Lower Plenty Primary School

News

The Veggie Garden is Back.December 2011.
The students are happy now that the veggie garden has been restored after being left neglected whilst on the building site. The various produce is really thriving with all the recent rain. Thank you to parents Lyn, Liz and Fiona for their terrific hard work cleaning up and re-replanting the area.

Instrumental Music Performances. December 2011.
Instrumental teacher Christian and his guitarists and drummers performed well at the final Monday morning assembly yesterday. Luca, Nick, Guy, Brad, Darcy and Caitlin performed on the guitar and Nicola and Jackson played drums. Guy and Nick also received certificates for their guitar studies. Emma topped of the show with some beautiful singing and keyboard playing. Well done on learning your instruments so well everyone!

2011 Community Award Winner. December 2011.
Congratulations to Year 6 student Cameron for winning the Steve Herbert Community Award this year. Cameron has been a fine and willing helper around the school all year and also helped raise a significant amount of money for charity through the Worlds Greatest Shave by having his head shaved earlier in the year.

Hands up those who enjoyed Free Fruit Friday this year!December 2011
Yum Yum!

Congratulations 2011 Premier’s Reading Challenge Award Winners!December 2011
Keep on reading everybody!

Chess Teams Tournament.December 2011
Lower Plenty performed remarkably well in the final chess tournament of the year last week at Kangaroo Ground. This was a team event played under a different format than usual. Lower Plenty finished in equal second place out of five schools and only missed out on the cup by one game. Congratulations to Kangaroo Ground PS for their victory. Many of our students excelled on the day and won a medal. Well done coach Bill and the team!

Prep Celebration.December 2011.
Last Wednesday we celebrated the 2011 Preps completing their first year of Primary School. The students were introduced to the parents with a short biography. They also sang songs and talked about what they wanted to be when they grow up. There were some very entertaining examples! I’m sure the slide presentation brought some tears to parent’s eyes. Well done Ms Bass and Ms Troost on preparing a most enjoyable and memorable evening.

Year 3/4 Rumbug Camp in Foster.December 2011.
Our Year 3/4 students had a wonderful time in the bush last week in Foster. Despite some early rain they managed to participate in all the set activities with enthusiasm including canoeing, giant swinging and a very wet ropes course.

Official Opening Ceremony of the New Building.November 2011.
It was an exciting day for Lower Plenty PS last Friday when the new BER building was officially opened by local Federal Member of Parliament Jenny Macklin. Local State Member Steve Herbert also spoke along with School Council president Andrew Telburn and School Captains Lauren and Brodie. Thank you to everyone who attended and to the PFA and parents who brought along items for the displays, the lovely afternoon tea. The students were certainly quiet and attentive right throughout and were duly rewarded with icy poles at the end. I must say the school looked wonderful on the day and we hope everyone enjoyed the occasion. Well done Lower Plenty!

Prep BBQ and Information Night.November 2011
The fine spirit of our school was on show recently as our current Prep families hosted the 2012 Prep families to a lovely BBQ. The new families also attended a valuable information session afterwards. This event completed the Prep transition program and we look forward to seeing all our new Preps for their first day on February 2nd.

Opening Ceremony of New Building.November, 2011
Lower Plenty PS. Official Opening Ceremony. BER - Rural Replacement School Building. Friday, November 25th. 2.30pm

2012 Preps – Mini Master Chefs! November 2011
Our new Preps enjoyed cooking yummy gingerbread men with their new buddies last week. They also had lunch with their big buddies on the turf and enjoyed a song or two.

Biodiversity Program.October 2011.
Banyule Council Biodiversity Education Officer Belinda Moody visited last week and presented an interesting talk on biodiversity in the Banyule area. She also worked outside with all the students as they planted over two hundred new indigenous plants in the new building garden areas and at the front of the school. We hope the planting will beautify the school as well as provide food and shelter for native birds. Belinda will return in 2012 and hopefully find the new plants thriving.

2012 Enrolments Still Being Taken.October 2011
Considering Lower Plenty PS for your child in 2012? We are still taking enrolments but request families do so as soon as possible. Thank you.

Our 2012 Preps First Visit.October 2011
The Prep Transition Program is an important introduction to Primary School for both students and parents. Here are our 2012 Preps at their first transition day last Friday. The excited youngsters met their teachers Mrs Bass and Mrs Saliba and enjoyed some stories and songs and a fun craft activity. Their parents meanwhile enjoyed a coffee and chat in the new staffroom. This year’s group contains many siblings of current students and were already familiar with the school environment and staff. They will all be returning again soon for their second session.

