Kingswood College Newsletter

News from the Principal

Kingsnet is a growing source of information for all areas of the College, and will now be the place to find out what’s happening at Kingswood College. A new page has been setup to assist you with end of year important dates and relevant information for 2014. The new button Welcome 2014 can be used in conjunction with myKingswood and myAdministration to obtain further information..

Elisabeth Lenders
Principal
 

Fees in advance

Parents may elect to pay fees annually in advance and receive a 3.5% discount off the Total Annual Fees.

Payment must be received by the College no later than Monday 9 December 2013 5.00pm to be eligible for this discount.

For further details please contact Anne Salamouras in the Business Office.

Lee Perry
Business Manager

Mindfulness

Every Wednesday the Junior School students are involved in a Buddy Program. Each term we have a different focus. The focus for Term 4 is Mindfulness. The children have participated in Mindfulness sessions with the teachers and on Thursday 24 October 2013 some Junior School families attended the Mindfulness session organised by the PFA. These sessions were run by Janet Etty- Leal who is the author of ‘Meditation Capsules’.  Ask your children about some of the mindfulness techniques that they have been introduced to and then you could ask yourself if you are finding time everyday to be mindful?

Catherine McLean
Coordinator of Educational Support and Well Being

Jack Furey Year 8 Invited to sail in the National Championships

Jack Furey was invited to sail in the recent 2013 National Championship regatta for the International SB20 Class yachts, sponsored by Brighton BMW. The SB20 yachts are 20ft long keelboats crewed by 3 or 4 persons and are a one-design class where every boat is identical. Hull colours and sail colours may vary but the crew weight cannot exceed 270 kilograms. This results in very close racing with tactics and strategy just as important as fast sailing. The SB20s have a large sail area and can be quite a handful in strong winds so all the crew need to know what they are doing and they all contribute to the performance of the yachts. 

On Thursday afternoon while I was driving out to Kingswood College to pick up Jack, I received a call from Stephen Fries who used to coach Jack as a junior when he was just starting out in competitive sailing at the age of seven. Stephen was putting a crew together for the regatta and because he always sails with his 21 year old daughter, needed a fourth light weight crew member to fill a 42 kilogram weight requirement.

Many of the boats sail with just three larger crew making up the allowable 270 kilograms crew weight. Stephen has kept an eye on Jacks’ sailing career since those early days and knew of his skills and enthusiasm. Fortunately he was light enough to bridge the weight gap and so the crew was finally formed on Thursday evening at the BMW sponsored Regatta Opening function at Sandringham Yacht Club, which Jack attended in his Kingswood College sports uniform.

They did not actually sail together until Friday morning, just an hour before the first race. They finished tenth (of 14) in that first race but then it all came together and they sailed very well to score 5th, 4th and 2nd to end that very windy first day in 4th place overall, far exceeding their own expectations.

Saturday, the second day, saw moderate strength but shifty winds and trickier sailing; their results were a consistent 4th, 7th 8th and 6th in the days four races which saw them move down to 5th overall, still a commendable position in such a high quality fleet.

Sunday was to be their downfall with very light and unpredictable (in terms of direction) winds. They did not come to grips with the variable lighter breezes finishing 11th, 13th, 11th and then finding their form again to finish off the regatta with a good 5th. Their aggregate results saw them finish mid fleet in 7th position but still quite pleased with their efforts after 12 hard fought races.

The winning skipper was Ian Brown who is a former Olympic Bronze medallist sailor and there were a number of other World, State and National sailing champions in the fleet so Jack was indeed fortunate to find himself sailing in such illustrious company. Jack embraced the opportunity, learned lots more about competitive sailing and thoroughly enjoyed his experience. The name of the SB20 he was sailing on is ‘WYSIWYG’ otherwise known as What You See Is What You Get!

At the final presentation ceremony on Sunday afternoon they handed out accolades and trophies to the winners. Jack received a much appreciated large bag of mixed confectionery!

