Welcome to Term 2 everyone! I hope that your break was relaxing and that you are ready to get stuck into the Term. It has been wonderful to see everyone back within our school grounds and ready for learning!

Term 2 - Focus on the Learner

Below is a link from The Hon. Ben Carroll MP Deputy Premier and Minister for Education welcoming all families back for the term. In the video he speaks in depth about the importance of Term 2 and how routines are established, so a focus can be centred around student learning.

https://vimeo.com/933088690/2bf575e8ee

At Kingsville Primary this is certainly the case, however our students might see a little shift in the teachers that are present in their rooms at different times. As a staff we are embarking on a journey of planned Adult Learning using Peer Observations and ‘fish bowling’ of best practice. In our Staff Meeting this week, Lauren and Jen led some professional learning with staff that focused on learning from and with each other and building on our capacity as effective educators. Over the course of the next term staff will be visiting each other’s classrooms for planned visits where we will be observing, providing feedback, watching demonstrations, and reflecting on what we do and why we do it. Over the course of the term, I look forward to providing you with snapshots of our journey. For us it is important that our students see their teachers as learners and risk takers too!

The fun has already begun!

Yesterday I was in my office during lunch time, typing away at something I am not even sure of now, when Jeff came in and said, ‘Follow me if you want to see something cool.’ How could I resist? When we got out to the quiet area of the playground, I found the below creations that are in fact – very cool!


A Supermarket! 



                                            
A house for a mouse!

A bike with a trailer (and toilet!) attached!

The creativity, cooperation and problem-solving skills demonstrated by these students whilst out on their break was mind blowing! I then didn’t want to return to my office (who would?), so stayed out in the yard for the rest of lunch enjoying the sunshine, laughter, chatter and beautiful grounds that we are so lucky to have!

Wishing you all a productive (and fun!) week!

Emma Vasilevski
Acting Principal

Kingsville Primary School staff will be holding a Foundation/Prep Information Evening on April 30^th in the school hall. The session is an introduction to KPS with an opportunity find out about who we are, and our enrolment process and procedures. It is also a chance to meet the Principal, Assistant Principals, School Captains and current early years staff.

This evening is for “all and any” interested and prospective parents who have children eligible to begin primary school in 2024. The audience is not restricted to families living in the Kingsville PS enrolment neighbourhood zone.

• Where: Kingsville Primary School Hall 58 Bishop Street, Kingsville (Enter via Bishop St double gates to the Hall)
• When: Tuesday April 30^th, 2024: 6.00 – 7.00 pm

Responses from parents / carers wishing to attend are expected and are important in assisting us in organising the event.

Bookings are required RSVP by:

Link: 2025 Foundation Enrolments - Parent Information session

OR Phone: 9314 5869

OR Email: kingsville.ps@education.vic.gov.au with a subject line of ‘2025 Foundation Information Session’.

Information has been sent to a large number of pre-school / kindergarten and, childcare centres in the immediate area and, further across the Yarraville/ Footscray/ Seddon/ Spotswood/ Newport areas. This is in line with our practice each year.

We request that current KPS parents assist in the advertising of this event by spreading the word amongst friends, neighbours etc to help us raise awareness in the area.

If KPS parents / carers are informing friends and neighbours about the event, please let them know they need to respond to the school.

The school has two designated play equipment spaces, a Foundation to Level 2 junior play area and a Level 3 to Level 6 senior play area, allowing for challenging yet age-appropriate play equipment for each group.

These spaces during school hours (8.45am – 3.45pm) are designed and designated for these levels, and students should not be playing on play equipment in a space that is not for their level. Both these play spaces are supervised by school staff between the hours of 8.45am and 3.45pm

Essential expectations for playing on the play equipment:

• Foundation to Level 2 students play on the junior play equipment and Level 3 to Level 6 students play on the senior play equipment.
• Challenge by Choice – play on your structures to your own level of ability, respect anyone's right to engage at a personalized level of participation and comfort.
• Play is a community activity for enjoyment and recreation.
• The slide has one direction – from the top to the bottom. Do not stop inside the slide or climb up from the bottom.

