Issue No.37 10th

December 2013

General Guidelines for Parents when making any Payments to the school: End of Terms 1, 2 & 3 All payments need to be made prior to 10:00am on the last day of term. End of Term 4 All payments must be made 2 days prior to the end of term. Cash Payments Correct money is requested, as change cannot always be provided. School Council President Leah Young 0418 369 039 School Uniform Primary School Wear 9363 8458 OSHC Camp Australia 0401 054 261 Program Manager Nick Thomson

Dates to Remember

Term 2 - 2014 Mon 21

st Apr Public Holiday - Easter

Monday Tues 22

nd Apr Term 2 begins

Fri 25th

Apr Public Holiday – Anzac Day May June Mon 9

th Jun Public Holiday – Queens

Birthday Fri 27

th Jun End Term 2 – 2.30pm

dismissal

Term Dates 2014 Term 1 - Wed 29

th January – Fri 4

th April

Term 2 - Tue 22nd

April – Fri 27th June

Term 3 – Mon 14th July – Fri 19

th September

Term 4 – Mon 6th October – Fri 19

th December

Principal’s Message

Communications home – end of year Please note it has been necessary to make some changes to what was in Newsletter 29

th November.

Communication will now be-

a full newsletter Tuesday 10th December

(instead of 6th December)

a shorter information sheet by 18th December

School Organisation for 2014 My message to Kingsville families at this stage of the year regarding the topic of school organisation is “the pieces of the puzzle are coming together” but like any significant and worthwhile jigsaw it is as always very challenging.

Term 4

Tues 10th Dec Grade 6 Orientation/Step Up

Program 11.30a.m.-1.30p.m. Wed 11

th Dec School Council Meeting

6p.m.(please note earlier start time)

Thurs 12th Dec Kingsville Carols (Beever

Reserve) Girls Swimming Trial 7a.m.-8a.m

Yarraville Swim Centre, Roberts St Fri 13

th Dec Christmas Raffle drawn

(fundraising) Boys Swimming Trial 7a.m.-8a.m

Yarraville Swim Centre, Roberts St Mon 16

th Dec Grade 6 Graduation

Tues 17th Dec Parent helpers morning tea

11a.m. Wed 18

th Dec Grade parties

Thurs 19th Dec Casual Clothes Day (for a gold

coin donation, see details in newsletter)

Fri 20th

Dec Casual Clothes Day

End Term 4 - 1.30p.m dismissal 2014

Term 1

January

Tues 28th

Jan Term 1 begins

Teachers return – no students at school

Wed 29th

Jan Grades 1-6 resume

February

Mon 3rd

Feb Prep students begin

March

Mon 10th

Mar Public Holiday – Labour Day

April

Fri 4th

Apr End Term 1 – 2.30pm dismissal

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Like all Principals my role in working to ensure the best possible learning environment is provided for the students is certainly a “juggling act” but, those last tricky bits of the puzzle are nearly in place. I am at this point able to provide some detail regarding the model and there will be more information next week. Please note placement of students into grade groups is a significant and challenging task for all staff involved. Decisions made in this area are informed by a wide range of information and considerations and once made should be seen as final. I ask all parents to respect these decisions regarding teacher allocation. Please read carefully further information under the heading of placement of children 2014 in this newsletter. Providing the physical, human and financial resourcing for 580 students, 45 plus staff and the development of 26 individual programs and budgets is a team effort. Thank you to all staff, school council, school leadership team and Carolyn Withers, Assistant Principal for ongoing contributions to this work. Thank you also to our very active council sub committees who have driven many achievements and funded a range of physical and resourcing developments this year. To Leah Young School Council President 2013 thank you for your work, insight and leadership. To every Kingsville parent your support and participation is always there and let me assure you is never taken for granted. Thank you from a grateful Principal. School Organisation Models of organisation in schools are rarely consistent. Models will vary from year to year as enrolments fluctuate and numbers in levels vary across a school. For example see below groups of 67 in year 6 and 108 in prep. Let’s however remember when we look at the model, every class is a composite in the range of ages and abilities and experiences. Sound differentiation in instructional practices is the most important factor. So this year a few changes to our current model being year 5 and 6 in separate cohorts but of course, still working very much together as an upper school learning community. Data to provide some context Current enrolment 2013 538 Same time last year 551

