What’s going on at LTC?

• Welcome to 2025 at LTC!

• Important Dates for Term 1

• Explore Student Support @ College Life

• 2025 school year Equity Fund now open

• Parent Portal app – Sentral for Parents

• South Canberra Schools Vocational Training Launch

• AFP Women and Girls in STEM Day

• University of Wollongong Excursion

• University of Canberra Visits LTC

• TRaC-X in Action

• Olivia Charlton’s LTC Journey

• Week 0 Staff Professional Development

• Valentine’s Day Kindness

• Young Women in Engineering Workshop Opportunity

• Expression of Interest – ACT BSSS Student Forum

• Certificate III Health Services Assistance Opportunity

• Early Childhood VET Taster Course

• Overcoming Anxious School Refusal Parent Workshop

• Addressing Your Child’s Anxious Avoidance Parent Workshop

• Boundaries Without Conflict Parent Workshop

• ACT public school term dates

• Free Period Products Available at ACT Schools

• Become a Homestay Host

• Back to School with Transport Canberra

• Supporting Student Safety

• Menslink – Supporting Young Men in Canberra

• Parentline ACT

• Blog information

Welcome to 2025 at LTC!

Important Dates for Term 1

Explore the Student Support @ College Life Website

Hey LTC students!

Need resources and support? Visit the Student Support @ College Life website for helpful information:

🔗 https://sites.google.com/ed.act.edu.au/studentsupportcollegelife

2025 school year Equity Fund now open

To ease the pressure of back-to-school costs, eligible Canberra families can apply now for 2025 Future of Education Equity Fund payments.

The Equity Fund supports eligible low-income families and independent students from preschool through year 12 with a one-off, annual payment to help cover the costs associated with schooling such as uniforms, sport equipment and activities, tuition and music lessons.

The 2025 school year payments for eligible families are $400 (preschool), $500 (primary school), and $750 (high school and college).

Payments of completed applications will begin earlier than previous years, with the first payments to families expected from 6 January 2025.

Families will have until the end of November 2025 to apply for the Fund. Check your eligibility and find more information about supporting documents on the Equity Fund webpage.

Parent Portal app – Sentral for Parents

We use Parent Portal to communicate with parents and carers.

Through Parent Portal, you can:

– get push notifications when your child’s teachers post to the newsfeed

– let us know if your child is sick or explain an absence

– book parent-teacher interviews

– receive academic reports and the school newsletter

– make payments

– access our school’s calendar and your child’s student timetable.

You can access Parent Portal on a web browser of through the Sentral for Parents app, available wherever you download your apps.

For our new families, you should have received an access code and registration link recently. You need an ACT Digital Account to register. Information on how to register is on the Education Directorate’s website.

https://www.education.act.gov.au/public…/parent-portal

If you have any questions or would like us to resend you your access code and registration link, please contact the front office.

South Canberra Schools Vocational Training Launch

South Canberra Schools Vocational Training is officially live! This collaboration between Canberra, Narrabundah, Erindale, and Lake Tuggeranong Colleges, alongside nine feeder high schools, connects students with diverse vocational pathways while they’re still at school.

Students can now access hands-on training in industries such as IT, business, construction, health, hospitality, automotive, fitness, outdoor education, volunteering, and emerging fields like E-vehicles and aerospace technologies.

With support from registered training organisations (RTOs) and industry partners, this initiative ensures clear, visible career pathways—helping students gain qualifications and real-world experience to set them up for the future.

AFP Women and Girls in STEM Day

Our students attended the AFP Women and Girls in STEM day at the Majura Forensics Facility with their teacher, Jen Prichard. They were welcomed by Dr. Kylie Jones, Principal Forensics Scientist, and Commander Joanne Cameron.

The students toured the facility, learning about crime scene mapping, fingerprinting, signature verification, and blood swabbing. They also had the chance to mingle with forensic officers and scientists over morning tea, asking insightful questions about the field.

