Kingswood College Newsletter

Strategic Plan Night

Kingswood College Parents, Staff and Council Members.

Dear friends,

On Thursday 13 November, nearly 40 people responded to the open invitation to discuss the Kingswood College Strategic Plan 2015 - 2020. After the Principal, Elisabeth Lenders, and I set the scene by talking about what had been accomplished through previous Strategic Plans and what we were hoping for in this Strategic Plan, the participants divided into groups for discussion. Extensive notes were made.

Much of the discussion centred on the strengths of Kingswood College. People spoke of it as a small school in which every individual has a place, the pastoral care, the small class sizes, and the sense of community. Some spoke of the improvement in students achieving their academic and personal potential, others focussed on the way Kingswood College nurtures those who are finding life challenging.

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Message from the Principal

Students (and some staff too!) are counting down the sleeps until the finish of the school year! When we return we will be in 125 Celebration mode – our 125th birthday is on 4 February, and everyone in our community is invited to join the celebrations at our Welcome to Country Ceremony, which will include a birthday section! This launches a year of special activities to recognise our long and fascinating history. Just at the moment, though, our focus is on completing 2014!
 

The third of our ‘graduation’ celebrations (following our Year 12 Valedictory Dinner and Year 10 Graduation Dinner) took place last week when we congratulated our Year 6 students (and their families and teachers!) on their journey through Junior School. Brimacombe Hall was abuzz with energy and a sense of having reached a significant moment for each young person.

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Reminder - Resources

The Student Resources (Booklists) for Prep – Year 12 are available on Kingsnet for ordering.  Click here to order.

Your Parents and Friends Association

As we move to the last few days of the school year I am pleased to announce that this week the PFA passed a motion to install new electronic basketball rings and backboards in the refurbished gymnasium at a cost of up to $20,000.  Thank you to our hardworking volunteers whose efforts over the past two years have made this happen.  Thanks also to everyone who supports our fundraising by helping out and/or by participating in events.

Please read our full article for details of our second hand uniform sale and events scheduled for early next year.

To wrap up our fundraising efforts for the year, I would like to thank Tish Delmenico and her team of helpers for organising our last couple of events in the Junior School.  By all accounts our Junior School students had fun at our inaugural movie afternoon that was held on 7 November and our used book and DVD sale on 11 and 12 November was a huge success.  Tish was also instrumental in organising souvenir tea towels in the Junior School that no doubt will be appearing in many Christmas stockings this year.

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Year 4 ice cream fundraiser

On Thursday 27 November Year 4 were selling ice creams at recess and lunch.  Year 4 have been working on a unit of inquiry, children worldwide encounter risks, challenges and opportunities. We decided to sell ice creams for a charity called Vine Support Network Inc.

Vine Support Network is a charity that helps families in Africa.  Mary, President of Vine Support Network, came in to speak to Year 4 a few days before we sold the ice creams. Mary was very happy with the amount of money we raised. Year 4 raised $154.10 from selling ice cream. Thank you for all the donations. Mary said to say ‘thank you’ to the Year 4 class and everyone in Junior School. The money raised will help children go to school and buy uniforms.

Lily Ironside
Year 4

News from the Junior School

Staff Announcements 2015
On Tuesday 2 December, students in Prep – Year 5 participated in Step Up morning, visiting their teacher for 2015 in order to learn about what to expect next year. Junior School teachers will remain in their current positions next year with the exception of our two Year 6 teachers. For family reasons, Jason Flanagan and Ruth Webster will both be moving on to other opportunities in the new year. Jason will take up a PE teacher position at Good Shepherd Lutheran Primary School whilst Ruth has accepted a position to teach Year 3-4 at Tallangatta Primary School. I would like to wish both Jason and Ruth the very best in their next positions and thank them for their valuable contribution at Kingswood College. An announcement on our Year 6 teacher for 2015 will be made very soon. In the ELC for 2015 Alan Milsted and Wendy Corser will be team teaching in the Pre Prep class with Philomena McCormack as the Co-educator.

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Kids Teaching Kids

On Wednesday 25 November, 11 Year 6 students went to the Blackburn Lake Sanctuary to teach other kids of the same age about a topic that they researched. They were participating in a program called 'Kids Teaching Kids'. The topic of the workshops was 'environmental problems', and these ranged from waterways to poaching, from extinction to sugar gliders.

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Mission to Mars

This semester the SEEK Science students have been investigating space travel and Mars. Last Week, fourteen of our Year 7 and 8 students travelled to the Victorian Space Science Education Centre (VSSEC) to participate in the hands on Mission to Mars program.

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VCE Art transition 2015

As part of the Transition Program, the 2015 VCE Art students ventured into the city to visit the National Gallery of Victoria. The day included tours of the contemporary collection as well as an afternoon participating in art activities in the Royal Botanic Gardens.

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EISM Interschool sports wrap 2014

The 2014 EISM interschool competitions contained many highlights.  The following is a short summary of another solid year of performances by Kingswood College.

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Careers News

Attention Year 12 families:  Careers Counsellor, Julie Glanvill, will be available for counselling following the release of the VCE results on Monday 15 December.   Julie will be available from 15-17 December between 8.30am - 4.30pm.  Please feel free to contact Julie on 9896 1782 or via email to make an appointment.  A reminder to students also that all tertiary institutions will be running Change of Preference activities during the week commencing 15 December.  Students can also contact institutions to make an individual appointment.  The Change of Preference details for all tertiary institutions are included in the final Year 12 Information Pack which was emailed to the students earlier in Term 4.  This document can also be accessed via the careers website.

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Box Hill Whitehorse Hockey Club

Come and try day

Sunday 7 December and Sunday 14 December 2014

10.00am – 12.00pm

Please click here for more information.

Blackburn Girls’ Footy

If you are interested in playing girls’ footy in 2015.

Please click here for more information.