Newsletter 3rd November 2021

Principal's Message

Art Exhibition

The annual Art Exhibition is open in the Art Room.  If you didn’t make it to Monday night’s School Board open meeting where the Art Exhibition was open for parents to visit while sharing some food and wine with the Board and members of the P&C, then please make sure you take a good look this week or during the fete.  Thank you to Mrs Carpenter and Mrs Bennett for all their wonderful work with the children creating these masterpieces. We also thank them for their organisation of this event.  A special thanks to the staff (teachers and EAs) who have also supported our lovely art teachers in preparing the display.

Fete

Well the big day is fast approaching.  The weather forecast is positive and everything is falling into place.  Thank you to everyone who has volunteered their time and energy to put this community event together and celebrate 95 years of KPS.

I hope you have purchased your Ride Zone tickets for rides such as an obstacle course, laser tag and a bouncy castle (and many others).  How Ridiculous are also attending the fete and will be running a ping pong trick shot challenge at 4pm on the tennis court.  Anyone can have a go - not just kids.  However, I am sure the kids would like to make a gold coin donation to see if they can dunk a staff member in the dunk tank.  Take your pick from: Mrs Backhouse, Mrs Rankin-Hume, Mrs Dellar, Mrs Dash, Mr Griffiths, Ms Pedley, Mrs Teuchert, Mrs Stanford or our P&C President, Mr McLarty.  At 5:30pm you can also witness me, Miss Jones, taking on the ice-bucket challenge.

DUCKS Camp out

Thank you to the DUCKs for running this very popular activity.  It was, as usual, a well-supported and wonderful community event.  It was also much better weather this year.  Thanks to Dave and Justin and their team of willing dads.  A big thanks to Mr Griffiths and Mr Powers for representing the school at this event. See below for more information and photos of this event.

Containers for Change

We will have a number of Containers for Change wheelie bins at the fete.  If you have any deposits please bring them along, and please use them to dispose of any drink bottles/cans you may use on the day.

Student Forum

The Student Council held two student forums to canvas ideas from across the student body on how to improve the school and how to make best use of their $2000 budget.  They will be meeting next week to plan their actions.

Naturescape

Thank you to the P&C for organising and spreading all the soft fall mulch on the Naturescape.  This enabled us to reintroduce the flying fox to the area.  Unfortunately, the day after the mulch was spread, one of the large poles in the naturescape (used for roping) toppled over.  Fortunately, while this occurred after 5pm when the OSHClub children were around, the area had been cleared by OSCHClub staff and so no one was in any danger.  Thank you to the OSHClub staff for their prompt action. However, this has meant that we have had to tape off this area while we await safety inspections, which the school has commissioned with the support of the P&C.

Class Placement 2022

We are currently working on classes for 2022.  Parents who wish to raise particular student needs are invited to write to the principal expressing their request. It should be noted that this expression must focus on legitimate educational reasons and that there are no guarantees that requests will be met. It does, however, allow for consideration of parent views regarding class placement. Parents are asked to present written requests no later than Friday 26 November 2021 (Week 7, Term 4).  If requests are not in writing, they will not be taken into account when placing students.

Responsibility for the placement of students rests with the principal. Their decision will be final.

Class Structures:

While some schools have made it school policy to have all classes as split classes (for educational and philosophical reasons) this is not the case at Kensington PS. The reasoning behind the split classes here is due to student numbers and the need for the school to work within industrial and financial constraints.

Research, the experience of teachers and school administrators, as well as data about student performance, suggests that there is no significant difference when it comes to analysing the outcomes of student learning between being placed in a ‘straight’ class or a multi-aged class. Whichever way a school is organised, the most important factor in ensuring successful learning is a focus on identifying and addressing the individual needs of each student.

Studies here and overseas show that children in split classes are often more confident, cooperate better, work better in team situations, are assertive, show more initiative, are more independent learners and better problem solvers. They tend to more easily make friends outside their peer group.

The school must cater for any student, within the school boundaries, who wishes to enrol. While the school numbers and cohort sizes vary from year to year, class structures will vary from year to year, to meet those needs. The school will do its best for all students, whilst working within the realities of population variance, finances and industrial agreements.

Some years we have very few split classes, other years, we have more.  Some years we even have to have more than one split class with the same grades (e.g. two Year 1/2 classes) in order to ensure a reasonable number of students in each grade within the class.

Class Placements:

Creating equitable classes, where students requiring specialised academic, social, emotional and / or behavioural plans are distributed fairly amongst all staff members is a priority, as it enables staff to best cater for individual student needs in the most manageable and effective manner.

Outdoor Classrooms Day – tomorrow

We are looking forward to this annual event. With lovely weather forecast this should be a special day spent enjoying learning outdoors.  Please ensure your child has appropriate sun safe clothing.

Lovely Feedback from One of the School Reviewers

I can’t thank Bronwyn, Clare and Claire enough for the time you spent showing us your amazing school. Please pass onto your staff that you have something very special happening at Kensington, and it`s on display everyday seeing how happy the students and families are. Your staff that we spoke with were so passionate about the students and it was clear that you are catering for so much more at Kensington than just the academic needs. Make sure you take the time to celebrate what is currently happening because it is well deserved. – Fiona McBeath, Peer Reviewer and Principal of Nedlands PS

Level 3 Classroom Teacher

Congratulations to Ashley Griffiths on successfully achieving Level 3 Classroom Teacher status. This follows a rigorous assessment process. This is the highest level a classroom teacher can attain in the WA Dept. of Education.

