Issue 11, 28 July 2023, Week 1 Term 3

Dear Families,

Welcome back to school ready for another fantastic term as we move towards the end of Winter and into Spring. I hope everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing term break. Our Grounds and Cleaning staff have worked tirelessly over the break making sure our outdoor and indoor facilities are looking their best and ready for a new school term. The ECE playground is progressing well. I will communicate with you about the opening date once I am advised by Vos Construction. Further, the GP room has been painted and we intend to replace the carpet shortly. The kitchen has also been renovated and this project is also nearing completion. The new space is much larger and will allow for class groups to harvest produce from the 24 Carrot Garden and prepare the food in the school kitchen, so it can be enjoyed together in the newly renovated space.

This term we are really looking forward to more learning opportunities to build on your child’s current academic and social success. This term is 10 weeks with very few interruptions, allowing for continuous learning. Our whole school Literacy Inquiry into Reading in Years Prep – 6 will continue. Teachers have engaged in their own learning and preparation this term, already undertaking Professional Development. Teaching Teams participated in Professional Learning led by Mrs Rumley, Mrs Hebden and our Speech Pathologist, Kim Nyugen on improving our Reading Pedagogy to ensure our students are developing the skills required to confidently understand complex texts across a range of subjects.

Later this month the Department for Education, Children and Young People will start surveying staff, students and parents of our progress and our direction. This survey is developed, administered and completed by the Department and details on how to complete this survey will be sent home with students and posted to our Social Media sites. We would appreciate as many community members as possible to be able to complete this survey. Working in partnership, and with feedback from our Kingston community will ensure Kingston Primary School continues to thrive.

Our School Association is also an excellent forum for providing the school with vital feedback. If you are interested in being a part of this or have any questions or queries around what it involves, please do not hesitate in contacting me directly here at school or via email.

NAPLAN Results

This week parents and carers of students in Year 3 and Year 5 would have received their child’s individual NAPLAN results. This is an incredibly valuable assessment in determining what students know and what they need to know next. However it is important to remember that this is one assessment at one point in time – these results certainly do not determine a child’s end of year grade.

Our Teaching Teams will work collaboratively to triangulate the NAPLAN data with other assessments to get a more detailed picture of where each of our students currently sit within their learning journey. It is also a time to celebrate the strengths and improvements Kingston Primary School has achieved. Please note that if you have any questions around your child’s NAPLAN results or how the report is written to make a time and have a conversation with your child’s teacher. We will be excited to share whole school data and evaluation once it is released early next week.

2024 Classes

At this time of the year we start planning for the next year class models, staffing and student allocations into classes. Teachers are inputting vitally important academic and social data to ensure we have the best placement for your child in 2024. In October we start creating our 2024 classes by allocating students into classes.

We do not accept parent requests for teachers however, if there is an educational reason for wanting your child in a particular class or not then please email me, angela.crane@decyp.tas.gov.au before 13 October. We cannot always guarantee requests but will do our very best to accommodate each wish.

Social Media

The use of Social Media is increasingly a part of everyday online activities, particularly through mobile devices. Responsible use of digital technology is everyone’s business – this includes users, providers, parents, schools and communities. Most online safety (eSafety) issues that impact our school day occur or begin when students are online outside of school hours. It is critical that children know how to use online technology safely and are supported in behaving respectfully and responsibly to keep themselves and others safe at home.

Whilst legally children should not be using any Social Media platforms until the age of 13, we do recognise that there is a large percentage of our Year 5-6 students engaging in this space. We all have the responsibility to model and promote a positive and safe online environment and we strongly urge that any online activity is monitored by adults at home.

To gain an increased understanding of this topic, Year 5-6 classes will focus on Social Media and the law in Social Skills over the next five weeks. Discussion will be around the students' understanding and use of Social Media and mobile phone communication.

Do you have a child transitioning from Year 6 to Year 7 in 2024? To assist with planning for 2024, please complete the High School Intentions Form in the link below. If you require a paper copy, please contact our School Office.

https://forms.office.com/r/r9UPJgbJ5f

Welcome back!

Term 3 will be a huge term for our School Association with the Quiz Night, BBQ Lunch and the Colour Fun Run! Last year the Quiz Night was such a fun night and we encourage you all to come along and have a laugh.

Did you know that if you are a parent or carer of someone at Kingston Primary School then you are automatically a member of the School Association? It’s true and we value your voice! The Committee is here to listen to and represent you where needed so we would love to hear your ideas on how we can help the school, the students and our families.

Our next School Association meeting is on Tuesday 8 August at 1:45pm in the School Library, a perfect time so that you can have a listen to what is going on at the school and then pick up your child at the end of the meeting! If you are interested but not able to make it, you can attend via Microsoft Teams or get in contact with one of the Committee Members and we can catch you up on what we talked about.

As always if you have any questions or suggestions for the School Association, feel free to post in the Kingston Primary Parents and Friends Facebook group or contact me at kingstonpsacchairperson@gmail.com

Samara
School Association Committee Chairperson

In 2 Wood we have been learning about portrait drawing as we prepare our entries for the Young Archies competition. Everyone's efforts are amazing, please come and see our classroom gallery to see the completed portraits. 

Book Club catalogues will be distributed this week.  

The deadline for ordering is Thursday 10 August 2023.  The easiest way to order is online via www.scholastic.com.au/LOOP 

15% of your order value is given back to the school. 

A FREE BOOK GIVEAWAY is coming on Issue 5!

This event is a school-wide Colour Run and Obstacle Course and we would love for every student to join the fun.  We have set a $5,000 fundraising goal and we know that together we can make it (fundraising is not compulsory).

REGISTERING YOUR CHILD:

1. Go to https://colourblast.com.au/registration-time/?school-id=MTQzNjY=
2. Click on the pink REGISTER button on the top right-hand corner.
3. Scroll down the page, below the Australia map, and type in our school’s name.
4. Click on the pink GO TO PAGE button below our logo.
5. Now follow the prompts and complete the final three steps.
6. When registering an additional child, follow the prompt after completing the first registration.

A notice has been sent home this week with further details. If you have any questions or need assistance negotiating the registration process, please let the class teacher know via Seesaw or in person, or call the school office.