ISSUE 2

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Things to Know

Important Dates

25 February Swim Carnival
25 February Lift Off! Ready! Year 2
26 February ThinkUKnow Cyber Safety Presentation
28 February Clean Up Australia Day
28 February Senior Assembly
3 March Year 5 Band Information Session
6 March Junior Assembly

Principal's Address

Dear Kaleen Community,

What a fabulous fortnight of learning we have had at Kaleen. Last week was a busy week with our Year 5 students and teachers at Camp Borambola for 3 days of action packed fun. Even though we were all ready for a restful weekend, I would like to acknowledge the exemplary behaviour from our students and the team effort of our teachers who always go above and beyond. We are a very lucky school!

Meet and Mingle Community BBQ

Last Thursday night, we hosted our annual Meet and Mingle Community BBQ. The much needed rain didn’t keep people away! It was lovely to see so many families attending the information sessions and mingling with the staff and school community. Thank you to our fabulous staff for their professionalism and commitment to providing a high-quality education for our students. Thank you also to the team of happy helpers who set up, packed up and worked with me on the BBQ.

As always, if you would like to discuss any aspects of your child’s learning please contact the classroom teacher. We are partners in learning and we know that all students benefit from improved learning outcomes when there is a positive link between

PE@K & WIN Initiatives

PE@K (Passion and Enrichment at Kaleen) and WIN (What I Need) Initiatives are outlined in the School Improvement Plan as Key Improvement Strategies to develop opportunities for enrichment, extension and promote student-centred learning. At Kaleen, we are committed to strengthening the way we cater for all students. Our Response to Need (RTN) Team works closely with all staff to ensure we are providing targeted support and establishing a range of programs to enhance our current extension and enrichment practices.

We currently have three PE@K initiatives; PE@K Programs, PE@K Lunch Clubs and PE@K Projects.

PE@K Programs are opportunities for students to participate in a wide range of enrichment experiences. These programs are offered throughout the year and are an ongoing commitment where students attend the program each week. These programs are an extension to the teaching program and enhance the learning opportunities for students. These vary throughout the year and include programs such as Green Team, Junior and Senior Choir, Japanese Choir, Recorder (Years 3 and 4), Dance Nation, Rock band, PE@K G&T, PE@K Coding, Dungeons & Dragons, IMP Band (Years 5 and 6), RoboCup and Parliament of Youth.

PE@K Lunch Clubs are optional lunchtime activities and provide an opportunity for all students K-6 to participate in a range of activities during their lunch break. All students are welcome and can attend on a casual basis. The PE@K Clubs include Coding (Mondays), Chess (Tuesdays), iMovie Production (Wednesdays), Games (Thursdays) and Guided Drawing (Fridays). These are teacher led, structured activities. Students need to wait at the ‘PE@K Pick Up Zone’ (Just outside the hall) after lunch eating time if they would like to attend. Timetables will be on display around the school to remind students about the PE@K clubs. As these clubs can change throughout the year, we will keep you updated on current activities.

This year we have a PE@K Lunch Club - Junior Social Play (K-2) This is a teacher led activity to promote positive social play and peer interactions through a variety of fun activities. Please see the timetable below to support your child to know what is happening each day.

PE@K Projects are conducted throughout the school for students to engage in a passion project. These are individualised projects and provide opportunities for students to work individually or collaboratively on a wide range of topics. The PE@K projects vary for each cohort based on student need.

This year we will be continuing the ‘WIN’ (What I Need) program. This term we will be focusing on WIN reading groups for students who require additional support. The WIN groups are based on student need across the school and are regularly reviewed in consultation with the RTI and teaching teams. Thank you to our highly skilled teachers who make these enrichment opportunities possible.

Home School Partnership

Parent involvement that makes a difference to a child’s learning. Four key things that parents can do to support their child’s learning are outlined below.

1. Having High Expectations

The research shows undeniably, that high parental expectations have the greatest impact on student achievement. Studies looking at teacher's perception of the positive attitude parents have toward their child's education, teacher, and school, was significantly related to increased academic performance, measured by both a standardized achievement test and teacher ratings of the child's classroom academic performance. Further, parent involvement was significantly related to academic performance above and beyond the impact of the child's intelligence (IQ).

2. Talking about school at home

Studies have shown that parents talking to their kids about school and school activities at home, had a greater impact on learning than monitoring homework, being home after school or limiting screen time.

3. Helping students develop a positive attitude and good work habits

As students get older, the impact parents can have on their child’s academic achievement decline. Parents can’t teach their children everything they need to know (the same goes for schools), but the habits they encourage at an early age, have long-lasting benefits, through to high school. There is no need to ‘teach’ your children, teachers focus on content, and you can assist by helping your child develop a sense of personal competence, encouraging persistence, showing them how to plan and manage their time, handle distractions, and ask for help when they need it.

