Assistant Principal 

Megan Franklyn 

Assistant Principal

What a fabulous start to the year we have all had! It is hard to believe that we are already halfway through Term 1. Our students have settled beautifully into their classrooms and routines and there is a wonderful sense of energy and purpose across the school.

This term, all teachers are focusing on encouraging expected behaviours within the classroom. As part of this work, staff are refining their practice in areas such as giving explicit feedback and praise, providing both contingent and non-contingent attention and continuing to build strong, positive student–teacher relationships. Recent learning walkthroughs of classrooms and specialist teaching spaces have shown that our whole-school expectations are well embedded, which is a credit to both our staff and students.

We are also excited to announce that our Year 5 PLAY Leaders have been selected. PLAY stands for Positivity, Leadership, Activated Youth and provides a wonderful opportunity for our aspiring leaders and students who enjoy working with younger children to lead organised play activities. The selected students will participate in a training session before the end of term. Initially, they are supported by additional teachers in the yard as they learn more about the role and their responsibilities and by the end of the year they confidently run activities independently. Our Prep and Year 1 students particularly enjoy these structured play opportunities with their older peers.

Harmony Week is quickly approaching. Harmony Day is acknowledged annually on the 21st of March and aligns with the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The theme for this year is “Everyone Belongs”, celebrating the rich cultural diversity of our school community. At Kingswood, students will participate in classroom activities focused on age-appropriate themes including belonging, respect, anti-racism and uniqueness. On Friday 20 March, we invite all students to come to school wearing cultural dress or the colour orange. Orange represents two-way communication, inclusivity and respect. Please be mindful that students attending specialist classes or participating in sport will need to wear appropriate footwear and clothing.

This semester, our school is working with Beck McCowan, Inclusion Outreach Coach, to develop and refine our Multi-tiered Systems of Support. Our Curriculum and Wellbeing Team has identified and audited the academic and wellbeing instructional practices, interventions and supports provided at Kingswood to ensure that all students achieve success. We look forward to sharing updates with our community as this important work progresses throughout the year.

With our new School Council formed for 2026, I warmly invite any interested parents to join our Student Learning and Wellbeing subcommittee (SLAW). You do not need to be a member of School Council to participate. Meetings are held two weeks prior to School Council. Last year these were conducted at 6.30pm via WebEx. Topics include student focus group feedback and subsequent actions, NAPLAN results, student learning expos and the review of a number of policies this year, including all Child Safety policies. If you are interested in attending next term, please contact me via email at megan.franklyn@education.vic.gov.au.

Finally, our Social and Emotional Curriculum remains a cornerstone of learning at Kingswood. Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships (RRRR) is one of the key components of this curriculum, but it is not the only element. Our broader approach to social and emotional learning supports students to develop the knowledge, skills and dispositions needed for wellbeing, positive relationships and learning success. The Department of Education has updated the RRRR resources, building on the original 2018 curriculum. The eight updated topics are: Emotional Literacy, Personal and Cultural Strengths, Positive Coping, Problem-Solving, Stress Management, Help-Seeking, Gender Norms and Stereotypes and Positive Gender Relations. Kara Bogicevic in her capacity as Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader has been developing a scope and sequence which encapsulates all of the elements of this curriculum.

We look forward to a strong and productive remainder of the term and thank you for your continued support.