Issue 7, 31 May 2024, Week 5 Term 2

Dear Families,

At Kingston Primary School, the core value of connection is integral to our philosophy and daily practices. We understand that fostering strong, meaningful connections with our families and the wider community is crucial to creating a supportive and enriching learning environment for all students.

These connections enable us to build a collaborative network that builds student success, enhances the school experience and promotes student wellbeing. By prioritising open communication, active engagement and a genuine commitment to understanding and meeting the needs of our families, we strengthen our community bonds and ensure each child thrives. We want every member of our school to feel valued and involved. One way of fostering and building this connection is through our Whole School Assemblies and it was fabulous to have a huge turnout this week.

Parent Teacher Discussions

During the week beginning 24 June 2024, all teachers (with the exception of 5/6 Williams and 1/2 Holmstrom) will be conducting Parent Teacher Discussions. 5/6 Williams will hold Parent Teacher Discussions during the week beginning 3 June and 1/2 Holmstrom will hold Parent Teacher Discussions during the week beginning 17 June. These discussions are an important aspect of our School Reporting Procedure and provide opportunities for teachers to share information with you about Class Programs and how your child is progressing this year. Discussions will be held in your child’s classroom and will be for 10 minutes duration.

Student Mid-Year Reports will go home prior to these discussions. Classroom teachers will also share Evidence of Learning online via the Seesaw communication platform. The written Report alongside the snapshot of Student Learning will allow parents/carers to then ask any clarifying questions throughout the Parent Teacher Discussion.

Bookings can be made online by typing one of the following links in your web browser:

Kinder - Year 6 Parent Teacher Discussions (excluding 1/2 Holmstrom and 5/6 Williams)
https://kingstonps.schoolzineplus.com/view-session/12
This booking portal will be open from Friday 7 June to Friday 21 June.

1/2 Holmstrom Parent Teacher Discussions:
https://kingstonps.schoolzineplus.com/view-session/15
This booking portal will be open from 31 May until 14 June.

5/6 Williams Parent Teacher Discussions:
https://kingstonps.schoolzineplus.com/view-session/14
This booking portal will be open from 22 May until 31 May.

Our fabulous Office Staff will be available to support any parents/carers needing assistance with booking an appointment. The following tutorial may also be helpful:

www.schoolzine.com/sk-booking-guide

Exciting News for Our Community – Opening of the Kingborough Child and Family Learning Centre!

We are delighted to announce that the Kingborough Child and Family Learning Centre (CFLC) has officially opened its doors! We are so fortunate to have this state-of-the-art and critical community facility on our doorstep. We look forward to building a strong relationship between the school and the CFLC. The CFLC is almost fully operational and ready to support the children and families of Kingborough. This milestone marks the beginning of a new era of educational excellence and community support for our community.

Prep Barker was lucky enough to be invited to the Opening this week. This incredibly new resource has already started bringing huge benefits to our community, offering support and guidance to our families.

Thank you Saltbush Child and Family Learning Centre for welcoming our students into your beautiful space today. We look forward to working in partnership with Rachael and the team.

Kindergarten 2025

In 2025 we are planning to have two Kindergarten classes. If you have a Kindergarten aged child for 2025 (a child turning five in 2025) it is vital that you collect an Enrolment Form from the office and return it as soon as possible so we can secure your enrolment. We have limited spaces remaining.

We also welcome our prospective students and families for our 2025 Kinder intake. On Monday 17 June, Mrs Grey will be showing families through our Kinder spaces. However, bookings are essential. To register, please visit: https://kingstonps.schoolzineplus.com/view-session/13 or contact the School Office via 6229 5728.

Our Launching into Learning sessions run Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. This is a fantastic way to introduce your child to the Kindergarten learning space and meet some of our wonderful Early Learning Teachers and Support Staff. This is also a way to start to make important connections with families joining the Kingston Primary community in 2025. Our fabulous Early Years Educators, Mrs Anita Grey and Mrs Jess Suffolk run these sessions and will happily answer any questions you have about our fabulous school. Term 2 is already underway with a variety of cooking, gardening, fine and gross motor activities as well as off site excursions. Please contact our office should you wish to receive a copy of the LiL Timetable or an Enrolment Form.

We will start allocating 2025 Kindergarten children into classes from October and want to make sure we have included all of our current families who have siblings in older grades. Spots are filling quickly. If you have any questions around this process, or your child’s placement for 2025, do not hesitate in contacting Miss Crane at school directly or via email – angela.crane@decyp.tas.gov.au. We will look forward to meeting all our fabulous Kindergarten students later in the year when we host an Orientation Morning.

Ange Crane
Principal

School Leadership Conference
By Henry, Benny, Lily and Sophia

On 2 May, we School Captains went to the Southern Tasmania School Leadership Conference. We left for Huonville Primary at 9:20 with Ms Dobson.

