Newsletter 28th April 2021
Principal's Message
COVID Lockdown
Again we have been very lucky only to have required three days of lockdown. In some ways, as it was over a long weekend, it was fortunate as it didn’t impact schooling. We were also able to get our ANZAC Day ceremony in before, allowing us to have visitors on site. Of course, in other ways it was unlucky as it impacted holiday plans.
While all adults must wear masks this week on site, we have also been instructed to exclude adult spectators from large gathering events like the school assembly. So, rather than continue with today’s scheduled assembly without parents, we have postponed it until next week. We were also instructed to cancel parent helper rosters for the week. We hope, by next week, parents will be allowed to attend all school events.
ANZAC Day Ceremony
On Friday we held our ANZAC Day ceremony. The Student Councillors were our MCs. The senior choir performed two songs – Two Little Boys and I am Australian. This was very moving and beautifully and clearly sung. Congratulations to the soloists who overcame nerves to give terrific performances – Alice, Sophia, Maya and Darcey. The School Band played a lovely rendition of Lest We Forget and Abide with Me during the wreath laying. A wreath was laid by each class. Thank you to the families that donated flowers for this and to those who helped with making up the wreaths. Something new this year was the Ode being read in both English (by Ebony) and Noongar (a recording of Professor Len Collard). A big thank you to Mr Justin Reagan who delivered a well-targeted address. Thanks also to Mrs Dewing who conducted the choir and band (one of her last duties before going on Long Service Leave this term). Thanks also to Mrs Backhouse for organising the service and the sound system.
Junior Toilets
The student councillors have obtained suggestions for themes for the boys and girls toilet artwork. They will now finalise a list of themes for the students in the junior area to vote on. We aim to have the final decision to you later this term. We thank the P&C for this initiative.
Student Name Badges
This week we have made up name badges for all the students and we are asking them to put them on when they get to class and remove them before leaving. The reason for this is to help build a sense of belonging. Our new Business Plan has 'relationships' at its core. The power of a name is central to identity. We all know that it is nice to feel known and name badges help everyone to get to know each other; students and staff alike. We are trialling this in Term 2 and are happy to hear feedback later in the term, once we have got into the swing of wearing these. The student leaders already wear name badges and don't need to add another if they don't wish. Apart from the cost, we have chosen pins rather than magnets because active children tend to knock magnet badges off and they are then lost or damaged.
Early Childhood
The kindy students (and new Pre-primary students) will be screened by supervised speech and language therapy students this term. This enables us to pick up any issues and address them as soon as possible, as we know that speech and language difficulties, left unaddressed, have a major impact on learning.
Mrs Varrie Brookes has left to work for the School of Special Education Needs – Behaviour. She will be missed as she is a very good teacher. In her place we have employed Mrs Lisa Wilson, also a great teacher, who has worked for us before and is familiar with the school. We wish Mrs Brookes all the best and welcome Mrs Wilson back on staff.
Bronwyn Jones
PRINCIPAL
Playing our part to build a national picture of child health
In early 2021, our school, along with thousands of others across the country began preparations for the fifth Australian Early Development Census (AEDC).
The AEDC gives us a national picture of the development, health and wellbeing of children in their first year of full-time school. Since 2009, the census results have helped communities, schools and governments plan services and develop better policies to target support for children and families.
Children don’t miss any class time, and parents/carers don’t need to supply schools with any new information for the census. The AEDC gives us data at a school and community level - it isn’t an assessment of individual children.
Teachers have also noticed that completing the assessments made them more aware of the needs of individual children, and the class as a whole, and that the census results are useful in planning for transitions to Year 1 and developing class programs.
Participation in the AEDC is voluntary. Parents/carers don’t need to take any action unless they choose not to include their children in the census.
To find out more about the census and how communities are using the data to help children and families, visit the AEDC website: www.aedc.gov.au.
Clare Brook
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL
NAPLAN 2021
The following is the schedule for NAPLAN online 2021. All Year 3-6 students will be sitting NAPLAN during Week 4 and 5. Tests will be completed online with the exception of Year 3 Writing, which is still a paper-based test. If a student is absent due to illness, we will endeavour to get them to sit a catch-up test.
Claire Backhouse
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL
Applications for Kindergarten 2022
are now open!
If your child is born between 1 July 2017 and 30 June 2018, you can apply to enrol them in our school.
Please visit the school office to pick up an 'Application for Enrolment' form or alternatively you may complete this editable pdf. Download the document, save it to your computer, complete and return it by emailing kensington.ps@education.wa.edu.au
Complete one form per child and return the completed form to us, along with a copy of:
- your child’s birth certificate, Australian passport or citizenship papers if both parents were born overseas or visa grant papers if applicable.
- two pieces of evidence of your address – your most recent gas, water or electricity bill and your rates notice or lease agreement.
As Kindergarten is pre-compulsory schooling, there is no guarantee of a place in your local school. All applications received by 3:00pm on July 23rd 2021 are equally considered against Department of Education criteria.
