Kapinara Newsletter – December

Important Dates 2026

Upcoming Events 2025

4 December	End of Year Concert – 5pm
8th December – 17th December	Year 5 Swimming, Cottesloe Beach
12 December	P&C Colour Run – 2pm
16 December	Year 6 Graduation – 9.15am
18 December	Students Last day of school

Principal Message

Dear Kapinara families

As we come to the end of the 2025 school year, I would like to thank every student, staff member and family for the important part you have played in another busy, rewarding and very full Kapinara year. Our values of Kindness, Consideration and Service for Others have been lived out daily, in classrooms, in the playground and through the many ways our community supports one another.

End-of-Year Family Picnic & Concert

We are very much looking forward to seeing you at our End-of-Year Family Picnic today, Thursday 4 December.

Families are invited to arrive from 4:45pm to set up picnic rugs.

• Our concert will begin at 5:00pm, with students remaining with their families throughout the evening.
• The Kapinara Orchestra will open the night, followed by items from each year level, who will be providing our “picnic entertainment” for the evening.

Thank you in advance for your support in ensuring students are on time and ready to perform, and for helping us maintain the relaxed, family-friendly feel that makes this such a special community event.

Colour Run – Thank You!

A huge thank you to our P&C Colour Run committee, staff and families for the energy and enthusiasm you have brought to this event.

• We are incredibly grateful to every family who has signed up, donated, or encouraged others to join in.
• Funds raised will directly benefit our students every day.
• Please join us for all the fun at 1.45pm Friday 12 December.

Our P&C look forward to sharing final fundraising totals and photos with you once all donations are processed. Your generosity makes a tangible difference to what we can offer our students.

Highlights of 2025

This year has been rich with learning, leadership and community connection. Just a few of the many highlights include:

• Deep, focused learning across the school, including the continued rollout of PRIME Maths in 2026 and our focus on high-quality teaching in literacy and numeracy.
• Student voice and leadership, with our student leaders, Faction Captains and class representatives actively shaping assemblies, events and school improvement ideas.
• Wellbeing and Positive Behaviour Support, further embedding our values and recognition systems across all year levels.
• Continued work on our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) and culturally responsive practice, including projects foregrounding Noongar language and perspectives.
• Strong partnerships with our P&C and School Board, supporting tangible improvements in facilities, technology and learning resources.

Thank you for the many ways you have supported excursions, carnivals, fundraising events, class activities and special projects throughout the year.

Farewell to Our Year 6 Students

To our Year 6 students and families, thank you for the contribution you have made to Kapinara over many years.

We are proud of the leaders you have become and the way you have embodied our school values. As you move into secondary school, remember that you will always be part of the Kapinara story. We wish you every success and happiness in the years ahead.

Staffing and 2026 Planning

We are pleased to confirm some of the staffing updates for 2026, and we look forward to sharing full class and teacher information with families on 29 January.

I appreciate that class placement is something families and students think about a great deal. As always, placements are made with careful consideration of each child’s academic, social and emotional needs, as well as the overall balance of each class. Thank you for your trust in our professional judgement and processes, which is outlined in the Board-endorsed class placement policy available on our website.

Next year we are delighted to be welcoming the following staff to Kapinara Primary School:

• Danielle Canfora- Kindy
• Siobhan Doherty-Forman- Art
• Larisha Sajhwani- Upper Primary

Each brings strong experience, enthusiasm and a commitment to high-quality teaching and learning, and we are excited for the contributions they will make to our school community.

We also extend our sincere thanks and warm farewell to several staff who will be moving on to new opportunities in 2026: Mikayla Marsh, Amelia Davies, Abi Fenwick, Nick Bell and Yuki Murooka

We are grateful for the dedication, professionalism and care each has shown during their time at Kapinara, and we wish them every success in their future endeavours.

Community Opportunities – Expressions of Interest Welcome

As we begin preparations for the 2026 school year, we are inviting expressions of interest from parents and community members who would like to be involved in two exciting initiatives that strengthen our connection with the wider community and deepen our shared understanding of school. programs.