The Shared Space.October 2011
Another aspect of the large \'Shared Space\' available to all students.

Happy Students Enjoying the New Space.October 2011
Here is a group of our older students working in the shared space between their classrooms. The new environment has opened up a whole new world of teaching and learning options.

Our First Time in the New Classroom.September 2011
Here are the 3/4 class in their new room with teacher Mr Hewat discussing the new learning environment.

Yay - Footy Day!September 2011
Our annual Footy Day is always a fun occasion. Students enjoyed the supporter parade, activities on the oval and in classrooms and a yummy PFA sausage sizzle.

We're In!22 September 2011
We are so excited to be in our brand new school! After almost 18 months of demolition and building we finally moved into our brand new learning and administrative spaces this week. Here we see our oldest and youngest student leading everybody in for the first time. The teachers and students are loving it and are pleasantly surprised by the quiet and calm ambience of the building. Anyone wishing to tour the new facilities, please call Principal Mark Turnbull and you will be most welcome.

Montmorency District Athletics Carnival.September 2011
Another great performance was achieved by our Athletics team at the Districts last week. Whilst we were up against some much bigger schools, it didn’t deter our students from competing with enthusiasm, determination and to the best of their ability as always. This included some students who filled in admirably at the last minute. Several of our students progressed to the Divisional stage and there were some magnificent individual achievements. It was also terrific to see many parents cheering on the team as well.

Amazing Danny Magic Show. September 2011
The Preps and Year 1&2 students enjoyed a magical performance from The Amazing Danny last week. How did he do those astounding tricks? The fun and entertaining performance was also attended by parents as well as local kindergarten children, teachers and parents, including some of our 2012 Preps. Thank you to Mrs Bass and our Community Liaison Committee for organising this wonderful event.

Scienceworks Excursion.September 2011
The whole school had a fun and educational excursion to Scienceworks last week. Each group visited the planetarium as well as the various age related exhibitions. Thank you to the parents who attended and assisted on the day.

5/6 World Landmark Construction Project.September 2011
Year 5/6 recently constructed a chosen famous world landmark out of recycled home products. Some of the cleverly built landmarks included the Pyramids, Eiffel Tower, Berlin Wall, Great Wall of China, Venice, The Taj Mahal, Sydney Opera House, Amazon Jungle, Great Barrier Reef and the World Trade Centre. The students were also impressive in the way they acquired much knowledge and facts about the various places.

Father’s Day Stall.September 2011
Thank you to the Parents and Friends Association for another wonderful stall and raffle.

Eltham Wildcats Basketball Clinics.September 2011
Gaye, our visitor from the Eltham Wildcats Basketball Club, took all students through enjoyable skills sessions over the past two weeks.

Adam Wallace Author/Illustrator. August 2011
Yesterday we were visited by well renowned author/illustrator Adam Wallace who conducted drawing workshops with all grades. The students were taken through a step-by-step drawing process to produce their own cartoon characters. Adam’s How to Draw series is a collection of 10 books. Each one teaches children (or adults) how to draw a cartoon animal. The fun bit is that the instructions are a rhyming story! So UFOs become dogs, roosters become rabbits, bottoms become cats and more! You can see Adam’s entire book collection at: www.adam-wallace-books.com

Annual Teddy Bear Night. August 2011
One of our School Values is ‘Fun’, and last week’s annual Teddy Bear Night certainly carried on this traditional heap of good fun. The large and enthusiastic audience of pyjama clad P-2 youngsters were treated to stories, songs and an art craft activity before tucking into a warm hot chocolate and a delicious icing covered teddy bear biscuit. Mr Kendall’s dramatic and funny adaption of The Three Bears even involved the School Council and PFA President, Principal and a parent playing the main parts. (The acting was a little suspect however.) It was great to see several kinder age children getting into the spirit of the night, including some of our 2012 Preps. A big thank you to Mrs Rutherford for organising the night, and especially for making the yummy biscuits.

Steve Herbert – Principal for a Day.August 2011
Last Tuesday we hosted Local State Member for Eltham Mr Steve Herbert as our ‘Principal for a Day’. Among the activities Steve involved himself in were meeting with the student leaders, staff and PFA, visiting classrooms speaking to students and touring the new building. Steve enjoyed the experience and fully immersed himself in the day. Steve was particular impressed with our student’s demeanour and manners and the way they made him feel so welcome.

Budding Sports Star James.August, 2011
The students really got into the spirit of Coach Approach Day.

