Principal's report 

Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung People of the Kulin nation; past, present and those who will walk with us into the future.

We acknowledge the rich and unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters and seas, educational practices and the hopes of all First Nations Peoples. We do this in the spirit of reconciliation as we move to a place of justice and partnership - together we work, learn, play and care for one another and this land.

Many students have written their own versions of an Acknowledgement of Country. In each issue of the newsletter, I plan to share one of these. In this newsletter, we have one that was written by Billi in Year 4.

High Expectations and Clarity

Here at Kalinda, we have been incredibly committed to working on developing our staff capacity in the use of Restorative Practices. The work our staff has done in this area, being led by Mr Anderson, and supported through our partnership with Real Schools has made a great impact in the classroom and for our students.

Having a consistent approach to circle-time discussions in the classroom, restorative chats following minor incidents and disagreements, and the use of consistent language by staff in regard to behavioural expectations, is all an important part of this approach.

Through this consistency, we see two really important things across the school; high expectations and clarity. We expect all our students to treat themselves, the staff, and each other with kindness and respect at all times, and we have a consistent approach if this is not the case.

Furthermore, when there is a dispute, disagreement or someone has treated another in a way that is unkind, our focus is on repairing that damage and restoring that relationship. This cultural expectation within the schools moves us from simply punishing poor behaviours, to students taking accountability for their actions, developing empathy for others and doing the work to repair a relationship when they have made a mistake. This is powerful learning for life, not just the school classroom and playground.

Use of student toilets

It has been great to hear so much positive feedback from students about our toilet upgrade. I just wanted to remind all parents, grandparents and other adults in the community that our student toilets are solely for the use of Kalinda students. If any adults need to use a toilet when picking up or dropping off students, please pop in via the office and you are welcome to use our staff toilets. This is an important part of our Child Safe practices at Kalinda. 

Canteen Update

I am pleased to announce that we have employed a new interim Canteen Manager, Kimberley Ingram,  who will be beginning work at Kalinda this week. Kimberley will begin some induction, planning, re-stocking the canteen and getting ready to get it operational again as quickly as possible. We expect the canteen will be ready to be opened again in about a week.

Host Families request

This year we will be once again be welcoming an intern from Japan to support our Japanese language program at the school. Megumi Ikishima will be at Kalinda for Term 2 and Term 4 (will be overseas during Term 3). We are looking for host families who would be willing to host Megumi whilst she is here at Kalinda. 

If interested in hosting Megumi, or would like to find out more information about hosting, then please contact our Japanese Intern coordinator, Ms Jess White at Jessica.white@education.vic.gov.au

Please see a profile below about Megumi.

School Tours

School Tours are now open for 2025 Foundation enrolments. To book a tour please do so via the link below or through scanning the QR code. Alternatively, please feel free to contact the school on 03 9876 3289.

https://www.trybooking.com/CPSRZ

Shaun McClare,

Principal 

Kalinda Primary School

We are kind. We are resilient. We are respectful.