Principal's Report

Dear Families,

Congratulations to the school community for a successful start to the 2023 school year. Despite some initial setbacks with our student book packs and late deliveries, we managed to move forward. Thank-you to our Business Manager Kylie Carter for her follow up regarding the book packs. 

Staffing

We welcome to Kismet Park the following teachers.

• James Warren – 2nd Year teacher coming to us from the Catholic system (St. Peters Primary) – Year 4
• Sheree Werrett – Experienced teacher from Gisborne Primary – Sharing the Year 5 class with Jaclyn Milward, who has returned from Family Leave.
• Mel Pentecost is coming off Family Leave to deliver intervention as part of the Tutor Learning Initiative. In term 1 she will be focussing on supporting students in reading for two days a week. (Tuesday / Wednesdays). The program will deliver phonics, a shared reading focus on accuracy and fluency.

Louisa Kelly (canteen manager) will no longer be with us due to personal circumstances. We thank Louisa for all her work at Kismet Park Primary and wish her well. We thank Kirsty Jones for her work in the canteen over the last 3 weeks and on Monday 20th February we welcome Lorna Taylor our new Canteen Manager. 

Meet and Greet

Thank-you to all our families and teachers who took time on Tuesday and Wednesday to chat and exchange information about their child. This is critical to helping our teachers understand your child’s needs and strengths so that teachers can deliver a program that is tailored to your child’s needs. I had a look at the number of appointments and although I would have liked to see 100% of our parents/carers taking up the interview time slots, it was encouraging to note that we had 385 families attend the Meet and Greet.

Student Leadership

The 2023 School Captains,  House Captains and Junior School Council were all introduced to our school community at our first school assembly in our Gym. I congratulate these individuals and know they will do wonderful things for our school community. 

School Captains:

Summer Pott – 5/6D 

Archie Lane – 6B

Vice Captains:

Mia Arthrell – 6C

Luke Spence – 6B 

House Captains:

Junior School Councillors:

Year 3 – Dion Blanc/Ella Scott

Year 4 – Callum Smith/Hollie Oliver

Year 5 – Jai Bussinger/Hayley Elliot

Year 6 – Isabel Smith/Zavier Jones

School Council Elections 

The school council election process is in motion with nominations closing Monday 20th February at 4pm. If you are interested in serving our students and school community by joining our vibrant, enthusiastic, and committed councillors then please complete the nomination form from our front office.

Building Works

We are in the process of erecting a new roof to Building A. The roof works will be divided into three stages. 

Stage 1 works will begin February 18th in parts of Building A. The following classes will relocate for a period of 3-4 weeks from Monday 20th February.

• 4B Zac Corcoran Rm A3 to Collab Space adjacent to Their Care
• 4C James Warren Rm A4 to Library Open Space
• 3B Hayley Jackson Rm A10 to C17
• 3/4A Meagan O’Sullivan A9  to Art Room

The above classes have now moved to their new spaces. I will communicate plans for stage 2 in the coming weeks.

Lunchtime Clubs

Our Lunchtime Clubs continue in 2023, these have been a real hit with our students. We have started a number of Clubs where students can join at lunchtimes to engage in safe, respectful play guided by an adult. Our ES staff have been leading this work at lunchtimes and we have the following clubs on offer for students to join:

• Passive Play – Mon-Fri
• Library – Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fr
• Drop In Art Club  – Mon – P-3 and Fri – 4-6
• Drop in Garden Club -Tues P-6

Please take some time to have a chat with your child about these clubs, taking into account your child’s interests and remind them that these are available.

A friendly reminder that our Breakfast Club runs every Tuesday morning from 8:20am-8:50am in Building B. 

Attendance

Daily school attendance is important for all children and young people to succeed in education and to ensure they don't fall behind both socially and developmentally. Research shows that children and young people who regularly attend school and complete Year 12 or an equivalent qualification have better health outcomes, better employment outcomes, and higher incomes across their lives. It is important that children develop habits of regular attendance at an early age. 

Thank-you to all our families for the ways in which you support our children to come to school ready to learn. I continue to be impressed with the care and effort our families put in to ensure children are attending school every day. Keep up the excellent work.

Warmest Regards,

Kathy Cvitkovic

Acting Principal

‘Building the foundations for success and happiness’.