Heading toward the end of the year!

At this time of year people often say to me ... "Well you must be starting to wind up for the year, are things slowing down?"

The end of a school year is actually one of the busiest! Teachers are finalising assessments, writing reports, preparing the curriculum for next year, planning Graduations and Transition programs, and setting up students for a great finish to the year.

At Kilsyth PS we believe how you leave sets up how enter. If you leave class well before recess, you are more likely to have a great recess break. If you leave our school to attend another, we want you to leave well so you have a great start at your new school. If you finish the year on a high, you are best placed to start the new year with a fresh and positive attitude. This is why we work so hard to make the end of the year great.

I know our staff are all working very hard to set up a great end of 2016, so we head into 2017 with our eyes focussed on great things ahead.

Report writing

A key thing in preparing for next year, is knowing what has been achieved this year. This week teachers have been focussed on writing academic reports for all students. These will be sent home at the end of the year. These will be a good reflection of what your child has achieved in their learning this year. I am looking forward to reading them all and encourage you to begin talking with your child about what they feel they have achieved and what might be some of the highlights in their report.

2017 Classes

Over the next week or two we are finalising our class placements for 2017. We are planning to run 10 classes in 2017. One class in Foundation and three classes in each level of Junior, Middle and Senior.

Thank you to those parents who communicated specific concerns to me in writing by last week's deadline, these have been taken into consideration.

The placement of students is a complex process with many factors to work through. We will be announcing classes and 2017 teachers towards the end of the school year.

Transition Program

Over the past six months we have been running our Foundation Transition program for students starting school. This is an important support as students make the big step into school life.

Our Year 6 students have also been involved in a wide variety of transistion activities as they get ready to make the move to secondary education.

As we head toward the end of the year we are beginning to involve all students in making the transition into their next step of learning. Whether it is moving up a year within a level (such as Yr 3 to Year 4), or moving to a new level within the school (such as Junior to Middle) making this step is significant in the life of a young person.

In the last few weeks of term we will be giving the students an opprotunity to work together in their new classes and with their new teachers. More information will be available closer to the end of term.

I encourage you to talk with your child about the changes that will occur for them and remember that some people embrace change quickly and others take a little longer to settle into the idea. Having timely dicussions can help your child feel supported and heard.

Carols Night

Please join us for our traditional Carols Night on

Tuesday 13th December.

We will meet on the oval at 5.30pm for picnic dinners. The Carols will begin at 6pm and should finish by 7pm.

Please remember that as this is a school event, alcohol is not permitted.

KPS Choir & Band rock!!

We are so proud of our Choir and our Bands!!

Our choir sang up a storm at the Chelodina Festival last week and will be performing again tonight at the Hansen Park Preschool Fete.

I have heard the rehearsals of our choir joining with out senior band in readiness for our Carols Night on December 13th. Sounding Sensational!!! Can't wait for the big night!

All the fun of the Fair!

We had a fantastic morning (in the rain) for "All the Fun of the Fair" - a great event organised by our senior students. Be ready for a special edition of the newsletter next week with stories from the fair from our senior students.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this such a great success.

Building our Stage/Shade area

We are still working to have our Stage/Shade area ready for our Carols Night on December 13th.

We have had a structural engineer assess the frame and provide a report on the next steps of construction. We have a few parents ready to help with decking, however would love to hear from anyone who might be able to give us a hand. We are planning to do most of the work during the week if possible, as many people are commited during the weekends in the lead up to Christmas.

If you are able to help us out, please contact the office on 9725 4320.

Have a great weekend!

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