Preps enrolled for 2014 (as of 5

th

Dec) 108

Expected P-6 enrolment 2014 580-585 Preps 2014 who are siblings of current students

32

Breakdown P-6 2014 Prep 108 Year 1 81 Year 2 77 Year 3 105 Year 4 67 Year 5 76 Year 6 67 Based on this expected enrolment the model will be Prep X 5 1/2 X 7 3/4 X 7 5 X 3 6 X 3 This is a total of 25 class groups, one more than this year. With an average P-6 of 23 students. Class groupings are currently being formed and teachers are being allocated to a grade or specialist area. NB. sometimes it is necessary to restructure a school at the beginning of a school year due to a decrease in numbers. Hopefully this will not be the case for 2014. Please ensure however that if you are leaving Kingsville or expecting to leave in Term 1 that you have notified the school. Even though this has been stressed throughout the year we are still receiving notification of children leaving even at this very late stage. Movements of student in and out throughout the year needs to be managed in all school settings but at KPS we do now have a growing “transient” population with e.g. in 2013 46 students moving to other locations during the year. Please note, only three of these have been to other neighbourhood schools all others have been to moves within Victoria, Australia and internationally. “Tree change” and “sea change” so to speak are having more of an impact on enrolments and more than ever we need families to inform us of moves as soon as they are known. We should not be hearing from another government or private school requesting a transfer when we have not been informed. So help out here, now and into the future please.

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Placement of children 2014 Placement of children into class groups over their 7 years of primary school is important work and of course meetings with parents, discussions and resolution of any issues can take place throughout the year. Support of all children as they build relationships with their new teacher and class mates is a high priority for all Kingsville educators. The logistics of placing 580 plus students into 25 class groups is not a matter of simple division. Teachers spend many hours and Carolyn Withers, Assistant Principal in her skilful overseeing of this placement and her knowledge of our students consults teachers and works with the Leadership team in completing the grade lists. Decisions regarding placement as I have said are final and parents are asked not to request changes after the information comes home. Sometimes at this stage of the year out of the blue parents will express concerns that really should have been put forward earlier in the year. Please note there is an open and transparent DEECD process for dealing with any parent complaint or concern regarding a school or employees. Whenever there is a concern this process is adhered to. Issues with respect to individual teachers should not just come up at the end of the year when we are planning class groups for the following year. If there are concerns at any stage they should be addressed to me as Principal to be worked through in line with process. With regard to teacher allocation parents need to understand that every teacher at KPS is an employee with equal rights fully qualified as a generalist teacher with appropriate registration from Victorian Institute of Teaching. If I as a Principal respond to a parent request e.g not to have a particular teacher for their child, I could very well be seen to be in breach of the Equal Opportunity Act 2010. Every teacher has the right to be equally considered to teach any child in the school. Every school has a range of teachers from Graduate to Expert and at Kingsville we see this as distinct value added. As Principal I expect every teacher able, ready and willing to do an excellent job in any area P-6 and/or specialist area. At Kingsville we are proud of our staff who move and advance through the system, however we also see our stable teaching core as an advantage. This is something that DEECD Victoria is now focusing in on and identifying as a contributing factor in many successful schools. At Kingsville we are fortunate to have had consistency of a number of staff over the last decade and more.

Following on from this therefore some children may have had their 2014 teacher in a previous year. This should not be grounds for a request for change nor should gender of teachers. Today your child will bring home a grade list with the name of their teacher for 2014 marked on it. This teacher will either be

a current teacher at KPS

a new staff member to KPS

or a yet to be appointed teacher I urge parents to be positive with your child or children about this. Your messages, your words are extremely powerful and will help to set the scene straight away and build the potential for a great year ahead. Finally please remember this is a PARTNERSHIP parents, staff, school leadership and students working together every day to contribute to what should be long standing and happy memories of primary school life. Casual Clothes Day At the end of every school year there are 2 CASUAL CLOTHES DAYS. Well 1 ½ really as we finish at 1.30p.m. This year the days are

Thursday December 19th

and

Friday December 20th

Please note Thursday December 19

th has been

approved as a Pyjama Day and Friday December 20

th back to casual clothes. If students choose the

option of pyjamas on December 19th these rules must

be followed. 1. pyjamas/dressing gowns are worn over other

clothes, so if it is a hot day t-shorts/t-shirt etc. would be suitable, something sensible but obviously not bulky

2. if slippers or Ugg boots are worn with pyjamas, shoes (must be closed in) will need to be in the school bag to be changed into to go outside

In this way if children wish to take pyjamas off they will have suitable clothes underneath and safe suitable footwear for outside play. Now for the fundraising for all this fun – a gold coin is requested and as 2 days are involved we would love the small gold coin.