Student Social Media Monitoring

Please keep an eye on your child's social media accounts.  We have had reports that some of the conversations they are having may be considered inappropriate, unkind or even bullying.  It is worth regularly monitoring (reading) your child's social media posts as these can be teachable moments as well as ensuring any mental health issues can be addressed promptly.

Cleaners’ Day & World Teachers’ Day

Thank you to everyone who acknowledged our teachers and cleaners on their respective special days.  Thank you also to all parents for your support and partnership in delivering the best education for your children we can, especially in this busy fete year.  Thank you to the Baha’i community for providing a special lunch for the staff on World Teachers’ Day.  I would also like to acknowledge the work of the deputies and EAs in organising these celebrations.  Please click on the link below to see the vimeo made by Mrs Backhouse and the EAs and Mrs Rankin-Hume with the help of feedback from students.

Values & Honour Awards

High School Scholarships

Special congratulations to the following students who have been accepted into specialist programs for high school:

• Isla - Specialist Netball Program at Melville SHS
• Juanita - Specialist Netball Program at Melville SHS
• Niamh - Specialist Cricket Program at Kent Street SHS

Gifted and Talented Secondary Selective Entrance Programs for Year 7 in 2023

These Programs are NOW open!

These highly regarded programs challenge every child to achieve their very best, delivering an enriched learning enviroment to children with exceptional ability and talent.  Children in these programs learn with like-minded peers, studying an extended curriculum delivered by teachers with expert skills and knowledge.

Families can apply online at https://www.education.wa.edu.au/gifted-and-talented

Information about these programs, where they are offered and upcoming parent information sessions are also on this website.

Classroom Foyer Display

Room 4 with Miss Bernic

Room 4 loves to use their imagination and we love to write!  We have been working on including descriptive information in our writing.  We have created our own creatures and written reports including descriptions of them, where they live and what they eat.  Some creatures are combinations of animals we already know, others are extinct or completely from our imagination.  We hope you enjoy reading our reports about our Creative Creatures!

Sports News

Sporting Schools

Thanks to the funding we have received through the Sporting Schools program we have been able to participate in a basketball program through the Perth Basketball Association and buy 50 new basketballs.

The Year 3 students are currently half way through their bike ed. program. It is great to see them remembering the safety rules they have learnt and see students put them in to practice.

Bike Ed

Wheel Life Program

Next week the Year 4 – 6 students will take part in the Wheel Life Program. The program is designed to motivate and educate, whilst providing a practical understanding of what it is like to live with a physical disability.

Circus

The Pre-primary students are continuing the circus program, while the rest of the school had their last session last week. Some senior students are working with Mr Ran to showcase their skills in an item at the Christmas assembly. Interesting fact – one of our students can 4-ball juggle and many can do multiple types of 3-ball juggling.

Cricket

Next week we have a boys' and a girls' cricket team competing in the regional finals for T20 Cricket. We qualified for this event by winning our VPASSA competition in Term 1. We wish them all the best and know they will do their best as they represent Kensington PS.

Running Club

Running Club continues on Tuesday where we play running games and Friday, which is obstacle course day, from 8.00am – 8.30am. Come and join us for a fun, energetic way to start the days. Active kids learn better!

Teacher - Raema Stanford

VacSwim Swimming Lessons

Enrolments are open for VacSwim swimming lessons during the summer school holidays.

VacSwim offers fun lessons at beach or pool locations during the long break. It’s a great school holiday activity that teaches valuable safety skills to help keep your child safe in the water.

Your children can start as young as five years old.

Don’t wait! Enrol your children in VacSwim now at education.wa.edu.au/vacswim

Secondary Schooling Scholarships 2021 -22

The department coordinates a range of scholarships that provide financial support for secondary school students. This includes the Roy Grace English Scholarship creative writing award. Applications close 5:30 pm Thursday 9 December 2021.  For further information regarding Secondary Scholarships please click on this link:    Scholarships - Department of Education

Art News

School Board

On Monday night the School Board held an open meeting in S3 to coincide with the Art Exhibition.  Thank you to the Chair of the Board, Dr Brendan Joss; the P&C President, Mr Ed McLarty; and the DUCKs coordinator, Mr Justin Nicholls, for presenting the work of the P&C and Board over this year to the group of parents that attended.  It was lovely to chat over refreshments while viewing the wonderful artwork of the children of KPS.  The Board and P&C members voted on the ten pieces of art work in contention for the P&C Art Prize.  The winner will be announced at a later date.

P & C News

DUCKs Camp

Well that's another DUCKs Camp done and dusted!
By our reckoning it was the biggest one yet, with over 95 families registered and close to 300 people attending!
Thank you to everyone that came along. It was fantastic to see such a range of ages of children, especially the younger ones! Shows great potential for continuing the fun for years to come.
Also a big thank you to the members of the DUCKs committee and everyone that lent a hand to the various jobs that need doing to make the camp a success. We felt it was the easiest camp yet from our workload perspective and that is down to all of your help.
The DUCKs are always on the look out for new ideas and for people to organise events. We guarantee you'll have a good time and reap some of the great Kensington community spirit!

 Dave and Justin

School Banking

The Commonwealth Bank has decided to close the School Banking program effective at the end of 2021. School banking will remain open for the rest of Term 4, with another seven banking sessions to go. For both current and historical bankers, please come and see us Thursday mornings outside the music room from 8.30 to discuss the reward program (including any rewards you might be eligible for) and to ask any questions. 

Thank you, Cathy Godden

Friendly Schools

Containers for Change

We have a wheely bin (orange lid) and/or a wool bale in the quadrangle where you can deposit containers, help the environment and fundraise for the school all at once.  We hope, with sufficient support from everyone, to expand this program.

Community News