From the Assistant Principal 

'Busy' - remember that?

What a delight to be so busy once again! Having events, excursions, and activities bustling away in all corners of the school has been wonderful. As a parent I know I am 're-learning' what it means to feel tired from all the events and weekend sports! If the last 2 years have taught me anything it is certainly to appreciate these things but to also appreciate the importance of down time and making an effort to prioritise time to 'reset' each week. In our family we've agreed that Sunday afternoon (or all day if we can manage it) is a great time to do that in order to feel refreshed for the week so we tend to pack all the outings, house cleaning and tasks into a Saturday just to hold on to that precious Sunday time. It gives us time to sleep in, watch movies, read, bake together, have MarioKart tournaments (Yoshi for the win!) or take adventures as a family. We head into Monday more refreshed and ready for the week when we do achieve this uninterrupted time. My family will tell you that 'post lockdowns' I now hold pretty fiercely onto this time each week and it works for us (for now!), I'd love to know what works for you?

Illnesses

Whilst it feels like the world is moving into post-Covid mode that certainly doesn't mean it is going anywhere and as you would have seen in our Compass updates we do certainly have the virus in our community. Having said that, there are certainly other illnesses around! Heading into the first Winter out of lockdown in 3 years there are many virus' and infections circulating and we do anticipate disruptions with student and staff absences. 

With our focus for 2 years being on Covid, it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that a negative RAT means someone with symptoms can come to school but we certainly don't want gastro, the Flu, respiratory virus' or other illnesses circulating if we can help it. We also know from repeated anecdotal reports that sometimes it can take several days before a RAT shows a positive result. Please help your community by keeping your child home if they are unwell in any way. If your child has lingering symptoms and keeps testing negative on RATs we ask that you seek your doctor's advice about whether they are well enough to come to school. 

Welcome to Team Kalinda

We are so pleased to introduce some new staff members to you, please pop by to say hello to them! 

Christina Patane (4S)

Hi, my name is Christina Patane and I teach Grade 4 here at Kalinda this year. I have previously taught at Kalinda as a CRT, and I am now so excited to be teaching my own class. I love spending time with my family and my fluffy white cat, Archie. 

My hobbies include drawing and hand making jewellery. My favourite subject to teach is Maths. I am really looking forward to the rest of this year teaching Grade 4 and what it has to bring!

David Kight (P.E)

Hi, I’m Mr David Kight, the new Physical Education teacher. I live in Heathmont with my family with two daughters. I have taught a range of Grades and spent many years as the Physical Education Coordinator. In my breaks, I love to play golf, go riding and walking with my family and have coffee at Cafes.  I have travelled to many countries in the world and am a published author. I am really excited to join the beautiful Kalinda community and look forward to helping all the students to achieve their potential in Physical Education and Sport.

Kate Brooks (Tutoring, Grade 1 and 2)

Hi, my name is Kate Brooks and I will be working at Kalinda Primary School as part of the teacher tutoring team for 2022. I have previously worked as a CRT at Kalinda early last year so it is great to be back working as part of the teaching team this year. I live in Chirnside Park with my husband and three children, Olivia (grade 3), Tom (grade 1) and Mae (3 year old kinder). We love spending time together outdoors camping, bike riding, bushwalking and playing lots of different sports. Our favourites are tennis, basketball, netball, swimming and football. I am a passionate Melbourne Vixens netball fan and Geelong Cats football fan and I am looking forward to attending a few games this year. We have two beautiful border collie dogs named Mackie and Harvey who are 10 years old who love playing ball games and tug of war. I am looking forward to getting to know and working closely with the students and families at Kalinda Primary School this year.  

Katinka Drake

My name is Katinka Drake and I am one of the new Tutors for 2022 - working across the Grade 5/6 classrooms on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. It has been wonderful to start getting to know some of the students and staff this term - what a welcoming school community!

I have experience as a classroom teacher in Melbourne's northern suburbs, and for the last 3 years have been working as a sessional lecturer at Deakin University with pre-service teachers in Mathematics. In my spare time, I'm a keen swimmer and cyclist, as well as an avid reader and movie goer and mother to a 4 and 7 year old. Looking forward to getting to know more of the friendly faces at Kalinda Primary School

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