Principal's Report

Thank you all for your kind "welcome back" after I returned from carer's leave last week. It was great to return to everything running so smoothly across the school. Thank you to Mrs Julie Corr for taking on the role of Acting Principal in my absence and for the great team of staff who pulled together to ensure a terrific start to Term 3 for our students.

So much has been happening already this term! There have been dress up days and excursions, sleep overs and celebrations. It is all happening here at Kilsyth Primary School.

Our teachers have been attending extensive professional development after hours and delivering fantastic learning experiences for students during the day. We have such a dedicated team of teachers at this school.

Congratulations to our Foundation students who have now been at school for 100 days!!

Preparations for 2016

Although it seems like seems a long time away, it is only 136 shopping days to Christmas! Which means that it is only 168 days until the 2016 school year begins, and planning is well and truly under way. To help us to plan effectively it is important that we base our decisions on accurate information.

If you are aware that your family might be moving out of the area and your child might be leaving our school, or you know of a friend who is considering enrolling in Foundation (or any other level) in 2016 or any other changes in circumstances that may impact our planning it would be particularly helpful if you could please notify the office as soon as possible, or even better, stop by and speak to me.

Uniform Reminder

Following trends is a part of growing up. The latest shoes, the right coloured jeans, watching what our heroes wear and trying to dress the same. It is all part of working out who we are and how we want to present ourselves to the world. At Kilsyth Primary School we recognise this and provide numerous opportunities over the year for our students to come to school out of uniform for special event days - Friday's Jeans for Genes Day fundraiser is just one example.

Wearing a uniform is also important. It shows unity. It shows that we are part of something bigger, and that we belong somewhere. It allows us to reflect our pride in being part of a community and identifies us to others beyond our immediate community. It also takes the pressure off parents to conform to the whims of fashion.

Throughout this year I have written about our uniform policy and clarified its interpretation to assist parents in ensuring their child attends school in the correct uniform. I have been heartened by the response and as a whole have seen a tremendous improvement in students wearing correct uniform. From time to time however, trends kick in and become something we must address.

Over recent weeks, some boys have taken to wearing "skins" under their shorts - as they might have seen their favourite football or basketball player do. These are not school uniform. They are essentially leggings and as we have stated on numerous occasions, leggings are not part of the KPS uniform.

Long basket ball socks with shorts have also become popular. Our policy states that socks should be plain grey, white or black. We understand that it is sometimes difficult to find socks with absolutely no logo visible, however it is the expectation that socks are as plain as possible. Basketball socks, patterned socks, extra long socks and socks with large logos are not acceptable as uniform and should not be worn to school.

Student Absence & Lateness

We all want our students to get a great education, and the building blocks of a great education start with coming to school everyday.

If a student misses school regularly, they miss out on learning the fundamental skills that will set them up for success in the later years of school.

There is no safe number of days for missing school - each day a student misses puts them behind, and can affect their educational outcomes.

This year we have introduced a new attendance tracking system, and we have been seen an improvement in student attendance. This term we have also seen an improvement in students arriving to school on time. Our classes begin, promptly, at 9am every day. Students should be at school between 8.45am and 8.55am, ready and lining up outside their classrooms by the time the musics stops.

Students arriving after the music as finished must sign in at the office before going to class. To ensure their safety, parents of students arriving late should escort them into the office and sign them in.

If your child is absent from school for any reason, please contact the office as soon as possible on 9725 4320 to notify us of their absence. Alternatively you can notify us via Tiqbiz. This is particularly important if your child is due to be on an excursion. There have been instances recently of excursions being delayed as teachers have been waiting for students who were unwell and not attending at the last minute, because we had not been notified by a parent.

Basketball Tops

Tonight the Kilsyth Primary basketball team will take to the court in new tops! These have been made possible through sponsorship from James Wicks of Wixy's Tree Removal.

Thank you to James and to Nicole Long for organising the tops. They look great... Good luck this season!!!

Supervision before school

Just a reminder that students are supervised in the yard after 8.45am and before 3.45pm. To maintain safe levels of supervision, students should remain on asphalted areas during these times. If your child is at school outside of these times they should be in our OSHC program, run by Camp Australia.

Thumbs Up to...

Ruby (Foundation G) for sharing a terrific story with me when I visited your class last week. It was wonderful to hear how well you are reading now!
our recess soccer players who have been very flexible in modifying their game to help the grass on our oval recuperate.
Eddie & Charlie (Foundation) - Congratulations on passing your Golden Words boys, I was so excited when you told me you had!
Mrs Corr for doing a great job as Acting Principal at the start of this term.
our Student Representative Council who have done a spectacular job so far this year in organising some great activities - particularly our Jeans for Genes day last week

Have a great week!