PRIME Maths Professional Learning Day – Friday 30 January

We warmly welcome interested parents and community members to nominate to join our staff for a full-day professional learning session on PRIME Maths, our whole-school mathematics program.

Details:

• Date: Friday 30 January
• Time: 8:45am – 3:00pm
• Who: Staff and interested community members

This session will explore the structure of PRIME Maths, the language and strategies used across year levels, and enhancing mathematical problem-solving and reasoning. To express your interest in attending please RSVP

Kapinara in the Cambridge Christmas Lights Trail

We are also delighted to share that Kapinara Primary School will feature in this year’s City of Cambridge Christmas Lights Trail. Our festive snowman- named “Twinkle” by popular choice in our whole-school naming competition, will be proudly displayed as part of the trail throughout the holiday season.

Congratulations to Indy Cannon, whose creative and cheerful name was selected as the winner. We encourage all families to visit the trail and enjoy this special representation of our school within the local community.

Warm regards

Natalie Oddy
Principal

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Kapinara School Values in Action

Acts of Service Across the Grades

Our students have been putting service for others into action! The Year 2s have been exploring and presenting on various transportation options, sharing their knowledge with the school community. Meanwhile, the Year 5s have been creating and gifting Christmas stories for their Year 2 buddies, spreading joy and kindness through their thoughtful efforts.

St Vinnies Appeal

Living out our school value of Acts of Service, our school community united to donate a wide range of goods for the upcoming St Vincent appeal. Thanks to the generosity of our families and students, many households in need will receive valuable support during this time.

Perth Wildcats Basketball Clinic

A group of Kapinara students recently attended a basketball clinic hosted by the Perth Wildcats. On the court, they showed kindness by encouraging one another, supporting their peers, and celebrating everyone’s achievements. It was a fantastic afternoon of learning, teamwork, and having fun—demonstrating that kindness is at the heart of everything we do at Kapinara.

Shachelle Shines at the Ashes Opening Ceremony

Shachelle embodied the Kapinara values through acts of service, performing at the Ashes Opening Ceremony and previously with the Qantas Choir at an international cricket match, both at Optus Stadium. This remarkable milestone highlights her talent, dedication, and commitment.

News & Updates

Kapinara Book Fair

Thank you to everyone who helped make this year’s Book Fair a success. Although the total was slightly lower than last year, it was still a wonderful result and has enabled us to add 71 new books to our library—something our students will be very excited about!

Thank you to the Kapinara community for your ongoing support, and to those who donated books. Special thanks to our library officer, Mrs Moore and team, and to our fantastic volunteers: Fee Wong, Kym and Tessa Szedzicki, Fiona Ryan, Louise Miller, Heidi Adams, Rhonda Parker, and EAs Julie and Chez.

Dr Penny Flett AO remembered with musical legacy gifted to Kapinara Primary School

In a final tribute to her love of music, Peter Flett has donated his late wife Dr Penny Flett’s treasured musical instruments to Kapinara Primary School. The gift will support the school’s music program and continue her legacy of nurturing young people.

Dr Penny Flett AO, one of Australia’s most influential aged-care reformers. A former WA Australian of the Year and an Officer of the Order of Australia, Flett transformed Perth’s Homes of Peace into the Brightwater Care Group and led major advances in disability and brain-injury rehabilitation.

Flett, one of the first women doctors to serve in the RAAF after WWII, went on to shape national aged-care standards and held prominent roles across health, business and education.

2026 Personal Requirements Lists Are Now Live

It’s that time of year! Prepare for 2026 by viewing your student’s Personal Requirements List – Kapinara Primary School 2026 Personal Requirements Lists – Kapinara Primary School.

Home Delivery: Order by 12 December 2025 for home delivery ($8.00).

