Principal's Report

Morning Tea with Mr McClare

One of the most important parts of being a Principal, or any educator for that matter, is the ability to seek out and respond to feedback. Finding out what is going well at Kalinda and what we can do better is an important job at any stage of my time at the school. Listening to feedback is hugely important in my first year here, but would be just as important in my tenth year at the school.

As well as regularly meeting with staff, parents and School Council, it is crucial that the students have the opportunity to have their voice heard. From next week, I will begin weekly 'Morning Tea with Mr McClare' sessions with students from across the school. Each week on Friday mornings, from 10:00am-11:00am I will be meeting with 5 random students selected from a class in the school. Over the course of the year I will have the opportunity to have a deep discussion with students from every class.

Before my first Morning Tea with a group of students next week, I would like to invite any interested parents to join me for morning tea next Friday 14th June at 9:00am in the staff room. I hope many of you can make it to this Morning Tea straight after drop-off and I look forward to getting to know more of you and hearing your feedback about what is great about Kalinda and what areas we can improve in.

New staff at Kalinda

Over the last few weeks we have been recruiting for Semester 2. Our aim was to find high quality replacements for Stewart Clyde, who left the school at the end of term 1, and Zoe George who will be leaving to live overseas at the end of this term (good luck Zoe).

Simone Bailey will be the new 1/2Z class teacher from the beginning of Term 3. Simone has been a qualified teacher for quite some time, with  experience in the classroom a few years ago. Since then, Simone has been doing exceptional work as an ES staff member here at Kalinda. She is fantastic with all students, dedicated to the school and she makes great relationships with the students she teaches.

Natasha Weekes will be the new 5/6C classroom teacher from the beginning of Term 3. Natasha is a highly experienced teacher, with leadership experience. She will be a great asset to the school and the 5/6 team.

This term, we have utilised a new recruitment process, having the opportunity to observe candidates teaching a small group of students before we move to the interview stage of the selection process. This allows for us to assess pedagogical practice and even more importantly, the way a teacher relates with the students in their class. Having gone through this process with these new teachers, we are assured that they will form great relationships and achieve strong learning and well-being results with their class in the second half of this year.

I would like to take this opportunity to also thank Carli Lange and Zoe George for the wonderful job they have done. Carli will continue to work at Kalinda in a part-time capacity and I am particularly appreciative of the dedication and care she shows towards her students. We wish Zoe and her family all the best in their new adventures overseas

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