Dear Families,

Welcome to our new look iNewsletter. Our iNewsletter will allow for easier reading on any device and we are hoping this will assist our community to stay connected. Feel free to provide us with feedback regarding the new iNewsletter through your child’s classroom seesaw portal. Our teachers will then share with me.

We have come to the end of Week 6 today and I could not be more pleased with the way in which we have all settled into the routines of the 2022 school year.

Walking through our school buildings and in various classrooms throughout the school our students are settled and well and truly into the routines of school. I communicated with all our students at last week’s assembly thanking them for the way they have settled back into routine.

Learning gains are made through small daily effort. Our students are well supported by their teachers and ES staff to achieve their very best and I am very proud of all their efforts.

COVID SAFETY

This week we have received our second delivery of the rapid antigen test kits and we began distribution of these test kits to families. We ask that these tests continue to be undertaken each week, on two mornings before school.

If a positive result occurs, then students are required to contact the office and isolate for seven days. Learning can now continue from home as our teachers are providing work packs to students via seesaw or if required, please contact the office and we will provide a hard copy for parents/carers to collect.

Masks continue to be worn by all staff and students in year 3-6 while inside buildings as a preventative Covid safety measure. I appreciate everyone’s efforts with mask wearing to keep us safe.

SCHOOL COUNCIL NOMINATIONS

Nominations for School Council closed on 25th February. The nominations equalled the number of vacancies for both the parent member category and the school employee category.

The following are elected Parent Representatives of Kismet Park Primary School Council for a 2 year period:

Eugenio Viola Vivas
Kylie Lowdell
Matthew Cosham
Rebecca Wilkie
Sean Bassett
Tara Chandrasegran

In addition, we have the following parents/carers continue school council for the next year:

Sharna Small
Karla Anderson

I thank all our parent representatives for putting themselves forward and for caring about the direction Kismet Primary School is going into the future. I trust that all our parent representatives will add huge value to our wonderful school in 2022 and beyond.

The nominations in the DET category for representatives equalled the number of vacancies. The following DET representatives of Kismet Park Primary School Council will hold a 2 year period 2022/2023.

Cassandra Cunningham
Chevie Beasley
Ciara Stewart
Vanessa Leetch

Thank you to our DET representatives for undertaking this important role that involves us closely working with our parent representatives to make our school the best school it can possibly be. Our first meeting will be held on Monday 28th March.

SCHOOL ASSEMBLIES

DET school operations requires us to have assemblies with the smallest possible numbers.Today we are inviting our Prep parents and the parents/carers of our 2022 Captains, House Captains and Junior School Council. At this assembly our Captains will be presented with their badges and our JSC will be introduced to our school community.

In line with DET requirements we will continue to hold our assemblies via WebEx with the smallest possible numbers in the gym and invite our parent/carer community to join us via WebEx. Please see details of how to join on Compass and remember to MUTE yourself and switch your camera OFF so that we can have the best band width.

Thank-you to all in our community for your understanding regarding DET requirements for when entering our buildings. DET requirements include the wearing of face masks, social distancing.

PARENT HELPERS

Currently our community is in COVID recovery from the last 2 years working remotely, then going into stop start working remotely and then finally coming back onsite. Our State Government is committed to putting in place measures that keeps our students onsite and learning face to face. In line with this we are preparing to open in Term 2 to have Parent Helpers in classrooms supporting our students. Please look out for more details regarding Parent Helpers in classrooms in the next week. There will be an induction time for all parent helpers. In line with DET guidelines all parent helpers will need to show evidence of their vaccination status and working with children check.

STUDENT SUPPORT GROUP MEETINGS

We have begun the process of Student Support Group meetings. Our office staff are contacting parents to make appointments with teachers and our Assistant Principal who will be facilitating these. Student Support Group meetings are for students on the PSD (Program for Students with Disabilities), Koori students, Out of Home Care Students (OHS), students who may be linked to Department of Families, Fairness and Housing. In addition students who are experiencing challenges to engage in their learning and ability to self-regulate, we are providing SSG’s to formulate Behaviour Support Plans.

Wherever possible at these Student Support Group Meetings we will have the student present so that the student has input, feels empowered and takes ownership of their goals.

For all other students who may be achieving ABOVE or BELOW the standard teachers set learning goals in the core areas of English and Mathematics for success. Our teachers make adjustments wherever necessary so that our students are fully supported.

In regard to any questions or concerns regarding student learning please first reach out to your child’s classroom teacher, then to our Assistant Principal or myself. We are always here for our community.

STUDENT LEADERSHIP

The process for the selection of Junior School Councillors is now complete. Our JSC model has two students per cohort from the 3–6-year levels. This is a total of 8 students who make up the JSC. I wish to congratulate all students for the way in which they presented themselves forward for this important leadership role. Our JSC will be introduced to our school community and receive certificates this afternoon. We are planning to present our JSC with their badges at next week’s assembly.

Congratulations to all our JSC and I know that all will do wonderful things to support our students and school community. Junior School Councillors for the 2022 school year are:

Year 3 – Zion Loffley & Henry ThomsonYear 4 – Millie Stewart & Blake GibsonYear 5 – Summer Pott & Luke SpenceYear 6 – Tahney Small & Seth Abela

At this afternoon’s assembly our Captains and House Captains will receive their badges. I know our Captains and House Captains have been eagerly anticipating this event and I thank them for their patience.

