The Kingswood Newsletter

Assistant Principal

Patrick Halpin 

 

Assistant Principal 

Crazy Sock Day

Thank you to everybody who joined in for Crazy Sock Day and donated a gold coin to support the amazing work of the people in Make a Difference, Dingley Village.  Some of the team came to visit us on August 1st and they gave me some information on why the starfish was chosen as the logo for their organisation.  I think the message applies to all parts of our lives as responsible citizens, whether it’s in relation to helping those who are less fortunate, engaging in sustainable practices or just generally being nice to others.

Across the three schools, $1551.55 was raised, over $600 of which came from Kingswood.  This money will be used to support families who are most at need this winter.

THE STARFISH STORY

There was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day, as he was walking along the shore, he noticed a young man in the distance. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean. He came closer still and called out “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”

The young man paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean.” “I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?” asked the somewhat startled wise man. To this, the young man replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.” Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, “But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile?

You can’t possibly make a difference!” At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, “It made a difference for that one.”

The Star Thrower, written by Loren Eiseley

 

CASEA and the Zones of Regulation

The CASEA Team were highly impressed by the number of people who attended their information session on the Zones of Regulation.  There is a lot of information that can be found through a quick Google search and the team have also offered to run some follow up sessions in response to the high levels of engagement.  Please watch Compass for updates over the next few weeks.

 

All of the staff attended training in implementing the zones in their classrooms and two of the teachers are receiving specific coaching.  The team will support two more teachers in Term 4 and another two in Term 1.  Teachers are currently trailing a few of the approaches, with a view to rolling out whole school expectations next year. 

 

If any parent is interested in learning more, I would suggest you visit this website.  You may hear your child(ren) and/or their teacher(s) speaking about the zones so, for your information:

 

THE FOUR ZONES:  OUR FEELINGS & STATES DETERMINE OUR ZONE

The Red Zone is used to describe extremely heightened states of alertness and intense emotions.  A person may be elated or experiencing anger, rage, explosive behavior, devastation, or terror when in the Red Zone. 

 

The Yellow Zone is also used to describe a heightened state of alertness and elevated emotions, however one has more control when they are in the Yellow Zone.  A person may be experiencing stress, frustration, anxiety, excitement, silliness, the wiggles, or nervousness when in the Yellow Zone.  

 

The Green Zone is used to describe a calm state of alertness. A person may be described as happy, focused, content, or ready to learn when in the Green Zone.  This is the zone where optimal learning occurs.  

 

The Blue Zone is used to describe low states of alertness and down feelings such as when one feels sad, tired, sick, or bored.  

Parent Information Session:

At 6:30pm on Thursday August 22nd, the Life Skills Group will return to run the second of three information sessions.  Thank you to everybody who provided feedback and voted for the next topic, which will be ‘Raising a Leader’.  Marisa will also revisit some of the mindfulness activities she mentioned at the last session so please join us.  Remember that while we can LiveStream this session, we do not have permission to save or share the video.

To register, please click here.

 

 

School Assembly – thank you for your feedback

We sent out a snapshot survey at the end of last term seeking your feedback on assembly and had responses from every year level across the school.  2:50pm on Friday is the most popular option by far, with over 80% of respondents reporting that the afternoon is best and two-thirds opting for Fridays.

 

Some of the comments included:

  • Most people commented on the positive impact splitting the assembly into junior and senior.  There are some people, however, who preferred the whole school assembly.  Whole school assemblies worked for many years and are a great way of bringing the whole community together.  Unfortunately, however, space restrictions meant we were forced to restructure our processes and splitting the assembly has also allowed us to add in a class item each week.
  • One person asked for a permanent calendar indicating when each class is presenting.  There is a schedule on Compass for Term 3 but it should be noted that this is subject to change.

 

We lead the way by thriving in a team culture

I want to congratulate the staff of Kingswood Primary School for leading the way over the past few weeks and having a system-level impact in a range of areas:

  • Our Curriculum Leaders (Megan, Karen and Sarah) hosted the joint Literacy and Numeracy Network meeting at Kingswood last week.
  • The Inclusion Team organised the first ever Integration Aide Network meeting in our area and welcomed over 30 integration aides to the school.  They presented and shared ideas on using visuals to support students in progressing towards their learning goals.
  • Lucie and Liliane invited their counterparts from schools in our network for the Library Technician Network and First Aid Officer Network meetings over the past few weeks.

Well done to all involved.  It’s wonderful to see the great work happening at Kingswood that ultimately results in better educational experiences for every child, not only in our scho