Jacqui is currently away for a few days, so I am stepping in to provide a report on her behalf.
We had a very busy end to semester 1, and have hit the ground running this semester.
After a whole semester of fantastic preparation work, our school put on an outstanding “The Wizard of Oz” musical. I know Jacqui laughed, sang, clapped and smiled all the way through it – and I’m sure that everyone else in the audience did too. I would like to congratulate all the students and staff involved – whether in live production, the band, lead roles or providing dance/chorus.
To conclude semester 1, we also held award ceremonies that recognised the achievement of our students who showed Excellence, Academic Achievement, Diligence and Dedication, Significant Improvement or Personal Achievement in their work. Principal Awards were also presented to students who demonstrated outstanding academic excellence in all their classes (“straight A”). I congratulate all award winners, and thank the staff.
In week 1, a small group of our year 10 LEAP students attended the ACT Schools Moot Trial Competition at Canberra College. With passion, determination, and remarkable courtroom skills, our aspiring lawyers immersed themselves in the complexities of fictional legal scenarios ranging from art theft to self defence. The competition provided an exceptional platform for students to showcase their critical thinking and advocacy skills, and we are proud to announce that our students secured an impressive second-place finish!
Our year 10 families are starting to receive emails from our year 10 team about college transition activities. Affected families should keep an eye out for these emails, and ensure their students fully engage with the opportunities they present. Tonight, in conjunction with our P&C, we have invited Dickson College to deliver a presentation on College transition to Lyneham and Campbell High year 9 and 10 parents/students.
And finally, as we are starting to get a (premature!) glimpse of spring, scores of our students this week are on their Outdoor Education Snow Trip. I hope they thoroughly enjoy themselves!
Regards,
Emily Tutin
Deputy Principal
Respect for local residents
The Pines Complex
Several of our local residents from The Pines townhouse complex have been back in contact regarding inappropriate behaviour of a small number of our students who continue to walk through their private property on the way to and from the Dickson tram stop. If your young person walks in this direction, I would appreciate you having a conversation with them about respecting our local community and being upstanding citizens. We ask that students continue walking on Murdoch Street to get to Northbourne Avenue, and do not enter The Pines townhouse complex. We will continue to have these conversations with students at school.
P&C News
Dickson College Information
The P&C is partnering with Lyneham High School, Dickson College and Campbell High School to help support the transition of our students into College. As part of this, we are hosting an information session for parents and students and encourage you all to attend.
This session will provide information about Year 12 Certificate Package Requirements, Student Engagement Support and will include a Q & A section. The session will be run by two engagement advisors and one SLC of Engagement (Student Services) from Dickson College.
When: Tuesday 1 August (Week 3)
Time: 5.30pm-6.30pm
Where: Lyneham High Hall
Who: Current Year 9 & 10 Students and their parents from Lyneham High School & Campbell High School.
RSVP: Please complete this short Google form.
We look forward to seeing you there.
2023 School Board
In our previous newsletter, as part of the completion of the election/appointment process, we listed the 2023 School Board Members.
We extend our sincere apologies to our Parent Members for incorrectly spelling their names. Here is the Lyneham High School Board Members 2023 list as it should have appeared:
Jacqui Ford - School Principal
Alison Simmons - Staff Member
Robin Morrell - Staff Member
Nevena Krusevac - Student Member
Rowan Murray - Student Member
Tahseen Kamal - Parent Member
Jivan Sekhon - Parent Member
Trish Morton - Parent & Citizens Member
Dunja Radosavljevic - Community Member
Jane Herring
Assistant Returning Officer
Canberra CareersXpo
Our Year 10s have been invited to visit the Canberra CareersXpo on 9 August 2023.
Emails were sent home to families of year 10 students in Week 1 of this term with details and a link to the permission note. The school will bus students to and from this event.
Alongside the school visit, families can also choose to attend the parent and student information program.
Library News
There are a lot of things happening in the Lyneham High Library this term. One of these is a new event called, Borrowing Bingo. Students are challenged to read a variety of books over the term. When they have completed four challenges, they can enter a prize draw. We would love to see students entering. Other events will occur so keep an eye out.
Languages at Lyneham
Bienvenue/selamat datang to term 3! Years 7-10 continue to progress well on topics in the curriculum, including school vocabulary, food, the environment and cultural events.
Welcome to the new year 8 semester classes in French and Indonesian, who are completing revision and will soon be undertaking assignments on family, sport, festivals and different countries.
Year 10s will prepare for college and fortunately there are pathways in the cluster for them to continue with their studies. The Canberra Academy of Languages offers courses for students unable to do a language at the college they are enrolled in. They can be contacted via their home page at: https://cal.act.edu.au.
The Alliance Française holds French classes for students of all ages at their premises in Turner after school. The French club can be reached on 62576696 orenquiries@afcanberra.com.au.
English and EALD students are all doing a novel study this term and enjoying reading the chosen book for their group. The formal tasks and assessment items on these will soon be commencing.
2024 SEAL APPLICATIONS
for LHS students not already in the program
Applications for the SEAL program for 2024 have OPENED. Before applying for the SEAL Program, please ensure you are familiar with the SEAL Handbook, the intake guidelines and selection criteria. The SEAL Handbook is available on the school's website or see below for the handbook and application form. Please note the following important points:
Selection criteria requirements need to be met for selected sports.
ALL applicants must supply a coach reference letter. A template can be found below.
SEAL student-athletes are required to be in a SEAL HPE line, this will impact your elective choices.
Students see Mrs Mutton, Ms Davoren or Ms Ward in the PE staffroom if they have any questions.
Applications close Friday 13th August, 2023.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions via email or phone.
Training sessions have recommenced for the term which is wonderful to see. Please familiarise yourself with the calendar below to ensure you know when your child's training sessions are, as some venues have previous bookings which means we have rescheduled some sessions. At the moment we are achieving less than 80% attendance at the year 7 & 8 Strength & Conditioning sessions held onsite in the school gym (7:55-9:00am). We would like to see this increase to 90-95%. We know that the colder months make it more difficult to get out of bed, looking forward to spring.
We understand that injury, illness, and occasionally other commitments prevent students from attending a scheduled session. Please communicate this with the SEAL Coordinator in writing prior to the session (LHSSEAL@ed.act.edu.au)if an absence is expected. If a session is missed due to injury, evidence from a medical professional (physiotherapist, sports doctor) is required so the program can properly support the student-athletes recovery.
A reminder that while at training we expect students to adhere to the SEAL Code of Conduct and ensure they are in full SEAL training uniform. Non compliance with the code can lead to SEAL Strikes and incorrect uniform will lead to Uniform Breaches. SEAL training is an opportunity for students to put their best foot forward and use the extra training sessions to push themselves to be the best athletes they can be.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions via email or phone.
The uniform shop is now stocking a polo shirt for the Seek program. We have received our first order and it is ready for purchase by Seek students at a cost of $30. Our shop is open to Tuesday and Thursday 8.30 - 930am (to the bell for students) and Thursday recess for students.
Uniform Shop
Discontinued Items Price Reductions
We have reduced the price of some items in our uniform shop as we are no longer stocking them or there have been changes to the logos. DARE Jersey's M-XXL come with a free pair of trackies in the same size. The STAR items are in a variety of styles and colours from previous years. Stock is limited. The quantities (the number in brackets) were correct in June.
D&D Club: Mondays after school from 3:10-4:45pm in the Drama room - permission notes available from Trevor's room.
Chess Club: Mondays at lunchtime in Trevor's room. No permission note needed.
MTG, Magic The Gathering Club: Fridays afterschool 3:05-4:45pm in room 59 - permission notes available from the HASS staffroom.
LGBTIQA+ group: Tuesdays at lunchtime in Trevor's room - no permission note needed.
French Club: Mondays lunch week A at 1:30pm, in room 68 -no permission note needed.
Christians In Schools Group: Fridays at lunchtime in Trevor's room- no permission note needed.
Board Games Group: Wednesdays at lunchtime in Trevor's room - no permission note needed.
Ability First Group: Thursdays at lunchtime in Trevor's room - no permission note needed. Support and awareness for young people with any kind of disability.
Minecraft Club: Tuesdays at lunchtime in room 30 - no permission note needed.
Film Club: Monday lunchtimes in the Iceburg.
How to get your kids to talk about their feelings
Elizabeth Westrupp, Deakin University and
Christiane Kehoe,The University of Melbourne
Emotions are core to our human experience, but seeing “negative” emotions in our children – anger, fear, jealousy, envy, sadness, resentment – can make us uncomfortable.
Strong emotions in our kids may trigger our own emotional reactions, and we may feel lost about the best way to respond.
Many of today’s adults grew up not talking about emotions. But as modern parents, we’re told we need to teach our children about their feelings to build their resilience. So how can you encourage your children to talk about their feelings?
Research shows kids learn about emotions in four key ways: our parenting, how we explicitly teach them, our behaviour and the family environment.
1) Our parenting helps kids name, express and manage emotions
As parents, we play an important role in helping children name, express and manage their emotions.
But this is often not easy. We might be comfortable teaching our children to recognise when they are hungry, tired and thirsty, but be focused on stopping children’s sadness, fears or anger, rather than on teaching about these emotions.
Everyone feels a range of emotions, and the “negative” emotions are not inherently bad. Emotions are signals that are important for our survival and help us to understand ourselves and our world. Children often “act out” their emotions, rather than talking about how they feel.
When we teach kids that all emotions are healthy, they learn to trust themselves, feel more comfortable sharing their feelings, and view emotions as brief experiences that pass.
So, what should we say in the moment?
Start by describing what you see or observe. “You sound sad/angry?” or “You are looking a little quiet.”
We often don’t know exactly what our child is feeling. Be tentative and check: “You look frustrated, is that right?”
Validate: “That situation was really hard, no wonder you’re frustrated.”
When our child is upset, we don’t need to say much. Try to listen and connect through eye contact and gentle touch. As University of Houston professor of social work and author Brené Brown reminds us, it is not about having the right words, but instead about offering support and connection.
Avoid trying to fix (problem-solve) or distract your child when they are emotional. Support kids to acknowledge and “sit with” their feelings.
Older children and teens may learn how to start masking their emotions, so we might only see their challenging behaviours. Imagine their behaviour is the tip of an iceberg, caused by emotions under the surface. Try connecting with their emotion rather than focusing only on the behaviour, “You slammed your door, are you feeling upset?”
Challenging behaviours are often just the tip of the iceberg. Recognising what lies beneath the surface can help children learn about emotions and identify important needs.
Teachers Tuning in to Kids/Tuning in to Teens Whole School Approach
2) Parents can explicitly teach kids about emotions
When everyone’s calm (not when you or your child are upset), we can teach kids about emotions.
We can start conversations about emotions based on almost anything your child is interested in, a TV show, video game, movie, or book they’re reading. A great movie for starting the conversation is Inside Out.
Watching emotions in fictional characters normalises emotions as a universal experience and helps kids to recognise more subtle types of emotions and different ways to express and manage emotions.
For older kids who’ve become more self-conscious, try having these discussions when not directly looking at them, in the car, or during an activity (walking, kicking a ball, watching a movie together). Some kids open up more at bedtime. Try to listen more and talk less.
3) Children watch and learn from us
Many of us grew up in families where parents did not teach us about emotions, or they were poor role models for expressing emotions in healthy ways.
If this is the case, it’s common to view emotions as bad and unhelpful, and believe it’s not good to dwell on feelings.
As a result, it can be hard to watch our children experiencing strong negative emotions. If you’re feeling triggered by your child’s emotion, it will help to pause. You can leave the room if necessary. It’s healthy to role-model to kids taking a break when we feel overwhelmed.
If we make a mistake as parents and act in ways we’re not proud of, this is a great opportunity to model to our kids how to make amends.
Explain what you were feeling, that your actions were not okay, and apologise. This gives kids a template for making amends themselves, which is a critical relationship skill.
If you often struggle managing your own emotions, learning about emotions is a good start. Two great books are:
Permission to Feel (Marc Brackett)
The A to Z of Feelings (Andrew Fuller and Sam Fuller).
4) Kids are affected by relationships in the family
Emotions are contagious. Kids are affected by other relationships in the family, including conflict between parents.
Remember, conflict is a healthy human experience and cannot be eliminated.
Instead, it’s important to show kids healthy conflict, where we all express emotions in a respectful way.
It’s also important that kids see healthy conflict resolution.
Here are three evidence-based parenting programs focused on helping parents teach children about emotions:
Tuning in to Kids/Teens focuses on the emotional connection between parents/carers and their children, from toddlers to teens
Partners in Parenting is designed to help you raise your teenager 12-17 years to prevent depression and anxiety
Circle Of Security Parenting improves child development by strengthening the parent-child attachment when children are aged 0-12 years.
Elizabeth Westrupp, Associate Professor in Psychology, Deakin University and Christiane Kehoe, Research manager and program specialist Tuning in to Kids, The University of Melbourne
Anxiety, internet safety, digital wellbeing, pain and endometriosis, and suicide prevention.
Generation Next provides education and information about the prevention and management of mental illness in youth to professionals, young people and the wider community. Our objective is to raise community awareness of mental illness through increasing mental health literacy, reducing associated stigma and positively influencing individual and community behaviour to improve the mental health of young people.
Currently, they are offering the following free online sessions that may be of use to parents:
THE 5 PRINCIPLES FOR INTERNET SAFETY
ADAPTING TO NEW NORMALS FOR DIGITAL WELLBEING
HOW FAMILY AND FRIENDS CAN HELP A SUICIDAL PERSON
TALKING ABOUT PERIODS, PAIN & ENDOMETRIOSIS
EDUCATOR WELLBEING: QUESTIONS & CONSIDERATIONS
ANXIETY DISORDERS IN CHILDREN & ADOLESCENTS
While you’re at it, why not check out their articles, also on the home page, they offer a lot of great advice relating to teen mental health.
School Calendar
Did you know the school’s calendar of events (excursions and the like) are maintained as a Google Calendar which is accessible from the front page of the school’s website (see below)? Events are maintained weekly.
