Principals' Message 

Hello parents and friends, 

On Monday, I attended the funeral of our past student, Connor Whyte.  It was an incredibly moving service and it allowed me to learn more about the exceptional short life that this young man had led.  One thing that struck me about Connor’s time at TPPS and Marcellin, was the kindness and empathy that he exhibited towards others. While he was an 

exceptional student and leader (College Captain at Marcellin SC), every person that shared their experiences about their time with Connor at his memorial service always came back to his kindness.  His giving nature endeared him to so many, most notably, to young Year 7 students that he had only briefly met a few weeks ago.  The parents of these young boys were so touched by Connor’s kindness, and their sons could not stop speaking about this outstanding mentor.  This is the impact that he had on young men that he had only met for a very short period of time.  I have thought deeply about Connor this week and I have reflected greatly on the importance of kindness in life.  Kindness, respect and responsibility are the most basic fundamentals that our society and school operate on.  I would like the TPPS community to focus on this throughout the year.  This is so important in our personal interactions and communications.  I thank Connor, for his time at TPPS and what he has taught me.  It was a privilege to know and learn from this young man.   

We would like to wish everyone in our community a very Happy Easter next weekend.  We know it is a very important time for many people in our community.  We hope that you can all spend time with your loved ones and enjoy the break.

Happy Persian New Year! 

We would like to wish our Persian community a very Happy New Year! 

The Parsi New Year, also known as “Nowruz”, is one of the most celebrated festivals in Iranian culture, and it marks the beginning of the spring season. Being a New Year, “Nowruz” also symbolises hope, rejuvenation, and the victory of light over darkness. 

Term 1 Progress Reports 

As part of our yearly cycle of providing formal information to parents regarding their children, all families will receive a Term 1 Progress Report for their child on Thursday the 28th of March. 

Term One Progress Reports are simple, easy to read reports that provide feedback to parents regarding their child’s behaviour, punctuality and effort shown in Literacy and Numeracy during Term 1.  They will clearly give the reader an understanding of how students have settled in and the effort they have shown.  While there are some similarities to the semester reports that are provided in June and December, they are very different largely due to the information they are delivering. The table below helps explain the similarities and differences. 

The Term 1 Progress Reports are a result of parent and teacher feedback indicating that during the Meet the Teacher discussions (held in the first month of the school year) there is not a whole lot of time for the teacher to talk about how students have settled into the new school year as the purpose of the discussions is more about getting to know students and families a lot better. 

If you would ever like to discuss your child’s progress with their teacher, please arrange a time via email or phone. 

Farewell and best wishes to Miss Urbano and Mr Ahern 

At the completion of Term 2 next Thursday, we will bid farewell to Ms Sarah Urbano as she commences her family leave.  Sarah and Ben are expecting their first child, and we are all very excited for them both.  We wish Sarah and Ben the very best and we can’t wait to meet the new addition to their family. 

NAPLAN 

As mentioned in the last newsletter, our Grade 3 and 5 students have sat the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) this week .  Our students did a fantastic job and we are so proud of their efforts.  We would also  like to congratulate and thank our classroom and support/extension teachers for the work they have done in preparing our students for these assessments.   

School Council 2024 

The first meeting of the 2024 School Council was held on Wednesday; we are pleased to announce the following office bearers.

• President – Shalina Navaratnam
• Vice President – Ben White 
• Treasurer – Amy Gunzburg

Congratulations to our new School Council leaders. 

At our first meeting we looked at the year ahead noting that there is plenty in store for the Templestowe Park community in 2024.  We will keep you updated through on the work of the School Council. 

School Uniform - Shorts and Skorts 

This is just a reminder that navy shorts and skorts are the only permitted summer wear in our uniform code. Bike shorts are not permitted.  The School Council thanks you for your support in adhering to our uniform policy and code. 

Please click on the link below to access the TPPS Uniform Code. 

https://www.templestoweparkps.vic.edu.au/source/BUILD/Uniform_Code.pdf 

Wonderfully Wired – Stacey Lucas-ToumBourou 

One of our former parents has recently published an outstanding book titled, Wonderfully Wired.  Wonderfully Wired is a children's book that celebrates the strengths and differences of 100 amazing neurodivergent people who have changed the world. Despite challenges they faced due to their neurodiversities, such as Tourette’s, autism, dyslexia or ADHD, they were able to focus on their incredible talents and achieve truly remarkable things in their lives!

It is an absolutely amazing book and we highly recommend it.  We have purchased a number of copies for the school.  Families can purchase it through Amazon. 

PFA Twilight Evening – Thank you for a great night!  

A huge thank you to the PFA for our annual Twilight Evening that took place last Wednesday.  Hundreds of families attended the evening and had a fantastic time socialising on our front oval.  The children also loved the activities provided by Proactivity.  We really enjoyed getting around and chatting with many families and past students on the night.  Our next major community night will be our Open Night on Thursday 16th of May. 

Please take a look in the PFA section of the newsletter to see photos of the night.

Parking Around TPPS 

We have been informed by Manningham Council that they issued a number of fines around Templestowe Park PS over the last two weeks.  This will continue throughout the year as we regularly contact Manningham Council to monitor our local streets. 

 We are very lucky to have multiple entry points to the school and a very accommodating Greek Church that allows us to use their carpark throughout the day.  All parking and drop off information can be found in the ‘Parking Around TPPS’ document. This document can be found below and is permanently kept in the Community Section of Compass (choose School Documentation from the drop-down menu, then School Community Information, then click on the document). 

Prep 2025 Expression of Interest (EOI)

We are currently accepting expressions of interest from prospective parents from within or outside of our zone for Prep 2025.  This will inform the school of your interest in attending Templestowe Park Primary School, allow us to keep you updated with important information, provide notice of our pre-Prep activities at the school and allow us to send you an enrolment form when applications open in Term 2. 

Please click here to complete the EOI for Prep at Templestowe Park PS in 2025.

School Tours 

We currently undertake school tours for prospective families on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  Please call Katie or Brenda in the office to book.  Please encourage your family and friends to reach out and book a time if they are thinking of attending TPPS. 

Facilities News 

Over the school holidays there will be a number of facilities upgrades occurring.  Major painting works will take place throughout the school. This includes painting the façade of our school hall and many other areas around the school.  Additionally, new pinboards will be placed up in the corridor of the main building.  This will modernise our main building and provide an excellent canvas for student work to be displayed. 

A percentage of the cost of the work being undertaken has been supplied by the generous parent contributions that have been made.  We thank you for your great support. 

Happy Easter! 

Mark Roberts                       Brian Cleary                                        Robyn Twyford 

PRINCIPAL                           ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL                  ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL