Key Messages

• There is a lot on this term- make sure you check the diary for everything that is upcoming as there are lots of events that parents are invited to attend.
• The K-2 athletics carnival has been postponed due to the wet weather. It will now take place on Friday 29^th
• Next week is Public Education Week and I’m looking forward to welcoming parents into the school for Open Day on Thursday.
• Parents are invited to register for a webinar from the eSafety Commissioner on the rise of AI and how to protect children from the associated dangers.
• Any student riding a bicycle to/from school needs a bicycle users contract.

Celebrations

• Congratulations to our Kindergarten students on being 100 days brighter.
• Despite the weather, the Athletics Carnival yesterday was a great success. Well done to everyone involved.
• Zone Athletics will be held on the 28^th Good luck to our representatives.
• Commiserations to our girls football team who went down 3-1 in their latest state cup knockout match.
• Our STEAM Team representatives went to Marayong Heights to learn more about coding and robotics.
• Congratulations to those students who represented their class at the school public speaking final and good luck in the next stage!

Welcome to our first edition of the Log for Term 3. This term is always a busy one with lots of opportunities for parents to engage with school events in one way or another. We have our athletics carnivals for both infants and primary, Education Week, Book Fair, the Book Character Parade, Father’s Day, Year 5 and Year 6 camps, Kindergarten and High School transition sessions, Minifete, the Kindy excursion to the farm, the Year 3 and 4 excursion to Scenic World, Blacktown Festival of Performing Arts and so much more. With so much happening, it is easy to forget that the most important work at KLPS is what is happening in classrooms each and every day. I was fortunate to spend a bit of time in Year 1 classrooms this morning, and I loved watching them learn. The students were engaged and enthusiastic and it is lovely to watch the progress that they are making. Each day, our students open the first two hours with a literacy block; a dedicated period where we try to avoid interruptions and focus solely on learning the core concepts of reading and writing. This session is so important, and a big part of the reason we do everything in our power to encourage children to be on time each day. Students who are late, even by only a few minutes, miss out on key instructions and teaching which is vital for their skill progression. This is compounded even further by students who are regularly late. While it may not seem like a major thing, the importance of students arriving on time and ready to learn cannot be underestimated.

Today, one group of students were particularly proud of their day-to-day learning journey, as our Kindergarten students celebrated 100 days of kindergarten! Staff and students alike helped part the gloomy clouds as they showed they were 100 days brighter with some very brightly coloured clothing. All of our students make steady progress throughout the year, but our Kindergarten students make the biggest leap over the first 6 months as they transition from their preschool/early learning environments into the rigours of “big school”. This years groups have transitioned seamlessly for the most part and they are certainly shining bright today.

At our swimming carnival earlier in the year, I was speaking with Mr Rothwell who has been a wonderful helper at our carnivals over the years. After a long affiliation with our swimming carnivals over a number of children and a number of years, 2025 was his last ever swimming carnival as a parent helper. As you will all find when your last child reaches year 6, there is a tinge of sadness about all of the ‘lasts’ throughout the year as your families time with KLPS draws to an end. As he departed the swimming carnival, we both lamented that this would be his last and despite me reassurance that he could still come and help without having children at the school, he didn’t feel that would be something he would be able to do. Seeing him at our Athletics Carnival yesterday, it brought me great joy to know that we had managed to squeeze another swimming carnival into his final year… albeit at Blacktown International Sportspark in the middle of winter.

Vivian Greene once said that “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” We may not have danced in the rain, but we certainly ran in it yesterday. While the weather was cold and wet, there were some scorching performances from our children. We have some truly talented sportspeople at our school and it always brings me a great deal of happiness to see them showcase their talent on days like yesterday. Full results for the carnival will be listed in a future edition of the log, but I did want to touch on a few things that I saw yesterday which were brilliant.

Firstly, I loved seeing everyone ‘have a go’. While there can only ever be one winner of each race, it was nice to see every event bursting with competitors. I always talk to students about the importance of effort and application in their learning, and that applies to all areas of their school life. With so many children trying their very best in each event, I know that the day was successful for many. While everyone was certainly wet and cold, there was no dampening the spirit on show, and our children all seemed to have a great time. A few students mentioned that it was their favourite carnival ever as they “never get to play” when it’s raining. While I certainly don’t intend on future carnivals being held in similar conditions, it was nice to hear that we had created some memories for our students.

Secondly, I loved seeing the students supporting one another. While our house chants have always been a feature of our carnivals (and the chant “Brrrrr, it’s cold in here….” certainly had knew meaning with the weather being what it was), seeing children cheer on their friends, house team mates, or simply other children in their class was heart-warming. The eleven year old boys were particularly good at this. While they all competed in the long jump, they all cheered on each competitor with an enthusiasm only children can manage to muster. You could see it give each child a lift and, once again, I’m sure some memories were made in those moments. It is always so nice to see people building each other up, and this made me very proud.

There was one individual effort that also stood out for me. Haley S in 3T was limited in her ability to participate in the carnival this year due to an injury sustained during the school holidays. Haley didn’t let this limitation get in her way, and while she wasn’t able to compete in the long jump, she made sure that she tried everything she could because she wanted to earn the points for her house. What an amazing effort! I was so incredibly proud of Haley’s resilience and commitment; something which extends far beyond just sport.

