Assistant Principal's report 

Happy Holidays

Between a busy term, wonderful production and many winter bugs circulating in the community, this holiday break is a welcome break for students, staff and families I am sure! Pyjama days, movie afternoons and other slow-down days are good for the mind and body so don't be afraid to really lean in if that's what your family needs! After such a busy time our family focus will be on spending time together and definitely valuing some 'no commitment' days. We are also taking our caravan to Canberra in the second week and can't wait to be tourists in our own capital! (That reminds me...hmm where did we put the thermals?)

Updated Reporting Format

We are looking forward to publishing reports later this week to enable parents and students to celebrate their achievements and discuss future learning goals. Shaun McClare and I have had the pleasure of reading and enjoying each and every report and I think that you will really enjoy the opportunity to hear how your child's personality and learning styles are recognised and celebrated at school. The reports will give you a clear picture of your child's learning progress against the Victorian Curriculum, and this Semester we launch the use of the Compass Continuum as a companion to reports. The continuum provides an expanded view of the outcomes within the Victorian Curriculum that your child has achieved and which ones they are working towards. It will no doubt take our community some time to become familiar with the format, although our recent use of curriculum checklists will make many aspects of the format familiar for parents. We are confident that this will be a comprehensive and informative method of reporting moving forward, with a focus on individualised reporting of progress and next steps.

Once you have received your child's report, follow the instructions in the opening comments to find your child's Continuum. These instructions will also be published on Compass.

I hope that you will take the opportunity to congratulate your child for their learning progress this year, all students have so much to celebrate!

Food Sharing at Kalinda

I'd like to take this opportunity to remind the community that we have specific Policies in place to avoid the sharing of food by students and adults at Kalinda. These are in place not only to keep our environment a safe and predictable one for those students who suffer life-threatening food allergies, but also out of respect for individual family perspectives in regard to diet, lifestyle, and culture.

As with all of our policies, the Food Sharing policy can be found on our school website. In summary, our policy states that: 

• Students across the school are not permitted to share their own food.
• Gifts and rewards given by staff members or visitors will not include food items.
• Throughout the year there will be occasions when students will be involved in shared food experiences within the classroom. These activities may be related to curriculum studies or an extraordinary special celebration. At all times, hygienic practices will be followed. To help ensure the safety of children during these activities parents will always be notified prior to the event or lesson that involves food. In this case,  parents will be given the opportunity to opt out of the activity in which case alternative arrangements can be made.
• When a student wishes to celebrate a birthday with their classmates, food items are not allowed to be shared.
• At Christmas and Easter, the giving of lollies, chocolate and candy canes is strongly discouraged.

Take care Kalinda, you are very important to me. 

Lauren Hopkins