Melinda Blake
Year 8 Coordinator

Junior School News

November continues to be a busy time in the Junior School. Students are now in the midst of their unit of inquiry and it has been great to hear them talk about their central ideas, key concepts and lines of inquiry. Hearing students use the language of the IB Learner Profile has also been very encouraging.

New Parent Evening
On Thursday 31 October I had the pleasure of welcoming approximately 40 new parents to Kingswood College at our information evening. It was wonderful to see such a strong turnout with many new parents keen to hear all about what takes place in the Early Learning Centre and Prep, in particular. We also had a number of new parents whose children will be in Years 1 – 6 next year. I am sure you will join with me in welcoming our new families to the College.

Orientation Programs
There has been a hive of activity in the ELC and Prep classrooms over the past week or so as our 2014 ELC and Prep students have experienced their orientation days. Our Year 6 students moving to Year 7 in 2014 will have their orientation day on Monday 18 November. There is also a Year 7 (2014) Parent Information Evening on Wednesday 13 November.

Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge
Earlier in the year Kingswood College students participated in the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge. This year The Age has published the 2013 Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge Honour Roll online.  Students who completed the challenge will be able to view a personalised video, as well as download a personalised front page of The Age as a celebration of this year’s Challenge. Please click here to access the online Honour Roll. Congratulatory messages from Challenge ambassadors and messages from former Premiers will also be available on the Challenge website.

Melbourne Fire Brigade
Friday 8 November saw the first of two visits from the Melbourne Fire Brigade (MFB) to our Prep students. Students learnt about the importance of fire safety and what to do in an emergency. The second visit will focus on how firemen put out fires and students will use the fire hose on the oval.

Swimming
Our Junior School students have completed three days of their swimming program now. Thank you to those parents who have joined us at the Doug Ellis pool over these past few days to support the students. The students are quite tired by the end of the day due to all of the extra energy they are exerting each day. As a result please consider sending along some extra high energy snacks and lots of water.

Speech Soiree
Please be reminded that there is a Speech/Drama Soiree in the learning lounge on Thursday 21 November at 7.00pm. Students will be performing storytelling, short plays and poetry on the night.  If you plan on attending, please return the reply slip to Kathryn Nelson as soon as possible. 

Further Thinking
Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend my first Victorian PYP Network meeting at Mentone Girls Grammar. It was wonderful to connect with other IBPYP Heads of School and Coordinators as we discussed a number of PYP related topics. The IBPYP Victorian Network is the largest and strongest network in all of IB Asia Pacific region (IBAP) representing 51 PYP schools. I look forward to working closely with this important network group in the future as we move along our PYP journey. One of the many strengths of the IB is the willingness of other schools to support each other. We have certainly received great support to date and I am looking forward to sharing our experiences with other Heads of School who are just beginning their school’s PYP journey.

Aaron Loats
Head of Junior School

SEEK

During SEEK classes, the students in Year 3 and Year 4 have been participating in Philosophy classes.

This is an opportunity to wonder about and discuss the bigger questions in life and about the universe whilst allowing the students to reflect on their own place in it.

Philosophy builds critical and creative thinking skills. It assists students to make well-reasoned arguments and to think about things in a logical and fair manner.

We often link philosophy activities with literature as a basis to discuss various virtues such as wisdom and bravery. It also incorporates our Primary Years Programme method of inquiry as it encourages students to pose questions.

If you have further interest in this topic, you may like to look at a TED talk by visiting TEDxOverlake Dr Sara Goering Ted Talk on Philosophy for kids: Sparking a love of learning. Click here to view.

