Care Program: (03) 9376 9848 Principal: Mark Ryan ...to 3 Juventus Soccer coaches. Marco, Stefano and Matteo were 3 jokesters who had the students laughing and totally engaged in soccer

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Kensington Primary School Newsletter Kensington Primary School Newsletter

23rd April 2015 McCracken Street Kensington Vic 3031

Phone: (03) 9376 6013 Fax (03) 9376 4574 www.kensingtonps.vic.edu.au E-mail: [email protected]

Care Program: (03) 9376 9848

Principal: Mark Ryan Assistant Principal: Julie Stephens

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Upcoming Events Contents Upcoming Events 1 Principal’s Report 1- 4 After Care 6 Funrai$ing 11

Grade 6 News 5 Sports News 4 Wellbeing at KPS 5

Community News 13

No School Friday

The curriculum day on Friday the 24th

means that children will not be attending school. The Care

Program will run from 8am till 6pm. Please ring the program on 9376 9848 if you need to use the

service. The staff have a very, very busy day ahead of them. They will be learning lots of things.

Assembly

Grade 1/ 2 Fleur will run assembly on Monday morning. At this assembly we will commemorate the

100 the year of the ANZACs. We have a lovely tribute to Alfred Aspinall who died on the 25th

of April

at Anzac Cove. He was a student of Kensington Primary School. He died at the age of 20. Lest We

Forget

Reporting

The staff are just beginning to collate all their data and will soon begin to make a start on writing the

reports on the children. Staff are constantly collecting data and work samples and tracking student

progress.

DATE TIME EVENT April Frid 24

th Pupil Free Day – No School

Mon 27th

6pm Communications Committee – all welcome

Tues 28th

5pm Funrai$ing Committee

Wed 29th

9.15 – 11.45 5/6K Ranger Meeting

May Frid 1st

Grade 5/6 Interschool Sports - Nth Melb PS Home

Mon 4th

5.30pm

Funrai$ing Muffin Morning Tea Finance & Facilities Meeting

Thur 7th

5pm Education Meeting

Frid 8th

11.30 – 3pm

Grade 5/6 Interschool Sports – Ascot Vale PS Away Parent’s Day Stall

Tues 12th

NAPLAN – Writing

Wed 13th

NAPLAN – Reading

Thur 14th

NAPLAN - Numeracy

Sat 16th

School Working Bee

Mon 18th

7pm School Council

Tues 19th

9am Education Week - Open Day 9am & 7pm Tours

Wed 20th

8am Boroondara Eisteddfod

Thur 21st

9am Soccer Carnival

Frid 22nd

Yr 6/7 Transition Forms to be returned – final date

Sun 24th

2pm Boroondara Eisteddfod Final

http://www.kensingtonps.vic.edu.au/

mailto:[email protected]

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Kensington Primary School Newsletter

These assessment practices:

- underpin that gradings awarded to students on the Semester Reports

- enable teachers to measure and track student progress

- inform classroom curriculum planning and delivery

An Assessment Schedule for the year has been developed and is implemented in all grades across the

school.

The Assessment schedule consists of both formal /standardized assessments as well as a variety of

informal assessment.

Formal/Standardized assessments include:

NAPLAN

On Demand Tests- Literacy & Numeracy- Linear & Adaptive

PROBE

PM Benchmarking

PAT Reading

PAT Maths

I Can Do Maths

DMT Maths

Oxford Word Lists

SA Spelling Test

Fountas and Pinnell

Formative Assessments include:

Annotated math samples using Progression Points and Indicators of Progress

Annotated writing samples using Progression Points and Indicators of Progress

Frequent reading/ writing conference notes

Speaking and Listening checklists

Word checklists

Handwriting samples

Data is collected on all individual students so that student progress can be measured and tracked over time.

An important aspect of assessment at KPS is that teacher’s work together using moderation practices to

ensure that students work is assessed accurately and consistently. Teacher judgements are based on a high

level of familiarity with the standards, progression points and assessment methods as well as evidence

gathered from well-designed assessment tasks.

