School News

Classroom Awards

Congratulations to the following student for receiving a classroom award: Maeve

Grade 5/6 News

We’re excited to begin the new school year, welcoming our Year 5 students into the senior school and supporting our Year 6's as they embark on their final year of primary school. A special welcome also goes out to our new students joining KPS—we’re thrilled to have them as part of our school community.

The first few days were filled with energy and enthusiasm as students settled in, explored expectations and routines, and connected with the traditions of their studios. These activities set the stage for a positive and productive year ahead.

To help students get to know one another, each student's About Me Library, created during last year’s transition day, was displayed. These showcased their interests, experiences, and personalities, providing a fantastic opportunity for students to learn more about their classmates and strengthen connections within their studio.

A standout moment every year is when students take time for self-reflection by writing letters to their future selves. These capture the students’ current thoughts, aspirations, and goals, and are sealed away until the end of the year—a powerful way to reflect on their journey and growth.

We’re looking forward to an exciting year of learning, achievements, and memorable experiences in Year 5/6!

Meet the Teacher Chats

Our 2025 Meet the Teacher Chats with classroom teachers will take place on Wednesday 19th February. 

Meet the Teacher Chats are an opportunity for you to have a chat with your child's teacher and discuss student goals in Term One, students are encouraged to also be present.

These meetings will be for 10 minutes and will be held in your child’s studio commencing at 12:10 pm until 6:00 pm. You will need to book a time on the Compass Portal in Conferences.  

School will finish at 11:40am for all students at Kyneton Primary School on this day. Buses will not be running at this early time so bus travellers will need to make other arrangements. 

If you have any queries, please contact your child’s teacher or the office.

If you have a matter you would like to discuss with a specialist teacher, please email that teacher to arrange a booking time –

ART – Nathan MOUNTFORD – Nathan.Mountford@education.vic.gov.au          

FRENCH – Sherry VARGA – Sherry.Varga@education.vic.gov.au

MUSIC – Polly CHRISTIE – Polly.Christie@education.vic.gov.au

PHYSICAL EDUCATION – Kirk ANSTEE – Kirk.Anstee@education.vic.gov.au

School Saving Bonus (SSB)

SSB funds NOT being used for uniforms can be transferred to the school at any time by allocating it to activities in the SSB Parent Portal.

From the end of June any funds that you have not allocated will automatically transfer to the school and will continue to be held as a credit for you. Any balance of unused uniform credit will also transfer to the school for your use in events. A detailed statement of credit and expenditure can be provided at any time. 

There are a few processes that have had to be introduced to administer the SSB that need to be explained as failure to meet deadlines on Compass will now mean your child/ren will miss out on events.

You need to notify the school office when you want to use SSB for an event. If you have not already allocated funds to school activities on the SBS Parent Portal the funds will not immediately be available at the school as this can take a few days. Once funds appear in our system, office staff will then mark the event as paid. Only after this takes place will you be able to give consent on Compass. 

The way to notify us if you want to use SSB is to email - kyneton.ps@education.vic.gov.au 

In the subject line enter –

• SSB
• Event name
• Child/rens Name

There is no need to put anything in the message area and we will reply to let you know when this allocation has been completed so you can provide your consent in Compass.

To learn more about the School Saving Bonus visit - vic.gov.au/school-saving-bonus

Please do not hesitate to contact the school office if you have any questions.

Thank you.

2025 Swimming Program

Swimming program information has been sent home this week to our students in Years 3 & 4 regarding our 2025 swimming program which starts on the 24th February 2025.

Information for students in Years 1, 2, 5 & 6 will be sent out next week. Foundation students will participate in the swimming program in Term 2 and further information will follow closer to the date for these families.

The timetable for the swimming program is below:

2025 School Photo Day

Our school photo day is booked for Friday 14th March 2025. Information regarding online ordering of photos will be sent out soon.

Volunteers needed for our Canteen & Breakfast Club

Breakfast Club is a great way to get involved with the School Community. This is only possible when we have enough volunteers to help run it. So, we are asking grandparents, older siblings, dads and mums in the KPS Community. This years aim is to have Breakfast Club running 5 days a week.

This would require you be at the School Canteen at 8.30am. We have two volunteers each shift, who help prepare the toast (vegemite, butter and honey) ready for 8.45am when the gates open. We continue to serve until 8.55am or when the toast runs out. It is then just a quick clean-up for the Canteen. You are finished between 9am and 9.15am depending on how busy it is.

One Volunteer is needed to pick up the donated bread from Baker’s Delight on certain shifts prior to 8.30am. Please let me know if you are able to assist with this.

Let me know if you are available one day a week, one day a fortnight or even just once a month. We have a small group of Volunteers who will help next week but we still need more to run Breakfast Club efficiently. Once we have everyone available, we will start a roster from Week 4.

We are also looking for Canteen Volunteers to help with Lunch orders on a Thursday and Friday. I have created a sign up sheet before for Term 1 below.

Volunteers are required to hold a valid Working With Childrens Check (WWCC) and will need to present this and complete a 5 min OHS induction with office staff. This needs to be done once a year and prior to your 1st Volunteer shift in the Canteen.

If you don’t have a WWCC, they are free and easy to apply for. You just need to register as a Volunteer. Click on the link below.

Regards

Sarah Lockhart

Canteen Manager

2025 Working Bee

Our first working bee of the year is Sunday February 16 from 9 am.

This term we are starting earlier than usual to beat the heat. It also means that we can “down tools” at lunchtime to socialise. It’s a great chance for families that are new to the school to mix and mingle with the school community.

Our working bees are a fun opportunity to create and maintain our school gardens and outdoor learning and play spaces. Lunch is provided by the P&F to feed the hungry workers. Children are welcome on the understanding that you take full responsibility for their supervision and wellbeing. 

