LJBC Primary has prioritised nature play and outdoor learning for many years, and we continue purposefully this year with the introduction of our new Primary Years’ Nature Play Space.

We are committed to our Primary Play Philosophy, which states that we believe that quality engagement in meaningful play is very important for a child’s development. 

Albert Einstein said that “Play is the highest form of research.”  (Albert Einstein)

The Alice Springs Education Declaration states within the educational goals for young Australians that successful lifelong learners, ‘are inquisitive and experimental’ and ‘’creative and innovative’.

Researchers at the University of Western Australia have found that natural playgrounds provide children with more opportunities than typical pre-formed playgrounds to develop gross-motor skills. This contact with nature has been associated with several health benefits for children, such as improved cognitive function and increased creativity. We have found that our students have been able to connect and collaborate more effectively with each other, have been more imaginative and creative, and have shown improved language skills.

We have again partnered with Terry Farrell from Nature Based Play as Terry’s vision reflects our own philosophy of play. Terry and his team have designed a new nature play space to replace the space that was used by the Primary Years’ students. Terry visited our Term 4 2021 Primary P&F Meeting to discuss the benefits of nature play and share his design ideas. We thank the P&F for willingly donating $20,000 to this project. We are so grateful for this generous donation and for the College’s vision and investment in quality play spaces for our students.

The new Nature Play Space design includes natural materials, trees, plants, boulders, huge logs, bark, rope, balance and climbing challenges, musical area, reflection areas, outdoor learning area, meandering path, and a water feature. We have officially opened the new Primary Years’ Nature Play Space for the Primary Years’ students and we look forward to seeing their enjoyment and imaginative adventures begin!

Carol Harris

Dean of Primary

Why Orange?

Orange is the colour chosen to represent Harmony Week. Traditionally, orange signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates to the freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect. Our Kindy to Year 6 students are wearing orange during Harmony Week to show their support for cultural diversity and an inclusive Australia. Students brought in a gold coin donation for Red Cross Ukraine.

Here’s a little beauty to brighten up your day! Our Years 3-6 students’ art is now on display at Hillarys marina as part of the HArt our Neighbourhood Art Community Art Installation. It looks great and has provided a wonderful way for our students to contribute to the community through gratitude and creativity. Definitely worth a look if you get a chance.

Claire Vermeulen

Primary Wellbeing Coordinator | Primary Art Specialist

A Student Councillor is representative of the student voice for their House, a role that carries responsibility and prestige. Recently, Year 7’s had the opportunity to apply for these positions with voting conducted in their House groups. Thank you to all the students who applied – your willingness to serve and lead is commendable!

Congratulations to the following students who were elected by their peers as Year 7 Student Councillors:

We would like to congratulate our brass tutor, Blake Houlahan, on being selected as an emerging conductor by the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. Blake was one of only five applicants chosen. Blake will participate in several workshops and attend WASO rehearsals and concerts. Students from Year 5 may have individual lessons with Blake on trumpet, trombone or tuba and they would benefit greatly from Blake’s expertise and passion.

Tammy van der Nest

Director of Music PK-12

Wellbeing at the College

With the well-deserved long weekend for both staff and students behind us, we are back on campus and the College is operating ‘normally’, it seems timely to re-introduce you to our student wellbeing programs. Lake Joondalup Baptist College has been a front runner of Wellbeing Education since 2015; long before COVID-19 landed in Australia and sharpened our focus on the importance of wellbeing in society, generally. After the Student Services team’s visit to Melbourne seven years ago, our program of taught lessons has evolved to provide in-depth coverage of a variety of wellbeing topics (wellbeing dynamics, mindfulness, character strengths, resilience, growth/fixed mindsets, seeking help, meaning and purpose etc.).

Our Wellbeing curriculum equips our students with the knowledge and skills to help them manage their own wellbeing and support others with theirs. Our wellbeing programs are hopefully a preventative against mental health issues going forward. It’s this long-term perspective on the value of wellbeing programs which is essential. Mission Australia surveys show that stress and mental health are the major concerns for 15–19 year-olds. By virtue of this component of their education, Lake Joondalup Baptist College students will be armed with a ‘Wellbeing Toolkit’ which may well make a crucial difference when dealing with life’s challenges, well beyond their final wellbeing lesson in Year 9.

SchoolTV

In addition to the variety of wellbeing programs which exist across the College, we have SchoolTV as a wellbeing resource for parents and teachers at the College. Parents are encouraged to view the SchoolTV topics which they feel are especially pertinent to their child and can access this resource on the College Portal or by the link below. We hope that parents might find this SchoolTV focus upon school transitions helpful and supportive.

Our Student Services is designed to ensure that Heads of House – the everyday custodians of student wellbeing – are well resourced to monitor and manage the wellbeing of their students. In addition to ongoing 1:1 pastoral conversation with students, we are investigating ways for us to use SchoolTV to address key wellbeing issues, throughout the year.

If you have any questions related to our wellbeing programs, please do not hesitate to contact me or your respective Head of House. When our high numbers in COVID decrease and we are allowed to have bigger functions again, we plan to host parent information evenings to explain the programs in further detail but at this stage we invite questions from parents about Wellbeing Education at LJBC.

Helen Del Frate

Dean of Students

Most of us know what concussion is or at least some of the symptoms we may expect to see with it;

• Headache or a feeling of pressure in the head.
• Temporary loss of consciousness.
• Confusion or feeling as if in a fog.
• Amnesia surrounding the trauma
• Dizziness or 'seeing stars'
• Ringing in the ears.
• Nausea.
• Vomiting.

But there is something associated with concussion that is potentially much more traumatic and much less understood.

Secondary Impact Syndrome (SIS) is where a second head trauma occurs to a person who has still not recovered from their first impact. The damage here to an already swollen brain can be fatal. In both Canada and the USA laws are in place to prevent this but are still not well practiced. The rest of the world is even further behind. These laws have been around since as long ago as 2009 following juvenile fatalities.

In the US alone, 50 deaths per year are attributed to SIS. We need to be aware of the implications in order to best protect our children. This is where sport comes into this discussion, as sport is one of the major causes of head injuries from activities such as AFL, rugby and cricket.

We can minimise the risk of the initial concussion by wearing the appropriate protective equipment and playing in controlled environments.  We will never eliminate concussion, but SIS can be greatly reduced by following some simple rules.

If you or your child receives a concussion or a suspected concussion you should do the following;

-Immediately stop the activity you are doing

-Seek medical advice on the injury

-Not return to activity for 14 days post impact or until you have medical approval

From a schools perspective please notify the school, especially your sports teacher, of the initial injury, especially if it happened outside of school time. If staff are aware, they can help keep them safe. The initial injury doesn’t have to have occurred whilst playing sport, it could be from any head trauma but you should notify us and any club or place where they may be doing physical activity. They need to be kept away from activity for 14 days or until they have been medically cleared to return. Even other gentler forms of exercise could trigger further damage within this window.

Please don’t make this a reason to stop you or your children being active, but please take on board the message and pass it on to anyone in your local sports club or area as it is just not well understood. Together through knowledge, these unnecessary fatalities can be reduced.

Ben Allsop

Head of Health & Physical Education

We understand that situations change, and remind you that if there is a possibility that you may withdraw your child(ren) from the College during or at the end of 2022, our policy requires that we receive written notification of ten school weeks’ notice, addressed to College Registrar. Registrar@ljbc.wa.edu.au.