Welcome to Term 4. I hope that you have all had a wonderful break and managed to recharge ready for the craziness that comes with this time of year!

I am so proud of all the students and staff in how they have settled in this week. Staff have begun the week with a planning day and have many wonderful, rich and engaging learning experiences ready to go.

This week has also been a big week for staffing. We have welcomed new staff to our team and are saying a brief ‘see you later’ to another.

Gabe Mullins has joined us as our new Assistant Principal. With Gabe starting this term, it was a perfect opportunity to redesign our leadership team and the roles that they are taking within our school. I am very pleased to announce that Gabe will the leading our P- 2 community and Jeff leading our 3 – 6 community. They have both taken up offices as close to their learning community as possible to enable increased accessibility to support and assistance. Please feel free to reach out to either AP with anything that you might need.

Gabe – gabrielle.mullins@education.vic.gov.au

Jeff – jeff.mcdonald@education.vic.gov.au

From week 4 this term, we will be saying goodbye to Lorey for a short period of time. Lorey is taking up a position with Tennis Australia and we wish her every success for this wonderful opportunity. Taking over in Lorey’s role will be Daniel Atnas. Daniel is well known to many of our students at KPS having just finished his Pre Service Teacher Placement here is Alison’s class. He is joining the PE career path during the best term – while the weather is getting much better to be outdoors!

Lastly, we are growing our Education Support team again with the addition of Michaela. She will be here with us 3 days a week supporting our teachers and students in and out of the classrooms.

For many, term 4 can bring about increased stress and anxiety as we prepare for changes in 2025. As you will read below, we are about to begin the process of class allocation. If you know that your child will not be attending KPS next year, can you please let the office know ASAP.

I would also like to extend an invitation out to you all to contact me if you have any confidential educational need for your child that we need to be aware of ahead of planning our classes in 2025. Please understand that we cannot accommodate requests for teachers as there will be movement and I can’t guarantee that a teacher will be in any particular year level.  It would be great if you could please email me on emma.vasilevski@education.vic.gov.ay by Friday October 18^th if you have any thoughts. We will work together to ensure the smoothest and most successful transition as possible.

Wishing you all a relaxing weekend.

Emma

In addition to the scheduled School Council meetings an Annual Public Reporting Meeting is called by the school council each year. There is no required time for this to take place.

The reporting at this meeting is for and with respect to, the previous school council year.

So, in 2024 the PRM is only for the 2023 school council year.

The expectations for this meeting are set by the Department of Education and components of the meeting include - 

• the acknowlegement of membership and the work of the 2023 school council
• reports given by both the Principal and School Council President
• reports from convenors or members of subcomitees 2023
• provision of the endorsed / approved Annual Report - 2023

The PRM for the 2023 school year has now been called by the 2024 school council and will take place on Monday October 21st 6.00 – 6:30pm approximately.

Kingsville School Council

Student agency and voice refer to the level of autonomy that a student experiences in the learning environment. Agency gives students the power to direct and take responsibility for their own learning, creating independent learners. Student voice is about students having a say and giving their perspective with regard to important decisions that impact their learning and the environment they are a part of.

Classroom and specialist teachers, support staff and leadership have a voice in constructing the best learning environments for children via the ‘Class Creator’ program. In 2023, we will once again provide the opportunity for your child to have voice into their classroom environment and learning for 2025. Students will have the opportunity to provide to their teacher their perspective as to the students they believe will enhance their learning and, social and emotional development.

In being involved in this process of having a say into the ‘Student Preference’ data set of ‘Class Creator”, it is vital to understand that the recommendations you and your child may make should be considered through the same lens that the school uses that is, creating diverse learning communities with a balance of skills, knowledge, learning styles and relationships.

At Kingsville, each student has the opportunity to preference five friends/peers from their year level. Any of the five opportunities not taken up by your child will be filled in by your child’s classroom teacher. These spaces are filled in through a conversation with your child, and from the teacher’s perspective of peers that would enhance a child’s learning and, social and emotional development.

The 5 students placed in the ‘Student Preference’ section of ‘Class Creator’ is filled, in the attempt to place students with one or more of the preferences where possible.

Your child’s classroom teacher will send you a link to an Office 365 Form to complete the survey. The link will come via Compass on Wednesday 16^th October.

As each preference/recommendation is chosen, please reflect on why this student should be considered a peer in the new class group.

Any information/names that your child or you provide will be considered alongside other ‘Student Preference’ recommendations from teacher/staff. An informed and considered approach, taking into account parent/student and teacher/staff recommendations into the ‘field’ of student preference/relationships, are made when completing this data field.

To participate please completed the Office365 Form by Friday 25^th October.

Please note: Not all preferences/ recommendations by your child/you or the teachers will be met once the program ‘runs’, as this field is just one of many fields that are ‘crunched’ in allocating a child to a cohort.

The misconception that regularly occurs is that having preferenced / recommended their best friend(s) they will automatically get that/these preferences. There is significant other data attached to each child that influences and impacts a child’s allocation to a cohort as the program builds a community of learner with a range of skills, characteristics and attributes.

The reality is that friendships can change from year to year, and we encourage students to develop new friends; a life skill which helps build resilience. Friendships across classes and year levels is supported and encouraged at Kingsville through both the curriculum and at play times.

Jeff McDonald

Assistant Principal

The Exhibition represents a significant event in the life of a PYP student by providing a culminating learning experience of each student’s engagement with the Primary Years Programme (PYP). This experience provides students the opportunity to demonstrate the attributes of the IB Learner Profile, transdisciplinary learning skills and international mindedness by investigating a topic or issue of interest and taking meaningful action in response to identified problems.