It is important for parents to support our essential expectations in relation to playing on the junior and senior play equipment. However, for F-2 families, if you are letting your child/children play on the senior equipment in the morning or afternoon you must supervise your child on this play equipment, taking duty of care for your child/children. They should be carefully supervised while on the equipment and once you depart the school in the morning you should direct your child to play in their designated junior play area.

Across Term 2, staff across KPS are engaging in professional learning to enhance and refine our teaching and learning approach to reading and spelling. To support this staff in Foundation and Years 1/2 will engage in Sounds Write training, and staff across Years 3 -6 will engage in a learning cycle focussed on our use of SMART Spelling to support our approach. Throughout the learning cycle staff will make use of professional observations to guide their understanding and in using this learning in the classroom, reflecting collaboratively and working to ensure a consistent, high-quality approach.

Sounds-Write: Building Blocks in Foundation to Year 2

In the early years of schooling, mastering the basics of phonics and spelling is crucial. Sounds-Write is a highly structured, multi-sensory phonics program that we are working to in Foundation to Year 2. This program focuses on teaching students the relationships between sounds and the letters that represent them. Through Sounds-Write, our students engage in a variety of activities that help them understand these fundamental relationships, which are essential for reading and spelling.

The program is designed to cater to all learners, supporting those who pick up literacy skills quickly as well as those who need a bit more guidance. By emphasizing phonemic awareness and the skills of segmenting, blending, and phoneme manipulation, Sounds-Write lays a strong foundation for our students’ spelling and reading success.

Transitioning to SMART Spelling in Years 3 to 6

As our students move into Year 3, we use the SMART spelling program to scaffold our approach. This change reflects their developmental readiness for a more complex understanding of spelling. SMART Spelling builds on the phonics base established by Sounds-Write and introduces more sophisticated strategies for spelling analysis and vocabulary expansion.

Students engage in activities that unpack not only how words are spelled but also why they are spelled that way, integrating knowledge about word origins, prefixes, suffixes, and more. This comprehensive approach not only enhances spelling skills but also enriches our students’ understanding of the English language.

The Child Safe Standards are comprehensive guidelines designed to ensure that organizations involved with children have robust measures in place to protect them from harm and abuse. The July 2022 updates refine these guidelines, making them more specific and actionable. They focus on creating environments—both physical and online—that are inherently safe and inclusive for all children.

Kingsville Primary School is committed to meet the standard for the care, safety and welfare of every Kingsville student. We have a range of policies, procedures, registers and ongoing actions to promote child safety and minimise the risk of harm to our students.

What are the standards?

The 11 Standards taken together highlight the key strategies and actions that must be in place to support a culture of child safety. Each standard focuses on a key feature that contributes to a child safe organisation and is supported by a range of compliance requirements.

• Standard 1 is unique to Victoria.
• Standards 2 to 11 align with the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations developed by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Abuse.

The standards are:

1. Establish a culturally safe environment in which the diverse and unique identities and experiences of Aboriginal children and young people are respected and valued.
2. Ensure that child safety and wellbeing are embedded in school leadership, governance and culture.
3. Children and young people are empowered about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.
4. Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing.
5. Equity is upheld and diverse needs are respected in policy and practice.
6. People working with children and young people are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice.
7. Ensure that processes for complaints and concerns are child focused.
8. Staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and young people safe through ongoing education and training.
9. Physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for children and young people to be harmed.
10. Implementation of the Child Safe Standards is regularly reviewed and improved.
11. Policies and procedures that document how schools are safe for children, young people and students.

Ministerial Order 1359 provides the framework for child safety in schools.

Key messages

• everyone connected to our school has a role in keeping children safeOur school is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children. We want children attending our school to be safe, happy and respected.

• we have policies and processes in place to protect the care, safety and welfare of children
• there are clear boundaries about how adults in our school community may interact with Kingsville students here
• the child safe standards apply to school staff (including volunteers and contractors), visitors and students' family members
• keeping children safe is everyone's responsibility, different people at our school have different roles and responsibilities for ensuring children's safety

Classroom teachers will have shared via Compass information about volunteering in at KPS and in their classroom.

We highly value the many volunteers that assist in our classrooms, with sports events, excursions, school concerts, and other events and programs.

