Tuesday 8th December 2015

Term 4 Issue 10

Principal Mr John Clarke

Phone (08) 8353 2444

Dean Avenue, Kidman Park South Australia 5025

Email dl.0996_admin@schools.sa.edu.au

Website www.kidmanpkps.sa.edu.au

KPPS Newsletter

Inside This Issue:

2. Year 7 Graduation

4. Student Leaders

6. School News

7. Remembrance Day

8. Japanese News and Farewell

10. Enza’s Farewell

12. Staff Farewells

YEAR 7 GRADUATION Congratulations to all of our Year 7 students who, after some

deliberation, were allowed to graduate Monday evening.

They are a fantastic bunch of students, all with bright futures

in front of them.

The following students were presented with awards at the

ceremony:

Josiah Mitton: George R

Mary Colton: Ele M

21st Century Learners: Ellie C and Allan D

DUX: Olivia C and Jason G

Joy: Alyssa B and Alicia M

Outstanding Achievement: Alessa D

Personal Project: Portia M and Nicholas K

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Year 7 Graduation PETER L : I have been at Kidman Park PS for four years and I

have enjoyed every day when I come to school. My most

memorable moment would have to be camp last year I had so

much fun with all my friends. I think I’m going to miss all my

friends, teachers, the teachers here have taught me so much

stuff. I have enjoyed learning and working at Kidman Park PS. I

am grateful for everything that my friends and teachers have

done for me.

BEATRIZ A-R: Over the past eight years, I have participated in

many major activities including camp, Expo, aquatics and all of

the Kidman Celebrates / Festive Nights. I will always remember

how friendly, kind and caring the staff are and were to me. I

will remember all of the amazing people I’ve met, the friends

I’ve made along the way and the moments we’ve made and

lived. I love the environment at KPPS I always feel safe,

welcome, comfortable and quite generally, happy. I will

always remember and cherish the amazing years, moments

and friends that I’ve had over the past eight years.

PORTIA M: The best memories I have made while at KPPS

have been on camp with my friends. There are many

memories I have made at the school like becoming sports

day captain, giving out pots to people on world kindness day

and just laughing over random things with my friends.

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LIAM C: Some of my memories of my 6 years at KPPS

are when we went to camp and I learnt how to body

board. Another of my memories is when I beat my

teacher in a multiplication contest Another memory

was when I was dressed up as part of a fashion

parade in paper and other materials which ripped as

I was about to walk up the runway.

ERIN H: Some memories I’ve made over my four

years at KPPS would be that I’ve grown up in a safe,

calming atmosphere that makes everybody happy.

Camp and EXPO were great experiences, learning

how to budget and making new friends during the

activities at camp. Getting to know all staff has been

fun because all teachers having different techniques

and ways to teach children which is quite interesting.

The learning environment at KPPS is calming and is

very helpful. The enjoyment of performing in front of

the parents and families of friends during Kidman

Celebrates is fun to do at the end of the year. My

memories of KPPS are mostly happy and joyful

because of the wonderful friends that me laugh and

giggle. I will cherish the memories the many happy

memories I’ve made and will never forget them.

4

STUDENT LEADERS CREATING SUCCESS

Our 2015 Student Leaders epitomise the students we aspire to develop at KPPS. They live our

values, focus on achievement, bring joy to our school and care for their fellow students. This year

they have worked as a team with minimal staff support to achieve success. The whole school has

benefited from their effort. Well done to Aiden. George, Ella, and Ele.

VOLUNTEERS CREATING A GREAT SCHOOL Thankyou to the 140 volunteers who have helped across our school this

year. Your support, enthusiasm and energy help to make a huge

difference to our school. Whether it is volunteering in the canteen,

coaching or managing sports teams, listening to reading, covering

books, washing uniforms, sitting on a committee or one of the many

other tasks completed by volunteers we say THANKYOU!

Volunteering in a school is more important than ever. Most of the tasks

completed by volunteers are the tasks that makes our school special, it

adds value to what we do and often can make a big difference to the

learning outcomes of our students. Imagine what our school would be

like without sports teams, a canteen, uniforms, someone to hear you

read daily etc.