Target 546 x $2 = $1092.00

This target is possible however all gold coins or donations are greatly appreciated.

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Thank you to Joan Hodgson, Stella Thomson and Sam Komp, Junior School Councillors who came up with the idea. Joan, Stella and Sam have persevered with some detailed planning and gained approval for the end of year Pyjama Day - well done. Kingsville Primary School - School Council Are you interested? School Councils play a key role in Victorian Government schools. At Kingsville Primary School we have a long history of very successful and active governance teams who have helped establish the broad direction and vision for the school. Successive councils have carried out their key roles and in doing so have enhanced the educational opportunities of our students. The School Council election process begins straight away in every government school in Term 1 (see timeline below) Vacancies – 2014 – 2015 school council membership The size and configuration of Kingsville Primary School School Council is set down in its constituting order is

Parent members – 8 DEECD members – 4 (including the Principal as Executive Officer)

A total of 12 members.

For the 2014/2015 council year there will be 4 Parent vacancies and 1 teacher/DEECD vacancy Elected terms are for 2 years. Timeline of election 2014/2015 membership To determine 2014/2015 membership

Thursday 6th

February

call for nominations

Thursday 13th

February

nominations close

display list of candidates,

nominator & seconder

declare new school

council if nominations

accepted equal vacancies

if the nominations are less

than the number of

vacancies in either

category, call again for

nominations for a further

3 days.

Thursday 20th

February

if election required –

distribute ballot papers by this

date

Monday,24th

February if no election required –

School Council meeting

of new School Council

if election required –

current School Council

meets for the last time on

this day

Tuesday, 4th

March

close of ballot for election

Wednesday, 5th

March

count votes & declare poll

Thursday, 6th

March

new School Council able to

meet from this date

Monday, 17th

March

school council meeting

Thursday, 27th

March

government compliance

attained

More details about meeting times, expectations and Kingsville Primary School sub committees will be published to begin 2014. In the meantime any parent who would like more information about the work of School Councils the Department Of Education and Early Childhood Development www.education.vic.gov.au has excellent resources. Also email any questions to Kath Ginnane Ginnane.Kathleen.KM@edumail.vic.gov.au Step Up Program See full details of newsletter 22 November. Please note children who are leaving Kingsville at the end of this year will come together with a staff member during the Step Up activity.

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Fundraising News Christmas Hamper Raffle Don’t forget we will be holding the draw a week earlier this year on Friday 13

th December.

Donations can be placed in the tubs near the office – items such as Christmas gifts and trinkets, Christmas food such as puddings, shortbreads etc, beauty items as such creams, moisturisers etc and general new gifts and gadgets. Bottles of wine/champagne are also gratefully accepted but they do need to be delivered by a parent and cannot be sent to school with the students. The donations are coming in but more are needed. The raffle will be drawn during the at school assembly, Friday 13th December.

‘Make and Bake’ Stall at the Kingsville Carols If you would like to donate some baked treats, remember that all food items must

include a label with your name and a list of ingredients (the name is removed prior to sale), and that food handling requirements do not allow the use of fresh cream. Items can be delivered to the staff room on 12th December from 3pm – 4pm. If you would like to help on the stall from 5.00pm to 8.00pm for an hour, please contact Liz Reinoga 0424 158 532 or ereinoga@telstra.com. Brookfield Shirts The last day for ordering shirts is 11 December. See newsletter of 22

nd November for order form and

details. Samples are at the front desk. Jackie Parnell, Fundraising co-ordinator 0425 750 497

Kingsville Awards

To be presented on Friday, 13th

December

3/4 F Charlotte Cuthbert

3/4 T Alek Jankovic

5/6 O Madeleine Whiteside Victoria Atanasovski

Happy Birthday

5th

December to 11th

December Happy Birthday to Francis Karlovic, Sophia Frangos, Max Morgan, Mason Hose, Etienne Casemore, Aarya Thakker,

Jakob Salter and Julia Kitanovski.