Coach Approach DayAugust, 2011
It was a wonderful day recently for our annual Coach Approach event. The weather was a balmy 21c as the students really got into the swing of things and enjoyed four varied activities. Baseball, Hip Hop Dance, Taekwondo and Netball were presented by four talented and well qualified athletes. It was a great opportunity for students to experience Hip Hop and Taekwondo in particular and they really enjoyed these diverse activities. It was also great to be able to utilise the drier oval again in such warm sunshine following a slushy winter period. The coaches were highly complementary of our student’s attitude and enthusiasm. Well done girls and boys!

Prep/1 Walking Right In.August, 2011
Our wonderful Prep/1 class perfom \'Walk Right In\' with Mrs Bass at assembly recently.

Year 5/6 Rock Band Project.August, 2011
Mr Kendall’s grade has been rockin’ lately as the students have been busy forming their own rock bands. Groups of students have invented their band’s name, image, songs and even worked on a marketing strategy. Here we see Leila and Stefani with their wonderful ‘Da Bomz’ T Shirts and Erin and Eloise and their impressive ‘Strand of Linton’ promotional poster.

OSHC Program Registration.August, 2011
The Out of School Hours program is again being operated by the School Council but with assistance from OSHClub. A reminder to families who use the program that you now need to register online with OSHClub to continue using the service. Please call the company if you are experiencing any difficulty with registration. There is an information sheet in the forms and documents link on this site.

The Circus Comes to Town! July 19
Students and parents were treated to an exhilarating preview performance from members of Circus Olympia during the final assembly last term. Danik and Sapar bedazzled everyone with their balancing and juggling tricks, while Isabella displayed exciting talent for such a young girl. Circus Olympia were performing shows in Greensborough recently and provided an entertaining end to the term.

Rounders District Premiers.July 19
Congratulations to the LPPS Rounders team who won the Montmorency District Grand Final. The game was a very competitive one against Montmorency PS. The victorious team members were Eloise, Julia, Hannah, Kate, Nicholas, Annabelle, Sally, Catriona, Lauren and Brodie. Coach and new dad Mr Hewat is very proud and thank you to Mr Wall for coaching the team on the day. It has been some time since Lower Plenty won two Premierships in the one year.

Enrol Now.June 2011
We are encouraging families to enrol their 2012 Preps as soon as possible. This will ensure they do not miss out on any of our upcoming special events and transition activities. It also assists with our forward planning.

It’s a Boy!27 June 2011
Congratulations Matt and Debbie Hewat on the birth of their beautiful baby boy Lachlan Thomas. Born Monday, June 27 at the Mercy in Heidelberg.

Bush Dance Night.6 June 2011
What a fun night was had at the Billy Tea Bush Band Dance last Wednesday night. It was marvellous to see so many families attend and really get into the spirit of the event. Mick and Phil had young and older quickly on their feet and dancing to their lively tunes. Thanks to the PFA who provided refreshments, door prozes and raffles. We hope everyone enjoyed the night and we look forward to another one in the future.

Thanks PFA and Families of LPPS!6 June 2011
A shade canopy was recently installed over the main payground. The funding was kindly provided through fundraising organised by the Parents and Friends Association.

2011 House Cross Country26 May 2011
Congratulations to Rosehill (Red) House for their victory at the House Cross Country recently. The students really got into the spirit of the event and it was great to see so many students dressing in their colours and completing the course. Many parents attended and the PFA provided a yummy BBQ to add to the day. Well done to Mr Kendall for organising this traditional event.

Farewell to Ed.26 May 2011
Assisting Lower Plenty Primary School students cross Main Road on their way to and from school has been Ed Morris’ responsibility for the past 25 years. Recently retired after a total of 31 years as a school crossing supervisor, Ed herself became a local identity to thousands of children and still remembers most of their names and birthdays. Ed has been an invaluable member of our community and has made true and long lasting friendships with all our children and families who used the crossing. The friendly early morning conversations will be missed but we know Ed will be enjoying her well-deserved retirement and we thank her for the dedication to Lower Plenty Primary School. As a tribute to Ed, the entire school went down to the crossing during her final shift and said goodbye and cheered her off. She was also presented with flowers, gifts and a card signed by staff and students.

Information Night and Open Day6 May 2011
Like to know more about the school and/or see it in action? All interested families are welcome to come to our Information Night on Monday, May 16 at 7pm. An overview of the school and its programs and information on the exciting new facilities will be presented and questions answered. There will be refreshments and handouts. This night is suitable for parents of 2012 Preps and other year levels. The following Wednesday, May 18 is our Open Day where everyone is welcome to visit and see the school in operation. See you there!