At KPPS our volunteers are parents, grandparents, former parents,

members of our local churches and community members. We have a

diverse range of people entering our school every week. To all of you,

we say ‘thankyou’.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW OUR THANKYOU TO YOU

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A YEAR OF JOY and EXCITEMENT Thanks to all members of the KPPS community for making 2015 a positive and joyful year. We

get so much positive feedback from visitors to our school commenting on the positive

atmosphere and the friendly caring nature of our students.

We will build on this success to create an even better 2016 at KPPS. It is going to be an exciting

year. New staff, new teams and some exciting events are being organised for an impressive

2016 school year.

OFFICE GARDEN BED Finally, work has commenced this week on the garden area outside the office.

We will return to an impressive new outdoor learning area in 2016. A big

thankyou to our fundraising team and community for raising the money to

build this new learning space.

The landscapers will also reshape the mounds along the southern boundary

to create our adventure play space. The irrigation watering all of the grass

and plants in the central area of the school died recently. It has taken a

significant amount of time to determine the problem. This has meant digging

up the grass area and installing a new water supply to the area. Despite the

hand watering we have lost a number of plants. We will look at replacing the

plants after summer!

PLANTS NEED NURTURING The landscaping project has been delayed which means we have a number of

plants that need watering over the holidays. If you live near the school and

have the time to water our plants then please chat with Tara in our front

office.

SCHOOL SECURITY

We welcome community members to use our grounds during the holidays. It assists

with security. If you see any inappropriate behaviour at school or, vandalism, please

report it to the police on 131 444. Don’t hesitate calling. Your call might be enough

to stop significant damage to our school.

YEAR 7 TOPS Due to a manufacturing error, the 2016 Year 7 tops will not be available until the

first week of term 1, 2016.

UNIFORM SHOP The Uniform Shop will be open on Wednesday 27th January and Friday 29th

January 2016, 9.30-11.30am.

CANTEEN NEWS Wednesday is the last day for lunch orders. Pizza Day is on Thursday for all students

who have pre-ordered, no late orders taken and there are no other lunches

available on pizza party day.

LOST PROPERTY All lost property which hasn’t been claimed by Thursday will be donated to charity.

BUNNINGS WOODVILLE The Bunnings store at Woodville has kindly donated a callistemon tree for Year 7s

to plant in the school as part of graduation. Ele and Phoebe collected the tree from

Bunnings along with a gift of a pencil case of goodies for each Year 7 student.

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REMEMBRANCE DAY 2015 The Community Action Student Team members, Lucy, Chris, Abbey,

Sotira and Declan along with Ethan and George ran our Remembrance

Day ceremony. They were supported by Denys Chew, Tricia Matthews

and students from P1.

Ethan highlighted the ‘Forever Heroes” Alec Campbell (last surviving

ANZAC) and Jack Simpson Kirkpatrick who, with his donkey, Duffy,

dedicated his life to bringing the wounded to safety at ANZAC cove. At the

conclusion of the ceremony students invited guests including many from the

Retirement Village to a morning tea provided by the local church groups.

Jap

anes

e N

iho

n N

ews

I have really enjoyed the opportunity to be your child’s/children sensei this

year while Belinda sensei spent a year in Himeji Japan. There have been many

Nihon happenings this year and below are just a few of the highlights. Sports Day

In term three we had a great sports day with a Japanese touch! Everyone was

cheering gambatte (try your best) and every student made their own

Hachimaki (bandanas) in their team colours namely aka (red), ao (blue),

midori (green) and kiiro (yellow)! For the Early Years students there was a new

Japanese sports day event called Tamaire. In this exciting event you had to

throw bean bags of your colour in a basket that was suspended up high and

then after a few minutes empty out the contents to see which team threw the

most bags into the basket. The parents found it challenging too!

In early November Japanese student from Ritsumeikan High School in Japan were participating in a cultural exchange with Henley High School students. They visited our school to share a variety of Japanese games and activities with our Primary Year students. Our students were very attentive and enjoyed the morning with the Ritsumeikan students and it was great to hear our students trying their Japanese with the visitors. It was an educational experience for KPPPs students as they then became the

sensei’s (teachers) and taught their classes the Japanese games and activities

that they had learnt. Everyone involved experienced a diverse and enjoyable

time sharing cultural information.

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EY Students styling in kimonos and Yukatas

The foundation students had a fun morning being fitted out

in Kimonos and Yukatas (cotton casual kimono type wear) by

Tiana’s (U4) mum Sahori. The boys and girls looked very cute

(Kawaii) and appreciated that putting on a kimono required

some expertise.

