Newsletter 10th August 2022
Principal's Message
Djilba - the first Spring has sprung
The Noongar Season ‘Djilba' sees the growth of wildflowers and plants. It generally occurs August to September.
“Throughout Djilba there will be some very cold and clear days as well as warmer, rainy and windy ones too. You might notice budding djet (flowers) and certain plants such as koola (emu plum) starting to fruit. It's also a great time to catch some djildjit (fish).
The woodland birds are getting ready for nesting, so watch out for the swooping protective behaviour of the koolbardi (magpie), djidi djidi (willy wag tails) and chuck-a-luck (wattle birds).
Djilba is the beginning of the flowering season, with the bright yellow Acacias being some of the first to bloom. Keep an eye out for the flower stalks of the balgas (Grass Trees) too as they start to sprout with the warmer days ahead”.
ECU | Djilba : Noongar Six Seasons : Cultural Leadership : Kurongkurl Katitjin : Centres
Planning for 2023
It's that time of year again when we start to look at how many students we will have in 2023 and to plan to staff the school to meet those needs. You may complete one form (see the link and QR code below) for your family. However, if you have differing plans for each of your children currently attending our school (excluding the Year 6s), please complete separate forms for each. Please return these forms to the school by Friday 16th September. The link for this survey is at https://forms.office.com/r/RYMiXv9g63 or use the QR code below.
Annual Report
Our 2021 Annual Report has been published online. You can find it on our website by clicking on the link below.
Annual Reports - Kensington Primary School (kensingtonps.wa.edu.au)
Or on the Department’s Schools Online website:
School Reports Kensington Primary School (det.wa.edu.au)
Thank you to the Board for overseeing the creation of this report.
Late Arrivals at School
As we have introduced the SMS attendance notification system, we now require any child who arrives after the siren at 8:50am (not 9am as before) to go to the office to get a late pass. We hope this will avoid parents getting a message about unexplained absences because the teacher has started their lessons and was unable to make an adjustment to the attendance records before the SMS messages go out.
Free Parent Webinars on Online Safety
The e-Safety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, and her staff are doing some great work to keep young people safe in the online world. I thought you may be interested in participating in one of their free webinars for parents and carers.
Mentioned in State Parliament
Geoff Baker, MLA for South Perth, mentioned our school in his budget reply speech:
"A new roof is going on Kensington Primary School. Last year was its ninety-fifth anniversary, so it is time it got a new roof. The old one was leaking. Construction is underway and it is looking good. It has been great working with principal Bronwyn Jones on this one". Of course the roof is now finished and we are very grateful, given our very wet weather. It has been nice not to have to deal with the continuous leaks.
Also, one of our Education Assistants, Mrs Veronica McPhail, was mentioned in the same speech: "I want to give thanks to Veronica McPhail for her daily photographs of wildlife down there [the black swan habitat, now known as Djirda Miya Island], showing they [black swans] are using it." Mrs McPhail has done a great job developing and promoting a clean and safe environment for our birdlife. You can see some of her photos, and those of Ms Elise Pedley, on the senior block end of the music room wall when last year's student council researched the birds they see in our school and made permanent signs to educate us all about our bird life.
Upcoming Events
Next week we have our annual Book Fair in the library starting on Wednesday 17th August. Thank you to Giselle Fabling, a parent volunteer, and Mrs Rankin-Hume for organising this and to all the other parent volunteers for staffing the fair.
Week 6 is a big week. We have Book Week events such as our Book Week dress up day with our parade at 9am on Wednesday 24th August.
We also have massed Choir rehearsals at Churchlands SHS on Thursday afternoon.
The Year 5 sleep over is on Friday evening.
Week 7 is also very busy with an author visit for the Pre-primary students and athletics carnival events for the whole school.
Foyer Display
S4s Imaginary World Map
At the end of Term 2, the Year 5s and 6s in S4 explored maps and how they are used both in the real-world and in books, movies and games. They looked at created worlds in fiction, the geographical features of our world, different biomes and climate zones, why cities are built where they are and how people’s ability to represent our world has changed over time.
For this project, the whole class created their own imaginary world. Each student created one piece and had to make sure that it linked up perfectly with all the other pieces around them to fit together like a huge puzzle. Each student then found a photo from a real world location that they thought matched a specific place on their piece of map.
All of the students did a fantastic job of bringing their ideas to life and contributing their own small piece to make a huge world full of little places and details.
Honours and Values awards
Creativity
Discovering the power of imagination! Encouraging original thought, curiosity and daring to see things in new ways. Identifying your own special strengths.
High School Scholarships
Special congratulations to the following students who have been accepted into specialist programs for high school:
Laura – Selective Academic Program at Perth Modern
Noah – Specialist Fashion and Design Program at Kent Street SHS
Harry – Specialist Cricket Program at Kent Street SHS
Lani – Specialist Netball Program at Melville SHS (this is for 2024, as Lani is a Year 5)
Sports News
Interschool Cross-country
Last Thursday, our team of 48 runners competed in the VPASSA interschool cross country at Harold Rossiter Park. As a team, we ran extremely well with all our runners finishing in the top 15 of 30 competitors in each race. The breakdown of places was: 1st x 5, 2nd x 3, 3rd x 2, 4th x 3, 5th -10th x 16 and 11th -15th x 10. I would like to give a special mention of the Year 5 Girls who came five in a row from 3rd to 7th - looked impressive!
Congratulations to our place winners: - Year 6 Girls- 1st Ava, 2nd Katya, 4th Mackenzi
Year 6 Boys - 1st Zakaria, 3rd Lawson, 4th Tyler
Year 5 Girls- 3rd Zara, 4th Charlotte
Year 5 Boys – 1st James
Year 4 Girls – 1st Isabel
Year 4 Boys – 2nd Freddie
Year 3 Girls - 1st Lara
Year 3 Boys – 2nd Robbie
The final scores were: -
Kensington 936
Millen 752
Lathlain 659
Victoria Park 648
East Victoria Park 515
Bentley 110
Several of our runners are competing in the State Cross Country next Friday. We wish them all the best as they compete against 250 – 300 runners from across the state.
Faction Athletics Carnival
The faction carnival will be held in Week 7 - weather permitting. Times are approximate. A full program is attached to the newsletter.
Running Club
Running Club is on each Tuesday and Friday morning on the oval from 8.00am – 8.30am. New runners always welcome. Parents of Kindy and Pre-primary parents must attend with their child. Active kids learn better!
Library News
P & C News
P & C Fundraising Update
It took us a lot longer than it should have to total the funds raised for the Colour run (held on Friday 3rd June) but that was only because you're all so generous. The final amount raised was $7,331.50 which I'm told is a possible record for the school! Prizes have been sorted for the children that raised the most in each year, plus a couple of other fundraising superheroes. The following children received a prize at the school assembly on August 10th. Well done to everyone who participated!
We are planning a few more events before the end of the year and are happy to be able to share some details below.
Term 3
- School Carnival is on September 2nd which means another bake sale as well as the DUCKS sausage sizzle. Lunch order forms will be coming home shortly.
- We will also be selling incredible, durable, calorie-free (important post-bake sale), eco-friendly stainless steel pegs. Not a moment too soon we say, given the weather we've been having recently.
Term 4
- Kids Disco Party will be held on December 2nd
- A trivia/quiz night is planned for December 9th at the South Perth Community Hall. Please save the date, there'll be prizes for the winner, best dressed, best name etc. Tickets will go on sale late Term 3 / early Term 4 so start thinking about team members and team names!
In an era of tight government education budgets, the P&C’s financial support for the school is more important than ever. The Fundraising Committee is always looking for new ideas and new helpers – if you have a fundraising idea or would like to volunteer to help, please contact us at kensingtonpsfundraising@gmail.com.
School Board
Board Election Results
We have the results of the election for a parent member to fill the 6-month casual vacancy. Congratulations to Elizabeth Pickles. We thank Zhinus Farhand for her nomination and hope to have her on the Board later. Thank you also to those who took the time to cast their votes.
Containers for Change
We have a wheely bin 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.
Environment - Containers for Change Competition
Win cool prizes for you and your class, AND help the environment and the P&C!
The Containers For Change Competition continues. Pop your collected bottles, cartons and cans into the bins at school (near the staff room) and email a photo to kpscontainersforchange@gmail.com
Collect at least 10 eligible containers, take a photo and email to the address above.
Students can also take containers to an eligible Containers for Change donation point (e.g. Manning Markets on Saturdays and Vic Park Markets on Sunday).
Scan the QR code below or quote Scheme ID C10350959 to make sure the donation goes to KPS P&C.
Submissions close 19 September, and winners will be announced at the school assembly on 21 September 2022.
Community News
VacSwim swimming lessons
Enrolments are now open for VacSwim swimming lessons during the October school holidays.
VacSwim offers fun lessons pool locations across WA. Not only is VacSwim a great school holiday activity, it also teaches valuable safety skills to help keep your child safe in the water.
Your children can start as young as five years old.
Places are limited, so get in early. Enrol your children in VacSwim now at
