External After School Activities

In 2024 we will continue with our External After School Activities. We have a number of organisations that run after school programs on our school grounds. These programs are offered through external providers and are not 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 3:00pm-4:30pm each Monday (starting Week 2). In cases of wet weather, the program will move to an alternate location within the school grounds. A new program will commence at the beginning of Term 1 and will cost $225 for nine weeks ($25 per session). However, there is currently a waitlist. Please email nelson@getsettennis.com.au or phone 0422 809 160 to find out more and/or register for the waiting list. 

Tuesdays:

Join Perform Australia for drama classes in the school classrooms from 3:00pm-4:30pm - learn acting skills, play drama games, and explore characters! The program begins Week 2 of Term 1 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. Perform Australia drama classes are for Kindergarten to Year 6.  

Thursdays:

This term, Code Camp will be offering an after-school program for our (Year 2-6) students in the Kaleen Primary School library 3:00pm-4:30pm each Thursday. The program runs for 8 weeks and commences in week 2 of Term 1. The cost for Code Camp is $260 for eight weeks. Book now HERE or call on 1300 263 322. 

Early Bird Offer - Save $15. Please include this Discount Code T124EB and this Link in your communications:https://www.codecamp.com.au/kaleen

Our popular coding program incorporates weekly challenges, functions, algorithms, branching, variables, game logic, user experience and maths. Coding after-school offers students a new project each week and the fun doesn't have to stop after class! Your child will be provided with their very own Code Camp World account which they can use to continue creating at home and to share their projects with family and friends.

PE@K Program

In addition to the above mentioned external programs, Kaleen Primary School will be offering external chess coaching in Terms 2-4. In the meantime during Term 1, Callum Joce will run Chess Club during lunch times as a PE@K lunch club. We will send out information for Term 2 Chess Coaching closer to the time.

Teacher Professional Learning

Over the past couple of weeks our talented and dedicated teaching team have been busily planning for another fantastic year of learning. At Kaleen Primary School, we are all learners, so teachers kicked off the year by participating in a range of professional learning focused on strengthening our learning and teaching practices. Staff looked at researched based strategies to enhance our teaching of writing, differentiation  and improve our consistency of practice across teaching teams. We also engaged with a hands-on practical workshop in Maths, ‘Differentiation and open ended maths tasks’ delivered by the amazing Paul Swan and our brilliant school leaders. Teachers participated in a wide variety of tasks and exercises which involved playing games and problem solving activities. We left the workshop with new teaching tools and resources to use across the school. These initiatives link to our 2023-2027 School Improvement Plan to improve differentiation and critical thinking skills across the school. Thank you to our staff for their high level engagement throughout all professional learning sessions. 

Before School Supervision

A member of the Executive Team is on playground duty in the Senior area (basketball court, netball court and grass area adjacent to the Gym) from 8:45am-9:00am each morning. Students are asked not to play on any fixed playground equipment before school. If junior students are with their own parent/carer, they have the option to supervise them on the play equipment outside the kindergarten classrooms. All other equipment is not available for play during these times and we ask students to stay out of these areas completely to avoid any confusion.

Safe parking around schools

Please find below a message from the ACT Education Directorate ‘Safe parking around schools’. The start of the school year is a particularly busy time in our school carparks and surrounding streets. It is important that we park safely and legally to support the safety of students. Parking on a footpath, nature strip or roadside verge can:

 • Cause safety risks for pedestrians as they are less visible to oncoming cars 

• Increase the risk for vulnerable members of our community like children, people who are visually impaired, and those using a wheelchair or pram 

• Restrict the line of sight for other road users 

• Restrict access for emergency services vehicles. 

Parking on nature strips can also damage trees, footpaths, gutters and underground pipes and cables. Please also remember not to park across driveways or block neighbouring residents’ properties. As students return to school remember to also slow down and stick to the 40km/h limit around our schools between 8am and 4pm. Parking inspectors regularly patrol school zones to support safe parking and keep students safe. If you cannot find a car park in our school car parks, we suggest parking a little further away and walking or riding the rest of the way – it’s a quick and easy way to get in some exercise too. Let’s all work together to keep our kids and community safe! More information about travelling safely to school is available on the Transport ACT website.

Assemblies

Assemblies will continue on Friday afternoons at 2:15pm starting in Week 2, alternating between senior and junior each week. The focus of these assemblies is on special messages, awards and a performance item from the host cohort. Please see the Term 1 timetable below for more details:

Week 2 - Year 6

Week 3 - Year 2

Week 4 - Year 5

Week 5 - Year 1

Week 6 - Year 4

Week 7 - Kindergarten

Week 8 - Year 3

Communication Strategy

As part of our communication strategy we are always trying to evaluate and improve the ways we connect and engage with our community. The feedback we have received and the bitly data we have recorded, indicates that Seesaw is our most responsive and valued tool for communication. This will remain as our primary tool for announcements and communication. Last year, the Parent Portal was added as an additional tool for parents to receive and exchange information and all Seesaw announcements are also posted to this platform. Please see the front office if you would like to register for the Parent Portal. 

Newsletters provide a summary of the teaching and learning across the school. To improve our parent engagement and to share valuable resources and information with our parents and carers, newsletters will be distributed Fridays in weeks 1, 5 and 9. This will align with our 4 week Wellbeing focus across the school. Facebook will continue to be our platform to share celebrations and events. 

