21st of November 2025

Dear Families,

We had many children sit ICAS this year, here are the Credit, Merit, Distinction and High Distinction participants.

ICAS results 2025

Digital Technologies

Y3 - Isla - Merit

Y6 - Zain – Credit

ENGLISH

Y2 – Alessio – Merit

Y3 - Isla – Credit

Y6 – Zain - Credit

SCIENCE

Y3 - Anirudh - Merit

Y6 - Zain - Credit

SPELLING

Y2 – Ann Mary - Credit, Jon - Credit, Joshua T - Credit

Y3 - Arkin - Credit, Phoenix - Credit, Jovian - Merit

Y4 - Ryan - Credit, Samara - Credit, Vidhula - Merit

WRITING

Y4 - Vidhula - Merit

Y6 - Arjun - Credit

MATHS

Y2 - Henry - Merit, Roy - Credit

Y3 - Anirudh - Medit

Y4 - Dion - Credit, Riana - Merit

The top 1% receive a High Distinction, the next 10% receive a Distinction, the following 25% receive a Credit, the next 10% receive a Merit Certificate, and all other students receive a Participation Certificate.

ENGLISH: Y4 - Vidhula – High Distinction

SCIENCE: Y4 - Vidhula - Distinction

MATHS:

Y2 - Jon - Distinction,

Y3 - Phoenix - High Distinction

Y4 - Vidhula - Distinction

Digital Technologies

Y4 - Vidhula – High Distinction (medal winner). Highest score for his grade in the state of Victoria.

Congratulations to all of our students who participated.

Assemblies

As we reach the end of the school year, we are seeking feedback on the change we piloted for our Friday morning fortnightly assemblies. We would appreciate your thoughts. Please follow the link to complete the survey, which will close on 5 December. Survey link

Transition Sessions

We are now in the part of the year when we begin preparing our students for the following year. These are our transition sessions for 2026:

25 November: 2026 Preps, 9.15 am to 10.30 am
2 December: 11 am to 12 noon, Prep to Year 5 children will participate in a literacy transition session for their 2026-year level
8 December: 11 am to 12 noon, Prep to Year 5 children will participate in a numeracy transition session for their 2026-year level
9 December: 9.15 am to 12 noon, Prep- 5, Step Up into the 2026 mentor group and meet the 2026 teacher

At school we are working to support your child as they transition to their next year level.

Webpage to help families and students prepare for a new school year

A new school year is an exciting time for students and families, but it can be a big step, especially for those starting Prep, secondary school or VCE. The Department of Education has a webpage with resources and information to help you prepare for the new school year.

During the school holidays you may wish to read through the resources, which include:

tips to support transitions from kinder to Prep, primary to secondary school and Year 10 to VCE
what to expect at school
support with school costs and fees
health and wellbeing guidance to support children’s mental health

Please refer to the Department of Education website for more information.

Class Structure 2026

Based on our current enrolment figures, the mentor group structure for 2026 will remain at sixteen mentor classes, as we have had in 2025. We will continue to offer the same specialist classes: PE and Art for the whole school, Performing Arts for Prep to Year 2, Auslan for Years 1 to 6, STEM for Years 3 to 6, and Discovery Time for Preps.

Prep – 2 classes
Year 1 – 2 classes
Year 2 – 3 classes
Year 3 – 3 classes
Year 4 – 3 classes
Year 5/6 – 3 classes

Staffing 2026

The following staff will be leaving KPS at the end of the year: Patrick MacDonough, Dana Cataldo, Joe LaMattina and Lauren Walker. Cassandra Neofotistos and Penny Vissariou are taking 12 months leave from the school. We wish them all the best for the future and thank them for their work at KPS.

We have the following new staff joining the 2026 KPS team, Emily Thompson, Jean Van Borgondien, Makayla O’Keefe, Rachael Telford, Saredo Miguil and Andy Li. We will introduce the new staff to you later in the term.

Friday the 28th November 2025 is Mary Perkins last day before she has her 2nd child and Friday 19 Th December 2025 will be Jess Weir’s last day as she is having her first child early in 2026. We them both well with upcoming additions to their families.

Nude Food

Please remember that we are a Nude Food school. We ask families to reduce the wrappings and packaging used in lunchboxes. Packaging that comes to school with lunches and snacks will be sent home to reduce the school’s waste collection costs. Many families use reusable containers for lunches and snacks and this is greatly appreciated.

Prep to Year 2 Playground

The Prep to Year 2 playground is available for play before school. It is not available after school as it is used by Schools Out as part of their program. After school all children and families are welcome to use the Year 3 to 6 playground with parent supervision.

Last Day of School 2025

The last day of school this year is Friday 19 December and we will finish at 1.30 pm. Our expectation is that Colour Run, this Thursday the 27th November. Thank you to the SCA for running this event and to all of the volunteers who put up their hands to make this event happen.

Craft sand contamination update

You may be aware of a recent alert about craft sand products that may contain asbestos. For current information about the recall, including a list of products, visit the ACCC website.

At our school, we are taking the steps set out by the Department of Education to collect and dispose of the products. Current advice from national and Victorian health authorities is that there is a low risk to human health from these products.

If you have the product at home, however, the advice from the health authorities is that you should stop using it and follow the safety advice published here: Safe disposal and health information for consumers with recalled sand products | ACCC Product

Happy weekend.

Loren Peavey

https://keelonithps.vic.edu.au/

https://www.facebook.com/KeelonithPrimarySchool

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Learning without limitsBe curious | Be Caring | Fly High | Find Joy

Issue 19 · 21 Nov 2025

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Learning without limits
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