Hiragana competition

On Friday the 13th of

November, some very

eager Middle Years

students from P1 and

P3 went to West Beach Primary School to participate in an interschool hiragana

competition. We had two teams: Olivia, Anna, Daniel and Jack on Kaze no

Shinobu and Imogen, Lucy, Hayley and Angela on the Speedii Samurais. The

teams would stand up, next to an opponent on another team, and a card with

hiragana written on it would be flashed. The students would then say the

hiragana displayed, and the first to say it would get a point. There were rounds

with single and multiple hiragana on a card, and Japanese videos were played in

between the rounds. In the end, the first team had 55 points, Kaze no Shinobu

came fourth with 50 points and the Speedii Samurais in a very respectable 6th

place. It was a challenging, fun, fast event and we are really keen to

bring back the cup to KPPS next year!

Obento box

The challenge was on for interested students to create their own

Japanese lunch (Obento). All that was supplied by sensei was the rice

and nori (seaweed sheets). The participating

students came up with some very original

ideas, most popular were Japanese anime

characters.

Finally, thank you minasan (everyone) for

the enthusiasm you have shown in your

Japanese learning journey this year and

Gambatte for 2016 and beyond.

Deb Carmichael

Farewell to KPPS After 20 years of working at KPPS in the Learning Centre it is time

for me to say “goodbye, and thank you” for all of the wonderful

memories I will take with me.

When I started at KPPS, I hadn’t worked with students with

severe multiple disabilities for 10 years, and I didn’t know the

first thing about Conductive Education – so it was a huge

learning curve to say the least.

I’m indebted to Meryl for all of her ongoing support, and encouragement and her

belief in my ability to take on the role of Coordinator. I could not have survived

without her – she even took the class while I had my NIT!

I’d also like to acknowledge the support and commitment of all of the parents in

those early years – we were in a unique situation where we all worked hands on

together (sometimes there were more adults in the room than students!), to learn

about and grow and deliver the CE programme which they all worked so hard to

introduce to South Australia.

Thanks to all the other parents who have supported the programme over the years,

and lobbied the Department for extra Conductor time – your efforts are much

appreciated.

I’ve been fortunate to work with and be taught by a total of 12 Conductors over the

years, each bringing their own personalities to the role, but all of them with a total

commitment and dedication to improved learning outcomes for all of the students

and staff. I have worked with Kati the longest, and have the highest regard for her

passion and skills as a Conductor.

I’ve been fortunate enough to visit CE programmes in Victoria and Queensland and

have attended conferences in Sydney, Melbourne and Hong Kong. I also went to the

Peto Institute in Hungary and attended a short Spring Course. I was on the

organising committee for the National CE Conference held in Adelaide which

attracted many interstate and overseas speakers and participants. Our programme

was showcased on the world stage. I am very proud of that.

I’d also like to thank Meryl, Ian, John, Tracey and Karen for all of their support and

mentoring as Leaders, and for their guidance over the years—for encouraging me to

apply for other Leadership roles within the school and for their collegiality.

Of course none of our work would be possible without the students – they are the

ones who truly inspire us all and live up to the school motto of “Aspire and Soar” The

programme is demanding physically, emotionally and mentally – but day in, day out,

they all come to school and do their best. I applaud you all.

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Meryl set the bar pretty high in her role of Principal and was passionate about supporting

all students at the school - then along came a young Deputy called John who set about to

raise the bar even higher! He then became Principal, and wow – the sky’s the limit!! No

longer did we have our end of year Festive Night on the basketball court – we went to the

European Convention Centre, then Adelaide High and now The Christian Family Centre.

The Joy Project under John’s leadership this year has added another dimension to the

school programme – and has built upon the caring community that is Kidman Park

Primary School. John is an exceptional leader – the school is fortunate to have him.

The group dynamic is an integral part of CE, not only for the students, but also for the

staff. I couldn’t even guess how many staff I’ve worked with over the years – it would run

into the hundreds! I’d like to thank and acknowledge all of the past and current staff

members in the Unit – we learn together with the students and grow and develop our

skills, so that the programme can continue with minimal disruption when people are

away. It’s truly a team effort and I appreciate and value everyone’s contributions. I feel

proud when people refer to the Unit as being the centre of excellence for Conductive

Education in South Australia.