While we were in the car, we talked about our legacy and what we would do in our time at Kingston Primary. We talked about maybe we could make more clubs at recess or lunch, such as add more board games to chess club, make a sport club, and advertise get up and move club. We also thought we could have special pick-up rubbish days to help keep the areas around our school clean. On those days we could have a prize for whoever picks up the most rubbish. We haven’t made any decisions yet, but those are our ideas so far.

When we arrived at Huonville, we grabbed our name tags and sat down. A speaker came up on the stage and told us about when she was new as a police officer. She was terrified on her first assignment and went to arrest some robbers. She looked up to the more experienced officer who was totally calm. That inspired her and now she tries to be that person for others. After she finished speaking, we were told to get some morning tea and it was so delicious!

After we had morning tea, we headed over to the PCYC (that’s where we were going to do the activities for the day). As a whole group we split into smaller groups of four, each of us from a different school. We each wrote down what we learned from the police officer’s speech. After we finished writing down our thoughts and ideas, we shared them one by one.

A little while after we spilt into 2 different groups. In one group we had to use our communication skills to see if we could sort ourselves into alphabetical order, and birthday order. After that we had lunch outside on the oval and grassy area outside the PCYC.

When we came back in, the two groups swapped places and did different activities. In the second group we made pasta towers and did other team building exercises, like more sorting and turning a mat over while we were all on it. After the second activities, both groups merged again, and we wrote our reflections. That only took about ten minutes, so we left a bit earlier than expected from Huonville. In the car we chatted about the day and what we intend to organise for the year.

We really enjoyed the conference and were glad we got to go. It was good to think about us as leaders, too.

This term we've been diving into the world of Statistics! We learned how to collect data, like surveying our favourite colour and counting how many of each colour there were.

After using a Tally Chart or Table we then take that data and create some sort of graph.  This might be a Pictograph Column Graph or Bar Graph.  Once we have completed our graph with a Y & X axis, title and subheadings, we then answer some questions and make statements about the data we have created.

To improve pedestrian and cyclist safety Kingborough Council will be installing a pedestrian underpass at Summerleas Road, adjacent to Whitewater Creek.  The underpass will complete a missing link on the Whitewater Track, allowing pedestrians and cyclists unhindered and safer travel from the Kingston CBD through to Spring Farm estate without having to cross any roads.

Works will commence at the site on Friday, 7 June 2024.  Motorists may experience some travel disruptions for the initial two weeks.

To construct the underpass Council will be closing Summerleas Road between Queens Parade and Whitewater Crescent for around ten weeks (weather dependent) commencing Monday 24 June 2024.  A detour will operate via Willowbend Road and Whitewater Crescent for the duration of the works.

To manage increased traffic volumes on Willowbend Road and Whitewater Crescent we encourage motorists to use Huon Highway to get in and around Kingston, including to the High School and all the sporting and recreational facilities in the area.  To remind motorists Council will be installing electronic signage on Huon Highway and Southern Outlet, together with static signs on all approaches to Summerleas Road.

Public buses will need to follow the detour route but services to the Queens Parade/Greenhill Drive area will remain unaffected.  The Metro bus stop near 53-57 Summerleas Road will be relocated to 3 Whitewater Crescent.  The Tassielink bus stop near 100 Summerleas Road will be relocated to 130 Summerleas Road.

A map providing changed traffic details is below.  For further project details, including pedestrian management, please visit Council’s website.  https://www.kingborough.tas.gov.au/development/transform-kingston/summerleas-road-underpass/

Please contact Council via email at kc@kingborough.tas.gov.au or telephone 6211 8200 if you have any queries.

30 May 2024

Eric Abetz, Minister for Transport

Half price public transport on its way.

Tasmanians are being encouraged to change the way they travel, with public transport fares being halved from June 1, 2024 as part of the Tasmanian Liberal Government’s 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future.

Minister for Transport, Eric Abetz, said that Tasmanians will benefit from the half price fares from 1 June 2024 as many in the community deal with cost of living pressures.

“If you’re traveling on a bus or the River Derwent Ferry you will notice a significant drop in what you are paying no matter what your payment method,” Mr Abetz said.

“It means you’ll get twice as many rides from your Greencard or Transportme card top-up or even when using cash, or take the same number of rides and walk away with more money left in your pocket or bank account.

“Students and children will only pay $1 per trip making a big difference to household budget pressures,” he said.

This reduction applies to all Government contracted public buses and fare-paying school buses, as well as the River Derwent ferry service. It also applies to every fare type (non-urban, urban, concession and child/student fares).

Mr Abetz added that Tasmanians won’t need to do anything to receive the half price fares.

“All you’ll need to do is jump on any public transport statewide and you’ll receive the reduced fare when you pay,” he said.

“Not only will this initiative deliver immediate cost of living relief, but it also encourages more people to use public transport and ease congestion on our roads.”

Updated fares will be charged to Greencard and Transportme cards automatically.

To learn more visit www.transport.tas.gov.au/public_transport , talk to your bus operator or contact the Department of State Growth at ptfeedback@stategrowth.tas.gov.au or on 6166 3343.