4. Reading with children

Parents make a major difference by reading and talking about books and stories with their kids, in any language. Reading skills can be taught at school, and parents can help build a crucial foundation for successful literacy through conversation and reading together, which develops the motivation to read, a greater level of comprehension, and strong oral language skills. Please encourage your kids to visit the school/local libraries and take advantage of classroom books and home readers.

I look forward to seeing you in and around the school.

Bye for now,

Chris Shaddock

Principal

Lift Off Program

Last year, we were fortunate to be one of three schools selected to participate in the Lift Off program by Uplifting Australia. At the end of 2019, Uplifting Australia informed us that they will continue funding the program for Kaleen Primary School in 2020. Parents/Carers in years 2 (Ready!), 4 (Steady!) and 6(Go!) and will have the opportunity to participate in an evening session. The Lift Off program aims to:

strengthen the connection and resilience of children and families
work with children and parents together, empowering parents with skills and knowledge to strengthen their child’s emotional well being
prepare children and families with the skills to face life’s challenges and thrive
build the capacity of schools to deliver our programs and contribute to the social and emotional wellbeing.

The Lift Off Ready!, Steady!, Go! Evening Program for Years 2, 4 and 6

This program will run for Year 2 (‘Ready’ Term 1), Year 4 (‘Steady’ Term 2) and Year 6 (‘Go’ Term 3) families. Families of these year levels will have the opportunity to participate in one out of school hours activity (4-7pm). Each session will have structured activities that are fun, inspiring and support meaningful connections. Dinner (pizza) will be provided for parents and students who attend.

Term 1 – Lift Off! Ready! for Year 2 families –Tuesday 25 February 2020 (Notes have been sent home, please return them asap)

Term 2 – Lift Off! Steady! for Year 4 families – Tuesday 16 June 2020

Term 3 – Lift off! Go! for Year 6 families – Tuesday 18 August 2020

School Board

SCHOOL BOARD VACANCY – PARENTS AND CITIZENS MEMBER

VOTING OPENS MONDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2020

Dear Parents and Carers of the Kaleen Primary School Community,

Kaleen Primary School has a vacancy for a Parent and Citizens member position on the School Board. The position is available for 2 years, commencing 1 April 2020.

We have received two nominations for the position. A short promotional piece and photo of the two nominees is included for your information.

Voting will open at 11am Monday 24 February 2020 and close 11am Monday 2 March 2020.

To vote, please collect a ballot paper and envelope from the Front Office of Kaleen Primary School. Fill it out according to the instructions and place it in the locked box located at the Front Office.

The appointment will be made by the Returning Officer around the end of March and the appointment will commence on 1 April 2020.

The letter also appears on the Kaleen Primary School website and Seesaw.

If you have any questions, please contact me on 6142 1750.

Diana Wallace

Assistant Returning Officer

GENEVIEVE HUNT

My name is Genevieve and I am a mother of three beautiful girls who attend Kaleen Primary. I am a local family photographer and small business owner of The Social Creative. You’ll often find the girls and I baking delicious treats in the kitchen or off adventuring all the amazing places Canberra has to offer.

My girls are my world and their education is something I feel very passionate about. My girls and I love being a part of the Kaleen School community and all that it offers. From the incredible focus on school spirit, sustainability and literacy, to joining the choir and film-making clubs. With the support of the incredible teachers and support staff, I have seen my girls absolutely thrive since beginning at Kaleen and I want to see that for all students.

Being able to learn and grow as a member of the school community and represent parents in the best way I can. The prospect of being on the school board would be both a privilege and honour. Thank you for the opportunity.

BEN PETERS JONES

I nominated as a parent representative on the School Board because I’m passionate about the Kaleen school community and am keen to contribute to the school’s strategic direction.

Since my son, James, started at the school in 2017, I have worked within the school to help support a strong and engaged school community and a positive learning environment for our kids. My daughter Lizzie is in kindy so I’ll be part of this community for a decade all told.

From cooking cakes and sausages to helping with reading groups or keeping an eye on a friend’s kids while they’re a couple of minutes late, there are so many benefits from having an active parent involvement in the school. Most importantly it shows our kids that their education matters.

As a parent rep on the school board, I intend on consulting with parents, including through the P&C, to make sure that parent views are heard at the school board level. Wherever possible I’d do this in a transparent way.

I feel like I’d be an effective and inclusive representative for parents and I encourage you to vote for me.

P&C News

The Kaleen Parents and Citizens’ Association (P&C) Annual General meeting will be on 3 March 2020 in the school library at 7 pm. At that meeting there will be nominations and elections for the P&C committee for 2020. That committee has a President, Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, Public Officer and general committee members. It’s an important part of the school community and a great way of helping make your child’s school even better. Please come along and participate.