Classroom Foyer Display
Room 3
Creativity is one of our school values. Here are some examples of how Room 3 students have used creativity to enhance our learning over the last term. In Art, we listened to owl stories and painted owls and during Health, we looked at our unique differences and then painted our portraits. During History, we looked at the importance of ANZAC DAY and read about ANZAC Ted. Our Talk for Writing narrative was "The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch", so we designed and created lighthouses. We have had so much fun being creative in everything we do!!
Teachers - Megan Mehnert and Sheree Ramsay
Sports News
Netball Teams
We have several netball teams that play in a competition at Leisure Life in Victoria Park. At the end of last term several played in grand finals. Congratulations to all teams. Congratulations to super coach Tina Allen and her marvelous netball team, the Kensington Pride, for winning the Leisure Life Netball Association (Years 5/6B division) grand final for the second season in a row. The game was very close with only one point separating the win from the Firebirds. A special mention to Amy for being awarded the Best and Fairest for the second season in a row. Well done to all players. Congratulations to Kensington Lightning, the Year 6 netball team on winning their grand final. Thanks to Leanne Hill for her magnificent coaching and commitment to the team. Well done to Isla for winning the Best and Fairest for the season.
Cricket
Congratulations to Harry in Year 6 for being selected in the U12 State Cricket training squad.
Sporting Schools Grant
We have again been successful in receiving funding from the Federal government for this term. The sports we will use the funding for are AFL and hockey. All students from Year 1 – 6 will participate in sessions with an accredited coach who will assist Mrs Stanford. Notification of these events will be via Consent2Go - there is no need to respond as sessions will be in their PE time and there is no cost to the students.
Teacher - Raema Stanford
School Board
Board Update
I can announce the complete list of Board member for 2021 as follows:
- Board Chair – Brendan Joss
- Deputy Chair – Mike Purves
- Secretary – Claire Backhouse
- Community Member – Katya Gvozdenovic
- Community Member – Susan Lees
- Staff – Claire Backhouse
- Staff – Clare Brook
- Staff – Emily Hasson
- Staff – Ashley Griffiths
- Parent - Adam Bartle
- Parent - Brendan Joss
- Parent - Simon Keen
- Parent - Linda Kut
- Parent - Mike Purves
- Parent - James Ramsay
- Parent - Erin Sutton
Please find the last of our new members’ profiles below: Emily Hasson, Erin Sutton and Wayne Smith. All the profiles of the current Board can be found on our school website.
It is hoped that the Board will finalise the new Business Plan at the next meeting. Tracey Carpenter has done the graphic design for it, as she did for the Annual Report. You can access a copy of the Annual Report by going to the link on the school website or Schools Online, or by viewing copies in the office.
The Board also accepted and signed off on the Director General’s Statement of Expectation document and the School Funding Agreement.
The next Board meeting has been postponed and will now take place in Week 4 on 10th May.
Staff Representative:
Emily Hasson
I have worked as a teacher for eight years and this is my sixth year teaching at Kensington Primary School. I have had experience teaching all years from K – 3 at Kensington and in the UK. I hold a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Accounting and Business Law and Master of Teaching (Early Childhood).
I am passionate about delivering an engaging, inquiry-based program to my students. I especially enjoy teaching literacy and Digital Technologies.
I feel very privileged to be part of the Kensington PS school community, where I am currently teaching a Year 2/3 class. I am committed to providing a safe and inclusive classroom environment for my students, fostering their curiosity and creativity.
Parent Representatives:
Erin Sutton
I am a parent to two great kids at KPS - Jacob (Year 2) and Joshua (Pre-primary) and have always taken the approach that you need to support your local community and education facilities. KPS parents and staff have embraced our family over the past three years and it is clear the school community is strong and thriving.
In my professional life, I work for an oil and gas company in the CBD so understand the juggle that many working parents face. I feel my professional experience can aid the school in fulfilling its strategic objectives now and into the future.
My career has taken me across many industries including finance and agriculture before coming to work in oil and gas, so I would bring to the role of parent rep on the KPS board a broad range of skills across strategy, finance and stakeholder engagement. Between 2012 and 2016, I was on the Parent Committee of our local Early Childhood Centre (Member, Treasurer and Chairperson roles), helping them steer through major changes to their funding and develop their strategic plan to enable them to form better robust long-term partnerships with the local council, community and state government.
It is important for both my husband (who is an Ambulance Paramedic) and I to feel that our children are supported on their journey through these important school years. I know that playing an active role in that process through my involvement on the School Board is of benefit to us, the school and the community.
Wayne Smith
Having moved to Australia 4 years ago with our two boys, we were fortunate to have chosen Kensington as our home. We were immediately drawn to KPS for the warmth and feeling the school exuded, the friendly and knowledgeable attitude of the teachers and staff and a learning environment with a distinctly family feel.
Professionally, I am a Chartered Accountant and former Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers where I sat on a number of Board and Audit Committees. In my current role, I am a Group Financial Controller of Australian Gas Infrastructure Group. Specialising in finance, governance and compliance, I bring practical and first-hand experience in order to solve issues and drive process improvement.
