Key Messages

• Thank you Mrs Hutton for relieving as Principal in my absence, and Mrs Eves who filled in as Deputy Principal. I appreciate all your hard work!
• Semester 1 reports went home on Wednesday. Reports are all digital now. Unfortunately, images on reports will be updated when school photographs come through in Term 3.
• Attendance awards for Term 2 will be given out early next term. Any student who has been at school every day of the term will receive the award.
• There are lots of important dates for parents to put in their diary to start Term 3. First day back for students is the 22^nd There are also numerous opportunities for parents to come along to school events and we would love to see you there if you’re able to come!

Celebrations

• Multicultural Day was a wonderful success. Thank you to everyone involved. A more detailed report will be in the next newsletter.
• Congratulations to our incredibly talented Art Matters participants. Some of their breathtaking creations are included below.
• Congratulations to our boys State Cup Soccer team who are one of the few teams to finish the knockout competition undefeated!
• Our bands performed beautifully at the Greater Western Sydney Festival for Bands.

Welcome to the final edition of the Log for Term 2. Term 2 is always an exciting one, with classes settled, plenty of extracurricular programs in full swing and many others just starting to build up. In case the end of term isn’t already exciting enough, we threw in gala day yesterday and a lockdown drill today just to keep everyone on their toes!

Before I get into the action from the past fortnight, can I please thank and acknowledge the hard work of Mrs Hutton and Mrs Eves over the previous four weeks. Following the arrival of the newest Lambert, I had to take an additional period of unplanned leave. This meant that both ladies had to fulfill their own role as well as step into higher duties. I am always so incredibly thankful that we have a wonderful leadership team at Kings Langley PS that works tirelessly for our students, meaning that I am able to focus on my leave without worrying about school. I very much appreciate it was a lot of hard work ladies, but you did it with aplomb. Thank you!

On Wednesday we sent home Semester 1 reports; the first time where all reports K-6 were exclusively sent home in a digital format. While I have already given a comprehensive overview of the document in the attached letter, I do want to reiterate the value in discussing the report with your children. The school report has lots of information in it that can be used to stimulate a conversation, whether that be to praise growth, acknowledge outstanding accomplishments or recognising effort and hard work. These conversations, no matter how small, further instil positive school values in your children. If you value their work and success, then they are more likely to value it as well. The more students value education, the harder that they are likely to work and the more success they are likely to achieve. It’s amazing the power that a single conversation can have, and I hope that your conversations around reports can help your children strive for greatness as they move forward.

I am disappointed to report that we are still waiting on school photographs. Aside from the delay in getting these photographs to each of you, this also means that the student’s images were not updated on their reports for this semester. When the digital photographs are shared with the school, we will update them onto the student reports. Parents will be able to get a complete copy of the report, with current images, through the parent portal on Schoolbytes. Once again, we apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused. We are particularly apologetic to our new students, including our Kindergarten students, who had no images on their report as a consequence of this delay. Hopefully, the photographs will be here early next term.

Yesterday we had our Gala Day fundraiser, a multicultural gala day. This is the first time we have held a gala day in this structure and students had an absolute blast. I had hoped to get a more comprehensive report of the event back to you today, but unfortunately time hasn’t allowed that to happen. In order to do the event justice, I’ll give a more detailed recount of the day in the first edition of the Term 3 newsletter. I will take a moment to thank all of those who supported the day. There are far too many people to list individually, but to anyone who provided food, supported with a cultural performance, helped with the organisation, or simply provided financial support, thank you. Students have been buzzing all day, telling me what a wonderful experience it was. Unfortunately, I was called away to a Departmental meeting and missed the event which disappointed me greatly… although I had a group of children approach me at Breakfast Club this morning to say that they wished I was there as I was going to be “tricked into dancing like a wombat”. I am not sure what to make of this information, beyond to say that those who have seen me dance may think that a wombat dance would be an improvement.

Early next term we will be giving out awards to the students who were at school every day in Term 2. We had a huge number of perfect attendance awards that went home after Term 1, and I’m hopeful that there will be even more this time around. I know I have shared the below information before, but it is so important to recognise the impact that regular school attendance has on student performance. Whether it be through regularly being late, or whole day absences, students miss out on a lot when they aren’t at school. Academically, socially, emotionally… there are so many benefits to regular school attendance. I am looking forward to handing out these awards next term, and I will be keen to see who is still eligible for our big end of Year award for perfect attendance in 2025.

Our star State Cup boy soccer team has had their latest match of the knockout tournament, travelling out to Emu Plains to take on Leonay Public School. In a high-quality game, both sides did a wonderful job and the result could have gone either way. The final score was 3-3, but state knockout rules dictate that the team that progresses through to the next round is the one who conceded less corners. Under those rules, the boys were knocked out of the tournament. While the children were understandably disappointed, I have chosen to take a more positive outlook. Not only did they do a wonderful job to make it this far into the competition, they are also one of the only teams who will finish the tournament undefeated. In a knockout competition, not many sides can say that they didn’t lose a match! I would like to congratulate all the boys for the way that they played the game, their behaviour off the field and the way that they worked together. While the result wasn’t what we wanted, they should be proud of making it this far. A huge thankyou to our very own Ted Lasso, Mr Nick Starr, who did a wonderful job preparing the team for this competition.

Also in the past fortnight, our award-winning band travelled to Rouse Hill for the GWS Festival for Bands. I have the distinct privilege of hearing our bands rehearse throughout the week and I am not at all surprised to hear that they continue to have success in their various performances. The students do a wonderful job of preparing for the events and, under the expert tuition of their bandmasters, they really are of an incredible standard. In talking with the students following the event, they all described their excitement at being able to represent the school at an event like this, with one saying that they didn’t even mind having to go to school on a Sunday! For me personally, I just love to see students embracing their musical passions and growing and improving with their chosen instrument. Well done to all in attendance!

Parents of students in 6C received communication earlier in the week that Mrs Colless will be taking leave for the remainder of the year. Miss Kristen Marshall and Mrs Lisa Woods will assume the teaching responsibilities of 6C, and I know that the class is in excellent hands. I wish Mrs Colless the very best for her leave and I look forward to seeing her return to commence 2026 (which will be here before we know it!).

Early next term there are a range of events for parents to be aware of. Teachers return on Monday 21^st July, with students starting the next day, Tuesday 22^nd. Our 3-6 Athletics Carnival is being held in Week 2 (Wednesday 30^th July) and all parents are welcome to attend and support the children. Our kindergarten students will celebrate 100 days of Kindy the following day (Thursday 31^st July), while the K-2 athletics carnival is on the Friday (1^st August). Again, we would love for parents to come along to the K-2 carnival and cheer on the students! Week 3 is Education Week, with performing art’s groups showcasing their talents on Monday 4^th August, while all parents will be invited in for open classrooms on Thursday 7^th August. Then in Week 4 our Year 6’s head off to Canberra for their last camp at KLPS.

But before any of that happens, I want to wish you all a wonderful school holiday break. I hope that you are all able to enjoy time together and I look forward to hearing all about your children’s adventures when I see them back next term.

Congratulations to the following students on earning their PBL Award. Well done!

There is something for everyone in Blacktown City these school holidays!

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