Before teachers write the student Semester Reports all the evidence from these numerous assessments tasks

and collegiate moderation sessions are gathered and collated to ensure that report gradings and comments

are a true and accurate reflection of a student’s performance.

Helping your child to make friends at school (Kidspot) http://www.kidspot.com.au/Back-to-

School-For-parents-Making-friends-at-school+1758+153+article.htm

Teach your child basic social skills

Children need to learn the basics of social interaction: how to say hello, answer a question with a sentence and not just a

word, using eye contact and the importance of letting a person finish what they say before speaking.

Don't answer for a shy child

If your child is overly timid or shy, be supportive but don't always step in and answer for them. You may be in a shop and

the person serving you asks your child a question; give your child the opportunity to answer and gently encourage them to

do so if they remain quiet. Taking small steps to learn to speak for themselves is the path to overcoming shyness.

http://www.kidspot.com.au/Back-to-School-For-parents-Making-friends-at-school+1758+153+article.htm

http://www.kidspot.com.au/Back-to-School-For-parents-Making-friends-at-school+1758+153+article.htm

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Encouraging your child to talk about their experiences

During the drive home from school or over dinner, chat to your child about their day but rather than asking, "What did

you do today" talk about what you did during the day. This will make it easier for your child to join in with what they did

during their day. More often than not they will find it easier to join a conversation than start one.

Find like minded friends

Joining an extra curricular activity will offer your child the opportunity to spend time with like-minded children and is a

great way to form friendships. A team sport is another quick route to making new friends.

Small group vs big group

Both are equally positive experiences and it all depends on your child's preference.

Offer to carpool

This will provide casual opportunities for your child to mix with others and helps you to get to know the other parents.

Often it is the parents who make the first connections when it comes to developing friendships and this takes initial

pressure off the kids.

Listen don't do

Sometimes your child just needs to talk about their feelings and experiences and don't always need or want you to solve

their problems. Often it's best if you don't step in to solve peer problems, rather help your child to feel less anxious about

the pressure to be popular.

Role playing

If you have identified a problem that is getting in the way of your child making friends you can help come up with a plan

for solving this by role-playing. Ask your child to play the role of the person they are having problems with and you play

the role of your child. This way you can show solutions in action, which are much easier for a child to grasp than just

hearing you talk.

Invite children over

You need to make time to have children over for a play. Keep an eye on the kids without interfering and you'll soon see

which children play well with your child and which ones don't. You'll also notice whether your child has any problems

with interacting socially, such as being too bossy or too timid. Make it a fun experience for children to visit your home

but don't appear desperate. Once you have invited a friend for a play wait until that friend invites your child to play before

offering another invitation.

ANZAC poppies

The children are doing a great job of making the poppies for the front fence. They look fabulous and the students are

suitably proud of their achievements.

Mark Ryan

School Principal

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Sports News

SPORT NEWS

The school is still buzzing from a Soccer clinic we participated in last Thursday. Pat who works in the office, had contacts

to 3 Juventus Soccer coaches. Marco, Stefano and Matteo were 3 jokesters who had the students laughing and totally

engaged in soccer. The students were exhausted by their dynamic drills and at the same time motivated to learn more.

The Italian coaches’ accents stumped the younger students and it was still amazing how all was communicated through

action.

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Bounce Back

Yours in Sport

Nuccia P

Bounce Back – Courage

This term we start Bounce Back by looking at what frightens us and how we can develop more courage to face our fears

and overcome them. Courage means feeling frightened (because you might get hurt, you might fail, you might be

rejected or humiliated) but doing it anyway. Being brave is not ‘having no fear,’ it is about not letting fear beat you.

Fear can be very important to keep us safe and should not be ignored, however many fears are actually anxiety (feeling

nervous) about something that might happen and we often make these worse by exaggerating them in our minds.