As part of our commitment to meeting our legal obligations under the Worker Screening Act and the Child Safe Standards, and in working to ensure the safety of all children and students at Kingsville Primary School, all volunteers are required to participate in an annual induction. To support having volunteers at Kingsville Primary School, this year we have transitioned to having an online, self-paced induction to allow flexibility in accessing and completing this task.

Prior to volunteering at KPS you will need to:

• complete the online induction – this can be accessed here: https://forms.office.com/r/Zs3ecsM62L
• have a current WWCC – this can be emailed to Kingsville.ps@education.vic.gov.au
• make contact with the classroom or specialist teacher who you will be volunteering with to work out when may work best for you and the teacher

If you have any questions please contact the school.

On Wednesday 24^th April children in grade 3 - 6 will be competing in the Kingsville Primary School Cross Country. The day will begin at 9:00 and conclude at 11:00. It is held in Cruickshank Park, directly behind the school, with the finish line inside the school grounds.
 
Participation in sport is an educational experience at Kingsville. The aim of offering broad participation in Sports at Kingsville is to nurture the personal development of our students. We want all students to be involved in sport for the lifelong physical, psychological, social and personal benefits that such participation can bring.
 
The Kingsville Cross Country is our first upper school ‘house event’ for the year and an opportunity to engage in the team spirit, and for those that decide, the competitive element of the activity. The aim of our Cross Country is to have every child participate in completing the distance, even if they walk to complete it. This goes a long way in building their resilience. All children who participate in the event will earn House Points.

On Thursday 9th May, students will have the opportunity to purchase a gift for their mum or other special person at the Mother's & Others Day Stall at school. Items are varied and prices will range from $3 to $8. Each child will attend the stall with their grade to buy their present/s. Once all grades have had their turn, students will be invited back to purchase additional gifts at lunchtime if they wish. Money should be kept safe in a purse, wallet or labelled envelope.

Please do not send money to school prior to the day of the stall. 

Ann Salmon & Anna McRae
Friends of KPS

Maribyrnong City Council are providing an online parenting mini-series throughout June. They will cover the following topics:

• Responding to Children’s Anxiety (5 June)
• Sibling Relationships/Healthy Family Relationships (12 June)
• Motivating Change (19 June)
• Helping Children Manage Big Emotions (26 June)

More information: https://www.maribyrnong.vic.gov.au/Events/Parenting-mini-series

Book here: https://maribyrnong-events.bookable.net.au/#!/event-detail/ev_1efd672ebc4e4f99b96f9b18eb68a53f

Carla Rosi (She/Her)
Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader (Mon-Wed)
Kingsville Primary School 
Email: carla.rosi@education.vic.gov.au
Phone: (03) 9314 5869 

Autism is a neurodevelopmental difference that can impact how a person interacts, thinks, feels and experiences the world around them.

Some students were asked to share some insights about autism and their responses are included below.

‘We tend to see things is a different way and are a lot more open to everybody’s perspective’

‘It makes you struggle with a tonne of things’

‘I have autism and I want to be my normal self’

‘They learn differently but it doesn’t make them different to other people’

‘People with autism can be sensitive to sounds and touch’

‘Everyone with autism is different’

Better informed, more accepting school communities can help make school experiences more positive for everyone.





Leila Sheehan
Inclusion Leader

Please see below the list of children who will be presented with their award on Friday 26^th April:

2024 Student Free Days

Term 2 - Friday 7th June
Term 4 - Monday 18th November


2024 Term Dates

Term 2            Monday 15th April to Friday 28th June
Term 3            Monday 15th July to Friday 20th September
Term 4            Monday 7th October to Friday 20th December


Roster for Assembly Items – Term 2

26^th April – No item / KPS ANZAC Day Ceremony

3^rd May – Assembly item – 6LA

10^th May – Assembly item – 34H

17^th  May – Assembly item – 5SP

24^th May – Assembly item – 12J

31^st May – Assembly item – 34F

14^th June – No item

21^st June – Assembly item – 12A

28^th June – No item

Happy Birthday to Makayla M, Elizabeth J, Ned O, Miranda B-M, Koa P, Lola M, Ivan E, Nalah M, Winnie O, Zack H, Bani R.