Principal's Message 

20th December

The 2024 news from TCPS....

And just like that....

It is in the metaphorical blink of an eye that our 2024 School Year seems to have come to its end. Whilst it is always a time that you look forward to all of the festivities that go hand in hand with this time of year, it is also a time of sadness as we farewell our graduating Grade 6 students in particular.

This particular group is filled with students that will forever be known as our very first ever TCPS Grade Preps. It is extremely sad to see them depart, but they will forever hold a warm place in our memories.

TCPS Gratitude

One of the many wisdoms that life experience brings is the realisation that all time passes. And as it does, new experiences replace the old. We tend to have the ability to move on pretty quickly. 

As our school yet again continues to grow - we will be very close to 700 students in 2025, we will continue our relentless commitment to the pursuit excellence and continue to provide an environment that nurtures and supports student growth in all areas. We know and recognise regularly the knowledge that our TCPS culture does not emanate from soil. It emanates from our people. And that is the pure reason our school community culture is so strong, positive and supportive. 

I once again remain extremely grateful for the enormous privilege of undertaking the role as Principal. It is my absolute honour to work with such an exceptional staff, and our students, and is a privilege that I regard highly and reflect upon often.

We wish all our departing students, including our grade 6 students the very best and thank them for their time and contribution to TCPS.

On behalf of all staff I would like to thank you all for the environment you provide and for the gift of your beautiful children. 

And to the TCPS staff – I continually remain in awe of who they are as educators and who they are as people. They are incredibly special, and greatly loved by our students and by me.

Please stay safe.

We look forward to your TCPS faces filling our school in 2025

Darren Roskosch

TCPS Principal

Farewell

We wish our departing staff the very best and thank them for their contribution to our school for the time they have been at TCPS.

Mr. Matt Francis

Mr. Kai Copland

Mrs. Amber Kinley

Mrs. Jess Curran

Mrs. Ash South

PLEASE NOTE: First day of school in 2025 for students is Friday 31st January. There will be a lot more reminders on that date so that you can add to your calendars.

2025 Home Groups

Based on current enrolment numbers - homegroups have been designed around he following numbers and ratios. Staffing will be announced in the last Newsletter for the year.

TCPS Gratitude

Last Friday the Community Connection Group (CCG) led by Julie Roncon and Kate Eddiehausen coordinated and held the Annual TCPS Family Christmas event. Whilst the weather did its best to conspire against the timing, it did under estimated the determination and resilience of those involved. As we know - nothing happens by magic, so due to the appreciated efforts of key individuals a successful event was held and enjoyed by many. 

General Information for ONGOING Reference

Education is free at TCPS - No Student Payments or School Fees in 2025

I am pleased to inform our families that for the 4th year in a row, and for the foreseeable future, there will be NO requested payment towards Curriculum Contributions from families. This means education at TCPS is free for our TCPS families.

TCPS will provide ALL curriculum materials for our students without any requested financial contribution in the form of student charges, from our families. 

This includes ALL books/pens/pencils/paper etc, art supplies, online programs, classroom materials, sporting programs including buses. Parents will not be requested to make any financial contribution to cover these items. 

There are a number of complex contributing factors that has enabled TCPS to once again achieve and provide this for our families.

The ongoing support of our families has ensured that our school has been able to offer the best possible education and support for our students at no cost to our families.  We want to thank all those over our school’s history for the support of our school and staff. This has made a huge difference to our school and the programs we have been able to, and will continue to, offer.

TCPS School Uniform

Please be reminded of our TCPS Uniform policy as we move into the 2nd half of our school year.

A comprehensive clarification of our uniform and acceptable 'accessories' can be found on our school webpage: https://www.torquaycoastps.vic.edu.au/uploads/Student%20Dress%20Code%20Policy.pdf

Please note that the uniform includes royal blue and navy blue items (not black).

2025 Student Leadership

School Captains:

Olivia Sandiford

Maia Vandenberg

Jax Hough

Ramsey Vaughan

House Captains:

Annual privacy reminder for our school community.

Our school collects and uses student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy and the Schools’ Privacy Collection Notice.

Our policy - Please refer to our Media Agreement and Permission document on our COMPASS Portal. It describes how we collect and use photographs, video and recordings of students. The policy also explains when parent consent is required and how it can be provided and withdrawn. 

We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use [Microsoft 365/Google Workspace for Education] safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information. If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns regarding your child using [Microsoft 365/Google Workspace for Education], please contact the school.

TCPS ASSEMBLY: Friday 2.20pm

Our TCPS Assembly is a very important part of our week. It is an opportunity to proactively reinforce our school culture and expectations through the acknowledgement and celebration of our students and school. Love of Learning is a key Character Strength of focus, as is Gratitude.

The inclusion of photos and emails celebrating our school and students in and around our community is a key part of our assembly. Due to the substantial amount of time required to process all inclusions, internal and external, and then to build into our assembly's visual format, can I please request that all items are sent to me by Thursday prior to assembly. If these emails/photos are sent to the school office or your child's teacher - they will be forwarded to me accordingly.