SCHOOL ATHLETICS DAY

House Athletics day is next Tuesday 8th March at Boardman reserve. We welcome our parents and carers to this event as it is outdoors. This is a wonderful opportunity to be a part of the fun and excitement as our children compete, build resilience, and have lots of fun.

YEAR SIX BOMBER JACKETS HAVE ARRIVED

Our year 6 bomber jackets have arrived and will be presented to our year six students at todays assembly. They look fantastic and I know that our year six students will wear their jackets with great pride.

RESURFACE UPGRADE - SCHOOL OVAL – GOOD NEWS

I received some fantastic news last week regarding our oval and synthetic turf design / plans that were put forward last year.

Victorian Schools Building Authority (VSBA) communicated to me that we were in a very enviable position as we were granted the full $463, 000 and the tender has gone through, and we do not need to put any money towards the turf ourselves. VSBA communicated that 96 other schools were not as fortunate, and some were contributing $90,000 of own school funds to complete the job!!! We are in a fortunate position in this regard.

The date the works will begin is scheduled for March 21 and these works are set to go into Term 2 through to May 24.

This is such exciting news for our children and community.

SHADE SAIL FUNDING – GOOD NEWS

Our school was successful in our application for shade sail funding through the VSBA (Victorian Schools Building Authority). The amount we were successful for was $25,000 and we are in the process of getting quotes so that we can move forward. This is fantastic news for our students who will, in the very near future, have extra shade to enjoy whilst playing out in our yard.

WELLBEING

We know that wellbeing is critical to our student’s overall success in life. When students feel safe and supported, they can learn and achieve at high levels.

Our school has purchased a survey license through PIVOT (Student Perceptions Survey) that includes a wellbeing component for our students. The survey has questions designed to track student wellbeing and mental health. This is across all year levels.

Our school chaplain Nicky Gallus continues to support our students and families. Our school provides the following wellbeing programs for our students:

Kimochis Feeling

Either in One on One's or small groups, Kimochis inspired sessions help students to put words to their feelings and to manage the behaviours that come with those feelings. It gives students positive choices in how to use feelings in social and emotional situations.

One on One

Designed for one student at a time to engage in conversation while doing creative activities. It's a safe space to grow in confidence in asking for help and understanding the feelings or actions that stop individuals from engaging in learning and growing.

Revved Up

Revved works with students in small groups to help them identify personal triggers for anxiety or anger and more effectively manage reactions and responses.

Check In's

For students experiencing challenges with friendships out in the yard. These students may find it challenging to express their needs, wants and to connect with their peers. The 1:1 check ins are designed to occur –

1. BEFORE recess and lunch to front load student with who they will be spending time with, giving students strategy to use for when things go wrong, for example modelling Stop/Think/Do.

2. AFTER recess and lunch to check in with student how they went at recess and lunch. Celebrate with student their social successes out in the yard through positive reinforcement using Yatta cards.

These 1:1 check ins are designed to be short. The aim is for the student to know and feel that there is a caring adult who is there for them.

Breakfast Club

Provides a warm and welcoming space for students when they arrive at school, feels their stomachs with healthy food and creates time to build new friendships, share stories and encourage engagement in school.

Drop In Art and Garden Space

This program is open to all students during lunch. Students can choose to participate and come and go as they please. It is a fun space to open the imagination, learn new skills while developing social skills and strengthening friendships.

COMPASS

It is so important for everyone to keep up to date with communications from our school. Compass newsfeeds and posts helps us to stay connected as does our newsletter and Facebook Page.

STUDENT ENROLEMENT INFORMATION UPDATE

A friendly reminder to all our parents and carers to please complete and return to school the student enrolment information update forms. Returning these forms promptly ensures our school is up to date with all our student contact details and other information that assists us to support students.

STUDENTS LEAVING EARLY

Thank-you for understanding that every hour at school for our students is a precious hour of connection and learning. I understand that at times students may need to be picked up early for appointments and I thank parent/carers for minimising this need during school hours.

In the instance that you need to collect your child/children early especially on a Friday during assembly can this please be done between 2:15pm and 2:30pm to avoid disruption during assemblies. Our assemblies are an opportunity for us to come together, connect and celebrate as a school community.

PARENTS COMMUNICATING WITH OTHER CHILDREN

A friendly reminder to all our caring parents to please avoid approaching other students about events that may have occurred out in the playground or classroom. Our teachers and leaders are available to speak with any parent/carers who have concerns or need to be heard regarding an event that may have occurred at school. If after first reaching out to your classroom teacher parents/carers have concerns, then please reach out to me or Ciara. We are available to speak with parents where required.

I thank all our wonderful families as we continue our recovery, as a community, from the impact of COVID_19 over the last two years. We are over the most intense period, and we now regroup, reset and optimistically move forward to serve our students and their families in providing excellence.

Warmest Regards,

Kathy Cvitkovic

Acting Principal

‘Building the foundations for success and happiness’.

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