From the
Head of Junior School

Mrs Denise Hayward

Welcome back to Term 4

This week the whole school returned for Term 4 and we are pleased to welcome several new students in the Junior School. We pray they settle in quickly and feel very much a ‘Kinross Kid” in the next few weeks.

While a shorter term of nine weeks, this is an important time of the year for all students. The focus on learning is significant as students complete units of work and assessments and teachers summarise these learnings in the Semester 2 reports. There are events scheduled for all students in the School and the Term 4 summer sports program has begun in earnest. Please refer to the dates schedule published on the Hub, and mark these dates in your calendar and your child’s diary.

This term, weekly communication will be posted each Wednesday via the Hub. No emails will be sent, the exception being when there is a change to previously communicated information. To further assist parents in accessing the Hub we are running a face-to-face parent workshop – 'Accessing and using the Hub'. This event will assist parents who are unsure how to access the Hub, how to locate information, notes, and permission forms.

When: Tuesday 18 October

Time: 5:30pm-6:15pm

Where: JS Glasshouse

Bring: The device you use to access the Hub

Outdoor Education

There are many ways we share and celebrate our learning in the Junior School. We believe learning is an ongoing process and, as such, we provide both formal and informal opportunities. Outdoor Education involves experiences in unfamiliar outdoor settings, which stimulate personal development and foster understanding between people. These experiences, whilst often challenging, seek to inspire confidence, self-reliance, teamwork, compassion, community service and care for the natural environment.

At Kinross Wolaroi School, students are given numerous opportunities to experience the many facets of outdoor education. The progression of experiences from the seemingly simplistic, to challenging and often complex tasks, provides students with the opportunity to:

Obtain a feeling of self-worth, regardless of academic standing within the classroom;
Safely acquire skills in a range of challenging outdoor pursuits which can become the basis for a lifetime of enjoyment;
Develop skills which permit students to function more effectively in teams and guide various team members in achieving effective team leadership;
Increase the awareness of a healthy lifestyle and its ongoing benefits;
Appreciate the natural environment and allow them to explore it with confidence and respect;
Socialise effectively whilst co-habitating under conditions in which mutual respect is necessary to ensure the welfare of all;
Experience the consequences of making a decision, which often affects not only them but those around them.

Kinross Wolaroi Junior School offers a series of outdoor education programs from Kindergarten to Year 6. Within each program students are guided safely through a series of experiences, but ultimately face challenges by choice. Therefore, students inevitably must make numerous decisions themselves, within the framework of a group activity. Encouragement is given to allow all students to meet with success.

Students undertake day and overnight trips, in addition to shorter incursions and excursions, throughout the school year. In Term 4 all students in Years 3-6 will undertake overnight outdoor education experiences. For many students this will be their first school camp and may mean the fun of camp is overshadowed by concerns. For some students attending camp overnight may not be the best camp experience. In these situations, parents are invited to talk with their class teacher about their child attending during the day. In turn class teachers may contact families. Student concerns in attending camp may relate to:

Sleeping away from home in an unfamiliar place
Responsibility for self-care, in absence of parents
Medical needs
Who they will share a room with at camp
If they will like the food at camp
Feeling homesick or lonely

These are all very natural concerns for a child, no matter if it is their first or tenth time at camp. To support your child please:

Talk to them regarding their concerns to assist in reducing the sense of the unknown
Have sleepovers
Practice independence skills
Pack together – don’t overpack
Talk with the class teacher

Students will be attending the following camps in 2022

Year 3 – Lake Burrendong Sport & Recreation Centre Tuesday 22 – Thursday 24 November
Year 4 – Lake Burrendong Sport & Recreation Centre Monday 21 – Thursday 24 November
Year 5 – Camp Yarramundi Grose River Hawkesbury Valley Monday 21 – Friday 24 November
Year 6 –Port Hacking Youthworks Monday 28 November – Friday 2 December

Kinross Wolaroi students making their mark

At Kinross Wolaroi School we value and strive for academic rigor. Students have a myriad of opportunities to engage in enriching learning experiences which in some instances the school provides or facilitates student access to them. Please share with us your child’s interest, passions, and achievements by emailing junioroffice@kws.nsw.edu.au.

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