From the Principal

Dear Karoo PS Community, 

I hope this newsletter finds our wonderful community well, happy and enjoying the sunshine, as we welcome the warmer weather with Spring around the corner.

Book Week Celebrations

What a fantastic week it has been celebrating Book Week at Karoo PS! The amazing characters that came to life on Monday at our Book Week Parade were simply sensational!  Thank you to our whole school community - students, staff and families for making the parade such a sensational event!

Rotary Speech Night 2026

A HUGE congratulations to two of our Year 6 students, Deeshan and Cidalia who represented Karoo PS at the Rotary Speech Night. They were selected out of our Year 6 both presented their outstanding speeches to an exceptionally high standard.

2026 Parliament Prize Competition - Winners

We are absolutely thrilled to celebrate Karoo PS as the Primary School winner of the Alicia Katz Award in the 2026 Parliament Prize competition!  Out Year 6 students identified an area of passion for them, worked collaboratively with their teachers to create a short oral presentation which was submitted into the Parliament Prize competition.  Based on the strength of the message and diversity of topics Karoo PS was selected from 182 schools and 1,100 entrants across the state to win this award.  This is an incredible achievement and a wonderful recognition of our students’ outstanding ideas, communication skills and contributions.

This excellent example of writing with purpose and speaking confidently in public reflects the strength of our English teaching and learning practices across the school. Our students are developing the skills to understand the world around them, express their ideas clearly and use their voices to make a difference.  A huge congratulations to all of our Year 6 entrants for sharing their ideas, perspectives and voices with Parliament on matters that are important to them. 

The award was presented at Parliament House in Melbourne during a special presentation, with our Year 6 students - Deeshan, Alicia, Alice, William and Aiden - proudly accepting the award on behalf of our school.  Following the ceremony, our students enjoyed a private tour of Parliament House, providing a wonderful opportunity to learn more about our parliamentary system and the importance of sharing your voice and representing your community.

A huge congratulations to all of our Year 6 entrants for sharing their ideas, perspectives and voices with Parliament on matters that are important to them. Your courage to speak up, think deeply and make your voices heard makes us incredibly proud!

Parent/Carer Opinion Survey

As part of our commitment to continuous improvement at Karoo Primary School, we believe it is important to seek our community's feedback.  Your insights into what is working well here at our school and what can be improved are important to us, as we wish to see our school continue to grow and thrive.  

To gain your feedback we have the 2026 Parent/Carer survey, which is currently open.  The survey will take approximately 15-20minutes and will be open until Friday 18th September.  Currently we have had only 21 families complete the survey, so I encourage all to take the time to share feedback to our school so that we can grow together.  

The survey has been shared via compass, however, please find the details below to complete the survey: 

1. Click on the link below or copy and paste the link into your browser. This link will take you directly to the survey.

                   https://research.orima.com/parent

2. Select the School and Campus name below.

                   School Name: Karoo Primary School

                    Campus Name: Karoo Primary School

3. Enter the School PIN below.

                    PIN: 631766

4. When complete, click the submit button

We thank you in advance for your support and feedback.

Karoo PS Community Support

Our Karoo PS community is made up of so many kind, caring and supportive people. Each of us has our own story, our own successes and our own challenges. A school is central to the life of its community. As the world around us continues to change, the role of a school as a place of connection, learning, celebration and support becomes increasingly important and essential.

When a child and family experience success, a school celebrates with them. When a family is facing challenges, a school respectfully wraps support around them and works alongside them to help meet their needs.

As a community of more than 1,000 people, this happens every day at Karoo PS.

Today, I have been given permission by one of our families to share their story. Leanne and her family have experienced a significant period of challenges and are now reaching out to our community for support.  As with all communities, it is often not a question of whether we can help, but how we can help. In times of tragedy and hardship, we can feel a strong desire to do something for others, yet sometimes we are unsure of what that might look like.

With Leanne's permission, I would therefore like to share her family's story, in her own words.  If you feel you are able to offer support to Leanne and her family, you are very welcome to do so. Every act of kindness, care and support can make a meaningful difference.

Dear Karoo Community, 

My name is Leanne and I have two wonderful daughters who attend Karoo PS.  I have been so grateful to my village and our school for their ongoing support, as I’ve been fighting triple-negative metastatic breast cancer for the past seven years. In this time the last two years have been the hardest, with my treatment options becoming more limited and the treatments I’ve been on becoming less effective.

I’m now exploring alternative treatment options that unfortunately aren’t funded by medicare or claimable, making the financial burden incredibly difficult.

But I’m still here, still fighting, and still holding onto hope. I’m determined to keep going for my girls and to be here for all the milestones still ahead of us.

A friend of Leanne's has set up a Go Fund Me page for Leanne to help support her and her family in her next steps, which you are welcome to access to support her: https://gofund.me/3269b2048

Leanne's story may impact you in different ways.  If you require further support, please don't hesitate to reach out to the school, or contact the Cancer Council Australia on 13 11 20 for further support.

Have a wonderful fortnight and I look forward to seeing you around our sensational school!

Courtney Hoffmann

 Principal