How to order: Go to www.campion.com.au

Search for Kapinara Primary School

Enter your student’s name and Resource List Code: J9B9

2026 Voluntary Contributions

The Kapinara Primary School Board has approved the 2026 Voluntary Contributions schedule. The schedule outlines maximum costs for the year. For more information, please contact the school office. We thank you for your support in 2025 and look forward to partnering with you in 2026.

Churchlands SHS – Academic Extension Program – Calling for Applications

Help Keep Our School Grounds Safe Over the Vacation Period

As we head into the vacation period, we’re asking our school community to help keep an eye on the grounds. Unfortunately, break times can sometimes lead to an increase in vandalism and other unwanted activity.

If you notice anything suspicious around the school whether it’s unusual behaviour, damage, or people on site who shouldn’t be there please report it immediately to School Watch –   1800 177 777 or the Police on 13 14 44.

Your vigilance helps protect our facilities and ensures a safe, welcoming environment for everyone when we return. Thank you for your support.

Thankyou to Vangelis and Excellence Property Specialists

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Vangelis and Excellence Property Specialists for kindly supporting this evening’s event. Their generosity in providing this year’s audio equipment has ensured the success of tonight’s event. Thank you so much, Vangelis

News from our P&C

Save The Date – 2026 Sundowner

As the 2025 school year comes to an end, the P&C are busy planning for the first event of each year.

You won’t want to miss it! More details to be announced in the new year. If you’d like a hand in the planning, please reach out via our social pages!

Here’s a snippet of what you may have missed at the last P&C Meeting for 2025 . As we begin to sign off for the year, a huge thank you to those active members of Kapinara’s P&C including the parents and carers who help with multiple events during the year!
Without you, none of what we do is possible. If you’re considering joining the P&C for 2026, we would love to see you at our first meeting in Week 3 and our AGM in Week 7 of Term 1.  Remember, anyone can come to a meeting, at any point during the year

Chaplains Chat

Three Es parenting approach

One of my standouts for this year has been completing professional development on Dr Justin Coulson’s Three Es Parenting Approach. It was insightful to hear him explain how approaches to parenting had progressed to incorporate children’s autonomy and support them to internalise values rather than focussing on obeying rules. 

Although you will have your own well-established strategies, and may be familiar with autonomy-supportive (a.k.a collaborative parenting) hopefully the summary below can offer a take away or a reminder of something valuable that you may wish to try ?during the holidays. 

Dr Justin Coulson’s Three E Parenting Approach – Explain, Explore, Empower – offers a positive, relationship-centred framework for guiding children’s behaviour.

Explain means clearly outlining expectations and the reasons behind them. Instead of issuing commands, parents communicate the why — for example, “We speak kindly so everyone feels safe and respected.” This builds understanding and fairness.

Explore involves investigating what’s happening beneath a child’s behaviour. Parents listen, ask gentle questions, and help children identify emotions or triggers: “You seemed upset when your brother took the toy — what were you feeling?” This stage fosters empathy, emotional awareness, and problem-solving.

Empower encourages children to take part in finding solutions. Parents might ask, “What could we try next time?” or “How can you fix this?” Giving children a voice promotes autonomy, responsibility, and confidence.

For parents of primary-school-aged children, the Three E’s are especially effective because they match the child’s developmental needs. Children in this stage are beginning to think independently, understand others’ perspectives, and seek more control over their world. The Explain stage gives them clarity and fairness; Explore builds emotional literacy; and Empower nurtures independence and motivation.

The key strength of this approach lies in maintaining connection while setting firm limits. Rather than using punishment or control, children’s behaviour is guided through empathy and collaboration. This supports a strong parent-child bond and helps children internalise values rather than simply obeying rules.

By focusing on understanding and shared problem-solving, children are taught how to make better choices, not just what to do. Over time, this promotes intrinsic motivation, cooperation, and self-regulation — essential skills for success at school and in relationships. The Three E’s thus offer parents a practical, compassionate, and empowering way to raise capable, confident, and caring children.

If you would like more detail of the underpinning principles of this parenting approach, Justin speaks about it here.

Happy parenting and kind regards,

Paul Stokes

Chaplain