Killarney Vale Public School Newsletter www.killarneyvale.ps.education.nsw.gov.au School and Community News 21st October 2015 Term 4 Week 3 Thurs 22nd Oct—P & C Meeting Staffroom - 7.15pm der min Fri 23rd Oct—Issue 7 Bookclub due Re Tues 27th Oct—Kinder-2 Athletics Carnival Wed 28th Oct—Stage 1 Cake Stall Wed 28th Oct—Kinder Orientation continues Thurs 29th Oct—P & C Scary Disco Principal Jonathan Moxon Author Visit – Judy Townsend I would like to thank Miss Taylor who organised Mrs Judy Townsend to visit our great school last week. Mrs Townsend is an experienced librarian who has now started writing and publishing her own work. Our students were lucky enough to get a firsthand experience on what it takes to write and publish a children’s book. Miss Taylor has also prepared a newsletter item that can be found further on in this week’s newsletter. Move-A-Thon 20th & 24th Nov This year the P&C in conjunction with the school are going to host the very first Move-A-Thon at KVPS. The Move-A-Thon will help raise much needed funds to assist the school with specific projects K-6. A more detailed note and donation card should be accompanying this newsletter. Date: 3-6 (Friday November 20) K-2 (Tuesday November 24) Minimum cost: $5 Students will be able to bring in a bike or a scooter to participate on one of our specially designed courses. Students who do not have either a bike or scooter can participate on a special track that utilises school based resources. All money needs to be handed in at the office. The more you raise the more fun you can have and the more chances to win our major prize. Community Code of Conduct / Child Protection Update Professional Learning In 2015 I ran a series of community professional learning opportunities that looked at Child Protection and the Code of Conduct. I will be offering these sessions once again. To participate in one of these sessions, please contact the front office and book yourself a seat. Session 1: Thursday November 5 (9:15-10:15) in the staffroom Session 2: Thursday November 12 (2:00-3:00) in the staffroom Selective High School Placement for 2017 Thinking of applying for a government selective high school for Year 7 entry in 2017? You must apply online at www.schools.nsw.edu.au/shsplacement If you do not have internet access, please contact the front office for more information. Key dates include: Tuesday October 13, 2015 - Application website open Monday November 16, 2015 - Application website closes (late applications will not be accepted) Thursday February 25, 2016 - Test authority letter sent my mail and email Thursday March 10, 2016 - Selective High School Placement Test Early July 2016 - Placement outcome information Principal’s Conference Professional learning is a very important part of a successful school and this year I am lucky enough to be attending the Primary Principal’s Association State Conference at Sydney. Our conference begins Tuesday afternoon at 5pm and concludes with a conference dinner on Friday evening. Whilst at the conference this year I will be hearing from guests speakers such as: Rosie Batty Rosie Batty is a family violence campaigner and is the 2015 Australian of the Year and the Pride of Australia's National Courage Medal recipient. Rosie is a leader in the crusade against domestic violence and has turned her personal tragedy into a fight to help others. Rosie's name became synonymous with the words courage and resilience. Only hours after her son's life was tragically taken, Rosie gave voice to many thousands of victims of domestic violence who had until then remained unheard. Her public speaking appearances are a remarkable story of resilience, courage, inspiration and making a difference. Rosie's incredible strength and selfless efforts are an inspiration to many people. Ted McCain Ted McCain is an award winning, internationally respected educator, educational consultant, presenter, and author. Through his work over the last twenty-five years as the Associate Director For Canada for The Thornburg Center For Professional Development, Ted has helped schools, school districts, and educational organizations throughout the world deal with the issues of educational change. Today, he is continuing that effort as the Director of InfoSavvy21, an international consulting group that has worked with educators in more than 80 countries. His focus is helping educators overcome the staggering challenges that are the result of disruptive innovation; and supporting educators in helping them deal with the implications this rapid change has for the kinds of skills, knowledge and habits of mind students will need to be successful in the modern world. He is passionate in his belief that schools must change so that they can effectively prepare students for the rest of