Education is one of the biggest gifts you can provide for your children and I welcome the opportunity to give back to the school for the benefit of not only my but other children and parents of Kensington.
In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with family, playing soccer and mountain biking and continue to chase the dream of one day completing an ironman (like my wife Michelle).
P & C News
School Banking
School banking is running each Thursday from 8.30-8.50am outside the music room. We welcome all new and returning bankers. For more information, please see the link on the Kensington Primary School website.
We are running a consistent saver reward draw at the last assembly for Term 2 - one entry in the draw for each deposit made during terms 1-2. Several prizes to be won!
Mother's Day Raffle
The P&C are doing a great little fundraiser for Mother’s Day. Raffle tickets should have come home last week with the kids - a set of 10 per family ($1 each). There are six amazing hampers up for grabs. Additional tickets are available at the front office. Please return your money in the provided envelope by Wednesday 5 May.
Facebook for Kensington PS P&C
Did you know the Kensington Primary School P&C is on Facebook? This page is where you can keep up to date on the activities the P&C is undertaking in the school. The page is public, and open to anyone, so we’ve recently launched a private group for parents and guardians of current KPS students. As a private group, we can share more information that the general public does not necessarily need to know, such as reminders to return money raised for raffle tickets sold or the Colour Run - things that can easily slip under the radar, especially if your child hasn’t emptied their bag for a week!
The information will continue to be shared via the newsletter, the school calendar, the app and your class reps, but this is just another avenue to get the information out for those that prefer. The public page will also continue to operate, but will shortly be limited to information about events such as Election Day and the fete that the community can get involved in.
To request to join the group, go to https://www.facebook.com/Kensington-Primary-School-PC and find the link for the group on the group tab.
Icy Poles
This term there will be no icy poles for sale. Sorry for any disappointment.
Lego Masters
School Nurse News
Crunch & Sip
Community News
Perth Goju Karate teaches karate classes in your local area.
A special offer for the school’s students - 4 WEEKS FREE beginners karate lessons!
Classes are held after school and are a great way for children of all ages to learn self-defense in a fun and safe environment.
We also teach classes for teens and adults and they are fantastic for fitness, wellbeing and of course, self-defense.
Classes continue over the school holidays (with a short break over the Christmas period) which makes it perfect for the kids who are looking to try something on the holidays.
Karate has many benefits which include confidence, respect, discipline and fitness.
Call now to take advantage of this 4 week trial.
Sensei Johnny Moran - 0402 830 402
Help shape our Youth Plan!
The City of South Perth is developing its first ever Youth Plan and we’d like to find out more about what matters most to the young people in our community.
The Youth Plan will help us deliver events, programs and services for our younger community members and ensure that the youth perspective is part of our future planning.
We’d like to hear from young people aged 10-25 years who live, work, study, play sport or visit the City of South Perth, as well as from their parents and guardians/caregivers.
Please share your thoughts, ideas and expectations so that the Youth Plan truly reflects what you want for future events, programs and services in the City.
Parents and guardians/caregivers survey
It is important to us that we hear from the parents, guardians and caregivers of young people. We want to know your thoughts, ideas and expectations so that the Youth Plan truly reflects what you want for future events, programs and services in the City of South Perth. We have worked with a group of local young people to develop this short survey. Take Survey
Your personal details, such as age group and suburb, are only used by the City to interpret the feedback we receive. For transparency, your feedback may be published as part of reporting, however, we respect your privacy and all identifying information will be removed and your feedback kept anonymous. View our Youth Support Services list for details of organisations that help young people in many different ways.
Complete the survey and you could win a $100 prepaid Visa card (terms and conditions apply). Hard copy surveys are available at the City's Civic Centre and South Perth and Manning libraries.
Feedback closes 4pm, Monday 17 May 2021.
Young people aged 10-25 survey
It is important to us that we hear from young people aged 10–25 years. We want to know your thoughts, ideas and expectations so that the Youth Plan truly reflects what you want for future events, programs and services in the City of South Perth.
We have worked with a group of local young people to develop this short survey. Take Survey
View our Youth Support Services list for details of organisations that help young people in many different ways.
Your personal details, such as age, how you identify yourself and suburb, are only used by the City to interpret the feedback we receive. For transparency, your feedback may be published as part of reporting, however, we respect your privacy and all identifying information will be removed and your feedback kept anonymous.
Complete the survey and you could win a $100 prepaid Visa card (terms and conditions apply). Hard copy surveys are available at the City's Civic Centre and South Perth and Manning libraries.
Feedback closes 4pm, Monday 17 May 2021.
Please share this email with all of your networks and place this information into your newsletters, social media or school bulletins.
Thank you very much for your support and I look forward to receiving feedback from students, teachers and parents.
If you have any questions please feel free to call or email me.
Kind regards
René Polletta
Youth and Children’s Officer
P 9474 0708 E renep@southperth.wa.gov.au