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.

Thank you

A huge thank you to everyone involved in supporting student learning and well-being at Kalinda in 2022. 

Our incredible teachers and ES staff have done an amazing job. Using their skill, care and dedication, they have gone above and beyond for our students.

The teachers and ES staff have been supported by our incredible office staff, first aid staff, counsellors, Ted, Kelly, Justine, and Pete. Everyone has worked together to ensure our students are safe, happy, and engaged at school each day.

A huge thank you to everyone who has volunteered in any way this year. Helping on the sausage sizzle, attending excursions, listening to reading, being on School Council, joining sub-committees, attending working bees, helping with Graduation and so many other ways volunteers have helped this year.  I would like to particularly thank Andrea Badlee who has given so much of her time and energy to Kalinda over many years. She leaves behind a great legacy in the Parent and Friends, Fundraising and School Council groups.

And finally, thank you to all the families (parents, siblings, grandparents, etc) who have supported your children at school this year. You support your children through the ups and downs, demonstrate resilience, celebrate achievements, and connect with our staff to support learning.

Thank you all so much.

Graduating Class of 2022

Congratulations to our Graduating class of 2022. You made us all so proud at the Graduation ceremony on Thursday night.

I hope you follow your dreams in the future. You have the power to make this a better world, both locally and globally.

I am honoured to have the opportunity to attend the graduation event each year. Below is the speech I gave to our Class of 2022.

Welcome parents, siblings, grandparents, staff, and students to this very special night

Thank you to our Graduation Organising Committee, volunteers, parents, staff, Year 6 teachers

It is so important we can come together with friends and family to celebrate important events. We share these great moments and create wonderful memories with each other.

At Primary school, we support you in setting the foundations for living a rewarding life.

When I think about a rewarding life – I think about using our strengths to help others

I have been thinking a lot about this as I have been watching the World Cup over the last few weeks.

For teams to succeed the players have been building their skills and strengths since they were very little children. Hard work, determination, and listening to coaches/ teachers who support them.

But no team can win a World Cup if it just has players who are skilled and have worked hard, if they just play for themselves, are individuals, or play in a selfish way.

The best teams are full of players who use their strengths to help each other. The best player in the world, Lionel Messi, so often uses his amazing skills to help others score goals. And he shows as much happiness in helping others score as when he does himself.

As teachers, we love using our own strengths to help you learn and I’m sure you can all think of times at Kalinda when you used your strengths to help someone else.

My advice going forward is to follow your dreams, work hard and as often as you can use your strengths to help others. I think that is a great way to live a rewarding life.

The great American poet Maya Angelou said:

‘I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’

Good luck in the future and I hope you all get many, many opportunities to use your strengths to help others.

Congratulations to our Graduating class of 2022!!

Host Families needed for 2023

We are so very fortunate at Kalinda Primary School to have the opportunity to host a Japanese Intern in 2023.  Over the last few years, we have been unable to have this program because of Covid, so we are very excited to be able to offer this amazing experience again to our Kalinda families.

Minori Ichihashi is arriving in April to stay with our Kalinda families for nine months. Minori is an elementary school teacher in Osaka.

Minori would like to teach our students about Japanese culture, modern and traditional life in Japan, Origami, Calligraphy, Japanese Animation, Video Games, and traditional children’s games. 

Minori loves horse riding, creating stop-motion animation, music, drawing, shopping, and spending time with animals.

We ask host families to provide a room and food for the intern. It is an intern's responsibility to organise what they do during the school holidays, but host families usually enjoy the weekends with the intern.

The intern pays a small weekly fee to the host family to help cover the cost of the stay. 

 Children of the host family have the opportunity to get exposed to Japanese culture and make a lasting friendship. Previous interns still keep in touch with their host families. 

We would appreciate your support again for our International Internship Program. If interested in being a Host Family please complete the form below and send it to our International Intern Co-ordinator, Cheryl Henry-Wild as soon as possible. 

Cheryl.henry-wild@education.vic.gov.au

Deakin Shield

Congratulations to Bailey H on being the recipient of the Deakin Shield Award for 2022. Below is the citation written by the teachers.

Our Deakin Shield recipient this year has had a continual positive impact on the school community since beginning school. Without a doubt, some of their greatest strengths are humility, gratitude, kindness, and perseverance. 

Not only does this person embody our school values, but they also encourage others to have the same strength and perspective as they do. This person is rarely the loudest voice in the room, but wise, brave and honest, leading the way and contributing to their classroom, their school, and community events, especially in their role as House Captain.

 Our school has benefited greatly from this person’s passion and energy and we can be sure that, whatever they do in the future, it will have a similar impact. 

Our Deakin Shield recipient for 2022 is Bailey Henderson. 

School Sports Victoria Award

Congratulations to Belle W on receiving the 2022 School Sports Victoria Award. Below is the citation for this award, written by Mr Kight.

The recipient of the School sport Victoria academic and sporting achievement medal has made it to Division and beyond for 

Cross Country and Athletics over the past 4 years.

She has shown a positive attitude to physical education lessons and pushed herself to achieve her potential.

This year she has made it to Division in Cross Country and Athletics events. She progressed to a few rounds of State trials in her sport.

They were a strong member of the Girl's Netball team that performed so well on the Regional Netball day.

It's with great pleasure that I announce the 2022 School Sport Victoria award to Belle 

W!

Bennett Shield

Congratulations to Melba on winning the Bennett Shield in 2022. We love giving our students the opportunity to compete in sports competitions at Kalinda. As well as Inter-school sports we run both the Dugdale Cup and Bennett Shield as intra-school competitions.

Competitive sports provide our students with the opportunity to develop their skills in a range of sports. And more importantly, they get to practice teamwork, resilience, and how to be good winners and gracious losers.

We are really proud of all the students who competed in these competitions this year.

Farewell and Thank you

At the end of each school year we have some staff members moving on to different opportunities or the next chapter of their lives. Whilst it is sad whenever someone is leaving, they are always part of our Kalinda family and at this time I feel incredibly grateful for the impact they have made during their time at our school.

Whether at a school for a long time or just for a short while, thank you to the following staff members for everything they have done for the students and their colleagues at Kalinda.

I wish these following staff members all the best in the future and thank you so much:

Michelle Anderson

Irene Diacos

Katinka Drake

Bec Burley

Karina Gallace

Tim Huntington

David Kight

Karen Klewer

Sam Martin

Pip Sinfield

Ebony Woolcock

Elsabe Van Wyngard

Whilst we thank all of the staff members who have worked at Kalinda, I would like to give a special mention to Karen Klewer and Michelle Anderson. 

Karen has been an ES staff member at Kalinda for many years and throughout that time has gone above and beyond to support the learning and wellbeing of so many students. Karen is skilled, caring and full of love. She has also run our school's breakfast club and life skills programs for so many years. Thank you Karen.

Michelle has been a teacher, team leader, and learning specialist during her time at Kalinda. Michelle was instrumental in improving maths and writing pedagogy during her time here. She is a great leader, has mentored many young staff, and is a highly respected and beloved teacher. Thank you for the amazing contribution you have made Michelle.

2023 Staff

I would also like to welcome Giulia Bulled to our team in 2022. Giulia is a highly experienced and outstanding teacher. Many students have met her during this year whilst she was doing some casual work at the school.

We also welcome back the following staff members in 2023

Bianca Davies

Jess Oakley

Steffie Ruggeri

Paul Todd

Carmel D'Amico

Our staff structure for next year will be:

Principal: Shaun McClare

Assistant Principal: Lauren Hopkins

Learning Specialist (Pedagogy and Curriculum): Bron Steele

Learning Specialist (Student Welfare & Engagement): Lochie Anderson

Foundation: Natasha Weekes (Team Leader), Jayde Gardiner

Year 1: Mandy Boulton, Helen Renehan/Steph Parton

Year 1/2: Bron Steele (Year 1 and 2 Team Leader)

Year 2: Jo Henderson, Andie Lowe/Kate Brookes

Year 3: Bron Draffin (Team Leader), Lochie Anderson

Year 4: Kylie Drummond (Team Leader), Christina Patane, Steffie Ruggeri/Tamara Anderson

Year 5: Chelsey Lloyd (Team Leader), Giulia Bulled, Carli Lange/Paul Todd, Mel Tattersall

Year 6: Hayley Crossland (Team Leader), Simone Bailey, Claire Todeschini

Art: Libby Shaw (Specialist Team Leader)

Performing Arts: Sarah Butler

Japanese: Hiromi Hagihara, Jess White

PE: Jess Oakley and Bianca Davies

STEM: Kyle Barnden

ES Integration Aides: Jo Williams, Briony Palframan-Doe, Deb Duncan, Rachel Godwin, Michele O'Connell, Kellie Mitchell, Brinda Kukke, Susanne Formichi, Tiahna Wild

Step-Up Team (MultiLit): Alexa Telfer, Pam Cox, Cheryl Henry-Wild

Step-Up Team (Tutors): Ashlee Kidner, Carmel D'Amico,

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden: Kelly Woodman

Library: Martina Medica

Business Manager: Melissa O'Rorke

Administration: Annie Koopmans

Finance: Jen Muller

Maintenance: Ted Dugdale

Canteen: Justine Watson

First Aid: Brooke Witherow

School Counsellors: Emily Bieber and Mel Jefferey

Shaun McClare,

Principal 

Kalinda Primary School

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