Cricket Premiers 2011!3 May 2011
Congratulations to our cricket team who won the District Premiership. The boys defeated Holy Trinity PS by one run after coming from well behind. It was the schools first cricket premiership since 2003. What was so extraordinary was the fact that the team comprised of Year 4 and 5 students only, whereas their opponents were all Year 6 and hot favourites. Well done to coach Wayde Kendall and the team on an outstanding achievement. Meanwhile, the volleyball team were defeated in the final by St. Francis in a very close match. The girls were disappointed after going through the season undefeated but St Francis rose to the occasion very well. It was volleyball’s fourth grand final in a row. Thank you to all the parents who supported both teams on the day and throughout the season.

Lower Plenty Primary School Ranked No. 2 in Melbourne!3 May 2011
The Better Education website at www.bettereducation.com.au has listed our school as the second top government primary school in Melbourne for 2010 and one of the top schools overall in Victoria. (Better Education is a free online community for students, parents, teachers, schools, tutors, music teachers, coaches and anybody else involved in learning and teaching. Better Education provides informative and comparative school results, including school rankings or ratings, and lists of best performing schools, to parents wanting to make choices about schooling for their children.) The rankings have been based on 2010 NAPLAN results and school socio-economic profiles. Whilst bearing in mind this result is from an independent site not officially endorsed by the Department of Education, it is another reflection of the fine achievement by our students and staff.

BER Building Progress3 May 2011
The building project is really taking shape, with much of the plastering and painting underway or completed. Much of the scafolding has been removed and lighting and many fixed items have been installed.

Another Successful Car Boot Sale and an Extended Term BreakSunday 3rd April
It has certainly been a busy Term 1 at Lower Plenty. We have packed a lot in our first ten weeks. And it was all topped off on Sunday with the annual Car Boot Sale. President Leanne McLaughlan and the Parents and Friends Association provided another magnificent event. With well over 100 cars and hundreds of people attending, the event raised a significant amount of funds for the school. The morning began with some excitement as a large hot air balloon made its way down to land in the middle of the oval, just as all the stall holders were driving into the grounds or setting up their stalls. What a stroke of genius it was from our marketing committee to draw such attention to the event! The weather was cool but fine as parents, teachers and members of the community worked hard throughout the day, manning stalls, providing food and refreshments and lending a hand where they could. The Principal hopes his band were not too loud! Thank you especially to Leanne and all the parents, staff and helpers on the day and to those who donated items. The day again showed what a small school can achieve when everyone pulls together.
Next term we will begin planning for our exciting move into the new building. We wish everybody a relaxing and happy holiday and Easter period. Remember we have an extended break this year, due to Easter Monday and Anzac Day on the 25th and 26th of April, and we return to school on Wednesday, April 27th.

Chess Tournament in Kangaroo Ground.1 April 2011
We entered a large team for the Northstar Chess Tournament this week. Many medals were won, including the top girl, and two students qualified for the State Championships later in the year. Well done to coach Bill and the team.

Banyule Festival Parade1 April 2011
More happy marchers.

LPPS at the Banyule Festival – Children’s ArtyFarty Parade.1 April 2011
What a colourful sight it was on Sunday as our students proudly paraded down Burgundy St. Heidelberg to the applause of the locals. The Patterned Faces they made in Art looked spectacular, as did their matching costumes. The school spirit was evident as the group chanted “Lower Plenty! Lower Plenty” all the way down the street and waved to the appreciative crowd. A big thank you to Mrs Hall and Lyn Lohrey for the preparation and banners, and to all the parents and staff who got up extra early Sunday morning to prepare the costumes and help out on the day. It was a wonderful experience for our students and seeing the smiles on the children’s faces throughout the morning made it all seem worthwhile. As usual, the LPPS students representing our school made us all feel proud.