Ideally, they can be sent directly to me via email darren.roskosch@education.vic.gov.au

Elements that TCPS families can contribute to our TCPS Assembly

TCPS Goes Global: Take a school flag (we have 10) or a TCPS polo on your journeys around the globe and send us a photo (3 maximum). I will then feature this at our assembly and have a photo added to our display wall at the front office. Please contact the school office to book a flag. It is anticipated and promoted that school flags will be borrowed for school holiday periods, weekends, public holidays, or times during an 'Alternate Education Program.'

TCPS Super Stars: If you know a TCPS child/teacher/family member who has achieved something amazing in any field (not just sporting) please send me the details and a possible photo or 2 so that we can all celebrate and acknowledge the achievement.

TCPS: Shout Outs: If you have a special family member visiting for the first time who are in the audience - please let me know and I will give them a special TCPS 'Shout Out.'

Media Agreement - Parent Permission

Parents are provided the opportunity to have their children excluded from all media inclusions external to our school - eg. Newspaper articles. This is a respected parent choice. Unfortunately there is no allowance to be able to pick and choose participation after this decision has been made. Primarily this is due to our school being unable to resource the management required to allow for selective alterations. We will however be as sensitive as we possible can to children feeling left out of these opportunities. 

School Grounds Maintenance

Due to the gradual and progressive deterioration of the school fencing, the fencing panels will need to be replaced. Key panels will be progressively replaced by temporary fencing until such time a contractor can be engaged to replace the existing fence with something more sustainable.

Whilst the company responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of our school grounds and facilities were very apologetic, they were reassured that although there would be an aesthetic impact on the façade, it was what lay within our boundaries that was most important.

Early Pick up of Children from School

Can I please request that parents contact individual staff members as early as possible if you are collecting your child/ren prior to the end of the school day. This will help in organising for children to be sent to the office ready for collection. Based on the increasing frequency of these occurrences we are unable to use the PA system due to the distraction and disruption it causes to teaching and learning across the school. 

PA announcements occur in recess and lunch breaks.

As teachers do not have constant access to emails during the day, I encourage as much advanced notice as possible so we can do our best to have your child/ren ready and waiting for collection. Office staff will do their best to support you where possible, however with our increasing size there may be unfortunate delays especially if no advanced notice is provided.

Early Pick Up of Students

As we avoid disrupting learning through unnecessary PA announcements please know:

• You are able to email the teacher the day prior with a pickup time so that they can arrange for your child to be at the office waiting for you at the desired time.
• We are able to call your student over the PA during the times below as students are on recess and lunch.

11am – 11:20am

1:20pm – 2:10pm

Our teaching and learning hours are 9am – 3:10pm

• Recess: 11am – 11:20am
• Lunchtime: 1:20pm – 2:10pm
• Dismissal time: 3:10pm

We know that sometimes these early departures are unavoidable and necessary. However early departures do have the potential ability to cause disruption to not only your child's learning, but the learning of others. 

Employing a Tutor

It is timely to provide TCPS feedback and guidance on the possible engagement of an independent tutor to support your child’s learning.  Please know that we respect a parent’s choice in engaging the services of an external tutor to work with your child outside of school, however, please know that this is a parental decision and responsibility. In making the decision to employ a tutor, we know that parents will be understanding of the potential short and long term cognitive and physical impacts increased academic workloads can have on their particular child. There is also the potential of possible disruption to school programs, including social connections, particularly if tutoring occurs during school time.

When selecting and engaging the services of a tutor it is recommended that the standard considerations be given to:

• The educational background of the tutor
• The tutor’s ability to plan and set a learning program through knowledge of the Victorian Curriculum
• The tutor’s ability to plan and implement academic assessments and implement a learning program reflective of these assessments.

Our teachers are committed to support our students to the best of their abilities and time, within the confines of their roles as employees of the Department of Education. As such they are happy to converse with parents regarding student academic progress as part of our assessment and reporting program, and on request sharing an overview of the curriculum areas to be covered for the term. All educational programs at TCPS are reflective of both the Victorian Curriculum and the individual needs of their students. 

Please understand that it is not the professional responsibility of teaching staff to plan teaching programs for tutors. For professional reasons including the protection of student privacy, teachers are unable to converse with tutors directly about their students, share school documentation, nor meet with tutors personally. 

2024 School Council Members:

• Kelsey Jamieson – President
• Brad Millar – Vice President 
• Belinda Vaughan - Parent Rep 
• Kate Eddihausen Parent Rep 
• Julie Roncon– Parent Rep 
• Lisa Tout – Parent Rep 
• Darren Roskosch (Principal - Executive Officer of SC)
• Jo Loader (Assistant Principal – Teacher rep)
• Bianca McSparron (Business Manager - Finance)