2013 Parent Payments A reminder to all those families who

have not yet paid their 2013 Parent Payment that this payment is now due. Please make your payment at the office as soon as possible. Please note that the last day for eftpos payments at the school for 2013 was Friday 29

th November.

Only cash or cheque payments will be accepted for the remainder of the 2013 school year.

World Vision News We recently received an annual report from World Vision with an

updated photo of our sponsored child, Abdletif who is now in Grade 4. He is happy and healthy and reports that his favourite subject at school is Science and that there are 45 children in his class. We are currently preparing a Christmas card to send to him provided by World Vision. Thank you for all the generous donations we have received so far this year. Many grades have been collecting small change in their classroom boxes and this is really adding up. We have also had some students taking action on their own and raising significant amounts of money for Abdeletif. A huge thank you to Mataso from 1/2 G who collected money at home from friends and neighbours and donated over $100! Also to Edie and Emily from 3/4 T who held their own stall and raised $83.50! Thank you Diane Graham

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Congratulations to our year 6 graduating students

The Graduating Class of 2013

Alfie Arellano Sophia McCann

Harry Arthur Elise Sawell

Alex Astbury Ella Taylor

Harrison Brown Stella Thomson

Gabriel Corcoran Romina Vallejos

Ethan Evans Lois Vodicka

Fred Morgan Isabella Gunn

Daniel Rooney Scout McLeod-Smith

Natae Shirreff Rory McMaster

Tamsyn Shirreff Eli Poweles

Oliver Tattam Keelan Roberts

Elijah Smolski Allister Powell

Thientuoc Autran Zennon Doulis

Emily Butcher Connor Webster

Oscar Dart Angus Roberts

Maria Gerakoulakos

Charlie Roberts

Francis Karlovic Jack Waters

Elise Lucifero Noah Smith

Frances Ly Shane Terii

Jamal Soubjaki Dean Trenkovski

Anastasija Zivkovic Zhengyi Wang

William Byrne Ajaa Thuc

Lili Ward Mira Eva-Wilson

Maxwell Cameron Rose Mavric

Noah Cuthbert Joan Hodgson

Beatrice Esposto Reiken Loughton

Lexie Kernebone Aisrom Tessema

Amelia Leach Finley Knowles

In 2014 these students will move onto

Secondary Schools, the destinations are

Footscray Seconday College

12

Gilmore College for Girls, Footscray

1

Westbourne Grammar, Truganina

2

Christian Brothers’ College, St Kilda

3

Braybrook Secondary College

1

Emmanuel College, Altona North

3

Bayside College, Williamstown

2

Rose Hill Secondary College, Niddrie

1

Williamstown High School 8

Whitefriars, Donvale 1

Presentation College, Windsor 2

Wesley College, Prahran 2

Melbourne Girls’ College, Richmond

9

Loreto Mandeville Hall, Toorak

1

Kardinia College, Geelong

1 University High, Parkville

1

Mount St Joseph Girls’ College, Altona

1

St Aloysius’ College, North Melbourne

1

Rosamond Special School, Footscray

1

Sunshine Secondary College

1

De La Salle College, Malvern 1

Mt Alexander College, Flemington

1

WILL YOUR CHILD / CHILDREN BE AT KINGSVILLE IN 2014? If you know your child / children will not be returning to Kingsville in 2014

or If they will be only here for a short time e.g. you could be moving in Term 1

Please fill in below if you have not already informed the school

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHILDREN NOT ATTENDING KINGSVILLE P.S. IN 2014

Name: ……………………………………… Year level in 2013: ……… Date finishing at KPS: …………

Name: ……………………………………… Year level in 2013: ……… Date finishing at KPS: …………

Name:……………………………………… Year level in 2013: ……… Date finishing at KPS……………

New school (if known): ………………………………………………………………………………………… Signature of parent/guardian: …………………………………………………….

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