The Launceston Preparatory School Newsletter, 5th September

From the Principal - What is leadership?

Leadership is not just about holding a position of authority; it’s about inspiring and guiding others towards a common goal. Great leaders have the ability to empower people, create a vision, and drive change. Leadership is about serving others and being a beacon of strength and positivity during both challenging and prosperous times. We hope that all of our students will develop their own sense of leadership during their journey through The LPS. Now, coming in 2025, we would like to announce we have a timetabled experience to add to this. But first, let us indulge a little...

At The LPS, leadership is something we all embrace—whether as parents, students, or staff. The actions we model, aligned with our school values of Positivity, Strength, and Community, play a crucial role in guiding the behaviours of those around us while also fueling our own pursuit of fulfilment each day. The three leaders captured in the image above embody the spirit of our school. Together, they have nearly a century of experience in connecting with the community, celebrating the strength found in our school's bonds, and exuding positivity in all their endeavours. Their impact on all personally will resonate for years to come, as parent, colleague, and person in general.

A powerful perspective on leadership comes from Mahatma Gandhi, who stated, "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." This quote highlights the selfless nature of leadership we all possess at The LPS. It emphasises that our community is not, and will never be, about self-glorification but about dedicating oneself to the betterment of others. In this sense, leadership is about service, humility, and the relentless pursuit of a greater good. Our school continues to exemplify this in all facets.

Parents of The LPS demonstrated this powerfully on Friday night at the End of Winter Fest, and also by matching our student fundraisers and continuously serving our community without ever seeking recognition. Our students should find inspiration everywhere they look in our school community, encouraging them to behave similarly. We wish to personally thank those who serve this group—what invaluable people you are.

Together, while promoting our Paideia philosophy on education, we can make innovative changes for the world around us through the ingenuity of our most precious voice—our students. Now that is inspiring.

As such, you may well be wondering how one learns, hones, and practices this. We are super excited to introduce our latest initiative to continue to grow our young people into the leaders of tomorrow that they deserve to be. We give you: Legacy, 2025! Our Leavers of next year (current Group 5) will be immersed in something quite special—a leadership development program like no other. It all starts with the simple question: What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail? These keen students are currently tasked with creating a 'leadership proposition' for their 'Legacy, 2025' application, trying to answer this precisely.

One of the most famous quotes about leadership comes from John Quincy Adams, who said, "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader." This quote encapsulates the essence of leadership as an influence that extends beyond mere directives. True leaders inspire growth and development in others, helping them reach their full potential. And we have 18 Group 5 leaders ready to unleash their potential in 2025!

I wonder what you'd do if you knew you couldn't fail? 

In Truth and Happiness,

Mr Timothy Bristow

The LPS at the Inter-School Chess Competition

On Monday the 2nd of September, The LPS Chess Club travelled up to a dark and cold Punchbowl Primary School Hall to pit their best moves and tactics against players from 9 other primary schools from the Tamar Valley region. The power supply to the venue was cut due to the storms the night prior, but that didn’t stop the Black Square Chess crew working hard to ensure that the approximately 100 students could still compete. 

With spirits bright and tactics sharp, our inaugural chess tournament team represented their school with pride and played nearly every version of chess possible. Each student played 7 matches, with each win earning them a point. Progressing through the tournament, matches were based on their score, so the later rounds resulted in a number of evenly matched, tightly played games. Our players showed great sportsmanship in both victory, defeat, and tie. 

Well done to all of our Chess Tournament team: 

Ryan Bonny, Jude Brennan, Archie Byrne, Flynn Eilander, Jack Gray, Henry Hannay, Henry Holloway, and Xavier Perry.

You are awesome! 

Mr Billy Green

Principal's Award - Josh Golds-Young

When it comes to thoughtfulness, Josh Golds-Young leads the way. He consistently shines when given responsibility in his learning, on the playground, and in leading his peers.

Josh has demonstrated that possessing a growth mindset is essential not only for navigating school life but also for making the goals you set for yourself achievable.

In leading his peers, both older and younger, he has consistently fostered a safe learning environment for all.

A well-deserving recipient for the month of August—congratulations, Josh!

Daddy Drop-off Day!

To all of our dads, grandads or special males in the lives of the students, this is for you!

To thank you for the contributions you make we have a special morning drop off treat. So, be sure to drop in the gate for few moments before heading onto work. 

Where: Olive Street gate

When: Friday morning

Time: 8:00am - 8:40

What: Breaky treat, photo and fun!

Thank you, TAs of the 2/3 Team

                 Thank you to our wonderful TAs from the Group 2/3s

This week is Teacher Aide appreciation week, and the group 2/3 children certainly do appreciate the teacher aides that work tirelessly with them.

We thank Mrs Eastman, Mrs Sabhabiriss, Mrs Edmunds and Mrs Pickett for all the help they give both the teachers and the students. Not only do they help with resources for our lessons but they work alongside us and use their special skills to help us learn.

We love our teachers aides and want them to know just how special they are to us.

Mrs Harriet Thyne

Our TA Team

The Messenger

See what's news at The LPS, through the eyes of our students.

