:15 - 3:00pm

Philosophy Groups 4-6

Groups 4 - 6

The central character in NIPS XI, our shared novel, is a boy whose parents were born in Vietnam. When Lan argues with his parents, he realises he has “gone too far” in terms of how Vietnamese children should treat their elders. We discussed how this is different from expectations in our families.

“Children should be seen and not heard” is a proverb dating back to the 1400s and was part of society until relatively recently. We shared our opinions of this adage then discussed what rights young people should have in expressing their points of view, and how they should go about expressing them.

Finally, we considered whether there are ever occasions when young people should not be allowed their opinion and why.

 Mrs Leonie McNair

French - Taking a virtual tour of Paris

In French, we ‘visit’ a new Paris icon each week. Of course, just like the Olympics, we had to start at the Eiffel Tower, but students are very much looking forward to learning about many more places. This week it will be the Arc de Triomphe. 

I am encouraging students to research some fun facts about all the places we visit, which could either be done before school or at home, and we are all learning a lot!

Ms Jane Dean

French Teacher

Music News

We are having a wonderful time in music so far this term. We are indeed the world of music, and we are learning about all the other worlds out there. Early Learning and Kindergarten students are working on a number of songs and dancers that require them to work and play with their classmates, helping to strengthen and reinforce social skills. 

Preps and 1's continue building our knowledge of the musical world by learning new language, new instruments, and new ways of communicating our musical knowledge and skills. After working hard on our xylophone skills last term, we look to build on these individual skills by playing with each other in ensemble settings, and expand our skills into percussion and stringed instruments.

Year 2 and Year 3 students are busy learning about different cultures through their music. So far we have visited Wales (Cymru) with the song Shoheen Sho, Iceland (Ísland) with Bí bí og blaka, and Jamaica with Solas Market. Using these songs as a basis we have enjoyed learning how to sing the songs and wrestle with some tricky new sounds and words.

Senior students have enjoyed getting acquainted with our brand new The LPS Taiko drum set. Most Year 5 and 6 students have experienced playing in a Taiko ensemble before and have some good skills and experience to share with our Year 4's as they learn how to play for the first time. We look forward to performing for our wider school community later in the year!

Mr Billy Green

Kitchen Table Studio - Children's Art School

In our newsletter last week appeared a flyer advertising Kitchen Table Studio, a local Children's Art School Unfortunately the QR code advertised is no longer available. I have been in contact with Susannah Coleman- Brown who has provided this alternate information should you be interested.

The link for more information about Susannah and her Art Studio can be found here: https://forms.gle/7askJcdUBisUbKN16

Susannah Coleman - Brown - phone 0487 538 117 

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.