Newsletter 7th August 2024

Principal's Message

Positive Behaviour Policy

The School Board approved the new Positive Behaviour Policy last week.  This policy has been added to the Parent section of our website under Forms and Documents.  These documents always appear on the left-hand column of our newsletters too.  The sections on Bullying and on Mobile Devices and Computer Usage that used to be included in the old Positive Behaviour Plan have now been added as separate documents on the website.

Bike Shed

The Bike Shed is ready for use today.  Some final adjustments, including installing permanent fencing panels will need to occur though.  New bike racks are also on the shopping list. A big thank you to Ed McLarty for his engineering work on this project and overseeing its progress - many hours.  Thanks also to Adam Goodwin for the architectural drawings and design.  We are very fortunate to have two highly skilled and generous parents at the school.

Kids Health Matters - a new podcast series for parents

The podcast series answers common questions parents and carers ask on health concerns such as mental health, vaping and ADHD. It features interviews from Perth Children’s Hospital, Child and Adolescent Community Health and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services staff who share their expertise and insights on child health and developmental issues and concerns.

Kids Health Matters - Hosted by Child and Adolescent Health Service (acast.com)

Childhood Chores

The Harvard Study of Adult Development is one of the longest and most remarkable longitudinal studies, offering valuable insights into the factors that contribute to happiness and success.

A key finding is that children who do chores and help around the home develop essential skills that lead to greater success later in life.

The study reveals that people who did more chores as children tend to be happier as adults. This underscores the importance of instilling responsibility and a sense of contribution in children from an early age.

Household tasks and chores help children learn valuable skills, including time management, problem-solving, collaboration, and perseverance. These core skills developed through chores can translate into greater achievement and life satisfaction.

The Harvard study highlights the profound and lasting impact of childhood experiences on well-being and success in adulthood. By encouraging children to participate in household responsibilities, parents and caregivers can set them up for a happier and more fulfilling future.

Source: The Harvard Study: Insights on Happiness and Success

Reel Inspiration @reisagda

P&C Noticeboard

The P&C have installed a noticeboard outside the main building next to the door leading into the hallway between the office and Room 8.  They will have reminders and messages there for parents.

Book Week Parade

Tuesday 20^th August is our Book Week Parade.  We will have a special canine (dog) visitor that day.  Please let us know if your child has any concerns about dogs.  However, we do have a different dog that visits the school every week (see below). 

Meet our Story Dog

We also have a volunteer who is bringing their dog to school to listen to students read to increase their engagement with reading.  This program is run through Storybook Dogs and our dog is called Patch.  He is a Groodle (Golden retriever/poodle).  The student council plan on running a fundraiser for this program later this term.  Thank you to Mrs Brook for her persistence in organising the return of this program.

School Photo Day

School Photo Day is coming up in Week 8. This week classroom teachers will be sending home your child's school photo order envelopes. 

Online orders are made via the below link with the password listed on your child's envelope. 

All Orders must be in by Tuesday 3rd September 2024

Ordering Sibling Photos

• You have two options to order sibling photos. You can either do it online or by using an envelope.
• If you choose to order by envelope, you can collect the envelopes from the front office.
• Medhat will be available each morning of Week 8. He will start taking photos from 8:25am until school starts.
• Deadline for Orders - Please note that if you want sibling photos, you must place and pay for your order by Tuesday, 3rd September. If you miss the deadline, sibling photos will not be taken.

Parking Around Kensington Primary School

Recently we have received complaints from community members about the parking and stopping on Fifth Ave when people are dropping off and collecting their children.  Apparently, some people are using it as an informal ‘kiss and wave’.  I believe this has been reported to the City of South Perth rangers.  I have also seen the rangers around the school recently and they contacted the school suggesting we add this reminder to our newsletter.   I suggest you use the kiss and wave on the school grounds if parking is an issue and your children are old enough.  Also, just to remind everyone that surrounding the school there are 'no standing' areas.  Please ensure you check the wording of the signs as many not only prohibit you from stopping on the road but also prohibit you from stopping on the verge too.  Please don’t get caught out by the rangers who frequently monitor this and hand out $120 fines.

Honours and Values Awards

High School Programs and Scholarships

Congratulations to the following students who have received offers for specialist high school programs and scholarships in 2025.

Finlay – Specialist Hockey Program at Como Secondary College

Penny S - Music Scholarship at St George's  

What's Coming Up

Pre-service Teachers from South Korea

Through our partnership with Curtin University, the school will be hosting a number of pre-service teachers on Thursday morning.  They will be observing in classrooms. Please make them welcome if you see them.

What's Been Happening

Principals Appreciation Day

Last Friday was the Australian Primary Principals Day.  The students and staff, as well as the OSHClub, recognised this day with lovely messages from the students, a morning tea and gifts. The deputies and I were very surprised and grateful and thank everyone involved.  A sense of gratitude is very important to our wellbeing and we were very grateful for the thought and generosity.  Too often we focus on the negatives (our brains are structured that way, unfortunately) so thank you those involved for making the effort to focus on something positive.  It is important that we are kind to each other and to ourselves.  – Bronwyn Jones, Clare Brook and Clint McNerney

Australian Teacher Aide Appreciation Week starts on 2nd September.  Thank Your Cleaner Day is on 16th October. Australia celebrates World Teachers' Day on 25th October this year.   School Psychologist Recognition Day is 8th November.  Our schools have lots to celebrate and thank our wonderful staff for.

Wanjoo Visit

Last week we hosted Wanjoo’s  Gina Williams and Guy Gouse – who performed Noongar language songs for the students.  Thanks to staff pre-teaching, the children were able to join in some of the songs and Room 1 even accompanied one song with Auslan signs. 

Sport News

Inter school Cross-country

On Thursday 25^th July our inter school team competed in the VPASSA Cross-country. Our runners did exceptionally well. 80% of our runners placed in the top half of their event. We had 5 champions, Nevaeh and Cooper Year 4, Max Year 5 and Elodie and Freddie Year 6. Because of the overall strength of our team, we won the shield for the champion school. Well done team!

Faction Carnival

The faction carnival is next week. The competitors for the jumps, throw, 200m, 400m and divisions are on the sport notice board. Team games will be on the notice board at the end of the week. A full program is attached to the newsletter. Competitors from the faction carnival will be selected to compete in the interschool carnival in Week 9.

Bike Education

The Year 3 students will participate in four bike ed sessions commencing Week 6. A Consent2Go will be sent out this week.

Running Club

There will be no running club on Friday 16^th August due to the faction carnival.

 The last running club will be on Tuesday 2oth August. We will have a short run, followed by breakfast. Mrs Stanford will be on leave for most of Term 4.

Library News

P & C News

DUCKs Dads events update and upcoming

DUCKs has had an active past few months. Most recently we have just had a bushwalk at Lesmurdie Falls on Sunday 4 August with dads, kids and families enjoying the glorious day out in the bush exploring the trails around the falls. We had our Paper Planes and Pizza event held at KPS on 20 July that was a great success with a range of new dads involved; about 35 dads and kids attended. We had a lot of fun and new conversations and, of course, great pizza. Many thanks to Brett Miller for doing a fantastic job organising and running the event. It was excellent to see so many new faces join in. We've had the always popular DUCKs Indoor Climbing event at the Rockface in June. A big thank you also to Toby Brown for his stellar efforts coordinating our Dads and Kids Bike Ride along the river in May, and to all the dads and kids that come along to these events and make them a success. It is good to see everyone having fun and making connections.

Upcoming:

A dads catch-up night is being planned soon by Brett. Date to be advised - please join DUCKs by the email address below to find out more.

Next event: We are planning to have a Father's Day family gathering at Perth Zoo, between about 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 pm Sunday 1 September, so please add that to your calendar.

Please email us at DUCKS.KPS@gmail.com join and for further information.

Thanks guys,
Conrad Slee - DUCKs

Kensington P&C Uniform Shop Update

The uniform shop has officially moved off site for new uniforms. From the start of Term 3 onwards, Kensington uniforms are available through Uniform Concepts in Willetton. (Second-hand uniforms are still available on Thursday mornings from the Donga).

Uniform Concepts handle a huge number of schools, including East Vic. Park, Como Secondary & Kent St Senior High School.

Their details are as follows:

                Address: - 30 Kembla Way, Willetton

        Opening Hours        Monday – 9 – 5pm

                                                Tuesday – 9 – 5pm

                                                Wednesday  – 9 – 5pm

                                                Thursday – 9 – 6pm

                                                Friday – 9 – 5pm

                                                Saturday – 9 – 1pm

                                                Sunday – Closed

You can visit the Willetton store if you wish to try on or view items – our clothes are on the racks ready to go.

Online ordering is available and can be picked up or delivered to your home.  Please note that online orders will no longer be delivered to your child in class.

Uniform Concepts are in the process of refilling stock that was unavailable last term. Polos, skorts and trackpants are in stock, whilst fleece jumpers should be available from Week 4. Please call ahead to the store to check stock is in before making the drive for the next couple of weeks.

The on-site uniform shop will continue to offer second hand clothing options and will be open each Thursday in Term 3 starting this week, 25/07.

If you have an outstanding uniform shop order, please let the P&C know using the email address below or your original order details so we can arrange a refund.

If anyone has any questions, they can contact the P&C on kensingtonpandc@gmail.com.

Regards,

Ed McLarty
P&C President

Containers for Change