Issue 17, 15 November 2024, Week 5 Term 4

Dear families,

There’s no denying it – since our last newsletter, it’s been a huge fortnight of events and there is no slowing down. Highlights of the past fortnight include our Halloween Disco, as well as our Reading Data Testing success – our students are making huge gains and we are incredibly proud.

Looking forward, we are set to have another packed fortnight for students and Teachers. Whilst many of our annual whole school events are later in Term 4, I do know how important it is for our Parents and Carers to forward plan so that you are able to join us in our celebrations.

Upcoming important dates to note include:

• DIBELS Assessment Screener for Prep – Year 6 on Monday 11 November and running for two weeks;
• Volunteers Morning Tea, Tuesday 3 December, 11.00am - 11.30am;
• Whole School Assembly, Thursday 28 November beginning at 1.45pm;
• Student Achievement Celebration Assembly, Monday 9 December beginning at 2.00pm;
• Kingston High School Orientation Day, Wednesday 27 November – all day;
• Year 6 Leavers Assembly, Wednesday 18 December beginning at 1.45 pm;
• Year 6 Big Day Out on Thursday 19 December – all day.

Year 5/6 Camp

Get ready for an epic camp adventure!

Our Year 5 and 6 students are in for a treat! From Tuesday 19 November to Thursday 21 November, they'll be heading to The Lea Scout Camp for a jam-packed Bush Camp experience.

What's in Store?

Thrilling Day Trips:

• kunanyi/Mount Wellington: the option of walking from The Springs to the Summit, or a shorter walk from The Springs;
• Taroona Beach: enjoy swimming, beach games and a walk to Hinsby Beach;
• The Lea: favourite team-building activities like Catapult, Rock Climbing and the Flying Fox.

 Nighttime Fun:

• KPS Talent Quest: show off your skills and cheer on our talented staff;
• Campfire nights: roast Marshmallows and share stories under the stars;
• Spotlight: staff vs students all in Spotlight Battle for the ultimate bragging rights!

We're so grateful to our amazing Year 5/6 Teachers and Senior Team for organising this incredible camp. We can't wait to make wonderful memories with our students!

2025 Class Structures and Classroom Teacher Changes

As we move towards 2025 we are prepared to ensure a smooth transition into the new school year. There will be a few changes to our team. I am saddened to announce that we will be losing Colin Williams from our KPS Team at the end of this year. Colin is a highly skilled Upper Primary Educator and he was sought after by our Department. As a result he will be moving from us to assist in supporting understaffed schools closer to his home. While this is a huge loss for our school, his experience, dedication and care will certainly be a gain for another school. I am sure you will join me in wishing Colin all the very best for next year and beyond.

Further, Ella Holmstrom will be taking a well-deserved 12-month sabbatical to embark on an adventure with her family. They will be travelling to Spain where Ella will have the opportunity to teach and her family will immerse themselves in a new culture. We wish Ella and her family all the best for this incredible experience, and eagerly anticipate her return in 2026. We can't wait to hear all about her travels and the valuable life experience from her time in Spain.

As a result of these changes, we welcome Ms Stacey Luttimer to our Early Years Teaching Team. Stacey is an incredibly experienced Educator who requested to join our Kington Primary community – lucky for us! Stacey will join Jess in Kindergarten and work alongside setting our 2025 youngest learners up for school success. We will also welcome Ms Alice Morgan who will come to us in a part time capacity and work across the school. Alice is joining our staff in a permanent capacity, she is familiar with our school, and has been a consistent face, particularly in the Year 5/6 space. Alice has a wealth of experience and we are very fortunate to have her join the KPS Team next year.

As a result, our class arrangements for next year are as follows.

Kinder - Stacey Luttimer
Kinder - Jess Suffolk
Prep - Kirby Barker
Prep - Amelia Doyle
Year 1 - Anita Grey
Year 1-2 - Louise Macintosh
Year 2 - Lesley Wood
Year 3-4 - Teagan Fone
Year 3-4 - Kellie New
Year 3-4 - Deb Briffa
Year 5-6 - Matt Stafford
Year 5-6 - Eva Leppard and Alice Morgan
Year 5-6 - Yilin Cai
Year 5-6 - Micaela Munday

HPE - Michelle Cockerell
STEM and the Arts - Jon Parrott
Japanese - Jade Stephens
Performing Arts - Stephen Jones
Support - Sam Dobson and Alison Brooks
Literacy Intervention - Bronwyn Paine

Please stay connected through our fortnightly newsletter, Social Media posts, Schoolzine, Seesaw or drop in and have a chat with one of our fabulous team.

That’s all from me this week. Have a wonderful weekend.

Ange Crane
Principal

In Science this Term, 3-4 Fone have been learning all about Geology! We have been exploring the properties of soils, rocks and minerals, as well as the important roles they play in our lives. We started off locally, by collecting rock and soil samples from around the school grounds, which we have been conducting experiments on. We mixed different soil samples with water and let them set into defined layers, so we could examine and document everything soil is made of. We have learnt that there are three rock types: Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic, and have been investigating the different properties that rocks have (such as their hardness, streak, magnetism and reactivity) and how this can help to tell them apart.

The highlight of our Science unit so far was our excursion to the University of Tasmania’s Geology Department! There we learnt about what Geologists do and the various career opportunities there are in the field, we looked at the composition of the three rock types under microscopes, we classified different gemstones (and even got to take our favourites home!), and we saw more rock samples than we could possibly count. We also went to Blinking Billy Point to see the remains of a real-life volcano and how it has aged, weatheredand eroded over time.

All in all, our class agrees that Geology really does ROCK!”