The upcoming working bee will include some of the following tasks:

• Weeding garden beds
• Tidying plants
• Topping up soil in some areas
• Re-distributing the soft fall in the playground areas

The school has a limited number of tools, so please bring along any of your own that you are happy to use. Wheelbarrows, shovels and garden forks, weeding tubs, trowels, secateurs and the like are all very handy. Don’t forget your gardening gloves and anything else you need to stay safe and comfortable.

See you there!

Duncan Cocking

Volunteer Working Bee Coordinator

Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) applications 

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund helps eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities.

If you have a valid means-tested concession card, such as a Veterans Affairs Gold Card, Centrelink Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible. There is also a special consideration category for asylum seeker and refugee families.

Payment amounts this year are $154 for eligible primary school students. Payments are made direct to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions and sporting activities for the benefit of your child. 

If you have previously applied for CSEF through our school last year, you do not need to complete an application form this year, unless there has been a change in your family circumstances. 

If you would like to apply for the first time, please complete the attached form or call the office to request a form.

Please return completed forms to the school office as soon as possible. A copy of the form is attached below. We will require a copy of your valid health care card with the application.

Swing Band Concert featuring Ms Polly

Ms Polly will be performing with her 7-piece swing band next Saturday night Feb 15th at the Malmsbury Town Hall

Bookings: www.trybooking.com/CYRIW

Instrumental Music Program

Our instrumental music program at KPS offers an excellent opportunity for students in Years 2–6 to learn from highly experienced teachers.

Students can choose from a variety of instruments, including guitar, violin, ukulele, voice, keyboard, trumpet, clarinet, and flute.

Spots are available for all instruments, though guitar and keyboard placements tend to fill up quickly. Please refer to the below information letter sent via Compass for details. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at polly.christie@education.vic.gov.au.

Ms Polly Christie

Music Teacher (M,T,W,Th)

Kyneton Primary School

2025 Parent Payments

Thank you to the families who have paid the $140 Parent Payment.

These funds are used for:

 •    Curriculum Contributions – items and activities that students use, or participate in, to access the Curriculum.

•    Other Contributions – for non-curriculum items and activities such as memberships, subscriptions to programs and affiliations.

•    Extra Curricular Items – the Kyneton Primary School Yearbook

If you would like to pay for these please use one of the following methods -

•    Compass portal

•    EFT - at the office or by phone

•    Cash - at the office

•    Direct Bank Transfer - BSB 063-000 Account No 14033609 - use your child’s name as the reference

•    BPay - contact the school office for your personalised identification details

•    Centrepay - use of this method is available to recipients of Centrelink payments

Please do not hesitate to contact the office for more information or for any other query you may have.

Full Parent Payment information is attached below

Early Collection of Students from School

We understand that there are many reasons why you might need to collect students from school early, however, we ask that you please keep these to a minimum where possible.

Our school PA system works by buildings so when an announcement is made it will be heard throughout the whole building and the closest relocatable classroom. These announcements are very disruptive especially when some days announcements are being made on numerous occasions within short periods. These disruptions have an impact on student learning.

We ask for your assistance with some strategies to assist with this matter:

• Email the teacher or the office early in the day with the time you will be collecting your child/ren so we can, hopefully, have them waiting at the office for you.
• When possible, collect your child just before recess (11 – 11:40am) or lunchtime (1:40 – 2:20pm) rather than during the middle of class times.
• Announcements for collecting children will not be made during class time. If you need to collect your child during class time please come to the office to sign your child/ren out as an early departure and then go to the classroom to collect them.

We understand there can be emergency situations, however, we hope you will give your support and enable all children to receive as much learning as possible.

School Gates and Opening Times

In the morning all gates will be open for access to the school site at 8:45 as this is when under industrial arrangements staff supervision in the yard commences. No students are allowed onsite until this time. 

In the afternoon all gates will be open at 3:15 for access to the school site. Access to the office during the school day is via the pedestrian gate on Edgecombe St.

The ramp between the school and the kindergarten is currently being repaired so if you are coming from the kindergarten please enter via the Edgecombe St gate until these works are completed.

A reminder to all members of the school community the staff car park is not to be used to walk between the school and the kindergarten for safety reasons. Now that the ramp/path is operational the pedestrian gate next to the car park gates should be used following the path, crossing the road in front of the boom gate using the marked pedestrian crossing and then down the ramp.

* Please do not access the school site at any time via the staff car park for safety

 reasons.

* Please do not park in the kinder carpark unless it is your kinder day and you are a kinder family.

Uniform Ordering          

School uniforms are available for purchase online direct from A Plus Schoolwear  www.aplusschoolwear.com.au

When ordering uniforms please put the studio number of your child for easier delivery.  

Once uniforms arrive at school, they will be sent home with your child.

Students Arriving Late

Students arriving late to school should come to the office, accompanied by an adult, and sign in either on the Compass Kiosk or in the late book.  They will then be issued a late pass to take to class and their arrival at school will be updated on the roll.  This will avoid parents/guardians receiving notification that their child is not at school when they have arrived late.

Accessing Compass

Compass is our main way of communicating with our families. It is important that parents access the Parental Portal in Compass at https://kynetonps.vic.jdlf.com.au  

Using our parent portal will enable you to –

• View up-to-date class and school attendance information
• Approve or enter upcoming or past absences for your son/daughter
• Update your registered email and mobile number (used for SMS alters)
• Access information regarding upcoming events and news
• Access your child’s Semester Reports
• Book your Parent/Student/Teacher conferences

We encourage families to download the Compass App and to enable notification to ensure you receive all communications.

Please click on the “Welcome to Compass” booklets for further assistance or contact the office.