Newsletter 12th February 2025

Principal's Message

Welcome Back!  It was lovely to see everyone start school last week.  Predictably it was quite a hot start given the heat wave but fortunately all our classes have air conditioning, many having refrigerated too. 

The staff at Kensington Primary School are excited to welcome you to a new school year filled with opportunities to learn and engage!  

Getting into the habit of daily attendance is more important than ever. It helps to:  

• reduce stress
• make it easier to connect with friends and teachers
• support learning
• Please call us if you need help with attendance. Phone 6436 8448 and ask to speak to one of the deputies (Mrs Brook for K-2 students and Mr McNerney for Year 3-6 students) or the principal.

We are working to make our school environment a place where everyone can be safe, healthy and learning.  We will do our best to listen and partner with you so that our children have a successful year. Do not hesitate to reach out to me with questions or concerns. 

• Please make sure we have your correct email and the best phone numbers where we can reach you.

Term Planner

While you can find a term planner below, we no longer update this document.  Instead you can find our calendar on the website or the SZapp.  It is a great idea to subscribe to the calendar so that it can sync all activities to your online calendar, and automatically update information as sometimes event details change. SZapp is the place to go to ensure you are up-to-date.

Classes

We welcome all new and returning students and staff.  The class structures are as follows.  We will introduce you to the new teachers this week and the other new staff in the next newsletter.

Communicating with Staff

Please be aware that any urgent communications should go through the office as teachers do not access their emails and See Saw while they are teaching.  We ask our staff to acknowledge emails within 5 business days (they usually do this much earlier but some staff are not full-time) and to respond to the issues within 10 working days.  They usually do so much earlier too.  During holiday periods you will need to allow much longer as they are not required to be able to access their emails during this period.  Thank you for your patience and consideration.

See Saw

SeeSaw is the classroom communication app that we use.  It is vital that parents download the “family” version of this app so that they can receive communications from their child’s class teacher, if they haven’t already done so (many people will have used this previously). Do not download the ‘class’ app.  Just download the ‘family’ if you haven’t already.

Classroom teachers will be in contact with you to give you login details.

Updating SZapp and Lunch Order Subscriptions

Just a reminder that you will need to update your child(ren)’s classes on the school app, SZapp, and the online School Lunches Online site.  On the SZapp app you go into Manage and unselect the old classes and select the new classes.

If you order your child’s lunch from School Lunches Online, please ensure that you update his/her classroom details on their website so that their lunch can be delivered to them.  Failure to do so may lead to your child not receiving their lunch on time.

Consent 2 Go (not an app – you will receive emails)

Please ensure that you have responded to the ‘invitation’ to update your child’s information on the Consent 2 Go platform and provide permission for the third party apps and online services we wish to use with your children. If you need a new email ‘invitation’ to be sent to you, please contact the front office on 6436 8448 and we will be happy to send that to you. You will be given further opportunities throughout the year to update/confirm your child’s information on Consent 2 Go prior to any class excursion or at any time you wish.

We ask you to make payments online through Consent 2 Go for any school event your child is to be involved in.  This enables you to give consent for your child to attend the event and pay for it at the same time. 

Protective Behaviours

All schools are required to teach students protective behaviours.  We do so across the year to keep these important behaviours fresh in the children’s minds.  You can access a parent protective behaviours handbook on our school website along with the regular school parent handbook (Parent Information Handbook - Kensington Primary School (kensingtonps.wa.edu.au) or below, for more information.

2025 Contributions and Charges Information

Please find the Contributions and Charges information for 2024 in the flyer below.

Pedestrians Accessing the Kiss and Wave Drive Through Gates

We encourage all parents and children to use the pedestrian gates to access the school, rather than the gates used by cars to drive through the kiss and wave.  Apart from holding up traffic, this can be unsafe for children especially, who don’t always have the ability to process the traffic information in a timely manner.

Mobile Devices

Please note that the school has a Mobile Devices policy as part of our Positive Behaviour Plan.  This policy states that children should not use personal mobile devices during school hours.  This includes smart watches.  Students who use their smart watches inappropriately (including being distracted by looking at things on them) will run the risk of having them confiscated and given a yellow behaviour slip.

Parents, Please Sign In and Out at the Office when Visiting the School

All parents and visitors must sign in and out at the front office when entering the school grounds (unless dropping off students in the morning or picking up students at the end of the day). This applies to dropping off lunches or forgotten items, collecting or dropping off children outside of the normal drop-off and pick-up times, and volunteering at the school. This is to ensure everyone's safety and security. Thank you for your help with this.

New Additions to Our School Family

We are thrilled to announce that, over the school holidays, two of our staff members have welcomed new family members!

Rhianna Nelson, our School Psychologist and her husband Andy welcomed a beautiful baby boy, Logan Bradley Nelson on 18th of December 2024.

Jack Power and his wife, Ashleigh, also welcomed a precious baby boy, Riley James Power on the 21st of January 2025.

Please join us in congratulating Rhianna and Jack on their new arrivals.
We wish them and their families all the best during this time!

School Board

School Board Elections

The School Board currently meets twice a term - on the third and ninth Monday of each term at 5:30pm in the staffroom.  Claire Stone is the current chair of the school board.  There are some vacancies on the board this year.    

SCHOOL BOARD

The school board consists of a balanced mix of teachers, parents, and community members. Parent and community members provide an integral link between the school’s academic and administrative staff and the community, informing the decision making and direction of the school.  We have several parent-representative positions vacant for 2024, so I encourage you to consider nominating. The positive influence that the parent community has on the school, through sharing their experiences, knowledge and desires for the parent community to ensure informed decisions are made in the best interests of the students, is inestimable. In setting and monitoring the business plan for the school, it is a great way to learn about how the school operates, its challenges and its successes. If you would like to get involved in continuing the positive development of the school and share your, and your fellow parents’, experiences to guide the school, I encourage you to consider nominating for the school board.

If you are interested in finding out more, please consider speaking with the principal, or any of our current board members.  A list of current board members can be found on the school website. 

Our School Board – NOMINATIONS OPEN

If you are interested in nominating yourself, please complete the nomination form linked below and return it to the school by Thursday 22nd February.  Below is also an information sheet, which gives potential nominees an overview of the board and how it runs.  Below is a list of functions of the board as outlined in the Department’s policy.  Please note – all Board members are now required to give consent for the Department of Education to undertake a National Police History Check into their backgrounds.

Upcoming Events

NAPLAN

Year 3 and Year 5 students will be participating in NAPLAN testing this term.  Parents of students in those year levels should have received a brochure providing information on NAPLAN. In future newsletters we will publish a timetable of the testing so parents know when tests will be conducted.  There will also be catch-up testing for students that miss a test session.

If you wish to withdraw your child from the testing, please speak to your child’s teacher or Clint McNerney.

Wellbeing Dog

We are excited to announce a new initiative at Kensington Primary School aimed at enhancing the wellbeing of our students. Starting Monday 24th February, we will be introducing a wellbeing dog to our school community.

Kenna, a Greyhound, have been specially assessed to work in a school environment. She has been assessed by an industry accredited dog trainer and a veterinarian to ensure she is suitable for school purposes. Kenna will be always accompanied by a teacher to ensure the safety and comfort of all students. All staff have been trained by an accredited trainer, in handling dogs on school sites. We will have other dogs participating in the program. 

How It Will Work

• Initially Kenna will be with her owner who is a staff member, Miss Harris in Room 8 on Thursdays. As the year progresses, other classrooms may also be able to have Kenna visit. You will be informed if your child is likely to be involved.
• Students will have the opportunity to interact with Kenna, under supervision.
• Participation is voluntary, and we will respect the preferences of students who may not wish to engage with the dog.

Health and Safety

We understand that some students may have allergies or fears related to dogs. To address these concerns:

• Kenna will be regularly groomed and checked by a veterinarian.
• We will ensure that Kenna is kept in a designated area to minimise contact with students who have allergies.
• Parents are encouraged to inform us of any specific concerns.

A Well-being dog may:

• Reduces Anxiety and Stress: Dogs help create a calmer environment.
• Encourages Social Interaction: Promotes better social skills and community.
• Improves Emotional Wellbeing: Provides comfort and support.
• Enhances Learning Motivation: Boosts confidence and engagement.
• Fosters Responsibility and Empathy: Teaches important life skills.
• Supports Emotional Regulation: Helps with self-regulation and emotional control.

Japanese News

P & C News

P&C Messages

Welcome back to the new year - we hope everyone had a fun summer break. 

Communication 

We will continue to use WhatsApp groups to provide P&C communication to parents and coordinate class rep communication. Updates will be sent out on Sundays with mid-week updates when required. This year community can be found here 

Pre-primary Playground 

Thank you to all the volunteers who supported the updates to the pre-primary playground over the holidays, particularly Ed McLarty & Aaron Barwood. The kids have been so excited to enjoy their new area. Our next fundraising goal is to support upgrades to the nature play in the main playground.

Upcoming Dates

P&C AGM 25th Feb 7:30pm in staffroom 
Election BBQ & Cake stall 8th March
Movie Night 14th March 

2025 P&C Membership

All parents & guardians are welcome (and encouraged) to join the P&C - many hands make light work! At the AGM all positions will be open for nomination, while many are keen to return for another year, we have some open positions- in particular the fundraising committee. We would love you to come along and share ideas or volunteer for an event even if you don’t have capacity to take on a formal role.

Movie Night

The movie night under the stars will return this year as the major fundraiser for our Year 6s. Please save the date March 14th.

More information will come for ticket sales and this year’s movie.

Containers for Change

Community News