A word from the Principal

Welcome back! It has been lovely to hear about all the exciting family adventures that were had over the school holidays. Our students are well rested and ready for some great learning to finish off the year! We are especially  excited about the upcoming 30 Year Carnival on Sunday 23rd October.  This is a whole school event and would be challenging to hold without your support! All students, staff and parents will have a part to play so please get behind your class stalls.  

Term 4 is always the busiest and most exciting term on our calendar and this year is no different. We have tried to help families have an idea of what's coming up over the next few months so we have created a calendar that you can pop on the fridge (and add to it as the term goes on!).  This will be sent out on Compass by the end of the week. 

Working Bee

Thank you to those families, staff and students who came to the Working Bee on Sunday. There was a focus on the front part of the school (plus painting the poles outside Year 1 rooms).  Truckloads of mulch was distributed and the fence line was weeded so that our entrance is looking tip top for the 30 Year Carnival.  We finished the day off with a BBQ which was well deserved! It is so wonderful to see students there too showing pride in their school.

30 Year Carnival - Sunday 23rd October  11am - 4pm

Not long now until the big 30 Year Carnival!  There are so many things planned for the big day.  These include rides, food trucks, an animal farm, dunking machine, silent disco, fairy floss, popcorn, cake stalls, face painting, crazy hair, temporary tattoos,  arcade of games, book fair, handball and football competitions.  There will be a GLOW SHOW in the community room, filled with Artwork from across the school. Not to forget the stage with live music and dancing all day - along with competitions and then some very special guests at 2pm with the cutting of a cake and of course singing Happy Birthday to us.  The Foundation building will be filled with photos and memorabilia over the last 30 years.  Our new Vision and Values will also be unveiled and exciting plans for Karoo's future programs.  The Raffle tickets are coming home this week - please check out the 30th Year Carnival page in this newsletter to see the 30 AMAZING prizes!!  We would love to see our whole community involved on the day - community is one of the things that makes Karoo so special!  

Embrace - KIDS

Last Friday I sent out a notice on Compass about this must see documentary!  I honestly can't recommend this enough and see it as essential viewing for all children 8+.  As we are booking the cinema through Fanfare, the price for the movie is set through them as it is community viewing, not a block buster movie with the funding that backs it.  The documentary reinforces how children should value their individuality, be proud of who they are and love every element of what makes them special.  A message we want for all of our children - plus it is entertaining and humorous too! 

 Wednesday 16th November, 6:30 pm at Village Cinema Knox for Karoo parents and students in Year 3-6 (family and older siblings can come along as well!) - please note that all students must have a guardian.

https://fan-force.com/screenings/embrace-kids-village-cinemas-knox-2/

PASSWORD : karoo  

For this event to happen, we need to sell a minimum number of tickets.  Please ensure you book in quickly so we can make this happen! 

Foundation 2023

A reminder that enrolments are due for 2023 Foundation students. If you or a friend have a child that you would like to attend Karoo Primary School in 2023 but are yet to submit an enrolment, please do so ASAP as our transition program begins in the next few weeks!  We currently have only a few more places available for 2023 in Foundation so please bring in the enrolment form as soon as possible.  

Classes for 2023

The construction of new classes for any year is a dynamic and a designed process, which ensures that children are thought of both individually and collectively. When we are working to compile class groups many factors are taken into account including; academic ability, individual needs, gender, student relationships, social and emotional traits, behaviour, working relationships, influences (the influence a child has on others, how others influence them) and, previous class placements/teachers etc. All these elements are considered in building the new “learning community”, as we make decisions about what is in the best educational and learning interests for students.  At all times we make decisions that support the learning environment for your child.  We strongly believe that the classroom is for learning and the playground where we catch up with our friends. Part of developing our wellbeing is forming and making new friendships. If students are always surrounded with their best friends in the classroom it can sometimes restrict them from developing other relationships and possibly making a new friend that they might not have if they were always with friends. 

As students at Karoo progress from Foundation to Year 6, it is expected they will learn to work and relate to a range of teachers and students. As with all school decisions, the aim is to offer the best possible learning experience for all our students. Before making any request for 2023, please consider if your request is supportive of the best learning environment for your child as well as their growth in expanding their friendships. 

Requests do not include names of requested teachers (to have or not to have). Instead these requests need to articulate the learning environment in which best supports the learning for your child and the type of teacher in which supports this classroom culture (eg: warm and nurturing, firm and fair etc). Names of specific teacher requests will not be taken into consideration when formulating student classroom placements for 2023.

Please also note a new request needs to be submitted for each schooling year. Previous requests will not be taken into consideration for 2023 as each year situations change. 

Parent requests must be returned to the office by Friday 4th November for consideration. Any submissions after this date, unfortunately cannot be taken into account in our grade formulations for 2023.      All requests need to be emailed to:

karoo.ps@education.vic.gov.au 

Term 4 Pupil Free Day

School Council have approved our last Pupil free day for 2022 to be held on Monday 14th November. As per previous pupil free days, no children are required onsite. OSHC will be running a program for students booked in and are looking at going on an excursion for the day. 

Have a wonderful weekend - stay dry and cross all fingers and toes for a dry day on our Carnival! 

Danielle Heatley

Principal