Teacher Aide Appreciation

This week, we celebrate the work, effort, and energy that our teacher aides contribute to the classroom. At The LPS, our students interact with all the teacher aides across the school: Angie Dei, Kellie Crosby, Paige Gilbert, Manor McGuire, Suzie Pickett, Lisa Eastman, Seema Sadhabiriss, and Tam Goss-Edmunds. We are fortunate to have such a creative team dedicated to student well-being and educational goals.

In Prep, we have Mrs. Manor McGuire in the classroom, sharing the fun every day. Mrs. McGuire’s special skills in the garden have significantly supported student learning in Science, helping us prepare a lovely present for Father’s Day. Mrs. McGuire cares for our students in many ways, and we appreciate all you do, Mrs. McGuire.

In Prep Art, we have Mrs. Suzie Pickett. Mrs. Pickett takes small groups for intensive art practices such as gilding, pottery, and sewing. We appreciate your dedication to our students, Mrs. Pickett.

For our literacy support, Mrs. Tam Goss-Edmunds leads a team of volunteers who support the literacy goals of our Group 1 students. What success they have under your tutelage, Mrs. Edmunds!

Student lives are enriched by the loving care provided by our teacher aides every day. Thank you, all.

Mrs Kellie Cook and Miss Nicole England

Our TA team

The Parents of The LPS

Dear Parents & Carers,

What a blast we all had at the End of Winter Fest! Thanks so much for everyone’s enthusiasm for our BBQ, such lovely manners and hungry tummies were our pleasure to feed. 

We very kindly had half (11kg) of our sausages donated by Swift Meats butcher, and managed to scoff the whole 22kg amongst us, what an effort. 

The Parents of the LPS have been busy so far this term, utilising the funds we raised with our JJ’s Bake Sale by matching donations for the MND Freeze Fundraiser ($439.90) and doubling it to $878.80, and then putting on the dinner for End of Winter Fest. 

This term, we will be launching a Tea Towel Fundraiser, bringing back an old idea with a new spin. 

We have our AGM coming up this month, where we chat about the how and when’s of what we can do to perpetuate the parties (the welcome to and end of year celebrations) and how we can make it accessible for us as Parents & Carers to support this easily and readily. 

Details in this newsletter - we’d love to see you (online!). 

Best 

Amelia Padgett 

(Margaux Blackman’s Mum) 

Parents of The LPS - Notice of AGM

Date: Tuesday 10 September 2024

Time: 7:30pm

Location: Online, via Teams. Link below and posted in the Parents of The LPS messenger group.

At the meeting, members of the school community will have the opportunity to:

• Discuss events and fundraisers held over the previous year.
• Discuss future event and fundraising opportunities.
• Raise suggestions of resources that could be helpful to the school.
• Ask any questions of the operations and finances of the Parents of The LPS group.
• Raise any other matters that should be considered during the AGM.
• Vote on any resolutions proposed.

AGM Teams link:

A heartfelt thank you to the parents of The LPS for matching the $439.90 raised by our students for Bass’s Fight MND Term 3 Fundraiser. Your generosity and support are truly inspiring, and together, we've made a meaningful contribution to this important cause. Thank you for your kindness and community spirit!

To top it off, The Parents of The LPS have also donated $200 to Tassie Mums, to further support the warm clothing drive Ossa led in Term 2. Truly amazing! 

Philosophy 2-3

In Paper Planes, the character Kimi explains to Dylan how “The blue whale moves through the water with great speed, despite how big it is” … “because there are small dimples all along its body that mean it creates almost no friction when it swims.” She says her “father always says we should look to the natural world for answers to life’s challenges”.

As we discussed what “life’s challenges” might be, I wrote the students’ suggestions on cards. They then paired up to come up with an example from the natural world that demonstrated how creatures in the animal world might meet each challenge. It was a difficult but really thought-provoking task!

Mrs Leonie McNair

Philosophy - Seniors

In NIPS XI one of our many multi-cultural characters explains why he moved his family from Hong Kong to Australia and explains how it “… is good for them to assimilate.”

We discussed what this meant and whether we agreed with Mr Ho. We then explored the really difficult issue of how migrants can stay aware of their ethnic background but also assimilate into their new society. An important aspect of our session was discussing how assimilation has affected our indigenous people. Finally, the students were asked to imagine that their families moved to a non-English-speaking country and we considered what we might enjoy about that and what customs we would miss and not be prepared to give up.

Empathy is a very important quality that Philosophy helps to develop in our students and this session certainly asked students to draw on their empathy for others!

Mrs Leonie McNair

E/L and Kinder Celebrate Father's Day

Last Thursday, The LPS Kinder and Early Learning hosted a Father's Day Breakfast to celebrate the importance of all the fathers, grandfathers and special male friends in the lives of our students.

The sun was shining, and it was a wonderful opportunity to come together, sing and enjoy some baked goods and a coffee before beginning our regular Thursday activities.

We hope all the fathers had a happy day on Sunday!

Mrs Alice Batten

Early Learning Father's Day Gathering

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