Kilsyth PS Newsletter

Principal's Report

Welcome to 2020!

Welcome to Kilsyth Primary School for 2020! Another year for most, and a whole new school for some. We would like to welcome all our new students and families, especially our Foundation class, who have begun primary school with confidence and resilience, earning feathers for their respectful behaviour every day, and celebrating by placing wings and birds on our whole school Celebration Tree!

 

We look forward to another positive year with all our students, celebrating our school values - Respect, Resilience and Excellence - throughout all our lessons and in every area of the school.

 

Welcome also to Hayden, Sabby, Maddy, Ellie, and Rory  also joined us this year (but not in Foundation).  We are thrilled you have joined us and it is great to see you settling in so quickly and making friends.  Great work!

 

I would also like to welcome three new staff members to our school:

  • Miss Emma Williams - has joined our Middle School team, teaching Middle B.  Miss Williams comes with  a great skill set that complements the Middle School team perfectly.  Welcome Emma!
  • Mrs Bec Bertrand - is returning from family leave and will be teaching Visual Arts this year.  I know the students have already enjoyed having Mrs Bertrand back in the classroom.  Great to have you on board Bec!
  • Miss Ellen Morton - will be teaching here on EVERYDAY of the week.  In 2019, Miss Morton joined our team and did a great job leading our school production and teaching in our Senior School each Friday.  This year she is here everyday, teaching Senior B.   Looking forward to another great year Ellen!

Please join me in welcoming these people to our school.  We have such a great community here!

New Playground!

Our new playground has been a huge hit so far! Students (and some staff) have enjoyed working their way through the circuits and improving their ninja skills! Even a few year sevens popped by to have a go after school.  This playground is for our smaller students to use during recesses - Foundation to Year 3. 

Good old Melbourne Weather!

Well haven't we seen the best of our beloved Melbourne weather this year already? From humidity to 40+ degrees, rain, smoke and storms! Congratulations to all students for displaying their incredible resilience and camaraderie when staying cool outside this week and last. The way you have supported each other by playing in the shade or finding different, quieter activities has been very inspiring for staff to see. Especially when you participated in assembly on the deck last week, using your hats as fans and listening beautifully!

Setting Direction 

Our staff and I have been working to set a clear direction for our school this year.  In 2019 we received acknowledgement from DET for our terrific work in building a positive climate for learning in our school through our SWPBS work.  This year we will extend this further into our classroom practices and continue our work to improve student learning outcomes through promoting academic rigour in our classrooms and ensuring all teachers follow our Whole School Instructional Model in Literacy and Numeracy.  

We will continue to strive to uphold our school motto - Be the Best You Can Be! -  and will be setting, pursuing and maintaining high expectations of ourselves and our students.

 

I will be writing a little more each newsletter to keep you informed about the great work we are doing here at Kilsyth Primary School!

School Council Elections

We have a great school council here at Kilsyth Primary School.  A group of commited parents, staff and community members who take on the responsibility of governing the school.

 

At the beginning of each year we call for nominations and hold an election for new School Council Members.  The term for membership is 2 years.  This year we have 2 parent positions open for nomination.

 

Parents on school councils provide important viewpoints and have valuable skills that can help shape the direction of the school.

 

Those parents who become active on a school council find their involvement satisfying in itself and may also find that their children feel a greater sense of belonging.

 

The most obvious way to become involved is to vote in the elections. However, a ballot will only be held if more people nominate as candidates than there are positions vacant.

 

I encourage you to seriously consider standing for election as a member of the school council or  encouraging another person to stand for election.  You can read more about the process on the DET Website.

 

A notice board has been put up outside the General Office and has an overview of the process and nomination forms available for parents.  The nomination forms can also be emailed out next week.

 

School Council Election Timeline

  • Friday 8/2/2019 -Notice of election and call for nominations
  • Monday 17/2/2019 - Closing date for nominations
  • Wednesday 19/2/2019 - list of candidates and nominators will be posted and Ballot papers distributed (if election required)
  • Monday 2/3/2019 - Ballot closes (if required)
  • Tuesday  3/3/2019 - Outcome announced

Privacy

Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy

 

Please take time to remind yourself of the school’s collection statement, found on our website here.

 

For more information about privacy, see: Schools’ Privacy Policy – information for parents. This information also available in nine community languages.

Getting to and from school - safely

So many of our students do a fantastic job at safely getting to and from school each day.  

Thank you to those who arrive between 8.45am and 8.55am.  You are here ready to learn when classes start promptly at 9am.  Great job! 

 

I know that many of our students walk to and from school each day.  It is such great exercise to walk if you can, and the safest way to do that is to walk on the footpaths and cross at the supervised crossings.

 

There were a small number of incidents last year when students crossed the road at inappropriate and unsafe places.  This caused some serious concern for drivers and other members of our community who are very worried about the safety of our students. I encourage all parents to remind your children about road safety rules.

 

Sometimes students arrive at our school well before 8.45am, or remain at school after 3.45pm.  Our staff are on duty, supervising the yard, only between these times.  Students are not supervised before 8.45am or after 3.45pm as staff are often involved in meetings or other activities at these times. Students should not be at school at these times unless they are with a parent or guardian, or participating in before or after school care with Camp Australia.  I understand that from time to time situations arise and parents are unable to drop off or pick up their children within these times.  If a student is unsupervised in the yard before 8.45am or after 3.45pm, they will be escorted to Camp Australia and will join the program for the day.  Camp Australia will then contact parents to arrange payment for the supervision provided. 

(BTW: It is a good idea to register with Camp Australia, just in case...

Families can register for free at https://pp.campaustralia.com.au/account/register-contacts)

 

Just a reminder that before and after school the area behind between the Main building, the Senior building and the Hall will be supervised.  All other areas of the school will be out of bounds and students should remain in the supervised area unless under the care of a parent or guardian.