Newsletter Meet and Mingle (with free BBQ) Information

Earlier this week, the school and P&C hosted a Meet and Mingle Community BBQ. 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. It was an amazing community event and we are looking forward to many more in the near future.

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 home and school.

External Painting Project

Before the Covid19 pandemic, the Education Directorate employed an interior designer to offer some advice on our Kaleen Colour Palette. Earlier this week, we met with the external painting team to plan the painting schedule and map out the different stages of the project (which will take several weeks, starting with the preschool on Monday). The painters assure us there will be a minimal disruption during the school day, with a lot of the high traffic areas being completed outside of school hours. We will keep families informed as the project progresses, as the proposed timeline is highly dependent on weather. Below are the general plans (which have been shared with the community previously). We made some amendments this morning in our final walk around (increasing the blues and reducing the whites) to make it more child friendly/durable. Thank you to the Directorate for funding this project and to our community (in advance) for your flexibility and understanding during the process.

External After School Programs

A number of external organisations are interested in running after school programs in and around our school grounds. Thank you to the 57 members of the school community who filled in the survey to help us better understand the types of programs you would like offered. Please understand that these after school programs will be offered through external providers and will not be supervised by school staff. The survey results indicated interest in most programs, with Music, Tennis and Chess being among the most popular. We will now liaise with different organisations to determine which programs would best meet the needs of our community. In the coming weeks, we will share relevant information (i.e. activities, age ranges, times, costs etc.) with families via the newsletter. Interested families will need to contact the external organisations directly to book in sessions and discuss their terms and conditions. The successful programs will most likely commence at the beginning of Term 2. 

Mr Shaddock’s Joke of the Week

Q) Why did the scarecrow get an award?

A) It was outstanding in its field.

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 standardised 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 declines. 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.

Bye for now,

Chris Shaddock

Principal

2023 Book Packs

All educational resources have been purchased by the school. A payment note went out on Wednesday. Payments will need to be finalised by the end of Term 1. 

‘Book Pack’ pricing includes:

• Stationery items

• Digital Technology and Subscriptions

• Educational Resources (art and craft supplies, photocopy paper, year level specific recourses)

The cost for each ‘Book Pack’ is $95.00. There is a reduced rate for families with more than one child attending Kaleen Primary School (including the preschool). Payment is required by Thursday April 6th. The prices are listed below.

If you have…

1 child the cost is $95.00

2 children the total cost is $180.00

3 or more children the total cost is $250.00 per family

Payments can be made by cash, EFTPOS, or via our website using Quickweb. If you have any questions or would like to discuss a payment plan, please contact the front office. 

Our swimming carnival will take place at CISAC on Tuesday 21 February (Week 4) for all students in Years 3-6 and Year 2 students who are born in 2015 that have been nominated to swim in competitive races.

The carnival will commence at approximately 9:45am until 12pm starting with 50m events (freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke finishing with butterfly). Aquatic games rotations will start at 10am until 12pm. Students will return to school at approx. 2:30pm. 

Buses will start leaving KPS promptly from 9:00am so it is important that students are at school on time.

Students who are participating in aquatic games will need to bring a hat and wear sunscreen. All students will need to bring their food for the day and a drink bottle. The canteen will be available at the venue.

Please make sure the online registration Google form has been completed/submitted and the permission note, including a medical form, has been returned to the school before Tuesday.

Grill'd Fundraiser 

Hi Kaleen Community

If you are eating out as a family this month please head to Grill’d Belconnen Mall. Our school has a fundraising jar there at the moment. So please encourage your friends to enjoy a meal at Grill’d Belco and pop a token in the Kaleen Primary School fundraising jar. The organisation with the fullest jar wins a prize! Let’s see if we can win the prize like last year. Go Kaleen!

We’re half way through our fund raising drive with Grill’d. Some ways you can help boost our support are:

• Put up a social post and get your members to do the same

• Book a group burger night. Call Grill'd Belconnen on 02 6251 1588 or email them at belconnen@grilld.com.au.

• Spread the word, get your friends and friends of friends to back you.

And another photo

Year 2 Virtual Assembly 

Have a look at the Year 2 Virtual Assembly! 

If you would like to have your child's achievement acknowledged here, please email a short blurb to KaleenPSAdmin@ed.act.edu.au 

Community