their lives. Dr Matt McClure Matt McClure is the chief learning and financial officer for the Cross County School District and is founder of LEAD21, a new principal leadership program at Arkansas Tech University, in partnership with the Walton Family Foundation. In his 18 year career, he has served as teacher, principal, assistant superintendent, and superintendent of schools. Dr. McClure also serves as the President of ASCD International, an educational organization representing more 125,000 members including superintendents, principals, teachers, professors, and advocates from more than 138 countries. Catherine McGregor AM Captain Catherine McGregor is currently serving as the speechwriter and strategic adviser to the Chief of the Air Force. She entered the Royal Military College Duntroon in 1974 and graduated to the Royal Australian Infantry. Over a career in the Australian Regular Army spanning 40 years, she held a wide variety of regimental and staff appointments. She was deployed on operations on three occasions including as the Commanding Officer of the Australian Army Training Team in Timor Leste. She is a Tetum linguist. In 2008, she was a Visiting Fellow to The Leverhulme Changing Character of War Programme at All Souls Oxford University in 2008 and holds a Master of Arts in War Studies from UNSW. She was awarded the Order of Australia on 26 January 2012 for her exceptional service to The Australian Army. She served continuously as speechwriter to every Chief of the Army since 2000. She has held various appointments in Strategic Policy Branch at Army Headquarters. She transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force Reserve in June of this year on promotion to Group Captain She was recently named as one of Australia's 50 most powerful women by the Australian Women's Weekly. John Foreman John Foreman is a musical director, pianist and composer. After graduating from Sydney Conservatorium in 1991, John started tickling Bert Newton’s ivories on Good Morning Australia when he was 19. Twelve years and more than three thousand musical performances later, John joined Australian Idol as musical director in 2003, where he helped to unearth performers such as Guy Sebastian, Shannon Noll and Jessica Mauboy. John produced many albums and singles for Idol artists, including Guy’s Climb Every Mountain and Anthony Callea’s multi-platinum single, The Prayer, which became the highest and fastest selling Australian single ever. John has also produced recordings for Marcia Hines, Greta Bradman, Ricki-Lee and Silvie Paladino. His own album, No Jivin’ released in the early nineties, was nominated for both an APRA and ARIA-award. Attending these conferences is an exciting opportunity and I would like to thank my executive team for helping out whilst I am away. See you all in week 4. 3-6 Fitness Track Equipment Students are reminded that this new play equipment should only be used during school hours and when staff are present. Accidents can happen and usually occur when there is little to no supervision that is why this fitness equipment is and will be out of bounds unless staff are present. We thank you for your support. Quality work with Mr Moxon This week I would like to acknowledge the parents and community members that attended last week’s school assembly. AT KVPS we always try to set high expectation as role models for the leaders of tomorrow and it was especially nice to see a large amount of our parents joining in to sing the National Anthem. I also had the privilege of meeting around 60 of our new 2016 Kindergarten students at the first orientation session for 2015. Our 2016 Kindergarten cohort had a great first day at big school, played games, met new friends and some of our wonderful staff. Thank you to the parents who also joined me in the library for our first information session. Have a great week Killarney Vale! CLASS ASSEMBLY AWARDS TERM 4 WEEK 2 CONGRATULATIONS TO THE STUDENTS BELOW WHO HAVE RECEIVED ASSEMBLY AWARDS KD Indi STAR story writing KD Fletcher On task - what a STAR KL Zahra Superstar writing about Owl Babies KL Nate A super leader in KL with lovely manners KR Talekai Improved expression and confidence when reading KR Elektra Excellent writing! 1RS Brydon Designing a great KVPS environment poster 1RS Stefani Having a great start at her new school. Welcome! 1M Akira Excellent work in groups 1M Troy Making excellent improvements in handwriting 1/2K Hunter Showing enthusiasm during reading 1/2K Ava A fabulous start at KVPS, welcome! 2GB Aaron Aaron’s artistic Picasso impression of himself 2GB Sophie Beginning to use paragraphs in her writing 2P Callum Working extremely hard with Ms Barrie 2P Remy Detailed written observation of any icy pole melting 3L Shaydon Excellent attitude and persistence