Parking is still an issue. If you’re looking for a park in the car park straight in front of the school’s main entrance at 9am or 3pm, don’t bother. There is never a park there. Not in the actual parks. Not a metre out from the gutter. Not in the bus zones. You’re just blocking the buses and making it harder for our kids to stay safe.

Seesaw is an ongoing problem for most of us. If you have multiple children with multiple years the app fills up very quickly and it’s impossible to find old messages. These are known issues for the school and they’re trying to work around them. You would have seen messages that go out to the youngest child so at least you get one message not more. You might have also noticed that Krissy sends out most of the school-wide messages so you don’t have to look for messages from each of the admin staff. If you have feedback on ways to improve the experience, I’d talk to Krissy or come to the next P&C meeting.

The Kaleen P&C facebook page is also a good option if you’ve got a question and another community member might have the answer. https://www.facebook.com/KaleenPrimarySchoolPandC

Kaleen P&C

Bottle Recycling

The P&C has set up a bottle recycling account so that any family wishing to donate their 10c per bottle to the school can do so. The account is linked to the P&C bank account and email address but to my personal mobile number. Sometimes the account number is best and sometimes you just need a mobile number.

Account number: E010182 (zeros not Os)

Mobile number: 0466 386 377

Cyber Safety Parent Information Session

In response to feedback received from the P&C, we have booked a cyber safety parent information session with 'Think You Know" scheduled for Wednesday 26 February from 5:00 pm- 6:30 pm in the library.

Please access the link HERE to RSVP by Monday 24 February.

Senior School Swimming Carnival 2020

Reminder:

Kaleen Primary School Senior Swimming Carnival (yrs3-6) will take place on Tuesday 25 February 2020 at Canberra Indoor Swimming and Aquatic Centre, Belconnen (CISAC).

Only year 2 students turning 8 years of age in 2020 (born in 2012) may attend if they can confidently swim 50 metres and wish to participate in the 50 metre events in order to be selected to compete at the Belconnen regional carnival.

Buses will leave the school at 9.15 and return 2.30pm.

100m swimmers will need to be dropped at CSISAC pool by 8.15am and meet Miss Van Huizen.

Please make sure you have registered your child for the carnival (swimming or aquatic games) and returned the permission note and excursion medical form.

Link: HERE

Please only register your child once on the online form.

Parents are welcome to come and watch, there will be a $2.75 entry fee.

There is no set timetable for the 50m events they will run between 9.30am and 12pm starting with 50m freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly.

Sustainability

New STEM Building

Welcome to our new multi-purpose STEM and Sustainability building.

Students have really enjoyed the flexible spaces in this wonderful new learning environment.

Clean Up Australia Day

Next Friday, 28 February 2020, Kaleen Primary School will once again take part in Clean up Australia Day.

Students in year groups will don gloves to lend a hand in cleaning up our school grounds which is a registered site for the ‘Clean Up Australia’ cause taking place in the community on Sunday 1 March 2020.

As per the previous years, we will again be holding a competition among the Junior and the Senior classes to see which two classes can bring in the most labelled reusable gardening gloves from home to lessen our need to use disposable plastic gloves. There will be two prizes available to recognise the winning two class’ efforts.

We look forward to the whole school getting behind this great community cause on the day while making a positive difference to the playground!

Thank you!

The Sustainability Team

Mrs Reeves, Mrs Lowther and Mrs Keens

Frog Pond

Thank you to the Chelsie R, Leo and Evie D, Alex J, Leila and Ameya E, Dahna Mc and Roch who helped excavate the area for our new frog pond. Well done to our Year 5 classes who also helped. We are looking forward to researching which native frogs will be enticed to come and enjoy this new area of our school environment

Year 5 Camp

Year 5 attended the Borambola Sport and Recreation Camp from Feb 17-to-19 and participated in activities as varied as high ropes, raft building, archery, a flying fox, and The First Ever Annual Epic Mud Run. The aim of the camp was to build teamwork skills and interpersonal connectedness throughout the cohort of students and this was a smashing success as everyone had an incredibly fun time, learned some new skills, and definitely left tired after giving everything a go.

Every student in attendance should be proud of themselves for pushing through challenges, stepping out of their comfort zones, and working collaboratively to make fantastic memories that will surely last a lifetime.

Tim Allen, Ryan Lindsay, and Nikki Van Huizen

Year 5 Teachers

School Captains & Leadership

Well done to all of the students who nominated for leadership roles. The campaigns were outstanding, and the competition was certainly tough. Elections for the various leadership roles have been held over the past two weeks, with the exception of school captains who were elected in the last weeks of 2019. We are exceptionally proud of all the children and are excited to introduce this year’s leaders. Congratulations to our leadership team for 2020!