ISSUE 9
Things to Know
Important Dates
June 8th - Senior Athletics Carnival (Years 2-6)
June 16th - ACT 12&U Cross Country Championships
Chris Shaddock
Principal
Principal's Address
Dear Kaleen Community
It was lovely to see many of you online at this week’s P&C Meeting. We are nearing the end of term 2 and students are working hard on their final assessments. School based reports will be sent via email on Friday 18 June (week 9). All reports will be emailed to the person listed as contact 1 for each student. If you have previously informed us that you require an additional report, a second copy will be either sent by email or post to the contact person you have listed. If you are new to Kaleen PS or your personal circumstances have changed, please contact the front office if you would like to update your details or if you require an additional report. Notes will go out early next week about parent-teacher interviews that are occurring over Week 10 (Kinder to Year 6). During Week 9 you will receive a confirmation slip with your interview time. There is no need to sign in at the front office as teachers will have individual sign in sheets in their classrooms. Please read on to hear more about learning and school events.
Mr Shaddock’s Times Tables Music
At Kaleen Primary School, we strive to develop students who are creative, collaborative and have a love of learning. We challenge students to persevere when confronted with complex tasks and aim to prepare them for a world where an ever-accelerating rate of change and innovation will be their normal. What does seem inevitable is that rote learning and the recitation of facts is becoming less important in most circumstances. In the future this type of knowledge will be easily accessed through any electronic device and what will become more important is the ability to utilise and apply knowledge while working productively with other people.
However, automatic recall of some basic facts (such as times tables) can reduce anxiety about Mathematics and increase general confidence in mathematics (Parkhurst et al., 2010). It may also enhance the acquisition of more complex skills by freeing up general cognitive capacity, or when accuracy of the basic facts recalled automatically is a component of a more complex task (Poncy et al., 2007).
A common theme I hear from teachers is that many of our children would benefit from automatic recall of multiplication facts. So to help them out, I have decided to reshare my times table songs that I released to the Kaleen community in 2019. Once again, I apologise for my off pitch singing and hope you find these tunes entertaining and useful. You can access them by clicking on the individual links below or by downloading the entire folder.
Senior Athletics Carnival - Years 2-6
On Tuesday 8th June (Week 8) we plan to hold our Athletics Carnival on the school oval. Information was sent out yesterday via Seesaw, but I’ve also included it in the newsletter for easy reference. Parents are welcome and encouraged to attend and should sign in at the front office on arrival. Please do not attend if you are feeling unwell. We currently have several preservice teachers with us who will act as volunteers and help coordinate events. This year parents can relax and enjoy their time as spectators. We will notify families via Seesaw if the carnival is postponed due to weather.
The carnival is a combination of qualifying running events and structured games. Students will rotate around the below running events and structured games on the day. The table below shows when the qualifying events will occur throughout the day for the different age groups.
Senior Athletics Carnival - Years 2-6 - NWSLTTER.pdfThank you for your ongoing support. I look forward to seeing many of you at the upcoming carnival.
Bye for now,
Chris Shaddock
Principal
Pe@k Clubs and Progams
Virtual Assemblies
Take a look below at this weeks virtual assemblies!
Sports Section
Sullivan Shield - Rugby League
On Tuesday I was lucky enough to take 17 very keen rugby league players to the Sullivan Shield Rugby League Carnival. We had a mix of experience with boys who play rugby league, AFL, rugby union and soccer. We played against schools from St Thomas, Gold Creek, Macquarie and Ngunnawal. No scores were recorded on the day as participation was encouraged.
All students are to be commended on their sportsmanship, leadership and determination throughout the day. A big thanks to all the family members who came and supported the team. Thanks to Mr Fattore for running the team through their warm up.
Belconnen Region Cross Country
Congratulations to every one of the 47 students that represented Kaleen Primary School at the Belconnen Region Cross Country Carnival at Mt Stromlo on Wednesday 26th May 2021. In cool conditions our students put in outstanding efforts on the day and were amazing ambassadors for Kaleen Primary School. They were cooperative and respectful when working with officials that ran the event, supportive and encouraging of fellow team members and they demonstrated a wonderful sporting attitude. Each athlete completed their challenging courses, performing to the best of their ability on the day. At the end of the day when asked who enjoyed the experience of competing at a Regional carnival, all responded with enthusiasm. Great effort everyone!
A big thank you to the families for coming out to support and encourage our team. Your support was appreciated! Thank you to Ying for assisting on the course. Well done everyone!
A huge congratulations to Carolina L and Pinipa L for placing 6th, Ethan J and Mia J for placing 10th in their events. They will now compete at the ACT Championships on Wednesday 16th June. Good luck!
Sustainability
We are recycling soft plastic bread bags at school to turn into sports equipment. Please bring all of your empty bread bags to school to collect in your child’s classroom.
We will be collecting bread bags until the end of term 2.
Bulbs
If anyone has flower bulbs from their garden that they are willing to donate to our school please bring them into the front office and we will find a lovely home across our school for them. Please put a little note with them telling us what bulbs they are.
Heroes' Corner
If you would like to have your child's achievement acknowledged here, please email a short blurb to KaleenPSAdmin@ed.act.edu.au
Community
Girl Guides – a great place to do fun things and make new friends!
Girl Guides in the ACT are part of an international organisation offering a weekly program of fun and personal development during school terms for girls aged 5 to 18 years. We provide girls with a supportive and safe environment to explore opportunities including: developing life skills, self esteem and confidence, the ability to think and act for themselves, make lifelong friends, discovering the world they live in and participating in the local community. We also go on hikes and camps; participate in community service activities; and enjoy weekend and holiday adventure days.
The Kaleen-Giralang-Lawson area has three units meeting in Kaleen on Wednesdays: 6:00 – 7.30 pm for girls 5-10 years; and 6.00 – 8.00 pm for girls aged 10+ years. Other units meeting nearby also offer alternative nights to accommodate girls who can not attend on Wednesday nights. All girls are very welcome. Inquiries to: Bev on 0417 485737.
