Dear Families,

It has been so exciting to see how our students have embraced the new school year in what has been an unusual beginning to 2022. I have observed that the students are engaged and are working hard to learn and use the Kingston Primary School and Department of Education values of ‘Growth, Aspiration, Courage and Respect’. As a school we truly value the learning partnership between home and school. This was evident over the last week when we had a significant number of families making the time to communicate with classroom teachers around their child’s current academic progress. I would like to sincerely thank all families that made the time, and I strongly encourage all parents to take up the opportunity to speak with your child’s teacher and celebrate the achievements made so far as well as discuss the next steps in their learning journey. If you haven’t yet booked in a time to talk to your child/ren's teacher, please contact them via Classroom Dojo or Seesaw.

As always we really appreciate any feedback you can provide the school on all learning matters and particularly community connections as we plan to be able to celebrate learning. If you have any suggestions on how we could make these connections stronger or ideas on future community directions, please do not hesitate in coming to see me or contacting me directly at school or via email; angela.crane@education.tas.gov.au.

School Association

The School Association is ideal to interact with the school at all levels. This is also an opportunity to meet the wider school community. As a parent/guardian at Kingston Primary School, we invite you to become a member of the School Association. We need your voice. All parents are encouraged and welcome to attend School Association meetings which are held each month on a Wednesday (the dates are advertised in our school newsletter and on school Facebook).

This is a useful place to positively participate in the life of the school and to raise any areas of concern regarding your child’s education. We value the input of our community into decisions that are made around the school and continuously improve what we do. There would be many things our parent/guardians would see that, as educators, we aren’t always privileged to. Without your voice we cannot improve in these important ways. The meetings are held in an open, friendly and welcoming manner and our function includes to:-

• Provide advice and recommendations to our Principal in relation to the general operation and management of our school;
• Further co-operation between teachers, students, parents and the community;
• Develop parent participation and involvement in our school;
• Discuss and approve our school budget;
• Contribute to policy development and reviews;
• Involvement in school improvements and developments;
• Assist with fundraising and school activities;
• Raise matters of concern as noted by parents or committee members.

The School Association also coordinates school events and fundraisers and these are always great community events – and good fun for all involved.

This is a great opportunity for you to be involved in your child’s school, meet new people and chat with our teaching teams in a relaxed setting – and I assure you that the commitment is not onerous. We are looking for all interested parents who may like to nominate to become a member of our School Association. For more information regarding the AGM or to get a nomination form please call the school office. All parents are encouraged to take part in the Association. If you have any questions regarding the School Association or any other aspect of our school please do not hesitate in contacting me via email at angela.crane@education.tas.gov.au or at school directly.

Kitchen and Garden Program

Our Kitchen/Garden Program is now in full swing. Thibaut and Miss Honey have been working hard to engage our students in a combination of garden and cooking classes. Students have spent time working alongside Thibaut and Miss Honey to use produce from the garden to create delicious and nutritious treats. The skills the students are developing from engaging in this program are of a high standard. Keep an eye out on our online platforms for important Kitchen/Garden updates as well as recipe ideas that can be tried at home.

Changes to Reporting in 2022

This year you will notice some changes to reporting in Tasmanian Government Schools. Firstly, you won’t see A-E reporting anymore for Prep to Year 10 students. Most families in Tasmanian Government Schools have told us that A-E reporting isn’t meaningful enough for them. So the Department is introducing a new 9-point Visual Scale. Along with the Visual Scale a worded description will be included to help you understand how your child is going against the expected standard for their year level. The 9-point Scale will show more specifically where your child is at with their learning.

The second main change you’ll see is that teachers will be communicating with you more regularly throughout the year, instead of providing written comments on reports. This more regular communication might be through online communication, telephone calls or face-to-face conversations. By having more regular information about your child’s learning progress you’ll get a better understanding of how your child is going across the entire school year (not just twice a year).

What you should expect across the school year:

Families will be supported to understand the new reporting requirements and the changes to Mid and End of Year Reports as they are implemented. You can watch the video introducing the changes: Changes to Reporting in 2022 that has been posted to our school Facebook page. If you’d like to know more about why these changes are occurring, visit Review into Reporting to Families - The Department of Education Tasmania.

Wishing all of our Kingston Primary School families and friends a fun and enjoyable long weekend. See you all on Tuesday.