Welcome Back

Welcome to Pacific Lutheran College in 2022. We pray that the break has been fruitful and keep in our prayers those who have dealt with the numerous challenges over the holiday. I extend a very warm welcome to the PLC community to new families and students and a welcome back to all families returning.  

Upcoming Events 

As communicated, the events that mark the commencement of the school year have been postponed or diverted to an online space. A recording of relevant parent information sessions has been emailed to families in the past day. ‘The email is titled ‘P-5 Information Evening’. We encourage families to engage with the information contained and contact teachers if further information is required. 

The P-5 commencement service traditionally would include the presentation of Year 5 badges. We are exploring ways in which this will happen soon and will communicate these plans when finalised. 

Volunteering at Pacific 

One of the rich opportunities the wider community has to engage with the college is volunteering. There will be many chances to give through service schemes like parent reading, excursions, and helping in the tuckshop throughout the year.  

Last year, legislation around volunteering changed, and all volunteers are now required to undergo mandatory training once a year to comply with this change. Volunteers will be unable to engage with students unless this training has occurred.  

As such, Pacific will be providing opportunities to understand these changes and engage in this training. These dates are marked on the school calendar, and the first session will be on the 11th of February. This will be via Zoom and should take approximately an hour. A survey will be distributed to all families to gauge interest and finalise numbers for the training.  

General Housekeeping 

Communication with College Staff 

Often parents need to communicate information to their child’s teachers regarding changes to routine and exemption from participation in sport, specialist lessons or activities due to injury or illness. To avoid confusion and ensure students are where they are meant to be, particularly at the end of the day, we ask that parents put all of these changes in writing. All teachers can be contacted by email. Students in Years 3-5 will also receive a student diary, which has space for notes of this nature. 

Food protocols 

As restrictions remain in place, shared food for student birthdays (such as cupcakes) cannot be brought onto campus and distributed. We understand that celebrating a birthday is an important milestone for a young child.  The tuckshop can provide birthday packs, and these can be ordered through FlexiSchools. 

A reminder to all families that Pacific is a nut-free zone and bringing foods containing any nut products is not allowed. Amongst our student body, we have many students who could have life-threatening anaphylactic reactions toward nut products. We thank you for your co-operation in abiding by this policy. 

Uniforms 

A reminder that the College hat is an essential element of the school uniform. During breaks, students need to wear a hat, or they are required to stay out of the sun. Students should also wear their hats when travelling to and from the College. 

Students in Years 1-5 may only wear their sports uniforms to school on the days they have HPE. Years 4 and 5 students may also wear their HPE uniforms to school on Thursdays. There may also be occasions during the year when students are requested to wear their sports uniform to school for carnivals or excursions. On all other occasions, students should attend school in their formal uniform. 

If, for some reason, your child is unable to wear the correct uniform to school, please send a note to your child’s class teacher. A uniform reminder letter will be forwarded to parents whose children are in the wrong uniform, without a note. 

Car Parks 

A reminder to all parents and students that they are to use the appropriate car park at the beginning and the end of the day. Prep-Year 2 students can use the front car park. Students across Years 3-12 are to use the senior drop off or car park at the western side of the College. 

It has been wonderful to connect with the children of essential workers at the college over the last two weeks, and we look forward to welcoming all students back on campus next Monday. 

Take care, and God bless. 

Mr Damian Davis, Head of Staff and Students P-5