Welcome to 2021 at Larrakeyah Primary School
New Teaching Staff at Larrakeyah Primary School
Schools in the Northern Territory are unique in that every year there is usually a turnover of some staff. Larrakeyah Primary School is no exception – whether it be a move interstate due to a Defence transfer, having a baby or seeking new teaching experiences. This year we have recruited 5 new teachers to replace some staff who have left – 3 from Victoria, 1 from Western Australia, 1 who is returning to the Territory and 1 who is returning to Larrakeyah Primary School. Three of these teachers are male which brings to 8 the number of males on our teaching staff. This can only be of benefit to the students.
Amalie Anderson
Amalie is a Territorian returning from interstate. She is an experienced classroom teacher having taught for a number of years in the Northern Territory before also teaching in Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales. Amalie has a Bachelor of Education with postgraduate studies in Early Childhood Teaching and Learning through Charles Darwin University. Most recently she has completed a Masters in Inclusive and Special education with The University of Sydney. Amalie has a strong passion for enriching children's learning through developing opportunities for children to maximise their potential and building strong foundations for future success in their learning.
Charlotte Moody
Charlotte Moody was recruited from Canberra and taught Year 2 at Larrakeyah Primary School in 2019. After a very successful year Charlotte then went to teach at Gunbalunya community school where she had a class consisting of students from Year 2 – 6. This was a very interesting and exciting experience for Charlotte. She has returned to Larrakeyah after her year at Gunbalunya. Charlotte is happy to be back and will be running the Cooking and Gardening program as well as taking Early Childhood PE for 2021. Charlotte is excited to be teaching cooking and gardening this semester as these are two of her passions outside of school and she is very keen to share this with the students.
Stewart Spencer
Stewart was recruited from Melbourne. This is his fifth year as a classroom teacher in a primary school. Before teaching Stewart studied Environmental Science and worked as a Forest Fire Fighter with the Department of Sustainability and Environment and as a bushland regeneration officer for various councils around Melbourne. He also spent a year in the Philippines, volunteering at a Family Farm school as a communications officer. Stewart will be teaching Year 5S and has enjoyed getting to know his new students during the first week of term. Stewart has a great love of teaching because the students continually amaze him every day and he loves to see them grow and develop throughout the year as he works to help them achieve their goals and dreams. Outside teaching Stewart enjoys listening to and playing music and hopes to engage his students with this throughout the year. He also likes getting into the great outdoors and going camping, hiking and surfing.
Jocelyn Brown
Jocelyn is teaching in Year 4/5 at Larrakeyah Primary School for 2021. Jocelyn was recruited from Western Australia where she was teaching in a small town called Port Hedland. Port Hedland is the second largest town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia and is in quite a remote location on the north-west coast. Jocelyn grew up in the coastal town of Bunbury, and then moved to Perth where she studied at the University of Notre Dame. With that sort of background it is no wonder that Jocelyn loves the warm weather and being outdoors, especially exploring the national parks.
Joshua Cruse
Joshua is another of our trio of teachers recruited from Victoria. He has relocated from Geelong and is excited to be a new staff member at Larrakeyah Primary School. During 2019 - 2020 Joshua was teaching at Geelong South Primary school. He is a passionate educator who puts the learning needs of the ‘whole child’ at the centre of his practice. Outside of school Joshua finds enjoyment in spending time with family and playing sports; with cricket and baseball being two of his favourites. At Larrakeyah Primary Joshua can be found in Room 4 teaching an amazing group of students in the Year 3/4 composite class.
Jarred Peters
Jarred is a graduate from Deakin University in Burwood, Melbourne. On finishing his degree, Jarred was recruited to teach Year 2 at Larrakeyah Primary School. He spent a great deal of his teacher training in Early Childhood and will fit in well with the experienced Early Childhood team at LPS. Jarred is very interested in spending time in outdoor activities, playing sports (AFL and Cricket), reading and travelling.
Larrakeyah Primary School Extra-Curricular Programs
One of the features that contribute to making Larrakeyah Primary School are the number, and quality, of the Extra-curricular programs being offered to the students. Offering students the opportunity to take part in these programs helps foster a desire for life-long learning. The extra-curricular activities are designed to increase classroom learning by expanding the curriculum and helping students develop new skills and interests. The programs provide the opportunity for students to challenge themselves, enhance their skills and achieve in a variety of contexts. These programs are possible because of the dedicated, talented and passionate teachers at Larrakeyah School whose motivation is to give the students every opportunity to experience as much as possible and to help them fulfil their potential. The commitment of these teachers is essential in providing the activities which help to create a fertile learning environment in the school and contribute to the development of our wonderful school spirit.
Just some of the programs offered include:
Student Leadership Team (SLT)
The Larrakeyah Primary School SLT is the main student ‘voice’ at the school. This team, made up of students elected SLT by their classmates at the end of the 2020 school year. Each class from year 3 to 6 elect one student representative and they are led by the 2 School Captains. The SLT will meet on a regular basis at lunchtimes to discuss topics such as: fundraising, resources needed for the student body; planning of whole school assemblies; after school activities such as discos. They will also be involved in the running of the Early Childhood assemblies and the Middle/Upper Primary assemblies.