What can we do to help overcome our fears and nervousness? Many of the Bounce Back skills help. You can do a reality

check – think about the risks and the dangers. Are your fears justified or exaggerated? You can try concentrating on the

positive things that could come from overcoming you fears (such as more confidence, progress, respect from others).

You can try remembering times when you have been able to act with courage in the past and use helpful thinking (e.g.

most people would feel nervous in this situation, not just you). For some people it is about going slowly, learning the

skills and taking things one step at a time. For others, it is about using ‘tough talk’ and say to yourself “just do it!”,

accepting that mistakes are part of learning.

Using our bodies can also help us manage our fears and worries. When we are nervous, our heart beats faster, our

stomach churns and we may have sweaty palms. Recognising these symptoms can help us to name what is going on for

us and then to take action. Using breathing techniques aimed at focusing attention on the breath coming in and going

out of the body has a calming effect on our heart rate and also our thoughts. There are many great apps that can be

used with children and adults alike to develop skills in calming body and mind and standing up to anxiety rather than be

overwhelmed by it or avoiding parts of life so you don’t have to feel those difficult feelings. Smiling mind and My Calm

Beat are two apps to try.

Many ordinary things make us feel a bit scared or anxious and these things are different from one person to the next.

This means that courage is an everyday thing for most of us – trying something new, meeting people, taking a test. Each

time you overcome a fear you become braver and more able to face other fears with confidence.

Melissa Martin

Wellbeing

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Care Program News

Club

STUDENT OF THE WEEK AWARDS

Monday 20th April 2015

Jack PH

For being a 5 star writer

Musaab 12 G

Doing amazing measuring of length

Tahlia 34 A

Great problem solving using place value

Muniiba PE

Using great predicting skills in reading

Husna 12F

Working cooperatively with her partner to play the addition game

Yvonne 56 V

For doing a great job at inferring and recording in her reading diary.

Najwa 56 V

Indentifying the inquiry related word governess in her reading.

Bonita 12 A

Doing a fantastic job of sharing src information with the grade

Anh PD

Working hard and faster to finish her work

Tenzin 34 D

Showing a flair for design and creativity when constructing his 3D gathering space model.

William 12 K

Using great strategies for reading

Kassidy P J

For her excellent writing.

Zara P J

For sounding out her letters.

There is no school this Friday the 24th of April as it is a curriculum day.

However! Fear not! The Care Program will be open!

We will be open from 8am to 6pm and we have a fun filled day planned with a footy match, lots of art and

craft, some cooking, a movie in the afternoon and quite a few students already booked in.

Remember to pack lots of food for the day because we are very active and the kids get hungry!

See you in Care on Friday.

Rebecca

Care Program Co-ordinator

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Grade 6 News

Visit to Gilmore College for Girls

All of the grade 5-6 girls were invited to spend part of the day on Tuesday at Gilmore College for Girls in Footscray. We

travelled there by bus – it’s not that far away. The school looks small from the street but it is much bigger once you go

inside. Here are some comments from girls who went.

I thought it was really good. The activities we did were great and fun. It seems to be a good school. It’s the first time I’ve

gone on an excursion just with the girls.

It was amazing, the gymnastics session was fantastic. The physical exercise was fun but we did work hard. The girls we

met there were really awesome. Their hall is huge.

I really enjoyed the science lesson where we were in the lab and we had to create enough electricity to power the light

bulb using combinations of fan blades and a fan. They have a new, spacious science centre.

It seemed like a really good school. Their teachers taught us well. The school looked good - like it would be a fun place

to go to school. The displays they had up looked really impressive. I think it showed that the people who made the

displays worked hard. Overall it seemed to be a good school.

They made us feel welcome and looked after us. It was great to see the Yr 7 girls from KPS who go there now. To solve

the problems the teachers set we had to work in teams and use strategies in our science, language/drama and sport

activities. Their science lab was really cool and their hall is so much bigger than ours. I don’t know where Gilmore Girls

was or how close it is to Kensington. It didn’t take long to get there.