A huge thank you to all of the parents who braved the cold, wind and rain to support the carnival and their children. A particularly special thanks to those parents who volunteered and helped on the day. I won’t name you all out of fear of missing someone, but please know that your support is truly appreciated. I want to issue a special thank you to all of the staff involved in the carnival yesterday. While carnivals are always a big day for our staff, yesterday’s weather meant that the commitment went to another level and our teachers rose to the occasion once again. Not only did they push on in tough conditions, they leant into it with big smiles and a great attitude. Special thanks to Mrs Mathew who came in while on maternity leave to volunteer and assist where she could. She brought along little Toby as a special helper, though I think he was more of a distraction to the other teachers who were all lining up for a cuddle!

The final thank you goes to Mrs Wills who did so much hard work in preparing for the carnival. It is a monumental job to coordinate a carnival at the best of times, but to get things to run as smoothly as they did in the conditions that we dealt with is a reflection on her outstanding organisational skills and commitment. Not for the first time, I am so incredibly thankful that she is a member of our team.

Students who were successful in making it to the Zone Carnival will be notified in the coming week. We will hold off on handing out ribbons until we have been able to hold the high jump (which had to be cancelled yesterday due to safety concerns). The Zone Carnival is on Thursday 28^th August (Week 6) and we wish our representatives the very best of luck.

The K-2 carnival scheduled for this week has been postponed to Friday 29^th August. Hopefully we can get some sunshine scheduled to make sure it’s a fantastic day for all involved.

Also in the sporting world, our girls football team had their latest state cup knockout match, this time hosting Castlereagh Public School. The girls, led by supercoach Mr Starr, did a wonderful job against a high-quality opponent, narrowly going down 3-1 after a late goal extended the margin. The girls did a wonderful job to make it to this stage of the statewide knockout and we are very proud of their efforts.

On Tuesday, our STEAM Team captains from Year 5 and Year 6 went to Marayong Heights Public School to hone their coding and robotics skills. Each week, the STEAM Team participant sin Year 5 and Year 6 are working with their coordinating teachers to work through various challenges. They are currently in the process of designing and making their own smart neighbourhood. On Tuesday Ayan A, Myles, C, Cho T and Bianca W did some amazing things, including coding a submersible water pump to distribute water, a fan to spin, doors to open and close in response to a voice command and much more. Using a range of sensors and motherboards, among other technology, the four team representatives’ have developed their skills with a view towards upskilling their teammates back at KLPS. The Expo is scheduled for the beginning of Term 4 at Seven Hills High School and I cannot wait to see what they come up with!

Also this week we had our latest Public Speaking competition, as the Blacktown Learning Community (BLC) Public Speaking Competition entered it's next phase. This week was the school final, as class winners competed against one another for the chance to go on and represent the school at the BLC final. I had the distinct privilige of co-adjudicating the Stage 2 final, and I was blown away at the calibre of speeches on show. There was a blend of humour, deep thought and insight in the speeches that made them an absolute pleasure to listen to. I wish I could have sent them all through to the next level, such was the quality of the speeches on offer, but unforuntately rules don't allow fo the to happen. Congratulations to Eloise P who was judged to be our Year 3 winner, while our very own resident millionaire Henry W won the Year 4 competition (although by the end of his speech he was down to his last 80 cents). Sadly I wasn't able to listne to the Stage 3 speeches as I was with the STEAM Team participants at Marayong, but I heard the standard was equally high. Congratulations to Mason P on winning the Year 5 contest and Hugo M who won the Year 6 competition. Good luck to these four children at the BLC contest later this term.

Next week is Public Education Week and I hope that you are able to come along to our celebrations. Our students will be performing at Westpoint Shopping Center on Monday. Anyone who wanted to be entertained by our talented dancers should be on the rooftop at 10:30am. Our big open day celebration will be held on Thursday with a performing arts showcase to be followed by open classrooms and a picnic lunch. I always love open day as it is truly heartwarming to watch the students show off the things that are so important to them- their work, their desk, their books… basically everything that they do at school each and every day! I cannot wait to welcome everyone who is able to make it next Thursday.

As we all know, technology is evolving fast. One of the major points of concern at the moment is Artificial Intelligence. AI tools are evolving fast – and some are being misused in ways that can harm or exploit children and young people, including through the creation of deepfakes and digitally altered images. As parents and educators, it is an incredibly challenging and confronting space. At present, we are fortunate that this hasn’t touched our school, but in high schools across the country it is becoming a significant issue. To support families in navigating this space, I wanted to share information with parents about an upcoming webinar. Run by the eSafety Commissioner, this 45-minute webinar covers how these technologies are being used, their impact and how to support and protect your child. It’s suitable for parents and carers of upper primary and high school students. The session will be held on 21^st August at 12:30pm. Interested parents should register by clicking on the link below

Finally, this is just a friendly reminder that all students riding a bike to and from school need to complete a bicycle users contract (attached below). As part of signing the document, children agree to abide by the safety rules that have been put in place to ensure their safety as well as others. Of particular note, students must wear a helmet at all times and have a bicycle that is safe to operate. They must also ensure that they are not riding through crowded areas, particularly within the school gates. All of these rules are in place to ensure that all students and community members are kept safe. I appreciate your support in ensuring that children comply with these requirements.