University of Wollongong Excursion

Our students had a great time at the University of Wollongong, experiencing hands-on faculty workshops, campus life, and exploring future study pathways. It was a fantastic opportunity to get a real taste of university life!

University of Canberra Visits LTC

Year 11s had the chance to hear from University of Canberra representatives about the H Course—an exciting opportunity to experience university-level learning while still in college!

TRaC-X in Action

Every Tuesday, LTC students engage in hands-on learning through TRaC-X, exploring activities from chess and creative writing to automotive skills, dance, and drama tech. These extracurricular programs foster teamwork, problem-solving, and confidence, helping students grow beyond the classroom.

Olivia Charlton’s LTC Journey

Hi, my name’s Olivia Charlton, and I graduated from LTC in 2022. I did an ASBA throughout Year 11 and 12, and it was one of the best decisions I made. Carlene was so supportive, helping me through my apprenticeship and making my dreams happen. 

I also studied Business Services with the best teacher, Darlene Smith. This class gave me skills I’ll always use. I graduated with my Cert III in Business, Cert II in Business, and Cert II in Workplace Skills, and now, three years out of school, I’ve completed my Cert III in Hairdressing and work full-time. 

Coming back to share my journey and see my teachers proud makes it all worth it. I couldn’t feel more appreciated – thank you, LTC!

Week 0 Staff Professional Development

LTC staff spent Week 0 collaborating, planning, and strengthening our skills. From faculty workshops to hands-on learning at Birrigai—rock climbing, bushwalking, and Creating on Country—it was a valuable start, building teamwork, resilience, and connection to place.

Valentine’s Day Kindness

Our Social and Community class spread kindness and connection by providing free treats for everyone. A lovely gesture to brighten up Valentine’s Day!

Young Women in Engineering Workshop Opportunity

Young Women in Engineering (YoWIE) 2025 is a free, 3-day workshop aimed at inspiring young women in years 9-12, wanting to explore the field of engineering. Participants will enjoy hands-on activities, hear from inspiring speakers and connect with current engineering students and professionals. This workshop aims to give a taste of university- level engineering, build skills and confidence, and connect with peers interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

The program runs from Tuesday 15 April to Thursday 17 April 2025 during the first week of the term break. Meals are provided, and there is no cost to register to attend the holiday program. Interested students can register online, or contact yowie.cbr@unsw.edu.au for more information.

Expression of Interest – ACT BSSS Student Forum

The ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies is inviting students to join the BSSS Student Forum – a think tank where you can contribute to the future of senior secondary education and take on a leadership role in the ACT student community.

🔹 Open to two students per school

🔹 Four meetings in 2025 (Monday afternoons)

🔹 Engage with students from across Canberra

🔹 Opportunity to participate in focus groups

⏳ Applications close Friday 7 March 2025. A teacher referee is required.

👉 Apply now: http://bit.ly/41gjW6o

Certificate III Health Services Assistance Opportunity

Early Childhood VET Taster Course

Overcoming Anxious School Refusal Parent Workshop

Addressing Your Child’s Anxious Avoidance Parent Workshop

Boundaries Without Conflict Parent Workshop

ACT public school term dates

The ACT public school term dates for 2026-2030, including student-free days, are now available on the Education Directorate’s website.

Each year, the first day of every term is a student-free day. We use student-free days for staff development, enabling us to plan in a student-free environment.

Use these dates when planning your future holidays.

Free Period Products Available at ACT Schools

All ACT public schools are stocked with free period products so students can access them no matter their circumstances. This is part of the ACT Government’s commitment to ensuring students feel comfortable and confident within our schools.

Free period products are available at our school’s front office. Students can access them at any time by talking to our helpful front office staff.

Sanitary pads are available from the front offices of primary schools, while pads and tampons are available at the front offices of high schools and colleges.

Because menstruation is a fact of life, we believe free access to period products should be too.

fTo learn more about this equity initiative and other places where free period products are available, please visit: https://www.act.gov.au/community/women/free-period-products

---

Become a Homestay Host

Are you interested in broadening your family’s cultural experiences and forming lifelong friendships?