The transdisciplinary theme explored during this year’s Exhibition is How the World Works: An inquiry into...

• the natural world and its laws; 
• the interaction between the natural world (physical and biological) and human societies; 
• how humans use their understanding of scientific principles; 
• the impact of scientific and technological advances on society and on the environment.

The staging of the Exhibition in week 2 is the pinnacle of each grade 6 student’s extended collaborative investigation and provides students the opportunity to share and celebrate their Exhibition Journey with the community. Student voice and agency are integral aspects of every stage. This is evident in each student’s personal inquiry, which has been centred on an area of passion or interest and presented in a unique way. At the Exhibition, the students will be sharing the knowledge and skills they have developed, the understanding they gave gained about themselves as learners, and the meaningful actions they have taken to make a positive difference in the world.

We encourage all parents and carers from across the school to take this opportunity to visit our Exhibition which will be located for the first time upstairs in the main building and talk with our grade 6 students about their Exhibition Journey.

As the audience, we hope that as you engage with the students you notice that:

• discovering a passion gives rise to a real need to inquire, potentially leading to the desire to make a difference to their own lives and the lives of others
• the learning journey is messy, it is not linear
• powerful inquiry is not just about what we learn but how we learn
• powerful inquiry inevitably involves some failure, wrong turns and the need to re-route
• because students are given agency to manage their time and their personal inquiry, the journey progresses at a different pace for each student
• the way the students communicate their experiences is dictated by each student’s decision to decide what they believe is the best way to share

The Exhibition is open to the school community at the following times:

• Session 1: Thursday 17^th October 2024: 10 -11am, 11.30, 12.30pm, 2.30 -3.30pm
• Session 2: Friday 18^th October 2024: 10 -11am, 11.30, 12.30pm, 2.30 -3.30pm
• Session 3: Monday 21^st October 2024: 2.45 – 4pm and 5:30pm – 6:30pm

Please enter and exit the school via the front office on Bishop Street and make your way to the library where you will find further directions to the Exhibition and a QR code for signing in.

Each year, October is recognised worldwide as Dyslexia Awareness Month, a time to come together to raise awareness. With this in mind SPELD NSW have shared the following fact sheet.

2024 Student Free Days

Term 4 - Monday 18th November

2024 Term Dates

Term 4            Monday 7th October to Friday 20th December

Roster for Assembly Items – Term 3

11th Oct - FFW
18th Oct - 3/4A - First Awards for Term 4
25th Oct - 1/2H
1st Nov - FRT
8th Nov - No Assembly Item
15th Nov - 6EH
22nd Nov - FMJ
29th Nov - 1/2M
6th Dec - TBC
13th Dec - 5SP
20th Dec - No Assembly Item - Year 6 Graduation Song

Happy Birthday to Jack H, Jona M-N, Astrid P, Quinn K, Trixy S, Shahad B, Ella M, Mae S, Reese H, Goldie C, Essie G, Payton T, Eliza D, Ruby B, Ally A, Charlie K, Rehan SM, Violeta CC, Julian M, Angus J, Arihia G, Cassandra P, Ari M, Hudson M, Austin B.

Hello again welcome to our newsletter for term 4. 

We would like to remind families that if you need to alter your booking it is very important that you contact the head office. They will change your booking to fit your circumstances, the number is 1300 105 343. It is also important that you phone the service number on 0401 054 261 to identify any changes that are being made especially if there is a late booking.  Also to inform us if you have collected your child early from school. This is particularly important if your child/children are booked for after care. PLEASE let us know on 0401 054 261. It is also helpful to remind your child/children in the morning that they need to go to After Care in the afternoon if you have booked them in.

We organized two exciting excursions. The first was a trip to the Victoria Market, where kids explored the bustling stalls and experienced the vibrant atmosphere. The second excursion took us to the Circus Fit Studio, where everyone got a taste of circus life and tried out different skills.

In addition to the excursions, we had an incursion featuring Music & Movie Trivia and the Light Up Limbo Stick Challenge. These activities were a hit, as they combined fun with a bit of friendly competition. Interactive games were also on the menu, providing endless entertainment and allowing the kids to engage with each other in a playful and energetic environment. Overall, the program was filled with memorable moments and activities that not only entertained but also inspired creativity and teamwork among the kids.

As we are now into the “Sun Smart” time it is extremely important that children bring their hat to After Care. Camp Australia’s policy is for children to apply Sun Screen (which we provide or their own) and “No Hat No Play” which will require children who do not have a hat to remain under cover when outside where they can participate in other activities.

Term 4 brings with it a range of celebrations including Diwali, Halloween, World Kangaroo D, Remembrance Day and incursion level up your circus your moment, join our 6 weeks circus skills master class in Term 4, week 2 and stars on October 17^th to November 21^st every Thursday it is hosted by trained circus coaches. Only in after school care. For this incursion there is no extra cost. Check camp Australia’s website for After school Care fees. We always endeavour to program activities that reflect all cultures and celebrations so children can look forward to experiencing some great activities in the months ahead.

A reminder of the “Pupil Free Day” on Monday  18^th November and to book now for the day long “holiday program” we will run from7am to 6pm.

Last day of term 4 this Friday 20^th December school will be finishing at 1:30pm and after school care will operate from 1:30 – 6:00pm.

Regards Arshdeep Kaur, Carmel Cooper and all Team Member’s