Donna Rady
Assistant Head of the Junior School and PYP Coordinator

Your Parents and Friends Association

Your Parents and Friends Association 
The last meeting of the PFA was held on 29 October 2013.  Aaron Loats spoke and we enjoyed hearing stories of his early life, his teaching career and the time he spent in Dubai before coming to Kingswood College.  We thank him for the time and effort he put into preparing and delivering his presentation.
Our next meeting is the PFA Volunteers ‘Thank You’ Function on Tuesday 3 December 2013.  We will hold a brief meeting before the function and finalise any outstanding items for the year or early Term 1 in 2014.

World Teachers Day
The PFA hosted a morning tea on Friday 25 October to celebrate World Teachers Day to thank our teachers for the great work they do.  The feedback was extremely positive and so many teachers expressed their gratitude as they left the Cato Centre.  Thank you to the many parents who contributed to the effort by supplying food and special thanks to Stuart and Susan Castle for manning the coffee machines.  Teachers were particularly pleased with the added bonus of real coffee.

Mindfulness Connections Presentation
The Mindfulness workshops on Thursday 24 October with Janet Etty-Leal went well.  Two sessions were held – one each for Junior School and Middle School.  Parents indicated that they enjoyed the session and plans are underway for additional workshops in 2014.  Contact  Annette Subhani by email asubhani@bigpond.net.au  or 0418 320 138 should you require further information. 

Blue Illusion Fashion Parade – Saturday 7 December
The Blue Illusion store at Camberwell has offered to host a fashion parade on Saturday 7 December from 1.00pm – 3.00pm as a fundraiser for the College.  More details will follow shortly but for now you might like to save the date in your diary. 

Christmas Puddings
The PFA are again offering delicious puddings from Grandma’s Puddings who offer a range of Christmas Puddings made on the Mornington Peninsula from local and Australian ingredients, and include a Gluten Free option if desired. The puddings come in 4 sizes that would accommodate the smallest gift up to the Grand Finale of your Christmas Day feast. All are hermetically sealed, free of any artificial additions and come superbly presented in cloth and ribbon.  Orders must be at the College by 18 November (and will be distributed to your child in the week beginning Monday 2 December), so please click here for the order form November/December Meeting.

Our final PFA meeting for the year will be held on 3 December beginning at 7.00pm.  This meeting will be brief and will be followed by the PFA 2013 Volunteer ‘Thank You’ Function.  Come along to our last meeting for 2013 and help finalise our plans for events that have been scheduled early in the next year. 

Alana Hollenberg PFA President
Tracey Seignior PFA Communications Officer

You have helped kids in Kenya so far!

Thanks for not throwing out your old yellow and blue sport uniforms - they will go to a good home!

The opportunity to support a school in Kenya through our connection with Survival Opportunity Skills Kenya (SOSK) has been wonderfully received by everyone who has donated so far.  Thank you for your support; the collection boxes are still available in the uniform shop, Junior School office, Senior School office and Admin reception. 

To continue to make a big difference for others we are looking for anyone from the College that may be able to assist with shipping the donated uniform pieces to Kenya for distribution.

Please contact me if you require any further information about this program or can assist with shipping the items to Kenya.

Maddy Lerk (Year 6)
Junior School Captain
lerk.m@kingswoodcollege.vic.edu.au

Kingswood College Parents Prayer Group

The next monthly Parent’s Prayer Group will be held on Tuesday 19 November 2013 at 8.30am –10.00am in the Meeting Room in the Administration Building. This is an opportunity for any interested parents to join us to pray for our Students, Teachers and for ongoing needs within our School Community.

The meetings are informal and anyone from the Kingswood College Community is very welcome. 

The final Prayer Meeting for the year will be on Tuesday 3 December at 8.30am in the Administration Building.

We would love to hear from anyone who is interested in attending the Prayer Group who has not previously been available.  Please contact Ruth or Lyn to let us know of possible times that would suit.

If you would like more information or would like to pass on any prayer needs please contact:

Ruth Hook (David Year 8)   Telephone 0430 289 344   hooky1@optusnet.com.au
Lyn Gray (Luke Year 8)       Telephone 0424 001 933   lyncgray@bigpond.com