Grade 6 News

Transition to Grade 7 for 2016

By now you would have received your

child’s information pack and application

form for Secondary school . This is a very

important document which requires your

attention. The application form must be

completed and returned to KPS by Friday

22nd May 2015.

Thanks

Fiona

TO PARENTS OF CHILDREN IN

YEAR 6, 2015

A significant part of the secondary

school transition process relies on

student address and contact

information being accurate. Please

contact the school office on 9376

6013 if/when details need updating

throughout the year.

Fiona, Kim, Stuart and Vivienne.

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Secondary School Information Evening for Parents

Monday 4th May 2015

On Monday 4th May 2015 Kensington Primary School will be holding an information session for

parents and carers of students who are currently in Grade 5 or 6. The evening, facilitated by the

Grade 5/6 teachers, will outline the Secondary School enrolment procedures and associated

timelines.

The evening will be held in the Library and will commence at 6:00pm and will conclude around

6:45pm. Childcare and interpreters will be available.

To assist us with the organisational arrangements please let the school know if you require childcare

or an interpreter, by no later than Thursday the 30th of April.

Thankyou,

Fiona McIntosh

School Communications – WE NEED YOUR HELP

As the School community continues to grow in number and diversity, now more than ever before will it be important to

have the right communication plans in place to interconnect our broad range of stakeholders (parents, teachers,

students, local community groups, etc.) Recently we have invested to build our communications platform that has

changed the way KPS communicates with students, parents and the wider community. We have recently seen this

through the introduction of a new website, electronic newsletters, signboards and other changes. However, we believe

there is still room for improvement to enhance the connectivity of our community and therefore the KPS School Council is

establishing a communications committee (link to terms of reference) with a view to developing a more detailed

communications strategy and implementing changes to increase the effectiveness of all our existing communication

channels as well as investigated new ones (i.e. social media).

Are you interested in either joining the committee or having a say?

The first meeting will be held on Monday 27 April at 6pm in the staff room.

Please come along and have a say in how the school communicates in the future.

If you can’t make it, please register your interest via SMS to Chris Dwyer on 0418 578 456.

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Funrai$ing News

Parent’s Day Craft Stall

On Friday 8th May the Fundraising Committee are holding a craft stall.

Students are welcome to purchase items during the day. The stall will remain open until 4pm for

parents.

Lots of lovely handmade goodies so please

come along and see what treasures you can find.

Muffin and Fruit Morning Tea

Monday 4th May

The FunRai$ing Committee are organising a morning tea fundraiser on Monday 4th May. For just $4.00

children can order a muffin and a piece of fruit. Orders will be sent home with your child today.

Orders need to be returned with payment to class teachers by

Wednesday 29th April.

Don’t miss out!

+ =

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The Funrai$ing Committee need your help please!!

We are looking for dynamic and energetic people to jump on board our committee with fresh

fun ideas.

You too can be part of the magic that; helps put the school in a better financial position,

creates more opportunities for the children, improves the school facilities, organise social

activities, which includes our amazing fete and generally be part of a really fun team.

The next meeting for the FunRaising Committee is Tuesday 28th April @ 5pm. We would love

to see you there. If you have any questions in the meantime please contact the school.

Prep D Class Catch up

3 – 5pm

Sunday 26th April 2015

at JJ Holland Park

Enter from Altona Street

Please bring some afternoon tea to share (No nuts

please)

Contact Eve (Keziah’s Mum) 0431 345 156

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Community News

Department of Education & Kensington Primary School do not endorse the products or services of any private advertiser. No

responsibility is accepted by the Department of Education or Kensington

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Documents

Care Program: (03) 9376 9848 Principal: Mark Ryan ...to 3 Juventus Soccer coaches. Marco, Stefano and Matteo were 3 jokesters who had the students laughing and totally engaged in soccer