2024, T4Wk2, Kilcoy State School Newsletter

13.10.2024

Acknowledgment of Country

This newsletter comes to you from Jinibara Land. In the spirit of reconciliation, we acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to Elders past, present and emerging, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples today. We are thankful to be able to work, learn and play on Jinibara land.

KSS Vision & Values

"We believe that all members of the Kilcoy State School community have the right to work, learn and play in a safe and inclusive environment."

Our STAR values are:

SAFETY - Taking Responsibility - Active Learning - Respect

Principal's welcome

Dear Parents and Carers

This week, I attended Strategic Planning sessions focusing on the 2025 school year (with Mrs Webster, Mrs Somerville and Miss MacGregor as staff representatives). These sessions provide an opportunity to work closely with regional staff and our School Supervisors, to plan for a successful 2025 and beyond. I also attend Parent & Citizen (P&C) meetings to seek feedback about current and future school priorities and ask for recommendations from the community.

Unfortunately, the current P&C are still struggling to get members to attend/join and because of this, it can be quite hard to get community input. Mrs DJ Whitley, our current P&C President, has recently informed me that she will be stepping down as president at the end of this year. We genuinely thank her for her years of commitment to our school.

Unfortunately, this means that we will not have a 2025 P&C President unless more parents/carers join and take these roles. I'm not sure if you are aware of the fact that our P&C employ our Tuckshop Convenor, run the Uniform Shop, provide all the Colour Fun Run days, run BBQs at Sports days, run school Discos, apply for grants, and raise money to directly benefit your children. If you or your children have benefitted from these services, please consider giving back by joining the P&C. We understand that you may not be able to be at every event, but you can contribute in many more ways, simply by helping a team member plan an event, spending an hour helping in the Uniform Shop, or attending a meeting to give your feedback on our current/future school plans etc. You can also attend P&C meetings digitally, via 'Teams', if that is preferable. 

Please come to our next P&C Meeting on Wednesday 6/11/24 at 3.30pm in the Resource Center. You are very welcome to bring your children. :)

Term 4 Swimming Lessons

Starting this week: (Mon 14/10) for Prep to year 2 students, we have our annual set of swimming lessons for every child in the school. 

Students in Year 3-6 will have their lessons commence in Week 4. These lessons culminate in our annual Swimming Carnival, which is hotly contested each year. This will take place in Week 7 on Thu 14/11 for our Junior carnival and Fri 15/11 for our Senior Carnival.  

Community News

A few months ago, 3/4C students with Mrs Racchi approached me to ask if they could try to persuade me, through their English unit writing, to let them have a garden next to their classroom (it's currently empty and doesn't look the best). I agreed and they went to work learning and writing. I saw great commitment to this task that had a real-life outcome for the students. Later that term, the persuasive letters were delivered to me. After reading each letter, I provided feedback and also told them that as a result, I would now look into what we could achieve together. 

In the meantime, I had been contacted by the Kilcoy Lions club and asked if there were any projects they might be able to help the school with. This is such a generous and kind offer. My mind went straight to the 3/4 garden idea, and we shared a few back and forth emails with Vicki Sweedman, Secretary of the Kilcoy Lions. 

In the end, I was the lucky person who got to inform the 3/4C class on Friday afternoon that the hard work they had done, learning how to use persuasive devices effectively, had paid off in a real-life way - they are getting their garden! The Kilcoy Lions have offered to donate $450 to purchase the plants for this new garden! As a school, we will all benefit from this community support as we enhance the environment we spend so much time in.

Each full school year, students spend approximately 1,200 hours of their life at school. In conjunction with Mr Wade and Mr Preston's talented gardening/building skills, this project will actually benefit every student and staff member here, contributing to that 'great school' feel we love. We have also planned a section of this garden to relocate a previous 'Buy a brick' fundraiser, showing our thanks to the community who have previously supported our school. We thank the Kilcoy Lions for their ongoing commitment to community wellbeing and are excited that our school will directly benefit. If you'd like to learn more about the Kilcoy Lions, you can read it here: Kilcoy Lions Club - Lions e-Clubhouse

Staffing changes

Mrs Lisa Webster (our Deputy Principal) will be away for the next two weeks, working as Acting Principal at Peachester State School while their Principal is away. Mrs Nicole Capper (our Senior LOTE teacher) has been successful in her application to backfill Mrs Webster during Week 3 and Week 4. 

Spotlight on Attendance

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL)

Program launch: Oral Language Development for Prep EAL/D students

At Kilcoy State School, we understand the critical role that oral language plays in building a strong foundation for learning, especially for our Prep students who are learning English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D). Oral language skills are the key to unlocking success in reading, writing, and overall communication, which is why, in Term 4, we have launched a special Oral Language Development Program for our Prep EAL/D students.

The program involves small group sessions where students listen to a story read aloud by their teacher. Following the story, they are asked a series of questions to encourage them to respond using full sentences, rather than single-word answers. After the discussion, students are given the opportunity to draw a picture based on their understanding of the story. Once they’ve completed their drawings, they are encouraged to talk about what they’ve drawn—again, using complete sentences. This creative activity helps reinforce their comprehension and ability to express their ideas verbally.

The aim of this program is to not only build confidence in speaking but also to strengthen their overall language skills, which will enhance their writing abilities as they progress through school. We encourage parents and caregivers to support this at home by asking open-ended questions during conversations, helping children practice forming complete thoughts.

We are excited to see the progress our students will make through this program and appreciate your support as we work together to help them thrive! A very big thank you to Mrs. Glezel Ladroma, a bilingual teacher aide (employment provided by Kilcoy Global Foods), who is playing a pivotal role in the program. Below are photos of some of the Prep students proudly showing off their drawings.

Kind regards, Mrs Karen Burton. Literacy, Numeracy and EAL/D Support

Community News