The Student Leadership Team will again be guided by Ms Nidia Korfias (year 5 teacher).
The Extra Curricular Activities Program
This after school program runs from 3—4pm one afternoon each week. Each term, a diverse range of activities is offered to students which fall into three categories: Knowledge, The Arts and Physical. Activities are available for students from Transition to Year 6. In Term 1 this year students will be taking part in Lego Engineering, 3D Printing, Dance, Cartoon Drawing and Design, Ice Skating and Chess Club. Unfortunately the range of activities offered in Term 1 is affected by the inclement weather. Term 2 will see the return of popular activities like the Morning Running Club, Soccer and Tennis.
Many students, from transition to Year 6, are involved in this innovative and holistic program which aims to introduce students to new activities, skills and knowledge. Many of these activities are developed and run by classroom teachers with a talent and passion in an area who wish to impart this to the students. There is also scope for parents to get involved and run an activity so if you have something you feel would be great for students to learn about please contact the ECA Coordinator.
Animal Bosses
At Larrakeyah Primary School we have a team of very enthusiastic ‘Animal Bosses’ from Year 3 -6 who look after the chickens and rabbits. The Animal Bosses learn about how to care for these animals and how to supervise other younger children who come into our animal yard to pet the animals. This fantastic program fosters leadership and responsibility in children and gives them a great understanding of the life cycle and needs of animals. Mrs Tutty who ran this program has left the school so Miss Charlotte Moody, who has returned to Larrakeyah Primary School will be taking over her roles.
Larrakeyah Eco Warriors
Developing a more sustainable school environment is a journey that began in 2021 with the establishment of the Larrakeyah Eco Warriors. The Eco Warriors are a group of 15 students from years 3-6 led by Miss Charlotte Moody, the Cooking and Gardening teacher. Students volunteer to be part of this group and Charlotte will be calling for volunteers very soon. The students who take part are passionate about conserving our environment and want to make a positive contribution to a more sustainable future. Their goal is to reduce landfill waste by at least 50% and make the school a more environmentally friendly community. The Eco Warriors will be meeting every fortnight to discuss project ideas for the school.
COVID 19
As everyone is well aware COVID 19 is still affecting our lives in many ways. This is an update on the COVID 19 safety measures that continue to be in place at Larrakeyah Primary School to ensure that the school remains a healthy and safe environment for all teachers, students and other staff. With the NT remaining with zero community transmission, the NT Department of Education operating guidelines for schools that were in place for Term 4, 2020, will be relatively unchanged for Term 1, 2021.
We will continue to implement the measures recommended by the Health department and the Department of Education. The measures we have in place concern increased cleaning, hygiene and physical distancing where possible in a school environment. A major difference from last year is that students can use the water bubblers, however, we are still encouraging all students to bring a water bottle to school.
We are also adopting a cautious approach to large events so we will continue for this term to have the Early Childhood and the Middle/Upper Primary assemblies as separate events.
The school is still minimising the number of people entering the school grounds, particularly at drop-off/pickup times. So please remember the following:
- We request that parents “drop and go” if possible and reduce their time on school grounds
- Avoid groups of parents gathering and waiting outside classrooms, please drop your child at school and leave as quickly as possible
- Please do not enter classrooms
- Ensure 1.5m distance between people
- Parents and students are not to gather or play on playground equipment after school. When dismissed students are expected to go home immediately unless they are attending OSHC
Please note, no person including staff, students or visitors should come onto the school grounds if:
- They are unwell
- They are awaiting the outcome of a test for COVID 19
- They have been directed by relevant authorities to quarantine or self-isolate
- In the last 14 days, they have travelled to a place identified by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee as a COVID 19 hot spot
School events in Semester 1, 2021
We're glad to announce that some of the events that were not held last year are back on the calendar for 2021.
Assemblies Term 1:
- Friday 12 Feb: EC 8:30am
- Friday 19 Feb: M/UP 8:30am
- Friday 1 March: EC 8:30am
- Friday 6 March: M/UP 8:30am
- Friday 26 March: EC 8:30am
- Friday 9 April: M/UP 8:30am
School Camps:
Planned but still to be confirmed
- Year 4: 12 – 14 May
- Year 6: 24 – 27 May
- Year 5: 31 May - 3 June
- Year 3: 10 – 11 June
NAPLAN Testing: Years 3 & 5
Online testing: 11 – 21 May
School Athletics Sports
15 – 16 June
Interschool Sports Days
- 17 March: AFL
- 7 April: Netball
- 5 May: Soccer
- 23 June: Zone Athletics
Educational/Curriculum Events
- Term 1: Peer Support Program
- Term 1 Wks 1 – 3: Larrakeyah learner Unit of Work
- 1 April: Easter STEAM Day & Easter Bonnet Parade
- 18 March: Harmony Day
- 15 – 25 June : Life Education
- 23 April: Anzac Day
