Dear Families,

I am honoured and humbled to announce to all in our community that I have been provisionally appointed as the substantive Principal of Kismet Park Primary School. Late yesterday afternoon I was given the news of my provisional appointment and it was announced to all our staff after school. I wanted to thank our staff for the support I received yesterday after the announcement but also for the way in which our staff have embraced me from the time of my arrival to Kismet Park. As a staff we have worked hard over the last year and a half to strengthen our teaching and learning practices through working as a professional learning community. This work will continue so that our students are at the heart of all we do.

I also wanted to express my gratitude to all our families, parents, and carers for your continued support. Thank-you for entrusting your child/children’s education with us. I know our parents/carers have high expectations of me as the principal and of our staff in general. I hold these same high expectations for myself, our staff, our students, and our parents/carers.

As the principal and lead learner I know that I cannot accomplish great things alone. I will do my very best to act in ways that inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more.

SCHOOL COUNCIL ELECTIONS

Our first School Council meeting will take place on Monday 20th March 2023 at 6:30pm.

Thank-you to our 2023 parents/carers who have put themselves forward to be part of our school council and help to oversee the governance of our school.

Parent Members for 2023 are as follows: Sean Bassett, Matthew Cosham, Eugenio Viola Vivas, Kylie Lowdell, Damien Hodor, Michael Stone, Alexandra Louise Elliot, Katherine Anderson.

DET School Employee Members for 2023 are as follows: Kathy Cvitkovic, Ciara Stewart, Louisa Beckenham, Donna Matthews, Meagan O'Sullivan.

NAPLAN

NAPLAN started on Tuesday for all our year 3 and 5 students. Writing was the first test on Wednesday 15th of March followed by the Language Conventions and Reading. Next week we still have the Mathematics test to go.

I wanted to congratulate our students for the ways in which they approached the NAPLAN tests last week. Students approached the tests with confidence and maturity and were well supported in the lead up to the actual NAPLAN tests. We wish all our students the very best.

MHIPS: Mental Health In Primary Schools

MHIPS is a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing for students, staff and families. Our school is participating in the training modules and we have identified two staff members who will take part in the training and work across the school to:

build the capacity of school staff, in particular classroom teachers, to identify and support students with mental health concerns in the classroom
support our school to create clear referral pathways internally (within school) and externally (to community services) for students identified as requiring further assessment and intervention
coordinate targeted mental health support for students by working with regional staff, school wellbeing and leadership teams, teachers, parents/carers and external agencies
advocate for student voice and agency in their wellbeing and mental health needs.

The training program is developed and facilitated by the University of Melbourne.

Child Safety Standards

At Kismet Park, we are committed to acting in the best interests of our students and keeping them safe from harm. We regard our child protection responsibilities as being of the highest importance. This means that in practice we are focussed on providing the necessary resources to ensure compliance with all relevant child protection legislation and regulations; and to maintaining a child safe culture.

The following principles underpin our commitment to child safety at Kismet Park Primary School:

All students deserve, as a fundamental right, safety and protection from all forms of abuse and neglect.
Our school works in partnership with families and the community to ensure that they are engaged in decision-making processes, particularly those that have an impact on child safety and protection.
All students have the right to a thorough and systematic education in all aspects of personal safety, in partnership with their parents/guardians/caregivers.
All adults in our school, including teaching and non-teaching staff, volunteers and contractors as well as the broader school community have a responsibility to care for children and young people, to positively promote their wellbeing and to protect them from any kind of harm or abuse.
The policies, guidelines and codes of conduct for the care, wellbeing and protection of students are based on honest, respectful and trusting relationships between adults and children and young people.
Policies and practices demonstrate compliance with legislative requirements and cooperation with governments, the police and human services agencies.
All persons involved in situations where harm is suspected or disclosed must be treated with sensitivity, dignity and respect.
Staff, volunteers, contractors, parents/guardians and students should feel free to raise concerns about child safety, knowing these will be taken seriously by school leadership.
Appropriate confidentiality will be maintained, with information being provided to those who have a right or a need to be informed, either legally or pastorally.

A friendly reminder that next Monday 20th of March is our Curriculum Day. The focus is on Reading. No students are required at school on this day.

Warmest Regards,

Kathy Cvitkovic

Acting Principal

‘Building the foundations for success and happiness’.

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