Our School
Principal’s Message
On behalf of Keilor Heights Primary School, it is my pleasure to welcome you to our school. Keilor Heights Primary School, (KHPS) is located in the North-Western suburb of Keilor East, in the municipality of Moonee Valley, approximately 16km from Melbourne’s CBD. It is situated within a quiet residential area on an attractive tree lined site of approximately two hectares. The school has high quality facilities, including a library, multi-purpose inquiry centre, gymnasium, two full sized, lit netball courts, amphitheatre, working gardens and newly upgraded oval including a synthetic surface, athletics track, soccer and football goals.
Keilor Heights Primary School’s vision is to create a happy, safe and supportive learning environment for all students which will inspire them to challenge and achieve their personal best. We focus on the ‘whole child’, which includes academic, social and emotional development of every student, with a focus on developing critical thinkers and life-long learners. At KHPS, we focus on building high self-esteem and a culture of high expectations for all learners. We believe that all children can learn, and we strive to foster in each child a desire to achieve their personal best, which is reflected our school motto of ‘Aiming for Excellence’.
As Principal of Keilor Heights Primary School, I am proud of the programs that we deliver at our school and the strong partnerships we share with our families to ensure the best opportunities and outcomes for our students. We strongly encourage and value community input and student voice which drives future planning and continual growth and improvement. We believe wellbeing and relationships underpin the success and achievements of our students. We are a School Wide Positive Behaviour school which means we explicitly teach students how to…and re-enforce positive behaviours through praise and a reward system when they demonstrate positive behaviours and our school values of Aspire, Respect, Responsibility and Resilience.
We provide specialist programs for Visual and Performing Arts, Physical Education and Italian. We show that we value Literacy by having a Librarian who maintains and updates our extensive library which enables all classrooms to have their own personal libraries. We prioritise our students’ academic, personal and emotional growth by having a dedicated Wellbeing and Inclusion teacher and Learning Specialist teacher who work with students and teachers across to the school, providing additional support in these areas. We pride ourselves by offering a range of opportunities for students to engage in such as gardening, cooking, Coding, STEM, Choir and camping programs. We cater for all of our students by having an embedded ‘Support and Extension Program’, which is supported by our dedicated Educational Support Staff.
To ensure the development of our school vision, it is imperative that along with developing high-level literacy and numeracy skills, KHPS will also develop students’ skills and confidence in the use of digital tools and technologies. Education has changed dramatically over the last decade and the availability and effective use of digital technologies in schools and beyond is fundamental. Secondary schools expect students to have developed a strong foundation in Literacy and Numeracy as well as the use of Digital Technologies and tools. The 21st century skill set and confidence our students have already been developing will be used and extended by our students participating in the BYO iPad Program.
I would like to invite you to make a time to meet with me and find out more about our school and how we can work together to provide the best opportunities for your child to succeed.
Victoria Graham
Principal
School Profile
Keilor Heights Primary School is located in the north-western suburb of East Keilor, in the municipality of Moonee Valley, approximately 16km from Melbourne’s CBD. It is situated within a quiet residential area on an attractive treed site of approximately two hectares. The school has high quality facilities, including a library, multi-purpose inquiry centre, a dedicated performing arts room, teacher resource room, gymnasium, two full sized netball courts with lights, a canteen and renovated classrooms. The grounds are attractive and include an outdoor amphitheatre, sensory garden, landscaping, student-produced artworks and garden sculptures. The school is currently undertaking extensive works to upgrade the oval with a complete synthetic surface and athletics track and will be able to accommodate football and soccer.
The vision of Keilor Heights Primary School (KHPS) is to create a happy, safe and supportive learning environment for all students which will inspire them to challenge and achieve their personal best. We are a School Wide Positive Behaviour School (SWPBS) and focus on the ‘whole child’, which includes the academic, social and emotional development of every student, with a focus on developing critical thinkers and lifelong learners. This mantra drives the school improvement agenda. The school motto of ‘Aiming for Excellence’ guides the daily interaction and ensures that there is a strong partnership between home, school and the local community.
Keilor Heights Primary School is a zoned and therefore enrolments are from within our catchment area, with a current enrolment of 406 students. We pride ourselves for our inclusiveness and acknowledge and celebrate the diverse cultural backgrounds of our students and families.
The school leadership team consists of a Principal and Assistant Principal, who work with the School Improvement Team, (two Learning Specialists and Year Level Leaders), driving Curriculum, Student Wellbeing and school priorities across the school.
The school structure is a combination of Straight Year Levels and Multi-Age classes to support the social and academic needs of our students, promoting student leadership, responsibility and collaboration. The specialist program includes Visual Arts, Physical Education and Italian (LOTE) this will be extended to include Performing Arts in 2022. The school also provides a large number of support and intervention programs for academic and social and emotional growth, supported by Education Support Staff, School Chaplain and Speech Therapist. Students have the opportunity to participate in Instrumental Music Tutoring provided by external providers. Keilor Heights Primary School has an extensive sporting program including Inter-School Sports for our senior students. All students also have the opportunity to be involved with House Athletics, Swimming, School Choir, Clubs/Interest Groups, Student Representative Council, Student Leadership, camps and excursions.
There is a strong focus of incorporating technology into the classroom to enhance learning, with students from Foundation – 2 utilising school owned devices and the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program implemented in Years 3 – 6.
The school is fortunate enough to have forged strong community relationships, being heavily supported by an active Parents and Friends Association, School Council and Buildings and Grounds Committee. These committees have taken a leading role in the development of the school’s external environment, through the development of the old canteen and renovating it to a high quality Out of School Hours Facility, the organisation of working bees, applying and successfully obtaining grants to undergo larger projects such as the new hall, netball courts and oval re-development.
Vision & Mission Statement
Our Mission Statement
At Keilor Heights Primary School, we aim to create a happy, safe and supportive environment for all students which will inspire and challenge them to achieve their personal best. We focus on the ‘whole child’ which includes the academic, social and emotional development of every student, with a focus on developing critical thinkers and lifelong learners. This mantra drives the school improvement agenda. The school motto of “Aiming for Excellence” guides the daily interaction and ensures there is a partnership between home, school and the local community.
Values
Staff
Victoria Graham
Principal
Benjamin Pickett
Assistant Principal
Office Staff
Tania Legate
Business Manager
Kelly Stewart
Office Administration
Foundation/Year 1 Team
Chris Borysiewicz
F1B
Chris Caruana
F1C
Delia Di Sipio
F1D
Belinda Taylor
F1T
Year 2 Team
Melissa Papal
2P
Brad Scott
2S
Renee Chapman
2S
Year 3/4 Team
Ryan Lynch
34L (B)
Marla Fistel
34F (C)
Donna McDowall
34M
Alicia Murphy
34M
Lisa Clare
34P
Andrew Kozak
34P
Sandra Robinson
34R
Year 5/6 Team
Melissa Cowling
56C
Michael Taylor
56T (J)
David Knudsen
56K
Pat Pozenel
56P
Rosie Valentine
56V
Specialist Team
Lisa Clare
Wellbeing
Chris Matton
Physical Education
Rachel Taylor
Italian
Christine Carroll
Tutor
Robyn Scott
Visual Arts/Performing Arts
Education Support Team
Carmel Arezzolo
Dolores Whitmore
Trudy Thomas
Ferial Singleton
Andrew Wintrip
Suzanne Maddock
Madi Brinsmead
Jasmine Arezzolo
Policies
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