Back at school!

It has been so wonderful to be back at school this week and be wrapped up in the nerves and excitement of students returning to learn on-site after such a long time spent away from school. The buzz of excitement was similar to the first day of school each year, but after such a challenging time for so many people it was much more poignant than that.

I would like to thank everyone for following the protocols that we have in place. These protocols help ensure the safety of our school community, and enable us to play our part in the bigger picture (statewide, nationwide and worldwide) of limiting the transmission of COVID-19 so we can get back to normal lives.

We are aware that many of you will have been impacted greatly by the lockdowns that have been in place. This can have a massive impact financially, physically and mentally. As parents, we aim to shield our children from these issues, but we are aware that stress and anxiety within a family almost inevitably has an impact on our children.

At school, we will be focusing on creating a positive, healthy and psychologically safe environment for our students to learn, play and connect with their peers. Our teachers are open to listening to our students, acknowledging the challenges that may be there and supporting them throughout this time.

Working in partnership with families, to support the wellbeing of all of our students is fundamental to what we do every day. If you have specific wellbeing concerns about your child, I would encourage you to reach out to their teacher and discuss these. Working together, we can achieve great things for the students of Kalinda.

40th Anniversary

Kalinda Primary School recently turned 40 years old. The school was opened by the Premier of Victoria, Sir Rupert Hamer, on Friday 26th September 1980.

Due to the nature of this year, we have not been able to properly celebrate our 40th Anniversary at Kalinda. However, it is important to acknowledge these milestones and we have already started discussing how we will make our 45th Anniversary (in 2025) a great celebration of the history of Kalinda.

Throughout that 40 years, there has been so many Principals, teachers, office staff, integration aides, handymen, School Council members, Parents and Friends Association members, parents volunteers and students who have helped shape this school. Our culture has been built and shaped by the contributions of thousands of people who have loved this school and worked to make it a great place.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to Kalinda over this first 40 years and I can't wait to see what the school will be like in another 40 years.

Parents might like to chat to children about the school being 40 years old. What were you doing 40 years ago? Were you even born yet (I was a one year old)? How has the world changed since that time?

Yr 3 Quilt

Coming back to school in Term 2 for three weeks, our focus was on developing a sense of community and belonging.

In Yr 3 they read ‘The Keeping Quilt’ by Patricia Pelacco, which is about a quilt crafted from pieces of material donated by a family. The quilt is then handed down through different generations with the family memories and other pieces and new memories added along the way. It contained the family’s history.

The students were given the chance to add to a community quilt that would detail their thoughts and feelings during what will become a truly memorable piece of their own history. We hope that it will hang on the walls at Kalinda for years to come to remind our children of what they thought truly mattered to them during this period of time.

The calico that the children decorated was kindly donated by Mrs. Shaw from the art room, but the pièce de résistance is how it has been lovingly pieced together by our talented Business Manager, Melissa O’rorke, who donated patchwork materials and many hours to carefully put the quilt together. The quilts are now beautiful pieces of art hanging in our Yr 3 module. We can’t wait for you to eventually be able to view them in person!

Parent Opinion Survey

WE WANT OUR PARENTS TO TELL US WHAT THEY THINK!

Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents think of our school. The Parent Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education and Training that is conducted amongst all parents. It is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of parents’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, student engagement and experiences of remote and flexible learning. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies. All parents will be invited to participate in this year’s survey. All responses to the survey are anonymous. This year, the Parent Opinion Survey will be conducted from Monday 12th October to Friday 13th November.

The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time within the fieldwork period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. The online survey will be available in a range of languages other than English. These include: Arabic, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Chin (Hakha), Hindi, Japanese, Somali, Turkish, Punjabi and Greek.

A link to the survey, including a PIN code for our school, have been sent out via COMPASS.

We will communicate the survey results with the school community via the newsletter and our Annual Report. Results will be used to inform and direct our future school planning and improvement.

Please contact the school office if you would like further information.

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

TheirCare

Before and After School Care at Kalinda