Home/School Connection

Hi Families,

Welcome to 2026! I have loved re-connecting with our students over the last few days. It sounds like many families took the time over the break to rest, re-charge, and are ready for the 2026 school year.

This fortnight, I wanted to take the opportunity to share the importance of the home/school connection. Building a strong, trusting relationship with your child’s classroom teacher plays an important role in supporting both their academic progress and overall wellbeing. When families and teachers work together as a team, it creates a consistent and supportive environment where students feel understood, confident, and ready to learn. Open communication helps teachers better understand each child’s strengths, interests, needs, and learning style, while also giving families valuable insight into their child’s school experience.

I strongly encourage all families to take opportunities to connect with teachers early in the year. Events such as Family Open Night (Thursday 11th February) are a wonderful chance to visit classroom spaces, meet teachers, and begin building those connections in person.

If you’re unable to attend events, there are many other ways to reach out. A quick hello at school, a message via Sentral, a note in your child’s diary, or an email can all be great starting points. These small interactions help establish open lines of communication and make it easier to work together if questions or concerns arise later on. The responsibility for this communication sits with both parents and classroom teachers.

Making the effort to connect early helps set the foundation for a positive and collaborative year. Our staff truly value strong partnerships with families and look forward to working alongside you to support your child’s learning and wellbeing throughout 2026.

Speak soon,

Mr Lindsay

Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader at TPS

Dear Families,

My name is Kelsey Whyte, and I will be undertaking the role of Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader at TPS in 2026.

This role isn’t designed to be a psychologist or allied health professional. Instead, I will use my knowledge of teaching and the in-classroom experience to boost the capacity and capability of teachers’ mental health literacy, help support teachers to know when and how to refer students internally within the school and externally to dedicated support services and drive new mental health and wellbeing initiatives across the school.

Our wellbeing team will now have more time to support the students who need their support most. As the Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader, I will be facilitating key projects and initiatives, such as:

professional learning on mental health literacy, and how to refer students for further support
develop, implement and support whole school approaches
supporting leadership to plan the use of our Schools Mental Health Fund on the Schools Mental Health Menu.

You can find more information on the Mental Health in Primary Schools program webpage here.

Please feel free to reach out. I am available Monday-Wednesday and then teaching in the Senior School on Thursday-Friday.

Kelsey Whyte

Food Relief

Feed Geelong aims to ensure everyone in our community has access to a wide network of agencies that offer a diverse range of food relief options, including groceries, pre-cooked meals, community meal events, and culturally appropriate options.

If your family requires this support please visit

Additional wellbeing supports available for all TPS families

Ballarat Health Service Access and Triage, or call 1300 094 187 for urgent mental health support
Suicide Call Back Service, or call 1300 659 467
Lifeline, or call 13 11 14, or Text 0477 13 11 14
Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander crisis support line 13YARNor call 13 92 76
Kids Helpline or call 1800 551 800
Beyond Blue or call 1300 224 636
Headspace or call 1800 650 890. Headspace also have online chat services that can be accessed at Online & phone support | headspace
Grief & Loss - The Trauma and Grief Network (TGN) (anu.edu.au)
Supporting primary school-age children through grief - Emerging Minds
How to support your family and yourself through grief and loss - Emerging Minds

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