Principal's Report

SWPBS Celebrations Continue

We recently held a Celebration Day after our students attained a full tree of THREE THOUSAND positive acknowledgements, and we are already well on our way to another treeful of feathers - with almost 14 birds - thats a total of over 4300 positive acknowledgements so far this year.  A great reflection of the fabulous attitude and effort of our students.  

Another big acknowledge this week came to us from the Department of Education.  We have been presented with a Gold Award for the high standard with which we have implemented School Wide Positive Behaviour Support as a school.  This is a huge honour as there are very few schools across the state who have achieved this level of success.

This award recognises how well we, as a Kilsyth Primary School team, have developed and implemented our practices in establishing and maintaining a positive learning environment with a focus on supporting all of our students in their Academic, Social and Emotional learning and behaviours.

Beyond the most visual element of SWPBS, our acknowledgement system of feathers, our school culture and practice is built on the fundamental principles of SWPBS.  We take a tiered approach (explained below) as we seek to meet the needs of every student in our school.  We respond consistently with appropriate action following incidents of when our values and expectations of Excellence, Resilience and Respect have not been met.  We have a keen understanding of the 'function of behaviour' to ensure our responses meet student need at the core.  

SWPBS is a fundamental element of everything we do at KPS.  We are very of our staff team and the depth and fidelity to which they have implemented our approach.  We are very proud of students who have listened and learned and committed to our approach.  We are very proud of our community who have taken to SWPBS and embraced the positive approach we take.  We are very proud to have been presented with this award and are totally committed to continue improving in our practices in this area.

End of Term Arrangements

A reminder that next Thursday is the last day of Term One.  

We will be finishing at 2.30pm on Thursday 6th April.

If you are unable to arrange to collect your child at this time, I encourage you to contact Camp Australia to arrange for your child to join our After-School Care program.  

We will be holding and assembly at 2pm on Thursday 6th April.  It would be terrific if you are able to join us.

Also on Thursday 6th, at 9am, we will be holding our Easter Hat Parade.  Students are encouraged to make a colourful Easter hat and wear it proudly for the parade.  This will be held in the area outside the hall (weather permitting) and we would love to see lots of parents come along and support the parade.  We will also be drawing our Easter Raffle during the parade, so hopefully you will have an armload of prizes to take home afterward.

Friday 7th April is Good Friday and a public holiday.  Students do not attend school on this day and therefore it is a bonus day of the school holidays this year.

Start of Term Arrangements

On Monday 24th April our staff will be participating in a Professional Learning Day.  This will be a pupil free day.  Tuesday 25th April is ANZAC Day and is a public holiday.  Students do not attend on this day.

Therefore, students start Term Two on WEDNESDAY 26th APRIL.

Have a safe and enjoyable holiday break.

Staff Changes in Term Two

There will be a few minor changes to our team next term as a couple of staff will be taking some leave.

• Miss Johnstone - First Six Weeks of Term Two.... Miss Johnstone will be taking Long Service Leave for the six weeks of Term Two.   We wish her all the very best during this time and look forward to having her back in June.  As an integral part of our leadership team, we know that many of you have regular contact with Miss Johnstone.  She will be leaving a clear list of key things that we need to keep up whilst she is away, and we will work as team to cover her absence. If you have anything you would normally communicate with Miss Johnstone, please contact the office and ask to speak with Mr Gooding instead.  Miss May and Mrs Black will also be key contacts during this time.
• Sully - First Six Weeks of Term Two...  Coincidentally, Sully will also be on leave for the first six weeks of Term Two.  We look forward to seeing his furry face and wagging tail back on deck, also in June.
• Miss Toner - Terms Two and Three... Miss Toner (Junior B and PE teacher) will be taking leave for Terms Two and Three.  She will be taking an extended tour around Australia and has planned some special check-ins with her class, who will be avidly tracking her trip as a part of their geography work.  Mrs Black, who currently teachers Junior B literacy, will be also taking them for numeracy lessons whilst Miss Toner is away.  We wish Miss Toner a safe and relaxing time away and look forward to hearing many stories of great adventure when she returns in October.

We will welcome Mrs Donna Larson to our team as our PE teacher for Terms Two and Three.    Mrs Larson has many years experience in a variety of education settings.  We are thrilled to have her join our team here at KPS.  I will share a photo and some more introductory info early next term.

Virtual Tour

We are delighted to launch our new Virtual School Tour.  By clicking on the button on the main page of our website (or the link below), you are able to take a virtual tour and check out the fabulous learning envrionment that is Kilsyth Primary School.  Take a look at our grounds with the aerial overview, or immerse yourself in the 360 degree panoramic photography of our classrooms and outdoor spaces.

I encourage you to take a look with your children and ask them to explain their classroom to you and show you their favourite places to play.  With holidays coming up it would be a great opportunity for children to share their school virtually with family and friends.  Sharing where they learn really strengthens their connection to school and supports positive learning outcomes.

Take a look, check it out, share it with friends and family.

2024 Enrolments are opening soon

We begin to take enrolments for Foundation for 2024 from the beginning of next term.  I have been doing a great number of tours for prospective families already this term and will be continuing to offer these into the future.

If you, or anyone you know, are seeking enrolment in Foundation in 2024 please contact us as soon as possible to arrange a tour and get on our mailing list to be kept up to date with all of our transition arrangements.  

We absolutely love showing our wonderful school to prospective parents!!

AIP Update - Multi-Tiered Systems of Support

Last week, I outlined the goals we have set in our Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) this year.  Our key focus over the next four years is to MAXIMISE GROWTH for all students.  We plan to do this through implementing a Multi-Tierred System of Support.

Over recent years we have implemented, with great success, our School Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) approach.  Whilst this approach includes our acknowledgement system (feathers given to students when they demonstrate our school values and expectations), it is so much deeper and broader.  Every part of what we do at KPS is built upon our SWPBS approach.   The triangle below shows some of the wide range of strategies that we use across the school to support students to achieve their best.

The strategies listed under Tier One are implemented by all staff in all situations, it is our core business and their focus is to provide support to all students.  They serve to provide opportunities for all students to learn, and in 80% of cases students excel with these supports.

 For some students, approximately 15% of students, extra strategies are needed to help them experience success.  These interventions are based on carefully collected data and targeted to support students in their own specific area of need.  These intervention strategies are considered Tier Two.

For about 5% of students, core strategies and intervention are not quite enough and they need specialist support to ensure they experience success.  In Tier Three, we draw on expert advice to cater for high level needs of specific student.

So in terms of Literacy, for example, all our teachers use High Impact Teaching Strategies for all students, along with our consistent Whole School Instructional Model, to provide a solid base for all students.  Most students will learn well with these strategies (approximately 80%) of students - this is Tier One.  Some students (approximately 15%) will require extra intervention. We undertake frequent assessments to monitor student learning and identify those needing intervention.  We then provide targeted intervention in the classroom, and through withdrawal for strategies such as Levelled Literacy Intervention program - This is Tier Two.  For a small number of students (approximately 5%) we work with speech pathologists and educational psychologists to develop specialised learning programs - this is Tier Three.

In this way we use a Multi-Tiered System of Supportfor student learning.