Wellbeing and Community Engagement
Patrick Halpin
Assistant Principal
What a great atmosphere there is around Kingswood right now! Cast A have put on 4 performances in total – they had their dress rehearsal last week and the students in Cast B acted as their audience, and they have performed a matinee and two evening shows. It has been a fantastic experience for all involved – staff, students and parents alike. For the students, it has meant that they get the opportunity to persist and strive for accuracy in their rehearsals either as a principal cast member, as an ensemble performer or back stage as crew. They have thought flexibly and interdependently when there have been technical blips or when they have missed their cue to keep the show going. They have demonstrated such professionalism and I know there are lots of proud parents, teachers, integration aides and principal class officers around Dingley Village this week.
Our attention now shifts to Cast B who will have their dress rehearsal on Monday, followed by a matinee and evening performance on Tuesday and an evening performance on Wednesday. As always, parents and families are reminded that there is no need to attend every performance. The students are well supervised for the duration of the performance and it’s a great conversational starter when they get home!
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Parent Club for their ongoing work to set up and tidy up, scan tickets, distribute programs, etc. and congratulate the staff and parents who have worked tirelessly on the production since the beginning of 2018:
Producer - Aaron Cox
Directors - Louise McLeod & Emma Costabile
Music Director - Narelle Vella
Choreographer - Emma Costabile
Costume Designer - Helen Evans
Vocal Coaches - Melanie White & Louise McLeod
Set Designer - Liz Scott & Bill Hogervorst
Properties Designer - Alba Gomez
Lighting Designer - Louise McLeod
Crew Managers - Tim Blamires & Martin Eden
Parent Liaisons - Jess Vieusseux & Karen Jeffery
Finally, Darcy (5R) has assisted me with my role in ensuring the hall is ready ahead of each show. Thank you for your commitment and help, Darcy!
It has been decided that from now on, we will have a whole school performance every second year. We would love your input in relation to the performing arts program on the other years. It would be appreciated if you could complete our survey to provide us with your input on your child’s experience of performing arts at Kingswood.
Thank you to our Education Support Staff
Education Support (ES) Week was celebrated in Kingswood on Wednesday, August 29th. All of the duties normally covered by the ES staff during lunch time were covered by the teaching staff, releasing the team to go out for a nice lunch and enjoy getting to know each other in a more relaxed environment! The team chose Hendrik’s Café in Mordialloc.
On behalf of the teaching staff at Kingswood Primary School, the students who they support in a variety of ways every day and their families, I would like to take this opportunity to thank:
- Catherine, Jo and Stacey, for your work in keeping the school running on a daily basis, processing parent requests, enquires, payments, etc. and generally keeping the teachers in check.
- Lucy, for creating and maintaining such an amazing environment for the students to develop their love of reading.
- Liliane, for the care and attention you give to all of our students who are hurt or sick throughout the day
- Kristy, for making sure that everybody (students and staff) are kept nourished and energised with healthy lunches
- Alba and Sonia, for developing in the students a deeper understanding of the value of growing your own produce, which then leads to such yummy delights in the kitchen
- Liz, for maintaining the safe and friendly environment for the students and staff to enjoy every day
- Andrew, Shane and Nick, for ensuring that all our devices work properly and allow us to learn in an innovative environment
- Katrina, Emily, Chantell, Jen, Jo and Alba, for supporting all of our students across the school in both their classroom environments and on the yard
Without the contribution of each and every member of the team, Kingswood would not be the amazing place it is, and the teaching staff would really struggle to build the foundations for success.
Father’s Day
We hope that all the father-figures were suitably spoilt last weekend and enjoyed being showered with gifts and enjoyed their breakfast at Kingswood on Friday.
Again, Parent Club stepped up and organised two excellently run events. There was a lot of flexible thinking and finding humour when we had to move the stall from Cosentino Hall to the Performing Arts Room because of the final rehearsals. As with everything, however, the staff cooperated diligently and ran with the new, amended program to support Parent Club in running a smooth event without too much disruption.
Congratulations, Aaron
As you know, Aaron Cox has been appointed as our Substantive Principal and will officially take up his new role on the first day of Term 4. Aaron has been leading the team in an Acting Capacity since the middle of Term 2. He has been very busy preparing for our School Review in Term 4, workforce planning for 2019, while also completing a Principal Preparation Course run by Bastow Leadership Institute. The Kingswood Community is excited about hearing Aaron’s vision for Kingswood at the upcoming staff and community briefings.
Moon Festival
We are all set for our Moon Festival Celebration next week. The Special Celebrations Working Party will host lunch time arts and crafts sessions and all families are welcome to join us for the picnic on Friday in the oval (weather permitting). If any parent is interested and available to help us with this work, please let us know.
Make a Difference, Dingley Village
Spring is here and Make a Difference are supporting families by collecting and distributing long life milk to those families who are struggling in our community. If you would like to support this drive, please drop long life milk into the basket at the office. Kingswood families have demonstrated their generous nature over the past few years and are recognised for their support of Make a Difference, Dingley Village. I encourage any family who is in a position to help this important cause to join in.
Rotary Club of Dingley Village
Luke Bennett and I had the honour of attending a meeting of the Rotary Club of Dingley Village last night in Mentone RSL. Along with the other two schools in the area (Dingley Primary and St. Mark’s), we presented on the service programs that are on offer in Kingswood. These included opportunities to support others – Makey Makey, Sustainability (Clean Up Australia, Friends of Braeside Park, etc.), fundraising events for external and community organisations, etc. The members of the Rotary Club of Dingley Village expressed their delight at the range of experiences on offer for our students. We learned that 43% of adults who work in the volunteer sector had a volunteering experience as a child.
Some of our teachers recently met with the President of the club to discuss how we can build the partnership between the organisations. We are hoping to establish an Early Act Club in the near future, which will create an environment in which our students can support local events and initiatives. We will keep you posted.
Last Survey results
Thank you to those who provided feedback to us on our latest survey, which was based on our recent parent information night, Moving Kids from Anxious to Resilient. The feedback was very positive and I am grateful to those who also offered suggestions on how we can improve going forward. As well as parents and community members learning about supporting children to become more resilient and independent members of our community, the team at Kingswood have built their skills in organising and running such a big community event. We continually strive to engage the community and have already started thinking about possible themes for next year’s information night.