I also value the collegiality and friendship that has developed over the years with Barb.

She not only is an exemplary teacher (she has the award to prove it!) but she has able to

step in and support me in my role in many ways – by lending an ear, by taking up the

Coordinator role when I have been ill or on Leave and always, always having the welfare

of the students uppermost in her mind. Thank you Barb.

I am so very proud of being a part of the Kidman Park family. I made the difficult decision

not to re-apply for the Coordinator position, not because I don’t love the school, or the

programme, but because I felt that it was time to slow down a little bit and focus on other

areas of my life – especially spending more time with Vince (my husband). Before we got

married I said to him – “you marry me, you marry my job”. He agreed he would, and he

has well and truly shown it – he has volunteered at working bees, fundraising events,

Kidman Celebrates, Come Out celebrations and supported the school in many more ways.

Dinner is always on the table when I get home. I am a very lucky girl. I could not have kept

going for so long without his support - thank you my darling.

I initially thought I would retire completely from teaching, but on reflection decided it

would be best to work at least a couple of days a week – so for those people that don’t

know, I will be working in the Link Programme at Mitcham Primary supporting students

with disabilities in their mainstream classes 2 days a week. It will be a change, but one I

am looking forward to.

Wishing the whole school community a very Merry Christmas and best wishes for a Joyful

2016.

Enza Maselli

STA

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Deb Carmichael

A big shout out to Deb Carmichael for being terrific Japanese in 2015. Japanese has been an

engaging, interactive and fun subject for all students. The comments, by students, about

Japanese in their reports was positive and focused on successful learning outcomes.

It’s not easy finding a quality LOTE teacher. We have been very lucky to have Deb join our

community this year. We wish her well and hope to see her back at KPPS in the future.

Margie Dunstan

As some of you may know, Ms Dunstan is leaving the school at the end of this year. She is

looking forward to travelling, going on long walks, going shopping and enjoy the peace and

quiet. Some highlights of Ms Dunstan’s time here at KPPS have been seeing students that

she has taught in foundation and year one, turn into five star, self-regulated, learners. Ms

Dunstan also has loved working with all of the staff and students here at KPPS.

Her memorable moments have definitely been Kidman Celebrates because it is when the

whole school and community comes together to produce a showcase and she also enjoys

whole school events such as Sports Day and Kidmanathon. She will definitely miss the

friendly and calm environment, but most of all, the staff and students. Miss Dunstan will be

missed a lot here at KPPS. By Alicia Mc, P2

David Krieg

I got the pleasure to interview one of the retiring teachers before he leaves.

That teacher was Mr Krieg. After 6 years at this school he has decided to

retire. We asked him some questions about his time at KPPS and what he will

be doing after he leaves KPPS.

After he leaves Kidman Park he will be doing learning activities that he hasn’t

had time to do for while as he has been teaching at Kidman Park PS and other

schools. He will also do housework to keep his house clean.

Although he has had many highlights at Kidman Park his biggest ones are going on School Camps,

Sports Days and Kidman Celebrates.

Mr Krieg’s most memorable moments at Kidman Park Primary School has been seeing the Learn-

ing Centre Students learning Aquatics as well as many other small memories.

Although he is looking forward to leaving and having some free time, there will be some things

that he will miss, these include the cooperation of the students at this school. He will also miss

how the students enjoy learning.

After he leaves he says he will enjoy catching up with ex-students if he sees them at the shops or

elsewhere. He then went on to say that he will be catching up with more students that he could-

n’t do when he was teaching.

It will be sad to see Mr Krieg go but the students here are looking forward to a new teacher. The

other teachers will miss Mr Krieg.

“I will always remember Kidman Park Primary School for the students enjoying coming to

school.” – Mr Krieg 2K15

Mike Paluszkiewicz

Michael Paluszkiewicz (Mr P) has been teaching at schools for 37 years and has been work-

ing at KPPS for 4 years now. He will be leaving for 2 terms and is not sure if he will return in

term 3 and 4. I was asked to interview him about our school and what he will be doing

while his is away. Here are the questions we asked him and his replies.

“What will you be doing while you’re away?” He says he will be playing golf, walking on the

beach, riding his bike and doing some volunteer work

“What have the highlights of working at KPPS been?” Mr P says the highlights of working at KPPS

have been forming respective relationships with families and students and that over the 37 years

of teaching, KPPS has been his favourite school.

“What were the most funniest and memorable moments at KPPS?” He says that the most

funniest and memorable moments of being at KPPS have been going on the zoo snooze, giving

people nicknames and creating the love potion which ‘really works’ although that has now been

changed to the joy potion.

“What will you miss from KPPS?” Mr P says he will miss having fun with the students the most.

“What are your thoughts or comments to the community?” He says he thanks every one and

families for being kind and thoughtful to him.

We hope to see you in the future Mr P and you return to teach in term 3 and 4 next year.

All the best from KPPS

Jenny Preston

2015 has been a great year for many of us, with children loving the Joy Project and PEARL

lessons. However, we will be waving goodbye to some of the most respected staff of KPPS,

including Ms Preston, Health teacher at KPPS. She also once taught choir and had numerous

classes as a class teacher. She has worked at Kidman Park for almost 10 years, and has

become an important staff member, teacher and role model for many students.

I had the pleasure to interview her last week. She has had countless highlights over her time

at KPPS, including Kidman Celebrates acts, camp, and aquatics. Her most memorable and

funny moment was dancing to the Sugar Plum Fairies at Kidman Celebrates. Having worked at

Kidman Park for almost 10 years, she has enjoyed meeting parents and believes the school has a

very good relationship with the community.

She is retiring in 2016, and plans to travel to Italy and France, and also to continue helping the

community by volunteering. She says there are lots of fantastic students and staff, and she will

miss Kidman Park Primary and everyone here.

I’m sure many, many people will miss Ms Preston, but she will come back for visits. She will be

remembered by all of us as a great teacher, and we wish her all the best and an amazing holiday.

Tricia Matthews

As most of us know, Ms Matthews will be leaving KPPS at the end of the year to go to

Kapunda Primary in the country, near the beautiful Barossa Valley. Ms Matthews has

been teaching here at KPPS for over six years, and has been teaching for over twenty

years!

When I interviewed Ms Matthews I asked a variety of questions, including: What does

she enjoy about teaching? She told me that she absolutely loves helping kids learn, she

enjoys learning new things herself, and just teaching in general.

Ms Matthews has mixed feelings about leaving our school. Although she is excited and ready for a change, she

is still a bit sad and will definitely miss everyone. Ms Matthews will be teaching at Kapunda Primary School in

2016.

Ms Matthew’s highlights over the years she’s been teaching at KPPS are: all of the Camps, Clipsal 500 (every

year), Student Action Teams, Debating, and just being part of the school community. Ms Matthews said that

she has too many memorable moments to choose just one specific one, but if she had to choose one, she’d

say all the year 7 graduations. Ms Matthews loves how our school environment is friendly and joyful. She also

appreciates how everyone is always willing to have a go and help each other out.

Ms Matthews “Loved growing, learning and being part of the school community”.

We will all definitely miss Ms Matthews! Good luck in your new chapter in life Ms Matthews!

Enza Maselli

Ms. Maselli has been working at Kidman Park Primary for 20 years and sadly will be

leaving at the end of this year. We were asked to interview her and here is what she

said.

“What will you be doing in the future?” She said she will be working 2 days a week at

Mitcham Primary School supporting students in classes with disabilities.

“What are your highlights of being at KPPS?” Ms Maselli said there are so many, the

ones she’ll remember the most are taking the learning centre kids to camp at Narnu

Farm and Victor Harbour, Kidman Celebrates, Come Out Festival, Joy Project, the new

playground being built, staff trip to Japan and the first assemblies which were between P3 and P4 and on the

basketball court.

“What are your most memorable or funny moments?” She said the most memorable and funny moment was

when on Mr Clarke’s first week as Deputy Principal he came into the staff meeting and stated squirting people

with water pistols.

“What will you miss from KPPS?” she said she will miss all the students especially the ones in the learning

centre and the helpers, all the staff and parents.

“What are your thoughts or comments for the community?” She said that Kidman Park is a wonderful school

community that offers lots of outstanding programs. She hopes that the community continues to supports the

Joy Project because it adds to the welcoming, calm feeling of the school.

We will really miss Ms Maselli and hope to see her again in the future.

All the best for your next journey, from everyone at KPPS.