Tasmania Tour 2011.21 March 2011
Wow! What an action packed three days we spent in Tassie last week. The twenty two year 5/6 students experienced a primary school ‘camp’ with a difference - by sea on the Spirit of Tasmania, bussed from Devonport to Launceston to Hobart to the Tasman Peninsula and home by air. And all the sights in between – phew! There was the Marakoopa Caves at Mole Creek, spectacular Cataract Gorge in Launceston, through the historic midland towns of Ross and Oatlands, into Hobart and the yummy Cadbury Chocolate Factory, Constitution Dock and Salamanca Place. Then it was onto historic Port Arthur and the spectacular coastline features. Zoo Doo and its animals was a scream and the old bridge and lolly shop at Richmond topped off proceedings. The students had a ball and were exceptionally well behaved and extremely motivated. They supported each other and were a delight to be with. The trip was certainly unique for students of that age and they really made the most of all that was on offer. I’m sure they’ll always remember David the bus driver and his ‘deal’ and the ‘wedding’ in the old church. I would like to thank Mr Kendall for his organisation. His great sense of fun also ensured there was never a dull moment. Thank you also to parents Leanne McLaughlan, Jacqui Howe and Kristine Marshall for giving their time and for their stoic assistance throughout the week. I’m sure parents have heard all the stories over the last few days. There are more photos in the blog link to the left.

Jim’s School Values Presentation.9 March 2011
Jim Asimakopoulos, a cerebral palsy sufferer and friend of Lower Plenty PS., presented his School Values talk yesterday to Years 4-6. Jim enthusiastically spoke about our LPPS Values of CARE, HONESTY, ACHIEVMENT, RESPECT, RESPONSIBILITY and FUN and gave our students insights on how they can practically reflect these. Jim is also very excited about helping coach our footy team this year. Thank you Jim!

Crazy Hair Day and World’s Greatest Shave.9 March 2011
$150 was raised by our families for the Leukaemia Foundation last Friday. Thank you to the PFA for organising this event, and especially Brodie, Cameron and Brad who were shorn on the day! Don’t worry boys, it will soon grow back for winter!

My School Website Learning Data - Congratulations Lower Plenty PS!9 March 2011
When viewing scores for both Year 3 and 5, it was difficult to find another Victorian school whose overall 2010 NAPLAN results were higher than ours. It would appear that the Lower Plenty results were in the top echelon of schools in 2010. This is not just a ‘flash in the pan’ result for our school, as we have been performing at a high level for several years. We noted too that small schools seemed to perform particularly well overall. Lower Plenty Primary School featured in a newspaper list of the Top 5 schools in Victoria based on 2010 Year 5 NAPLAN results. We were listed as equal fourth in the state for Grammar and Punctuation. A fine achievement by our now group of Year 6. Congratulations to the Year 4 and 6 students of Lower Plenty for achieving such fine results in 2010! Well done also to their teachers and parents for providing them with the support and assistance that enabled them to achieve so highly.

Mathletics Has Returned!2 March 2011
Mathletics has returned to LPPS in 2011. This is an interactive, competition based, online maths program that students really enjoy. Access can be at school and home and students have fun competing against other students throughout Australia, and even overseas, in various maths challenges. Students have received their Mathletics log in passwords and I encourage students to access the program from home to supplement their school activities. There is no cost to parents.

Auskick is Starting at Lower Plenty PS! 2 March 2011
On Fridays after school on the oval. Sign up night is Friday, April 1st. First session is Friday, April 8. Call Grant on 0425548147 for more information.

BER Building Update.22 Feb 2011
I was fortunate to be shown through our new building last Friday by site manager Kevin. Most of the roof had just been installed that morning. What struck me was the abundant space. After spending the past 10 months in cramped conditions, the huge areas we will be moving into will be amazing. It was hard to believe that what I walked around in will be available to our students and staff in 4-5 months. Kevin reported to me that the project is well on track to be completed mid-year. Mark Turnbull - Principal

Flood Relief Appeal.22 Feb 2011
Thank you to the families who contributed to the Flood Relief on casual dress day last Thursday. LPPS raised $123 for this worthy cause. A cheque was sent to the SchoolAid Flood Relief Appeal.

New Computers.9 Feb 2011
We recently purchased 24 new desktops and 6 notebooks which are up and running after our techie Evan set them up in the holidays. The library is currently housing the new desktops which are mainly to be shared between the 3/4 and 5/6 classes. The other two classes will also be timetabled to use them. The Year 2/3 class has access to the 6 notebooks and the P/1 has access in their room to several of the better ‘old’ black desktops previously in the library. This will result in 42 student computers across the school at a computer:student: ratio of almost 1:2 with further units to be purchased down track. The redundant grey computers are being collected by a recycling company.

New Building Update.8 February 2011
The BER Project contractors returned in early January and have been on a roll ever since. There has been excellent progress made on the frame and walkways and the building is really starting to take shape. You can clearly see the lay out of the rooms and spaces now. The envisaged move-in is July-August this year. Parents are welcome to view the plans and colour schemes in the office.

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