Parent Support Wanted

Now that the Covid19 Pandemic restrictions have eased, we are excited to have parent support back in the school. Krissy McCombe has been working with parent volunteers to cover books each Wednesday, so please contact her via email at Christina.McCombe@ed.act.edu.au if you would like to join this group. Class teachers are keen to increase parental involvement in their classrooms (9-9:30am) each morning. During these times, students will be reading or engaging in a variety of literacy activities. Please contact your child’s teacher to see how you can support. We are also interested in parent volunteers who are willing to be trained in our ‘Boost Tutor’ program. Once trained, parents will be distributed across our junior school (3 mornings each week) to support specific students to develop their reading skills. If you are interested in becoming a Boost Tutor or to find out more, please contact Michelle Northey via email Michelle.Northey@ed.act.edu.au.

PBL Reward

Our amazing students have achieved their mystery PBL target of 5478 W@K Tokens! The PBL Leaders have decided that Week 8 will be ‘Brain or Brawn Reward Week’. At some stage throughout the week, cohorts will run a 45-60 minute sport/game and trivia challenge simultaneously. Students will choose which one they attend based on their individual preferences. Congratulations to our students and the entire school community for their contributions to our positive school culture.

External After School Programs

In Term 2, a number of organisations will be running after school programs on our school grounds. These programs are offered through external providers and will not be supervised by school staff. Please contact the businesses directly to find out more about their terms and conditions and/or to book a spot for your child. 

Mondays

Get Set Tennis coaches are offering group lessons for Kindergarten to Year 6 students on the Kaleen Primary School tennis courts 3pm-4:30pm each Monday. In cases of wet weather, the program will move to the school hall. The program commences at the beginning of Term Two and will cost $225 for nine weeks ($25 per session). Please email nelson@getsettennis.com.au or phone 0422 809 160 to find out more and/or book in a spot. 

Tuesdays 

Join Perform Australia for drama classes in the school hall from 3pm-4:30pm - learn acting skills, play drama games, and explore characters! The program begins Week 1 of Term 2 and will cost $250 for the term. Please enrol online directly at www.perform.edu.au/kaleen or call Perform Australia on 1300 908 905 to find out more. For Kindergarten to Year 6.  

Thursdays

Bec Taylor School of Music was planning on offering general group music lessons each Thursday. Unfortunately they have had to withdraw due to staffing shortages. The school is investigating similar programs to take place each Thursday. 

PE@K Program

Separate from our external provider program,  Kaleen Primary school will be offering chess coaching from 3-4:30pm in the Library on Wednesday afternoons. This will be for any interested students in Years 3-6 who are looking to develop their chess playing skills and receive support to improve their strategy and critical thinking. This program will commence from the beginning of Term Two and will cost $100 for the term. Please contact Callum Joce at callum.joce@ed.act.edu.au or the front office at 6142 1750 to find out more and/or to book in a spot. 

Active Streets

Walking or riding to school is a great way for students to be physically active each morning and afternoon, while helping to reduce congestion around the school and limiting our environmental impact. We encourage all of our responsible students (Years 4-6) to ride and walk to school as often as possible.

Kaleen Primary School is part of the Active Streets program, which is designed to drive culture change within school communities to make walking and riding to school the norm for Canberra students. Discussing riding or walking to school with your children may include:

• showing children the best route to and from school (in person and on our school map)·      

• teaching children how to cross roads safely (utilise crossings and underpasses where possible)

• what to do in case of an emergency (key people to contact or where to go).

Walking or riding is a fun, safe and healthy way to get to school! 

Home Learning Hub

To support families with out of school learning, we have created a Kaleen Primary School Home Learning Hub. This is a resource that families can access to support their children in continuing their educational journey outside the classroom.

This includes:

• Video resources aimed at supporting parents in developing their students literacy and numeracy at home

• Access to digital resources to reinforce curriculum areas covered at school

• Scheduling advice and resources to support families and students who are unable to attend school for an extended period.

Bye for now,

Chris Shaddock

Principal

2023 Book Packs

All educational resources have been purchased by the school. Thank you to those families who have already paid.  Contribution requests will be sent home this afternoon to families who have not yet paid. These 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. 

PE@K 

Library Hot Reads

This week the Purple Pandas and the Blue Birds created their Ngunnawal country healing rocks at the Primary school Yarning circle.

They place these rocks on the Ngunnawal land each morning at group time to heal and acknowledge country.

Kindergarten Virtual Assembly 

Have a look at the Kindergarten Virtual Assembly! 

Year 4 Virtual Assembly 

Have a look at the Year 4 Virtual Assembly! 

Schools can be very busy places! Although our busyness can often be positive with lots of learning, we may also become tired, worried and overwhelmed at times. It can be helpful to pause for a moment and take a deep breath. Research suggests even just one deep mindful breath can send a message of calm to the brain. In simple terms mindfulness can be defined as being ‘here’, paying attention to the present moment. At Kaleen the staff have been exploring one mindfulness technique a week as a strategy to help with teaching and learning.  Sometimes practising mindfulness can help us calm our bodies, restore a positive attitude and get back ‘on track’ with learning. We have been trying breathing strategies such as Five Finger or Starfish breathing. Look for these and many other visuals online including Rainbow breathing, Star, Labyrinth and Figure 8 breathing. We have also been trying Smiling Mind, a free App which offers short, guided meditations for adults and children to ‘put a smile on your mind’. And, we are also trying to place a pause occasionally within our days to re-energise our learning. We walk outside and use our senses to return to the here and now - noticing 5 objects we can see, 4 objects we can hear, 3 we can smell, 2 we can touch and 1 we can taste. Maybe you’d like to try some of these mindfulness techniques at home too.

Kaleen Primary School has been lucky enough to win the Grill'd Local Matter's Fundraiser. Thank you to our community for supporting us. 

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

Community

Canteen Staff Wanted 

If you are looking for part time or full time work, school hours, Monday to Friday 9am to 2pm in a school canteen please contact us on 0408 200 481.

You must be able to work in a team environment, have basic cooking skills and knowledge of meal preparation. Must have a drivers license & Working with vulnerable people card.  (if you do not have a WWVP card it can be obtained once successful) Please contact us on 0408 200 481 for further information.