We know that it can be hard to keep track of all things happening across the school, so we will now be sending out a Seesaw post each Friday - ‘What's On Next Week at Kaleen Primary School’. We hope this will support families to feel more ready and organised for the week ahead. 

Thank you all for being the most amazing school community. We feel very fortunate to work in, and lead this incredible school. Have a fabulous and well rested weekend, ready for another fabulous week of school. 

Michelle Northey, Sarah Milligan, Kate North and Kelly Turner

School Swimming Carnival

Our swimming carnival will take place at CISAC on Tuesday 20th February (Week 4) for all students in Years 3-6 and Year 2 students who are born in 2016 that have been nominated to swim in competitive races.

The carnival will commence at approximately 9:45am until 12:00pm, starting with 50m events (freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, finishing with butterfly). Aquatic Games rotations will start at about 10:00am until 12:00pm. Students will return to school at around 2:30pm by bus. Buses will start leaving KPS promptly from 9:15am, so it is important that students are at school on time.

What to bring?

Students participating in Aquatic Games will need to bring a hat and wear sunscreen, as some activities are outside. All students will need to bring a packed lunchbox and drink bottle. There will be NO canteen. Swimmers should bring spare clothes and a towel.

Filling out the Google Form so your child can attend the carnival:  

Please ensure the online registration Google Form has been submitted, and the permission note, including a medical form, has been returned to the school no later than Monday 19th February.  

If you know your child cannot attend the School Swimming Carnival and they wish to compete at Regionals, please fill out this form and return to eo@schoolsportact.org.au. 

Qualifying Times to progress to Regionals:

To progress to Regionals, swimmers must meet the below qualifying times. It does not depend on their place when they finish the race.  

Qualifying Times for Regionals

To progress to Regionals, swimmers must meet the below qualifying times. It does not depend on their place when they finish the race.  

Preschool: 8:45am - 2:45pm 

Kindergarten - Year 6: 9:00am - 3:00pm 

Session 1: 9:00am - 11:00am 

Morning Break/Recess: 11:00am - 11:30am 

Session 2: 11:30am - 1:00pm 

Lunch Break: 1.00pm - 2:00pm 

Session 3: 2:00pm - 3:00pm

If your child/ren are absent for any reason from school, you must notify the school before 9:00am on the day of the absence. We have three ways you could let us know. 

• Email the school at KaleenPS.Absences@ed.act.edu.au 

• Telephone the school on 6142 1750, or 

• Parent Portal

Please include the date, student's name and class. It is a legal requirement that all absences are recorded with an explanation. If we have not been informed, the absence will be marked as unexplained and you will be sent a notification via SMS.  We kindly ask that you do not send student absences to your child's teacher via Seesaw.

Late Arrivals and Early Leavers

All students entering or leaving school during school time must be signed in/out by their parent/carer. All parents wishing to collect or drop off students outside of normal hours must enter the school via the front office. Parents/carers are not permitted to go directly to their child’s classrooms without KPS front office staff support. Under no circumstances are students to leave the school without being signed out from the front office.

All educational resources have been purchased by the school. Payments will need to be finalised by the end of Term 1. Notes will be sent out next week. 

‘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, Parent Portal or via our website using Quickweb. If you have any questions or would like to discuss a payment plan, please contact the front office. 

SCHOOL BOARD VACANCIES 2024 

School Board nominations are sought for one P&C Association member commencing in 2024. The School Board is tasked with providing strategic leadership and more information about the functions of a School Board can be found here. Terms for Board membership are generally two years and the Board normally meets four times per year.  Nominations will open at 11.00am on Monday 5 February 2024 and will close at 11.00am on Monday 19 February 2024 with voting (if needed) to follow.    

For more information or to nominate, please contact the front office on 6142 1750.

Parent Portal is now available. It is a secure online platform used to share student information between you and your child’s teachers.

Some reminders about Parent Portal:

·         If you already have a Parent Portal account, use this Parent Portal access link to start using the great features.

·         You can’t access Parent Portal directly through the ACT Digital Account website, you need to use the link above.

·         When you are logged into Parent Portal, we recommend saving the browser as a favourite or to the homepage on your mobile phone for quick access in the future.

·         The website can only be viewed using a web browser on your computer, mobile phone or tablet. An app is not available at this time.

·         If you still need to register, you will need an access key and a Parent Portal registration link via email to link your existing account to your child’s records. If you haven’t received this, please contact the school’s front office team for assistance.

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

Useful Links 

Future of Education Student Equity Fund 2024 opens in January

The Future of Education Equity Fund 2024 to open on 17 January 2024.

From 17 January 2024 families can apply for the Future of Education Equity Fund for the 2024 school year. Eligible low-income ACT families can receive one-off payments for financial assistance to help cover the costs of their children’s educational expenses such as sport equipment and activities, music lessons, school uniforms and excursions. The following payments are available to those who meet the eligibility criteria:

• $400 for preschool students

• $500 for primary school students

• $750 for high-school and college students.

The Fund is open to eligible students enrolled in preschools (attached to a school) through to Year 12 in the ACT. Remember the 2024 application form will be available from 17 January 2024 and for further information visit Financial and resource assistance for families.