Patrick Halpin

Wellbeing and Community Engagement

Welcome Back

Firstly let me extend a massive welcome back to all of our students and their families for Term 2. Everybody seems happy to be back at school and eager to get started so I hope everybody has a very productive Term 2.

Visiting Dentist Services

You may have seen my notice on Compass last week regarding the visiting dentist service. They provide free check-ups for children of eligible parents. If you would like your child to visit the dentist at school and qualify under the Commonwealth Government’s Family Tax Benefit Part A, please let me know.

For students who are not eligible for the government scheme, they offer the same service, with parents paying the medicare rate without any gap charges.

As it stands we do not have enough interested parents for the dentists to visit Kingswood. If there is anybody else who would like to express their interest please let me know by Friday May 12th. I will be in touch to let parents know if we have enough people for the program after that date.

Make a Difference Dingley Village

During the month of May, we will be collecting donations of UHT milk for Make a Difference Dingley Village.

Make a Difference Dingley Village has been providing emergency food parcels, financial counselling and crisis support for local people in need for the past 30 years. The winter months can be a particularly difficult time and there is extra pressure to provide additional food parcels to clients during this period. For more information see their website: http://maddv.com.au/

If you would like to contribute to this cause, you can purchase a carton of UHT Milk (around $1 a litre) and put it in the collection box in the school office. Donations will be collected throughout the month of May.

ANZAC Celebration

Due to Kingswood Primary School hosting our first thinking conference on April 24th, the school was not able to attend the Dingley ANZAC Celebration on that day. However, a group of students and their parents did attend and participated in the ceremony. Well done to all involved.

Student Support Groups

The Student Support Group meetings for Term 2 have officially ended. Thank you to all the parents who attended and worked with the teachers, integration aides and the leadership team of Kingswood Primary School to plan and design the most appropriate educational program for your children. If any parent missed the meetings this time but would like to meet with me to discuss the program for your child, please don’t hesitate to make contact.

Snapshot Surveys

We had 57 responses to the survey on the Kingswood Family Fun Night, which was held on March 17th. The results were overwhelmingly positive but we also gathered some tips and advice on how to improve the night next year.

Over 70% of the respondents gave the night a score of 4 or 5 (40% and 32.7% respectively) and all of the food trucks and activities were highly rated.

Suggestions for next time included:

Sushi.
More food trucks and more activities (thank you for the specific suggestions).
Chairs for those who forget.
Bubbles for the little ones.
Photo booth run by the students with props for families to take fun pics.
Jump rope.
Balloonist.
Different night of the week as it clashed with lots of sporting activities.
Comedian or Circus Entertainer.
Alcohol for the parents.
Involve Bunnings, who will usually provide a table (with staff) for kids to do craft activities.
Save money by having music on speakers (no big stage).
Local talent.
More entertainment earlier for those who can’t stay for long.

We also had lots of comments of gratitude and congratulations:

Both our girls (prep and kinder) wanted to know when the next one was.
It’s nice to have a night where you can have fun but not spend a fortune.
I have previously tended to avoid the family nights at play centres as I find them too noisy, too overwhelming and hard to relax and talk to friends there, but the family night at the school was perfect – relaxing, fun and a good chance for the kids to play with their friends while we kicked back and chatted and enjoyed the music.
I am looking forward to next year’s one and having more of an opportunity to chat with the fellow KPS community.
The games on the oval were the highlight for us and a great chance to mix with parents we had not met before.
It was a fantastic night. Well done to the committee that organised it.
It was a great way of starting the year.

The Parent Club will take all of these suggestions into consideration when planning next year’s event and are grateful for your feedback.

Our next survey is on Walk or Wheel to School (WOW).

Please click here to complete the short questionnaire, even if you haven’t participated in WOW. The information you provide will help us improve and further develop the program.

Staff Announcements

Congratulations to Julia Heyes who gets married this weekend. We wish Julia and her new husband all the very best in their lives together.

Please feel free to contact me by phoning the school office or by emailing halpin.patrick.p@edumail.vic.gov.au if you have any concerns, queries, questions or ideas regarding wellbeing and/or community engagement.

Community Messages

Need a Tutor?

Noah Code

KJ Yoga

Southern Cross Culteral Exchange

Open Day

Whats On