The ACT Education Directorate is seeking Homestay hosts for international students planning to study at an ACT public high school or college.

By becoming a Homestay host, you’ll not only provide a room and meals, but you’ll also welcome a young person into your family and support their growth as they gain new perspectives, confidence, English fluency, and academic and essential life skills.

International students participating in the Homestay program are aged 16 years or above. If you have the time to support a student’s social wellbeing and academic endeavours, and have an interest in other cultures, we would love to hear from you.

A weekly payment will be provided to help cover the costs of living expenses.

Find out more at bit.ly/HomestayCanberra or email ieu@act.gov.au, or call 02 6205 9194.

Back to School with Transport Canberra

Routes and timetables
School bus services return Monday 3 February 2025.

Please check your school pack and timetable so you are prepared and ready. Light rail continues to run to Its usual frequency.

MyWay+ and fares

Make sure your student MyWay+ travel card or account is set up and ready to go.

Travel is free every Friday. Simply tap on and off – no fares will be charged.

Secondary school students are required to carry their student ID when travelling.

Fares have seen a slight increase.

Financial assistance
If you are experiencing a situation that affects your ability to meet the costs of schooling or everyday essentials for your child, we encourage you to talk with your school.

Walking or riding to school

Walking or riding to school is a great way to work some exercise into your day. If your school is a little too far away, you could try using a part way point. These are designated drop off areas within a short walking distance from schools where students can walk from if walking from home is not practical.

For all your school travel needs visit the Transport Canberra website transport.act.gov.au

Need more information or help go to Travel options or call 13 17 10.

Keep in touch
Keep up to date with Transport Canberra news and information by signing up to email alerts or by following on social media channels: Facebook and X (formally Twitter)

Supporting Student Safety

As school re-commences for term 1, we are reminding parents and carers to please drive and park safely and legally, at and around school grounds.

We all have an important role to play in supporting road safety. Access Canberra has notified us that mobile speed and parking vans will be in operation to support our students’ safety.

These enforcement teams play a critical role in supporting our students get to and from school safely and we thank them for their ongoing support.

In addition to sticking to the speed limit, please remember to park safely – including not parking across pedestrian crossings, in no stopping zones, on corners, verges and double parking.

Unsafe and illegal parking can reduce visibility of our students and motorists to see each other, creating a significant hazard when students cross the road. Let’s work together to keep our kids safe.

Unfortunately, we continue to see incidents of occupational violence toward our mobile speed van and parking operations teams by members of school communities when undertaking this important work. Such incidents are not acceptable and won’t be tolerated.

Menslink – Supporting Young Men in Canberra

Menslink has provided free counselling to young guys throughout the Canberra region for 20+ years.

If your young guy is having a hard time, is anxious, uncertain or fearful of his future and could really use someone to talk to, get in touch!

Our wait times are relatively low so we’re ready to help when your young guy needs it.

We provide a welcoming and supportive environment for young guys to share their concerns and worries and we provide tips and strategies to get them through those tough times that many of them are facing right now.

Menslink Counselling sessions are completely confidential and are available to any young guy aged 10-25. There are no fees or charges, and no limits to the number of sessions. You don’t need a mental health plan and we are available during school terms and school holidays.

Do you think your young guy would really benefit from a counselling session? If so, have a chat with them and head to www.menslink.org.au, hit the ‘Get Help’ button, fill in the form and we’ll get back to you, generally the same or next business day.

If you need more info on how to have that chat with them, just email admin@menslink.org.au or call 6287 2226 and we will send you some information.

Parentline ACT

Parentline ACT offers free and confidential telephone counseling for parents and carers in the Australian Capital Territory. This service provides guidance and assistance on various parenting issues, ensuring you have the support you need with no appointment necessary. Parentline ACT is open on Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. For support, call (02) 6287 3833.

Blog information

Do you have a positive story to share about our students, alumni, staff, or the wider college community?

We’re excited to showcase stories, photos, and artworks on our blog.

Please send your submissions to scott.montoyaval@ed.act.edu.au