Principals' Message 

Hello parents and friends, 

It is amazing that we are already over halfway through Term 1.  How time flies! 

This weekend we celebrate Labour Day in Victoria.  In the 1800s, most Victorians worked up to 14 hours a day, six days a week. There was no sick leave, no holiday leave, and employers could sack employees at any time, without giving a reason. In 1856, the Government agreed with the protests of the workers about these excessive work hours and instituted an eight-hour day for workers employed in public works.  The 8 Hours work, 8 hours recreation and 8 hours rest became a reality for Victorians for the first time. 

The importance of balance in life is something we take very seriously at TPPS.  Our schoolwide PERMAH model encourages our students, staff and community to strive for their personal best, but not at the expense of being a well-rounded and productive member of society.  I know we all get very busy at times, but it is so important to take a deep breath and ensure that we are caring for ourselves.  We hope you all have an opportunity to do this over this long weekend. 

Have a fantastic Labour Day weekend!

Sad passing of an exceptional young man

It is with great sadness that I inform our community of the passing of one of our former students, Connor Whyte. Connor passed away peacefully in his sleep last Sunday. 

Connor was a member of the TPPS community from 2015-2017 and he left indelible mark on our school.  He was a bright, happy and extremely hard-working student.  This carried onto his time at Marcellin College where he was the 2023 College Captain and achieved an ATAR of 94.75.  We were only informed of his outstanding Year 12 performance late last week. 

I have passed on our community’s condolences to Connor’s family and the Marcellin community. Connor will always remain in our hearts at TPPS. 

NAPLAN 

Next week, our Grade 3 and 5 students will sit the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN).  NAPLAN assesses the literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through the school curriculum and allows parents/carers to see how their child is progressing against national standards.

NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process. It does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance, but it can provide teachers with additional information about students’ educational progress.

NAPLAN also provides schools, education authorities and governments with information about how education programs are working and whether young Australians are achieving important educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy.

We wish our Grade 3 and 5 students the very best with these assessments.

PFA Twilight Evening – Wednesday 13th March 5:00 - 6:30pm 

We warmly invite all families to our Family Twilight Night on Wednesday 13th March.  All families can bring a picnic dinner and enjoy the company of our community on the front oval.  The team from ‘Proactivity’ will be running sports activities for the children between 5:30pm and 6:30pm. 

Activities will include a Ninja Warrior Course, Inflatable Soccer Arena and the Zorb Chamber. The children will love it!

We look forward to seeing you on the night and enjoying each other’s company!

Please note – this is an alcohol-free event. 

Prep 2025 Parent Information Evening - Thursday, 21st March  7:00 – 8:00pm 

We invite all parents of Prep 2025 students to attend our parent information evening on the 21st of March.  At this session we will discuss the important skills that children need to be ready to begin school successfully and why Templestowe Park is such a great school in which to learn.

To express your interest in attending the session please contact Katie or Brenda in the school office.

To learn more about enrolling in Prep for 2025 please click here or call the school office. 

Prep 2025 Expression of Interest (EOI)

We are currently accepting expression of interest from prospective parents from within or outside of our zone for Prep 2025.  This will inform the school of your interest of attending Templestowe Park, 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. 

Miss Urbano Family Leave Replacement 

Miss Sarah Urbano will commence Family Leave in Term 2.  We are pleased to announce that Miss Fahima Bellachene has been appointed to teach Grade 3U when Sarah commences her leave. Many families are already familiar with Fahima as she was most recently the 4-year-old Kiner Teacher at Villa Bambini Learning Centre in Templestowe. As well as her work in early childhood education, Fahima holds a Master of Teaching degree from Melbourne University and a Bachelor of Arts degree with a Major in English. 

Lost Opportunities: 

Lateness and lost opportunities are a big focus for the Department of Education and our school this year, the accumulated absence or lateness does add up to significant lost learning time. Consider this: 

• A student who is late by half an hour each day misses the equivalent of 16.6 days of learning each year. 
• An 80% attendance rate is the equivalent of missing one day per week or 40 days of lost learning for the school year which could add up to 2 ½ years from Prep – Year 12. 
• 85% attendance equals 30 days of lost learning per year or 2 years from Prep – Year 12.
• 90% attendance equals 1 day per fortnight or 20 days per year equalling one year of absence from Prep – Year 12
• 95% attendance equals 10 days of lost learning and over half a year of lost opportunities from Prep – Year 12. 

Research that the Department of Education is leaning on indicates that there is no safe threshold to missing school. They determined this using a combination of school enrolment figures, attendance records and NAPLAN results provided by the WA Education Department. They studied patterns of over 415,000 primary and high school students over a five-year time frame. In all analyses, average academic achievement on NAPLAN tests declined with any absence from school and continued to decline as absence rates increased.

Every day of absence made a difference, and this was particularly true for unauthorised absences. The effect of one day of absence was relatively small but added up quickly as more and more days were missed. The effect of missing days accumulated over time, so that school absence not only impacted achievement in the year in which the days were missed but in future years as well. The message is straightforward and well supported, every day of school that is missed is a lost opportunity, please ensure your child is at school every day! 

Following on from this, we are  unfortunately seeing far too many students arriving at school late. This is a constant disruption to the classroom program and to the school office. I know that we have raised this issue many times in the newsletter and have a dedicated page to provide assistance to families.  If you need assistance to get your child to school on time or with absences, please do not hesitate to contact the school. 

Staff are on yard duty from 8:30am everyday and students enter the classroom at 8:50am.  Teaching begins at 9:00am so all students must be settled and ready to learn by this time.

Arriving to School on Time - Morning Routines

One of  main reasons for students not arriving to school on time is the business of the home in the morning.  Setting up a good routine helps children arrive at school ready to learn and play.

Please click here to receive tips about setting up morning routines. 

Principals’ Award

We were extremely pleased to present the Principals’ Award at today’s assembly to Caydence L in 3U. 

Caydence is friendly and cooperative member of her class and always follows the school values inside the classroom, during specialists and in the school playground. She is humble and always aims to achieve her best during every subject. Caydence always offers help to others and faces difficult classroom tasks with optimism and determination. She has a wonderful work ethic and we are all very proud of her. 

Congratulations Caydence! 

Mark Roberts                       Brian Cleary                                        Robyn Twyford 

PRINCIPAL                           ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL                  ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL