46 East Terrace, Kingston SE SA 5275 T (08) 8767 2677 F (08) 8767 2247 E dl.0737.info@schools.sa.edu.au www.kingstoncs.sa.edu.au

Kingston Community SchoolH o n e s t y . P e r s o n a l B e s t . R e s p e c t . F r i e n d l i n e s s . R e s p o n s i b i l i t yPrincipal: Ms Lucretia Tocaciu Newsletter 4: 4 April 2019

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Parents, Caregivers, Students and Community

End of term is always exceptionally busy and this year is no exception. This week we have had parent/teacher interviews and next week we have our primary assembly and I hope to see as many parents as possible at both, supporting their children in their learning.

Site Improvement Plan (SIP)

Our Site Improvement Plan (SIP) contains 3 goals to improve specific aspects of number, reading and writing across the school, is progressing well. We have concentrated on writing this term. All students in R-10 have completed a writing task called a narrative and staff have assessed these pieces of writing using a platform called Brightpath. While all staff have been involved in this the bulk of the work has fallen to primary staff and English staff and I thank them for the stepping up to the trial as part of our challenge of practice to get better at what we do to support student learning. This week we have a numeracy expert in the school, Margarita Breed and she will be working with R-5 staff on Thursday and Friday. This is part of our Site Improvement numeracy work and as always when we are busy we just have to keep going. Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak with our Junior SRC and would like to see students driving some of our improvement work.

Pupil Free Day on Monday 29th April

We start next term with a pupil free day on Monday 29th April. Teachers will be travelling to Lucindale as part of our work on Learning Design, Assessment and Moderation (LDAM). The emphasis of the day will be looking at the tasks we give to students and how we can improve the tasks and intended outcomes. Two pupil free days during the year involve teachers moderating work against the Australian Curriculum standards so that students can be assured the grades that they are given at our school match the grades at any school in the state. One of the aspects of the work this year will be giving feedback that moves the learner forward. This is not necessarily written feedback but also minute to

minute feedback that informs the teacher of the next steps they need to take in their lesson.

Interschool Sports Day

Interschool Sports Day was held at Kingston on Wednesday 20th March, with Kingston winning the ‘Most Improved’ trophy and Kingston winning the ‘Championship Trophy’. Our students performed well with Tegan Daniel (Intermediate Girls) winning her age division medal. Our grounds looked magnificent due to the hard work of staff and volunteers. Bryce Smith, Craig Watson, Kellie Peterson and Jane Lyon and all staff were involved in preparing the team and it was great to have so many contributors overall. A lot of work goes on behind the scene, making sure student data is entered, preparing programs, updating ICT systems and all of this work does not go unnoticed. Thank you to the contribution of the students who helped on the day, parents who worked on stalls and sent in food, it is much appreciated. We will continue to work on refining our processes so it is a great day for all students whether they are competing or not.

Study Tour -Melbourne 21st-22nd March

The day after sports day I attended a study tour to Melbourne with 20 other Principals from our district. The study was arranged by Vonnie Dolling, our Education Director and Ruth Schubert, our Principal consultant for the South East Coast and Vines Partnership in conjunction with Melbourne University. We had two Melbourne University academics, Katherine Henderson and Dr Elizabeth Hartnell-Young, join us on the tour as mentors. As part of the tour we visited a number of schools that had made significant improvement in learning results in short periods of time. As a follow up, our leadership team has been involved in work with Professor John Hattie on the impact of our work on students and having evidence of success. As a partnership we have undertaken a commitment to know our impact on student learning and to create a three year plan to ensure that all schools and all students in our partnership make the growth they are capable of. We will need your support with this, so we work as a team.

The Year 11 students will be participating in a Road Awareness Program next term. The RAP program works toward keeping our students safe on the roads with an honest and straightforward concentration and common sense message. The program is specifically designed to give students a hard-hitting, realistic insight into road trauma. The presentation includes video footage and photographs of real crashes with victims which is edited to ensure suitability for Year 11 students.

A firefighter from the Metropolitan Fire Service will speak with students about:

• good attitudes, smart decision making and safe behaviours • the dangers of excessive speeds, distractions and driving under the influence • being a responsible passenger and pedestrian • becoming a responsible driver • first-hand experience of the trauma suffered by all parties involved in both fatal and non-fatal road crashes

The lasting trauma from injuries and fatalities will also be addressed, including the ongoing impacts of loss and disability for victims and families. A central element of the program is a talk by a real life road crash survivor who will implore students to learn from his or her mistakes.

Before attending the presentation students need to download and register with the RAP smartphone app. The app gives students access to useful road safety education resources as well as regular updates on road safety news and safe driving challenges.

Our school will be undergoing an External School Review on Monday and Tuesday 6 and 7 May. That is Monday and Tuesday of week 2. Our last external review was in August 2015.

The Department’s review officer is Alison Lynch and her review partner is Warren Symonds (Principal of Mt. Barker High School). They will spend two days talking to students, teachers and parents on past review directions and future directions for school improvement. They will be working with us to establish guidelines so the school can further progress learning outcomes across the school.

The Review team will meet with students and have classroom walk throughs where they will talk to students about their learning. If you do not want your child to participate in this can you please let the Principal know by close of business, Friday 12th April.

An external school review is an excellent way to highlight our strengths and guide us on where we need to focus our energies to improve. It will be feedback that moves us forward in our learning journey.

EXTERNAL SCHOOL REVIEW

Save the Date-Offical STEM Opening Thursday 23rd May The honourable Nick McBride will open our new STEM spaces at an assembly to be held at 1:50-2:20pm on Thursday 23rd May.Stay tuned for further details. Staff are in the process of ratifying a program for the afternoon.

If you were unable to attend the interview nights this week or could not get an appointment time with a teacher, please phone to make an appointment at another time or have a quick chat over the phone to any teacher. It is important that you know how to support your child’s learning and know how they are progressing. As a community we need to get better at supporting each other as we all want the best outcome for the children.

As always the school welcomes your feedback to improve our processes and I am available to meet with families as required.

Lucretia Tocaciu

Every day matters in the school life of a child or young person. Each day of attendance has a positive effect on their development and future success.

As early as preschool, regular absence can be a predictor of later attendance patterns. Even missing one day a week of school from reception to year 10 adds up to missing 2 years and 1 term of schooling.

Non attendance is linked with poor physical, educational, emotional and social outcomes for children. Regular attendance is linked with opportunities for success, higher levels of health and education, better job choices, financial independence and overall wellbeing. Don’t we all want these opportunities and outcomes for our children?

Student attendance has 2 categories (including explained absences):

• Habitual non-attendance: where a student has 5 or more absences for any reason in a term (average of 1 day per fortnight)

• Chronic non-attendance: where a student is absent for 10 days or more days in a term for any reason (average of 1 day per week).

There are many reasons why students may be absent from school. These reasons must be communicated with school via a phone call, note or text message. If after 3 days the school has not heard from families of absent children, contact home will be made by class/homegroup teachers to determine this absence. The school has a newly introduced messaging system for explaining student absences and this is being used quite successfully. Extended periods of planned absence, including family holidays, should be communicated with school and attendance exemptions can be put in place.

Where families are finding it difficult to get their child to school for a variety of reasons, it is a shared responsibility between the family and the school to ensure these reasons are communicated and actions are taken to re-engage the child with school. This could involve telephone conversations, family meetings on or off site and specific agreements made around strategies for re-connecting the child and family with school.

An education is too important for non-attendance to be the reason for not obtaining one.

It takes a village, a team effort, to raise a child. Let’s be that village, be that team.

If you wish to discuss your child’s attendance with any member of school staff or the wellbeing team, please contact the Front Office on 87672677 to make a time to meet or talk.

Kate TelferWellbeing Leader

The Wellbeing Team

ATTENDANCE MATTERS

INTERSCHOOLSPORTS DAY

OVERALL WINNERS

Sub junior Championship - 1st KingstonJunior Improvement - 1st KingstonJunior Championship - 2nd KingstonIntermediate Improvement - 2nd KingstonIntermediate Championship - 1st KingstonSenior Improvement - 2nd KingstonSenior Championship - 1st KingstonOpen Championship - 1st KingstonJim Judd Trophy for the Most Improved - 1st KingstonChampionship Trophy - 1st Kingston

INDIVIDUAL TROPHY WINNERS

Sub junior Boys - 2nd Wes GibbsSub junior Girls - 2nd Delta Robinson 3rd Anna RasheedJunior Boys - 3rd J-De PetersonJunior Girls - 3rd Sharni WebberIntermediate Boys - 2nd Oliver HaggettIntermediate Girls - 1st Tegan Daniel 2nd Bonnie ClarkeSenior Boys - 2nd William Watts 3rd Ethan MurdockOpen Boys - Equal 2nd Xabian MartinOpen Girls - 2nd Kate Falkner-Hunt

Ruth Schubert, principal consultant on the Stand like Stone Board presenting Stone Vouchers to Kingston Community School Principal.

Bryce Smith

Swinging with the Stars 2019

Swinging with the StarsThis year Kingston Community School’s Bryce Smith is participating in “Swinging with the Stars”. Bryce is learning to dance and is competing to raise money for the Stand Like Stone Foundation and Kingston Community School.

Swinging with the Stars is a dance competition which pairs 8 local celebrities with dance partners as they learn to waltz, tango, hip hop and foxtrot to then compete in front of a crowd of 500+ people.

Swinging with the Stars is the major fundraising event for the Stand Like Stone Foundation. Funds raised are added to Stand Like Stone Trust Funds and are used to support educational scholarships and charitable projects in the Limestone Coast.

DonationsPlease consider donating to Bryce and The Stand Like Stone Foundation by placing a donation in the donation box or going online and donating at www.standlikestone.com.au/swinging.

Stand Like Stone FoundationThe Stand Like Stone Foundation, established in 2004, is a dynamic community foundation serving the Limestone Coast (in the South East of South Australia).

Stand Like Stone offers individuals, families, groups, corporations and not-for-profit organisations an easy and satisfying way of giving something of real value back to the community that they care about.

All donations to Stand Like Stone are pooled and invested. The income generated from this investment is used over time to support charitable projects and organisations and to give educational scholarships.

Stand Like Stone offers grants for charitable projects benefitting the Limestone Coast and offers educational scholarships to students with a connection to the Limestone Coast. Stand Like Stone also facilitates projects which contribute to the community in many ways, resulting in both financial and social benefit, such as the Back to School and Stay at School programs. 

CAREER

CORNER

Whether you are leaving school, changing careers or returning to the workforce, now is the perfect time to consider a career in rail.

The Rail Industry is in a period of expansion with increased opportunities available across Australasia. There is no better time to join rail with increased opportunities for skilled and talented employees seeking a good work/life balance and flexible working conditions.

WEBSITES for further informationhttps://myfuture.edu.au/institutions-and-organisations/details?id=rail-careers#/www.railcareerpathways.net.au

REMINDERPUPIL FREE DAY

Monday 29th April

LEARNING THROUGH CONVERSATIONS AT PLAYGROUP

At playgroup we provide many opportunities for talking together. This supports the children to develop their disposition to communicate.

It is important for adults to listen and talk with children during play.

By noticing and naming what the child is doing and seeing, the child is able to hear and learn new words as well as understand their meaning. This will support learning to read when they start school.

Talking, reading and singing together support early literacy learning. This two way interaction between parent and child means that children who are talked to, read to and sang to, come to school having being exposed to 30 million more words than those children who have not!

Playgroup operates each Wednesday during the school term from 9.30-11.00am.

Canteen Volunteer RosterStarting time 10:15 am

Thank you for your support in the canteen. All volunteers are supplied with lunch as a thank you. Starting time is 10.15 am. If you are unable to work on your rostered day please try to arrange a swap. In case of an emergency or to fill a volunteer needed vacancy please contact Louise or Kylie at the canteen on 8767 2171 or Louise AH on 8767 2610.

Term 1 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Week 118-12April

KarenDrabsch

0438 888 510

RenaeBawden

0419 180 626

Week 129 -3

April/May

PUPILFREEDAY

TraceyMacKereth

0414 668 423

ShaylieHarding

0407 673 051

Week 26-10May

TrudyPilmore

0429 404 010

TammieParker

0448 676 002

Week 313-17May

KarenDrabsch

0438 888 510

TanyaWatts

0427 672 005

2019 CROSSING ROSTERNew teams take over on Tuesday morning each week, including new terms. Term 1

WEEK TEAM11 9/4/19 Shebella Deakin Zac

Term 2

WEEK

1 30/4/19 Jaxon Riley Angel

2 7/5/19 Luke Mia Cooper3 14/5/19 Fraser Milly Charley4 21/5/19 Harry Jorryn Tamsyn5 28/5/19 Jorja J-de Olivia6 4/6/19 Shebella Hayley Jack7 11/6/19 Abbigail Erica Lara8 18/6/19 Haley Caitlyn Mia9 25/6/19 Zac Cooper Riley

10 2/7/19 Mandy Angel Milly

DIARY DATESApril12 Early Dismissal 2.15pmTerm 229 Pupil Free DayMay8-10 Yr 8 Camp23 STEM opening24 Yr 10/11 Careers Conference Mt GambierJune10 Queen’s Birthday holiday

Don’t forget to like our FACEBOOK page to stay connected and to receive regular updates and reminders of school events and activities.You can find our page at www.facebook.com/kingstoncommunityschool/.

It’s that time of the year again!

Our first training night will be on

Wednesday 10th April 4.30-5.30pm

There will also be a “come and try” for all new players

Sausage sizzle provided( Children need to be aged 5 on the 1/1/2019 to

participate and up to and including Grade 5 )

Information re training times, games and registrations will be distributed on the night. All

registrations are to be completed on line.

Hope to see many keen footy players out again this year and some new ones too!

Please let me know if you are able to assist with coaching at Wednesday night trainings & Saturday

games.